Songwriter of I Will Always Love You, Jolene and 9 to 5 also invested millions in child literacy, Covid-19 vaccine development and other causesDolly Parton, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in country music who was also much cherished for her philanthropy, has died aged 80.Her death was announced by nephew Brian Seaver on Instagram. Continue reading...
Children were among victims of Sunday shooting in Billings in case police have characterized as a family disturbanceMultiple people - including children - were killed on Sunday evening in a shooting at a home in Billings, Montana, that was also set on fire, according to authorities and local media reports.Police have characterized the case as a family disturbance, according to Montana news outlet KULR. Continue reading...
Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerableUK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation's resilience.The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian. Continue reading...
Drivers concerned that bus operator's offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summerLondon bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks. Continue reading...
Oliver Blume faces workforce at German HQ as carmaker struggles against Chinese competition and US tariffsThe chief executive of Volkswagen has faced boos and whistles of protest at the company's headquarters after telling thousands of workers that a comprehensive reorganisation, which could include job losses and factory closures, is vital for its future.As Oliver Blume urged more than 10,000 workers on Tuesday to pull together", saying drastic restructuring measures at the struggling manufacturer were essential, they held up banners and shouted slogans, including: Our jobs are not your balance sheet adjustments". Continue reading...
Exclusive: internal correspondence reveals USCIS anti-fraud officers shifted on to two high-priority' initiativesAll US immigration officers working for a key anti-fraud unit have been reassigned by Donald Trump's administration to focus on screening South African refugees and alleged unlawful" voters.Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) immigration officers have been shifted full-time on to two high-priority" initiatives, according to internal correspondence seen by the Guardian, leaving US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unable to provide officers to train asylum officers in the near future". Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now and earlier) and Martin Belam (ea on (#77XRR)
10bn for housing with 60% social renting is at odds with PM's previous call for programme to be spent entirely on social homesMinisters are looking at a range of support" for vulnerable households struggling with rising bills, the energy secretary has said ahead of tomorrow's Ofgem announcement on the energy cap level.PA Media reports forecasts have indicated that households could see their bills rise by another 4% to the equivalent of 1,729 a year, as the widened conflict in the Middle East sparked by Donald Trump's war on Iran continues to push up wholesale energy prices. Continue reading...
by Guardian moderators (now); Luke Harding (earlier) on (#77XPF)
The Guardian's Luke Harding discussed Trump, Putin and the state of the war in Ukraine, his expulsion from Russia, his new book Betrayal, and his career as a foreign correspondentIpswichred asks: Why is Russia considered a wider threat when it cannot even defeat Ukraine?Pressfreedomorbust asks: What do you think is the likelihood of Russia taking military action (drones or troops) against another country such as Poland or Estonia? This would force Nato to use its military resources on this second conflict instead of supplying Ukraine.Russia says it is at war not just with Ukraine, but the collective west". Accordingly, it carries out a number of hostile actions against the UK and EU countries. They include sabotage (undersea cables, bombs on cargo planes), disinformation and support for pro-Russian Eurosceptic parties (AFD in Germany, Reform in Britain, etc.)Last year Moscow sent a swarm of decoy drones into Poland, to probe Nato's defences. European leaders are generally reluctant to describe the Kremlin's acts as war, preferring to use the qualifier hybrid". For now Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. In the meantime, Russia's diversionary behaviour will continue. I wouldn't rule out some kind of military provocation", probably limited in scope, against a Nato country.He's safe. There was much speculation around the time of the full-scale invasion that Putin was sick and possibly dying. This turned out to be wishful thinking. Similarly, there is little prospect of a palace coup or popular revolution in Russia. The reality is Putin will stay in power for life. Most people support him, state propaganda is as potent as ever, and the security services keep a close eye on dissent. Many of those who oppose him left the country in 2022. The majority are passive and fatalistic. The fate of Alexey Navalny - murdered in a Siberian gulag in 2024, likely on Putin's orders - sent its own grim message. Continue reading...
Robert Corrigan has been dealing with the smart' rodents all his life - and believes there are better solutions to deal with the growing infestation in the world's citiesThe rodents have paid for every single bill I've ever had - every mortgage, every car payment, every pint of Guinness," says Dr Robert Corrigan. It's been a great ride and I'm still at it."New York-based Corrigan is one of the most respected voices in the world of rodentology. Now in his 70s, he has devoted his entire adult life to studying rats and our relationship with them. Continue reading...
Smaller than a football pitch, Crevan has a rich history - but how rich its buyer needs to be is strictly under wrapsAn island in the Venice lagoon boasting a Napoleonic fort and lush gardens is up for sale.Described as an enchanting oasis of peace and beauty", Crevan offers a spectacular view" of Venice's main island, but is far from its crowds. Continue reading...
A total of 17 people have now been arrested over Saturday's crash in which car drove wrong way along dual carriagewayFive more people have been arrested by detectives investigating a crash that killed seven people, including two police officers.PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed on Saturday when a Volkswagen Passat, which had been pursued by police, was driven the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough and hit their marked armed response vehicle. Continue reading...
Self-described misogynist and his brother, Tristan are playing role to generate income from online attention, Miami court filing saysAndrew Tate rented supercars and borrowed a yacht to appear uberwealthy" and generate online engagement, his lawyer has said.Legal representatives for the self-described misogynist social media influencer and his brother, Tristan Tate, have claimed the pair deliberately portray themselves as far wealthier than they are because their business model depends on online attention". Continue reading...
Local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants, analysis of federal lobbying disclosures showsCongressional lobbyists working for fossil fuel firms that are exacerbating the climate crisis are simultaneously representing more than 300 local governments raising funding to recover from climate damage, according to a new analysis.The research by F Minus and Make Polluters Pay reviewed congressional lobbying disclosures for the first quarter of 2026, finding that another 568 local governments hired fossil fuel lobbyists to work on non-climate related issues during that time, some of which included climate adjacent issues, like healthcare and home insurance. Continue reading...
Another driver in critical condition as result of collision after man failed to stop for officers in Stratford-upon-AvonA man has died and a woman is critically injured after a police pursuit in Warwickshire.Police said officers tried to stop a black Audi on Birmingham Road in Stratford-upon-Avon at 5.23pm on Monday but the vehicle failed to stop and drove towards the A46. Continue reading...
There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid frenzy' to build more datacentersThe US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found.For decades, China's rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent frenzy" in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this, said Global Energy Monitor (Gem) in its new report. Continue reading...
Maine Coon named Erebus Anomaly breaks previous record of 28 toes held for over two decades after overcoming illnessA Maine Coon kitten from Wisconsin overcame a bout with pneumonia to break a 24-year-old world record for most toes on a cat, setting the new mark at 29.Erebus Anomaly's unique story received US national media attention on Monday, when ABC's World News Now program recounted what one of his owners called a miraculous" recovery from illness in his infancy - and the subsequent Guinness World Record that he clinched. Continue reading...
by George Chidi in Conway, South Carolina on (#77XSB)
Republican nominee to face Democrat Annie Andrews in midterm after rushed campaigns for Lindsey Graham's seatReese Boyd, the chair of the Horry county Republican party marveled on Monday afternoon at how little time Senator Darline Graham and Representative Ralph Norman have had to campaign for the Senate primary: This is not the normal way of things."This is something that usually lasts at least, you know, the better part of a year," he said. People normally spend the better part of 18 months getting ready for it. Who knows? This may be the right way to do it? Who knows." Continue reading...
Trump ally should cut budget deficit rather than try to suppress bond yields, says billionaire Stanley DruckenmillerScott Bessent's attempt to calm the bond markets and push down America's cost of borrowing have attracted a rebuke from the US Treasury secretary's former mentor.The billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who worked with Bessent at George Soros's fund management firm in the 1990s, has warned that his former pupil is courting danger by trying to suppress US bond yields. Continue reading...
The flagship environmental project has achieved negligible' results. Why so little progress, and what are the risks as the planet gets hotter? Plus, fusion dance pioneer Usha Jey Don't get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIndia set out to expand its forested areas a decade ago. Last week, however, we learned that the forest cover programme had barely taken root when the government's auditors released their findings of the flagship Green India Mission. The shortfall of 97.57% from India's initial pledge in 2014 was stark enough to alarm the government's own auditor, who described the progress as negligible".Yet if you ask the government about forest cover, you'll get a far greener picture. Continue reading...
Bills have jumped 42% in England over the past 10 years - and that excludes the cost of breakfast clubs and extracurricular activitiesParents of primary schoolchildren in England will pay 42% more for after-school childcare this year than they did 10 years ago, with annual bills now exceeding more than 2,800 a child in some parts of the UK.A Guardian analysis of data collected by the children's charity Coram has revealed that the annual cost of after-school care for children aged 5 to 11 in England has risen by 5% over the past year to 2,636. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#77XP9)
Rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and illness, especially among older people, could drive up premiumsEurope's intense heatwaves could hit insurers' earnings as companies face a rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and worsening health conditions, the rating agency S&P has said.While a long summer of extreme heat will have increased drought and wildfire-related claims, the rating agency said there would also be fallout for life and health insurers, and for the reinsurers who provide financial protection to insurance companies. Continue reading...
NSW parole authority says Mohommed Farhat followed extremist ideology of antisemitic character' while separately judge ruled Fuk Israel' was political comment'
In Indonesia's Kalimantan, fires have ravaged tens of thousands of acres, with suffocating smoke reaching Malaysia and putting Singapore on alertSuwadi can barely see five metres in front of him when he steps outside his home in Indonesian Borneo.Each breath, he says, feels like smoking a cigarette". Continue reading...
In her first media interview since the June incident, Leah Stewart, 34, says her thoughts while being bitten were of her one-year-old daughterAn Australian woman who lost an arm after a shark attack at a beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs has recalled the moment she came face-to-face with the monster".Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher and mother of a one-year-old daughter, was attacked by a large shark while on a morning swim at Coogee beach on 13 June. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#77XP8)
Eight costumes spanning Queen frontman's career will feature in a free trail developed with his former fianceeEight famous costumes worn by Freddie Mercury, including the outfit featured on the cover of Queen's debut album and the catsuit from the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, are to go on display at the V&A in London this autumn to mark what would have been the singer's 80th birthday.Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, a free trail developed with Mercury's former fiancee and close friend Mary Austin, will run from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Austin is lending seven of the looks, which span Mercury's career from the 1970s to his final years. Continue reading...
NHS has target of eliminating the cancer by 2040, but up to 4 million eligible women are not up to date with screeningMillions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date. Continue reading...
After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metresTo chants of so-re, so-re", about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan over the weekend to pull a 360-tonne castle keep a little more than two metres closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations.The keep - a fortified tower within a castle - had to be moved to repair a wall that was damaged in a major earthquake. Continue reading...
by Tiago Rogero South America correspondent on (#77XKN)
Far-right leader echoes ally Donald Trump and says operations to track down illegal immigrants' should begin this week, amid earthquake aftermathColombia's far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced a crackdown on immigrants, ordering authorities to detain and deport people who are in the country irregularly or have committed crimes.In office for just over two weeks, the millionaire former lawyer made the announcement on Sunday as the country continued to grapple with the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on 10 August that killed more than 300 people and destroyed more than 30,000 homes. Continue reading...
US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugsThe US military has launched a deadly strike on a vessel in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of drug trafficking.On Monday, US Southern Command (SouthCom) announced it executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific". Continue reading...
About 40% of 10bn from Affordable Homes Programme will now go on types of housing such as sheltered and shared ownershipAndy Burnham has backtracked on his proposal to rip up the government's housing plans and boost social home building.Ministers laid out plans on Monday to spend an initial 10bn from the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme on a mix of subsidised housing types in England, in line with the Starmer government's policy. Continue reading...
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