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Operator says if rivals are allowed to squeeze into existing facilities it could jeopardise its investmentEurostar has urged the UK government to choose a credible long-term strategy" for international rail or risk falling behind" the rest of Europe, before a crucial decision by the regulator that could end its cross-Channel monopoly.The high-speed train operator warned that a premature" ruling from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to allow competitors to squeeze trains into existing facilities could jeopardise its planned investment and expansion. Continue reading...

Alastair Campbell and children's author Michael Rosen among advocates calling for oracy to be in curriculumThe children's writer Michael Rosen, one-time political strategist Alastair Campbell and former education secretaries Charles Clarke and Estelle Morris have urged the prime minister to honour his pre-election pledge to embed speaking skills in England's schools.They are among 60 signatories to an open letter to Keir Starmer, calling on him to establish oracy as a core part of Labour's revised national curriculum and make it the fourth R' in education, alongside reading, writing and arithmetic. Continue reading...

Emergency crews were called to Tom Uglys Bridge at Sylvania following reports of people floating in the water

Clips show robots serving popcorn and Tesla fans standing in line at California diner owned by world's richest personIn between Elon Musk's ill-fated role as a senior adviser to the president, running SpaceX and owning X, the world's richest person has taken on a new venture, opening the retro futuristic" Tesla Diner in Los Angeles.The business opened its doors in Hollywood at 4.20pm on Monday, offering a charging station, drive-in and a diner that serves, as Musk promised, classic American fare like burgers and milkshakes" and wagyu beef chili, breakfast tacos and iced nitro" matcha. Footage from the diner's opening showed robots serving popcorn, burgers served in Cybertruck-shaped boxes and episodes of Star Trek playing on the restaurant's large outdoor screens. Continue reading...

CND and experts cite US air force transport flight thought to be carrying tactical bombs that landed at RAF baseCampaigners have called for Keir Starmer to tell parliament whether US nuclear weapons have returned to British soil after a distinctive US air force transport flight was spotted landing at RAF Lakenheath on Friday morning.The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and several experts believe that it is highly likely that a number of US B61-12 gravity bombs were delivered to a US air force squadron last week, the first US nuclear deployment in the UK since 2008. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Peter Kosminsky accuses government of acting like tinpot dictatorship' in pressuring director generalOne of television's most prominent directors has accused the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, of attempting to bully the BBC" over its coverage of Gaza, following her repeated attacks on its director general, Tim Davie.Peter Kosminsky, the writer and director of the BBC drama Wolf Hall, claimed the government was acting like a tinpot dictatorship" in heaping political pressure on Davie. Continue reading...

Sites in Aberdeen, Brighton, Camden, Dundee, Leeds and Sheffield among those to shut on SaturdayBrewDog will close 10 bars, including its flagship location in Aberdeen, amid an extremely difficult" environment for pubs and restaurants.James Taylor, the chief executive of the brewer, told staff in an email that it was no longer viable to keep the bars open. They are in Aberdeen, Brighton, Camden, Dundee, Leeds North Street, Oxford, Sheffield, Shepherd's Bush, Shoreditch and York. Continue reading...

UN secretary general warns last lifelines' may soon collapse after Israeli forces attack WHO facilities in Deir al-Balah

A survey by the Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission found that nearly one-quarter of employers classify over-50s as old'

Exclusive: Worker named by deeply traumatised' child still has job and has not been charged because no one witnessed the alleged incidents and there was no CCTV

Howard Phillips, 65, gave Shapps's home address and private plane location to undercover officersA man has been found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after handing over personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two undercover officers he believed to be Russian agents.Howard Phillips, 65, was convicted at Winchester crown court after jurors heard he had been seeking easy money" when he offered his services to the undercover officers, known as Dima and Sasha. Continue reading...

NHS Providers boss says it is doing responsible thing' after BMA union said it was putting patients at riskThe NHS has hit out at the doctors' trade union for alleging that it is putting patient safety at risk by not cancelling planned treatment during a forthcoming strike.NHS Providers, a membership organisation for NHS Trusts, says it is in fact the British Medical Association (BMA) putting patient safety at risk by staging a strike. Continue reading...

Researchers find 270 allegations at mineral projects across 13 countries in Europe and central Asia last yearMines on the EU's periphery that could be critical to its energy transition have recorded a large rise in allegations of abuse ranging from workplace deaths to soil pollution, a report has found, with a threefold increase in 2024 from the average of the five previous years.The nonprofit Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) found 270 allegations of environmental and human rights abuses in transition mineral projects across 13 countries in Europe and central Asia last year, up from 92 the year before. Continue reading...

Former Queensland judge knew material he disclosed to reporters posed significant risk to then-ACT director of public prosecutions' career, court told

Inquest hears how no ambulance was sent to Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, whose daughter Loraine Choulla was completely dependent on herA woman who was found dead alongside her entirely dependent" teenage daughter had called 999 saying she could not move" almost four months before her body was found but no ambulance was sent to her, an inquest has heard.Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, suffered from sickle cell anaemia and died from pneumonia, and her 18-year-old daughter, Loraine Choulla, had learning difficulties and Down's syndrome, relying on her mother for food and hydration. Continue reading...

US comedian and Portia de Rossi have stayed in the UK since Trump's re-election, and are considering getting married again in case the US overturns same-sex marriageEllen DeGeneres has confirmed that she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump, saying, Everything here is just better".At a conversation event on Sunday at Cheltenham's Everyman theatre - the comedian's first public appearance since leaving the US - broadcaster Richard Bacon asked DeGeneres if it was true Trump had spurred her decision to relocate. Continue reading...

The 18-year-old is in a serious but stable condition at Royal Darwin hospital

Party says Hutton's membership has been terminated over debate harmful to trans people but he says it's an issue of free speech

Ballot heaps pressure on Ishiba's minority government just as it attempts to negotiate deal to avert Trump tariffsJapanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba's future was unclear on Monday after his coalition lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a rightwing populist party.While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba's minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader, who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October and who has never been popular within his own party. Continue reading...

Merseyside police says material in support of Palestine Action was reportedly seen in possession of protestersFour people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences during a pro-Palestine protest in Liverpool city centre on Sunday afternoon, police said.Merseyside police said material in support of campaign group Palestine Action was reportedly seen in the possession of a small number of protesters at the regular march for Liverpool Friends of Palestine. Continue reading...

Rightmove blames the 1.2% fall in new sellers' prices on the end of stamp duty discounts and more homes coming on to the marketThe average price of homes coming up for sale dropped by the largest monthly amount in more than 20 years in July, according to a property website, after the end of temporary cuts to stamp duty, and recent increases in council tax on second homes.The average price being asked by new sellers fell by 1.2%, or 4,531, in July compared with a month earlier, to 373,709. Continue reading...

Revived body will examine future of the retirement system as analysis shows pensioner income is set to fallThe government is resurrecting the Pensions Commission, amid fears that a retirement crisis could mean today's workers will be poorer in retirement than the current crop of pensioners.The move by ministers to revive the landmark commission, established by Tony Blair's government in 2002, comes as analysis shows that the income of pensioners is set to fall in the coming decades. Continue reading...

Demonstrators chant send them home' and save our kids' as bottles and flares thrown at police blocking entranceFive people have been arrested after more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside a hotel in Essex believed to be housing asylum seekers, police said.Demonstrators, some of whom appeared to be drinking alcohol, chanted send them home" and save our kids" as bottles and smoke flares were thrown towards police vans blocking the entrance to the Bell hotel in Epping on Sunday evening. Continue reading...

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, have been held for five-and-a-half months without chargeThe children of an elderly couple imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan have urged the group to release the pair before they die in custody".They said the UN would be making a statement on Monday calling for the immediate release of Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, who were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February. Continue reading...

Environment secretary to make announcement on Monday as part of review that is expected to abolish OfwatA new water ombudsman will be announced on Monday by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, as part of government plans to overhaul the embattled sector.The body will be among sweeping changes recommended in a review launched by Jon Cunliffe that are also expected to include the abolishment of Ofwat, the industry watchdog for England and Wales. Continue reading...

Pontiff also speaks of anguish over Israeli strike on territory's only Catholic church, which killed three peoplePope Leo XIV has condemned the barbarity" of the war in Gaza and the indiscriminate use of force" as Gaza's health ministry said at least 85 Palestinians had been killed queueing for food.The ministry said on Sunday that the victims had been killed in different locations, mostly in northern Gaza. Continue reading...

Yellow rain and thunderstorm warnings in place in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of EnglandHalf a month's rainfall could hit the UK in the next 24 hours, the Met Office said on Sunday, issuing weather warnings across the country.Yellow weather warnings for rain and thunderstorms were in place in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north and south-west of England until 10pm on Sunday, with more warnings coming into force in other areas on Monday. Continue reading...

Vehicle veered off road in Bohmte, hit a boy on a trampoline then catapulted into the air, police sayPolice in northwestern Germany said on Sunday that several people were injured when a car veered off a road, hit a seven-year-old boy on a trampoline and crashed into a barn roof on its side.Police said that the car first collided with a parked vehicle in the town of Bohmte, broke through a hedge and drove into a garden where it hit the boy. Continue reading...

Women aged 31, 34 and 42 charged after arrests on Tuesday for incident at Leonardo facilityThree women have been charged under the Terrorism Act after a van was driven into the fence of an aerospace factory in Edinburgh.The incident happened at the Leonardo facility on Crewe Road North on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Duke Education says their course uses chat-style delivery' to deliver classes on writing emails and identifying hazards but does not utilise artificial intelligence

Eleven people still unaccounted for after record downpours sweep north across country, triggering landslidesHeavy rain in South Korea has killed at least 17 people with 11 others unaccounted for in the intense downpours.Close to 170mm (6.7in) of rain hit the resort town of Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, 40 miles east of Seoul, early on Sunday. A landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles. Continue reading...

More than 150 people also wounded, some critically, as some witnesses say Israeli military shot at crowd. This live blog is closedIsrael wants the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to replace a system coordinated by the UN and international aid groups. Along with the US, it accuses Hamas of stealing aid, without offering evidence.Critics have argued that the GHF is a tool for the Israeli and US governments to politicise humanitarian aid and to distribute it in ways that will depopulate sectors of Gaza in apparent violation of international law. Continue reading...

Increase in number of women dying during pregnancy or soon after giving birth is appalling', say Lib DemsGrowing numbers of women in the UK are dying during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, even though fewer babies are being born, official figures show.While 209 maternal deaths occurred in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during 2015-17, that rose to 254 during 2021-23, data compiled by the House of Commons library shows. Continue reading...

Flag held up during curtain call for Il Trovatore, with attempts to remove it resistedA Palestinian flag was at the centre of a tussle after it was unfolded on stage at the Royal Opera House in London by a cast member on Saturday night during a curtain call.The incident took place during the encore of Il Trovatore on Saturday night, and attempts to remove the flag were resisted. Continue reading...

Groups say having access to funds cut off raise fears of wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about GazaAt least two grassroots pro-Palestine organisations in the UK have had their bank accounts frozen, raising fears about a wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about Gaza.Greater Manchester Friends for Palestine (GMFP) and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which both organise peaceful protests and vigils, have had access to their funds cut off indefinitely by Virgin Money and Unit Trust bank respectively. The Guardian understands a local PSC branch in England has also had its bank account frozen but was unable to confirm it directly. Continue reading...

More than 1,000 people estimated to have been killed after clashes between Bedouin and Druze groupsAn uneasy calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, after fighters withdrew following a week of violence estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people.Local people told news agencies the area was calm after Syria's Islamist-led government said Bedouin fighters had left the predominantly Druze city. Continue reading...

Home secretary says criminal offence needs to be introduced to increase police powers after Southport attackA new criminal offence is to be introduced to close the gap" between lone, violence-obsessed individuals with no particular ideology and terrorism suspects, the home secretary has said.Yvette Cooper said an offence that would give police the power to apprehend the former long before they acted was needed in the wake of the Southport attack last year. Terrorism suspects can be jailed for life even if their plans are not fully formed. Continue reading...

Exclusive: open letter warns of two-tier' system if asylum seekers are excluded from promise to halve violence against women and girlsMore than 50 influential women, including actors, authors and comedians, have warned in a letter to the government against the risk of creating a two-tier" system to tackle violence against women and girls if tens of thousands of female asylum seekers are left out.Labour has pledged to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade and is due to publish its strategy in September.Fast-tracking asylum claims for women from high grant-rate countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea.Reforming asylum accommodation so women have somewhere safe to call home.Lifting the ban on work for women seeking asylum, to prevent further exploitation and harm. Continue reading...

Mwangi accused of facilitation of terrorist acts' during last month's protests against government of William RutoThe Kenyan rights activist Boniface Mwangi is accused of facilitation of terrorist acts" during protests that rocked the country last month, investigators said on Sunday, a day after he was arrested.At least 19 people were killed during the 25 June demonstration against President William Ruto's government, which was itself called to pay tribute to victims of police violence at another protest on the same date last year. Continue reading...

Pop star weds The 1975 drummer, who she has been with for about three years, at Hackney town hallThe pop star Charli xcx and her partner, George Daniel, a drummer in the band The 1975, have married at a ceremony at Hackney town hall in east London.The smiling couple were pictured and filmed walking down the art deco building's steps through a blizzard of confetti on Saturday. Continue reading...

Summer Lates series to feature live performances and DJ sets of disco, funk, gospel and jazzWhen night falls and the Great Bath empties of visitors, it usually morphs into a quiet place of glimmering light and shadows. But not at weekends this summer.DJs and musicians are to set up next to the steaming water and turn the historic space in the city of Bath into something of a party venue. Continue reading...

Parties likely to have same number of seats as last parliament, but premier Jeremy Rockliff declares victory after Liberals secure 3% swing from Labor

Authorities axe flights and school classes as typhoon closes in, with China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces also on high alertHong Kong issued its highest tropical cyclone warning as Typhoon Wipha battered the city, with authorities cancelling school classes and grounding hundreds of flights.Wipha was located around 60km south-east of Hong Kong as of 10am on Sunday, according to the city's weather observatory. Huge waves were spotted off the eastern coast of Hong Kong Island. Continue reading...

Michael McGrath awaits results of secret shopper investigation amid crackdown on Chinese retail platformsThe EU justice commissioner has expressed shock at the toxicity and dangers of some goods being sold by Shein and Temu, amid a crackdown on the popular Chinese retail platforms.With 12m low-value parcels each day coming into the EU from online retailers outside the bloc, Michael McGrath has vowed to crack down on the sale of goods that blatantly break the law. Continue reading...

Two others seriously injured and Capricorn Highway closed between mining towns Comet and Blackwater amid horror weekend on Queensland roads

State's unusual electoral system makes winning a majority difficult at the best of times. Now, facing another hung parliament, Labor is in a sticky situation

This blog is now closedControversial MP Mark Latham says he has broken no law" as he publicly responds to a former partner's allegations of domestic violence.The former federal Labor leader and NSW One Nation leader has described recent reports involving former partner Nathalie Matthews as false, reckless and irresponsible".I have broken no law. The police did not involve themselves in the AVO matter.I have breached no standing orders of the Legislative Council. The NSW parliament has stringent processes about inappropriate behaviour, and in my six years there, I've never been notified of a complaint against me.The Marine Rescue Batemans Bay and Bermagui crews said sea conditions were favourable last night, but it was quite dark with little assistance from the moon, and they had to navigate around numerous whales.They are searching an area offshore from just north of Narooma to south of Bermagui under the direction of Marine Area Command and will continue to do so until otherwise instructed. Continue reading...

Government urges all parties to commit to truce and says any breaches will be violation of sovereignty

Student midwives working thousands of hours unpaid in NHS fear lack of vacancies despite staff shortagesA student midwife who fears she will be unable to get a job after completing 2,300 hours of unpaid placement work in the NHS is calling for guaranteed posts for newly qualified midwives who otherwise will be forced to abandon the profession before their careers begin.Aimee Peach, 43, is due to complete her training next summer, but says the promise of a job at the end of her three-year degree course has collapsed", despite severe shortages of midwives across the country. Continue reading...

Officially, the party says there is no mission to court Conservative defectors, but insiders suggest otherwise, and warn against the dangers of doing soAt last year's GB News Christmas party, Suella Braverman was the centre of attention. The former home secretary is popular in rightwing media circles, but it wasn't her straight-talking brand of conservatism that was topic of the evening, rather it was the growing whispers about what some thought was her imminent defection to Reform UK.It was like a panto - everyone saying: Oh yes you will', and her saying: Oh no, I won't'," says one Reform party guest. We all thought she was just biding her time until the right moment." Continue reading...