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And the best news is the leadership contenders can no longer do any harm to anyone but themselvesGo on. Admit it. There's a small part of you that's missed the psychodramas. Not necessarily the existential angst of lying in bed each night wondering what fresh hell the government was going to unleash on us the following day. But certainly the infighting. For the last five years or so, watching the Tories implode with little help from the opposition parties had become one of the country's favourite spectator sports.The general election had put an end to that. Most of us had forgotten what serious government looked like. Ministers going about their business in a calm and capable manner. No major crises. No meltdowns. Even seven Labour MPs losing the whip over the two-child benefit cap blew over in a matter of 24 hours. Hardly a ripple. Continue reading...

Largest survey of its kind shows estimated 2.5% of adults have struggled with problem gambling

Alert comes as hospitals in England asked to restrict use of O-type blood as aftershocks of June cyber-attack continueThe NHS has made an urgent appeal for more blood donors after a national alert over supplies dropping to an unprecedentedly low" level.O-negative blood - known as the universal blood type - is safe for all patients requiring blood transfusions. Making up about 16% of all hospital orders, it is used in emergencies or when a patient's blood type is unknown. Continue reading...

Warning of serious harm risked as synthetic drug spice found in vapes used by pupils at 28 schoolsOne in six vapes confiscated in English schools are spiked with the highly addictive zombie drug" spice, according to research.Analysis from 38 schools revealed that the synthetic street drug, classified as class B alongside ketamine and GHB, was in hundreds of devices. The researchers said they believed the substance was being put into vapes marketed as containing cannabis oil. Continue reading...

Artist known for photographic work was commissioned to create A Taste of Home in Terminal 4 tube stationThe UK needs more public art that confronts the major issues of the day, according to Joy Gregory, the award-winning artist who has just unveiled a new project at Heathrow airport that was inspired by more than 100 asylum seekers.Gregory, who is known for her photographic work and won the 110,000 Freelands award recently, was commissioned by Transport for London (Tfl) to create 24 billboards mounted in the airport's Terminal 4 underground station ticket hall. Continue reading...

Move paves way for fintech firm to hold customers' deposits and offer own-branded loans, including mortgagesRevolut has secured a UK banking licence - with restrictions" - more than three years after Britain's most valuable fintech firm lodged its application with regulators.It is a milestone for the company, and will help pave the way for an eventual stock market listing, but it may still be some time before it can hold its customers' deposits. Continue reading...

Sounkamba Sylla reportedly reaches compromise after France's strict laws on secularism threatened to bar herA French sprinter is expected to swap her headscarf for a cap in order to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, in a compromise reportedly struck after the country's strict laws on secularism threatened to bar her from the event.Earlier this week Sounkamba Sylla, a Muslim member of France's 400m women's and mixed relay teams, said she would not be able to take part in Friday's ceremony because she wears a hijab. Continue reading...

Two out means two up and two in. Beyond that simple calculation, reconfiguring Labor's frontbench becomes more complicated

President seeks to reassure attendees including Elon Musk that France is still a good investment despite political crisisOver vintage bottles of wine from the Elysee Palace cellars and a cordon bleu lunch, Emmanuel Macron has sought to reassure 40 of the world's richest businessmen that the country remains a good investment despite its ongoing political crisis.Guests at the French president's event included Tesla's Elon Musk, Coca-Cola's James Quincey, AirBnB's Brian Chesky, Youtube's Neal Mohan and Eli Lilly's David Ricks. Continue reading...

Former business secretary claims he would have got to grips with Horizon IT scandal if MPs had come to speak to himThe former Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable has labelled Post Office managers thugs in suits" and claimed he would have got to grips with the Horizon IT scandal if MPs campaigning for branch owner-operators had bothered to have in-person meetings with him.Cable, who was business secretary for an unusually long period between 2010 and 2015, told the inquiry into the scandal that he never learned who lead campaigner Sir Alan Bates was until just before he left office. Continue reading...

Cable agrees with characterisation of leadership at state-owned body when he was business secretary from 2010-15 in testimony to hearings on Horizon IT scandalGreg Clark, the business secretary from 2016 to 2019, has begun to give his testimony at the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.Clark was in place as the Post Office started to come under signifcant pressure as Sir Alan Bates and 554 other subpostmasters began - and won -- a high court action against the organisation.Given time I probably would have done, and should have done, [something]," he said. We were a day or so before the end of parliament I was beginning to smell a rat. Had parliament continued, or had I returned to office, I'd have got all these people around the table."And for the first time Mr Bates, I'd not heard of him until this point," said Cable. I'd have had them round a table and said what the hell is going on here?'. But I didn't have the time to do that." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lenny Henry, Anish Kapoor and Marianne Jean-Baptiste among actors calling for Keir Starmer to scrap rulesVoter ID laws are an attack on the democratic rights of people of colour" and should be scrapped, more than 50 eminent actors, artists, campaigners and others from minority ethnic communities have told Keir Starmer in an open letter.The signatories, including Sir Lenny Henry, the artist Anish Kapoor, the actors Sophie Okonedo, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, David Harewood and Paterson Joseph, the Bridgerton stars Adjoa Andoh and India Amarteifio and the writer Kamila Shamsie, said there was no reason for the new government to keep the rules. Continue reading...

Owner of Marmite, Dove and Ben & Jerry's says margins of 19.6% were helped by carry-over pricing'Unilever has defended on-going price rises despite a better-than-expected 17% rise in profits.The owner of Marmite, Dove and Ben & Jerry's said its profit margins had been helped by carry-over pricing from a period of higher inflation", as well as efficiency benefits from selling more products and more premium brands. Continue reading...

Pixar's sequel to its 2015 hit has now overtaken Frozen II and Barbie in global ticket sales, reaching $1bn in only 19 daysInside Out 2 has overtaken Frozen II to become the highest-grossing animation of all time. Pixar's sequel to its 2015 smash about emotions battling for primacy inside the head of a preteen girl has taken $1.46bn (1.13bn) over its first six weeks of release; Disney's follow-up to its wintry hit took $1.45bn (1.12bn) over its entire theatrical run in 2019.A third Disney film, the 2019 remake of The Lion King, made $1.65bn (1.28bn) but was categorised by Disney as live-action, despite being computer-generated. Nonetheless, even if that film were on the list, the odds of Inside Out 2 bumping it down in coming weeks look high. Continue reading...

The star of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is standing down in order to spend more time with his familyFormer James Bond actor George Lazenby has announced his retirement at the age of 84. The Australian actor, best known for playing 007 in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, made the statement on X on Thursday.This hasn't been an easy decision but it's time to announce my retirement from work," he wrote. Therefore, I won't be doing any more acting or making public appearances, doing any more interviews or signing any more autographs as of today." Continue reading...

Anthony Esan, 24, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Lt Col Mark Teeton near barracks in GillinghamA man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with the attempted murder of an army officer in uniform near a barracks in Kent.Anthony Esan, 24, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Lt Col Mark Teeton in Gillingham on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Prof Trevor Burnard's expertise helped lead to apology by the Scott Trust, owner of the Guardian, over links to tradeTributes have been paid to Prof Trevor Burnard, who died on Friday at the age of 63. He was described as a prolific academic" who will be remembered for his brilliance and his compassion", and his work on Atlantic slavery.Burnard, who was a professor of slavery and emancipation and considered one of the foremost experts on Atlantic slavery, joined the University of Hull in 2019, continuing his career-long interest in plantation societies in the Americas and their impact on global economic systems. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Discovery of Emirati passports in wreckage suggest covert boots on the ground, despite Gulf state's denialsPassports recovered from battlefields in Sudan suggest the United Arab Emirates is covertly putting boots on the ground in the country's devastating civil war, according to leaked documents.A 41-page document, sent to the UN security council and seen by the Guardian, contains images of Emirati passports allegedly found in Sudan and linked to soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the African nation's notorious paramilitary. Continue reading...

Police say they are searching for a male who allegedly vandalised the inner-west Sydney office in what is the latest political graffiti attack

Labor is carefully considering' the ICJ findings on the occupied Palestinian territories - and soon it will have to give its view

Editorial staff from the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, the Brisbane Times and WAtoday reject improved pay offer

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A judge accepts Craig Keogh will never work again after developing pneumoconiosis from working in NSW and Queensland mines

Flight CX110 was left without sufficient flight crew after the second officer was suspended by the airline

National Gallery of Australia director sent a warning to federal arts minister that mining billionaire was rallying' influential friends, documents reveal

Prime minister to announce remade cabinet on Sunday after two ministers announce intention to retire

Penny Wong says settler violence in West Bank includes beatings, sexual assault and torture' as she announces Magnitsky-style sanctions

Use of online tools rather than face-to-face consultations has led to misdiagnoses, missed illnesses and delayed carePatients have died after describing their symptoms to a GP in an online form rather than at a face-to-face consultation, the NHS's safety investigations body has revealed.Online consultations with GP surgeries involve risks to patients' safety and have led to sometimes serious harm and even death, an investigation by the Health Services Safety Investigations Branch (HSSIB) found. Continue reading...

Watchdog raises concerns about Home Office decision in annual report about incident last summerAn Albanian man who was being held in a secure psychiatric unit was taken directly from his hospital bed to a Home Office deportation flight, a report has revealed.The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB), a watchdog for prisons and immigration removal centres, has raised concerns about the incident last summer in its annual report published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Deloitte Access Economics report argues a return to monetary tightening would wipe out benefits of tax cuts and wage gains

UN says it is horrified' by violence in three villages in East Sepik province as it warns death toll could pass 50At least 26 people were killed, including 16 children, during violent attacks on three Papua New Guinea villages last week, according to the UN, which warned that the final death toll could pass 50.I am horrified by the shocking eruption of deadly violence in Papua New Guinea, seemingly as the result of a dispute over land and lake ownership and user rights," the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Hadi Matar, 26, faces three new charges almost two years after writer was attacked on stage in Chautauqua, New YorkThe man accused of attacking and stabbing the author Salman Rushdie in 2022 in New York has been charged with new federal terrorism charges.Hadi Matar, 26, was indicted by a grand jury on three counts including attempting to provide material to support a foreign terrorist organization, committing terrorism transcending national boundaries for the stabbing of Rushdie, and providing material to support terrorists, according to court documents. Continue reading...

LVMH shares down 5% and Kering 4% amid tailoff in demand as cost of living squeeze hits middle classesDisappointing figures from the luxury goods conglomerates LVMH and Kering as shoppers reined in spending on handbags, designer clothing and champagne have hit the value of firms in the sector around the world amid fears of ongoing weak demand.Shares in LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany, slid nearly 5% as it revealed that sales in the key Asian markets, excluding Japan, were down 14% in the three months to June amid weak demand for Cognac in China and slowdowns in demand for fashion, watches, leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics. Continue reading...

Labour justice minister in Lords says there is need to protect access to justice' for legitimate claimsLabour has delayed proposals to tackle spurious lawsuits brought by oligarchs and others aimed at intimidating journalists, academics and campaigners.Frederick Ponsonby, a Labour justice minister in the House of Lords, said he could not commit to bringing forward standalone legislation on strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as Slapps, or set out a timetable for tackling the issue. Continue reading...

Demonstrators at Queens College called the film shoot for CBS drama FBI: Most Wanted propaganda'A fake protest encampment set up for a TV shoot on a New York City college campus sparked a real reaction from pro-Palestinian activists, who organized their own demonstration against the filming, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.The scenario unfolded on Monday and Tuesday at Queens College, where the CBS drama FBI: Most Wanted was filming an upcoming episode involving a climate change protest, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

Cargo of vessel capsized near Sweden in 19th century also includes mineral water, say Polish diversDivers have discovered a 19th-century shipwreck off the Swedish coast loaded to the brim" with champagne.The group, from Poland, were diving in the Baltic 20 nautical miles (37km) south of the island of Oland when they found the boat, believed to be a merchant vessel, by chance last week. Continue reading...

Footage shows Greater Manchester police officer pointing Taser at two men, kicking one of them and hitting the otherAn armed police officer has been filmed kicking a man in the face as he lay on the ground after an altercation at Manchester airport.Footage shared widely online showed the officer pointing his Taser at the man and then kicking him with force in the face and stamping on his head. Continue reading...

People were probably on their way to US, Panama's border force says, highlighting perils of jungleTen people have drowned in a swollen river while trying to cross a lawless stretch of jungle connecting Colombia with Panama, highlighting the continuing perils of the Darien Gap despite efforts to stop irregular migration through the region.The 10 people, whose nationality has not yet been identified, were probably on their way to the US when they were swept away by strong currents, Panama's border force said in a statement. Their bodies were found in a river close to the Indigenous community of Carreto on the Caribbean coast. Continue reading...

Cher: The Memoir, Part One will be released in November, with a second installment due in spring 2025Cher's two-part memoir finally has a release date. Cher: The Memoir, Part One will be released on 19 November by Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at HarperCollins Publishers.Part Two will follow in spring of 2025, the publisher announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Duke of Sussex tells ITV documentary that legal battles against newspapers central' to deterioration in relationsThe Duke of Sussex believes his determination to take on tabloid newspapers in the courts was a central piece" in the deterioration of relations between him and his family in the UK.Speaking about his legal battles against newspapers over privacy, Prince Harry told an ITV documentary Tabloids on Trial that his decision to fight contributed to the rift" with the royal family. Continue reading...

Move by ratings company Moody's puts Thames in breach its operating licence but Ofwat likely to hold off on large fineThames Water has breached its licence to supply water to nearly 16 million people after some of its debt was downgraded to junk status.The regulator Ofwat could now fine Thames, the country's largest water monopoly, up to 10% of its annual turnover, equating to hundreds of millions of pounds. However, since the company is already teetering close to temporary renationalisation, Ofwat is likely to hold off on any immediate large fines. Continue reading...

Morgan was only candidate to put herself forward to replace Vaughan Gething as Welsh Labour leaderEluned Morgan has been confirmed as the new leader of Welsh Labour and is to become the first female first minister of Wales.Lady Morgan, 57, the health secretary in the Labour-led Welsh government, was the only candidate to put herself forward to replace Vaughan Gething. Continue reading...

Inga Rublite, 39, was found under coat at Queen's Medical Centre where she had vomited and had seizureA 39-year-old woman found dying under a coat in an overcrowded A&E in Nottingham may have been missed by staff because they are accustomed to homeless people sleeping in the waiting area, an inquest has heard.Inga Rublite attended A&E at Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) at 10.40pm on 19 January suffering from a severe headache, blurred vision, high blood pressure and vomiting. Continue reading...

Whitehall sources say it could be a more open competition than in past as Simon Case prepares to step downSimon Case is set to step down as cabinet secretary early next year on medical advice, after taking time off for health reasons last year.The former royal aide, appointed by Boris Johnson to the top job in the civil service during the pandemic, has overseen Whitehall departments through the Partygate scandal as well as the premierships of Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Continue reading...

Margot James says she should have delved more closely' as Post Office developed legal defence of Horizon systemA former postal minister has said it was a mistake for the government not to step in as Post Office executives developed their ultimately unsuccessful legal defence of the flawed Horizon IT system against a lawsuit brought by branch owner-operators.Margot James, who held the role from mid-2016 to early 2018 when Sir Alan Bates and 554 other prosecuted post office operators brought the case to clear their names, told the public inquiry into the IT system she should not have stuck to the line adopted by the executives and UK Government Investments, the body that manages state-owned assets. Continue reading...

Social media distraction, lack of time and difficulty focusing are factors in the decline of leisure readingHalf of adults in the UK do not regularly read for pleasure, according to new survey data.The study, commissioned by the charity the Reading Agency, saw 15% of adults reporting that they have never been regular readers, and 35% saying that they are lapsed readers, meaning that they used to read regularly for pleasure, but rarely or never do now. Continue reading...

A Complete Unknown, from Walk the Line director James Mangold, will show the musician's rise to worldwide fame in early 60s New York CityThe first trailer for A Complete Unknown shows Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan in the much-anticipated biopic.The Dune and Call Me by Your Name star has transformed into the legendary musician for an awards-aiming drama to be released in the US in December and in the UK in January. It comes from the film-maker James Mangold, who previously directed the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. Continue reading...

Total of 443,995 offences in year to March 2024 up 30% on previous 12 months, says Office for National StatisticsThe number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to a new 20-year high. A total of 443,995 offences were logged by forces in the year to March 2024, up 30% on the 342,428 recorded in the previous 12 months.The figure is the highest since current records began in the year to March 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which described the latest increases as notable. Continue reading...

Group of finance ministers call for sanctions to be ratcheted up amid signs Moscow's war machine is weakening

Exclusive: UK campaigners say it is unacceptable' no nature assessments were made on bee-killing Cruiser SBThe Conservative government did not carry out a legally required assessment of how greenlighting the use of a banned pesticide, described as a death blow to wildlife", would affect some of the most important nature sites, documents have revealed.The previous government gave emergency approval this year for sugar beet farmers to use Cruiser SB for the fourth year in a row. Continue reading...