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Experts say move signals greater political interference into public health and will exacerbate opioid overdose crisisHealth programs receiving federal funding must agree within days to new priorities from the Trump administration, including a focus on parental authority" in education and a move away from proven overdose-prevention methods like harm reduction, suggesting greater political control over public health.The new priorities will likely affect progress against the opioid crisis, and they could signal an attack on vaccination requirements at schools, which are set at the state and local level. The priorities may also weaponize public health to quash public disorder." Continue reading...

US president revives threat against European countries discussing tax measure despite repeated court rulings against his tariffs

California governor calls for national tax on super-wealthy and suggests the US should own a stake in AI companies

Critics say mandating Bible reading for over 5m students breaches constitutional separation of church and stateThe Texas education board has approved a broad new statewide reading list that, for the first time, will make passages from the Bible required reading for more than 5 million public school students.Under the new initiative, Bible stories will become mandatory reading for millions of public school students in addition to a more standard collection of books, renewing debate over growing efforts in the US to increase the role of religion in classrooms. Continue reading...

US president calls it foolish violation' of ceasefire agreement after drone damaged ship's upper deck

Government asks justices to allow people who have lived in US for years to be held without chance to seek bondThe Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to let it detain people arrested in its immigration crackdown without a chance to seek bond, even if they have lived in the country for years.The administration made that request in a filing made public on Friday, asking the court to overturn a May decision by a federal appeals court, which had rejected its reinterpretation of a decades-old immigration law that now underlies its mass detention policy. Continue reading...

Home secretary speeds up major part of bill governing asylum and refugees as new prime minister set to take overShabana Mahmood will seek to shore up support for her controversial immigration bill on the progressive left of Labour, as she sets out plans to speed up the opening of new safe and legal routes that will permit thousands of refugees to come to the UK.The home secretary, who is the leading contender to stay in her job if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, will next week introduce the legislation, which will also set new limits on immigration claims on human rights grounds and under modern slavery law.Removing modern slavery protections for any foreign national who has committed a crime and received a sentence, scrapping the previous 12-month threshold.Rejecting last-minute modern slavery claims where an objection could have been raised earlier or where there is evidence of false documentation.Allowing immigration claims to be brought under the right to a family life only if the family member is a parent, spouse or child under 18 except in exceptional circumstances.A new test to make clear that deporting foreign national offenders is in the public interest and should only be blocked in the most exceptional circumstances.

High commissioner for human rights calls for those responsible for violations of the law' to be held to account

Michael Phillips, who says he has a 0.38in member, wrote that he needed procedure to improve his ability to urinateThe North Carolina man who has made the apparently undisputed claim of having the world's smallest penis is seeking the public's support for enlargement surgery.Michael Phillips said online on Thursday that he needed the procedure to improve his ability to urinate, which is difficult for him given that he is reportedly 0.38in (0.97cm) long when fully erect. Otherwise, he said he must continue to wear diapers for adults with incontinence every day. Continue reading...

Row between Shabana Mahmood and Mike Tapp broke out after he wrote unauthorised article about migrationThe migration minister, Mike Tapp, is to be denied access to sensitive documents and meetings without approval from the home secretary, as she called for the prime minister to sack him.Shabana Mahmood has demanded that Tapp be fired for writing an unauthorised article in the Times calling for overseas care workers to be exempt from changes to the immigration rules. Continue reading...

Delcy Rodriguez says foreign rescue teams are arriving as anger grows at official response and limited resources

The monarch's declaration does not tell us much, except that his bill is lower than for people with much smaller fortunesThe veil of secrecy that surrounds the royal finances was nudged aside a little on Thursday to allow the release of a new piece of information. We learned for the first time how much the king's annual tax bill comes to.This was not a full tax return. It was a two-sentence declaration, stating his tax payable amounted to 12.9m in 2024-25, and a slightly smaller sum the year before. His total tax payable since accession comes to 30m. Continue reading...

New member for Makerfield and expected next prime minister joins other MPs who donate some or all of their payAndy Burnham has said he will be donating 15% of his MP's salary to local causes in his constituency of Makerfield.An MP's salary currently stands at 98,599 and a number of MPs donate all or part of their salary to charities and causes in the areas they represent. Continue reading...

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Despite 369m upgrade, King Charles will never live in palace but aides stress it will remain buzzing hive' of activityNot all modern British monarchs have viewed the prospect of moving into Buckingham Palace with unalloyed joy. So in announcing he will never live there, after the completion of its 369m upgrade next year, King Charles has at least grasped that nettle.Queen Victoria was initially dismayed by the damp, dingy and disorganised building that greeted her and her husband, Prince Albert, in 1837. It was Albert who refashioned it into Monarchy HQ". After his death in 1861, Victoria retreated mainly to Windsor, Balmoral and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Continue reading...

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, found guilty of common assault and actual bodily harm last year after incident in 2024A man has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail after being convicted of assaulting two female police officers and a member of the public at a Starbucks in Manchester airport.Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, from Rochdale, was convicted of common assault and two counts of actual bodily harm, following a four-week trial at Liverpool crown court last year. Continue reading...

While Anthony Albanese calls ousted British PM Keir Starmer his mate, the pair share very different political fortunes

The LNP's unapologetic moves on crime, transgender healthcare and police-led suppression of protests are a throwback to days many thought had come and gone

As temperatures soar across Europe, cities are struggling to adapt, further exacerbating socioeconomic divisionsThe heatwave afflicting western Europe is the worst ever, with the combination of heat and humidity fuelled by the climate crisis making scores of cities feel unliveable. While for some the adverse impacts amount to disturbed sleep and sticky days in the home office, low-income families are often worse affected by cities' lack of adequate adaptation measures, with women at the sharp end.[It] throws a grenade into every vulnerability you already have," says Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, pointing out that vulnerable or marginalised groups often bear the brunt of climate crisis-based hardship globally. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereChina's president Xi Jinping said Beijing was ready to provide Venezuela with disaster relief and reconstruction" assistance.Xi sent a message of condolence to Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez today, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Continue reading...

CPS says decision to withhold names is due to fears Tate and his brother could identify alleged victims onlineAndrew and Tristan Tate's legal claim to be told the names of their female accusers has been thrown out by a high court judge who ruled that prosecutors had acted reasonably in treating the brothers as notorious".Mr Justice Chamberlain on Friday rejected an attempt to compel the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to inform the Tates of the identities of the women whose allegations have formed the basis for charges against the men of rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking. Continue reading...

Experts say decision presents problem for business owners - and indicates direction court's conservatives are headingExperts say a supreme court ruling that struck down a Hawaii law banning people from carrying guns on private property without permission could present problems for business owners - and is a bellwether of what steps the majority-conservative court may take toward undoing policies they see as placing an undue burden on legal gun owners.The US supreme court handed down the ruling in Wolford v Lopez on Thursday in a 6-3 decision. Second-amendment law centers and advocates praised the ruling as another win and important step toward challenging other restrictions that are out of line with gun laws that existed at the nation's founding. Gun control and gun violence groups, meanwhile, lambasted the decision as a dangerous one that prioritizes the rights of gun owners over public safety. Continue reading...

Bodycam footage captures moment motorist pulls over to help police officer and calls: Get in the back'A van driver in Kent has been praised after giving a lift to an armed police officer who was chasing a suspect.Bodycam footage from the officer captured the moment the motorist pulled over to help the police on 16 June and called out: Get in the back. Get in the back." Continue reading...

Cape Verdeans in Britain feeling incredibly proud' after team's hard-fought draws against Spain and Uruguay

Veteran Labour peer who fled Nazis as a child attacks performative cruelty' of Shabana Mahmood's policiesShabana Mahmood should be moved out of the Home Office and her asylum policies of performative cruelty" ripped up by Andy Burnham's administration, Alf Dubs has said.The veteran Labour peer who came to the UK aged six in 1939 fleeing the persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia said the home secretary's talents would be better used elsewhere in the cabinet". Continue reading...

Kremlin may attempt to test Nato cohesion as Russia comes under growing pressure from Ukraine, according to sources from two countriesTwo countries on Nato's eastern flank have warned that Russia is preparing a possible provocation" in the Baltic states or Poland in an effort to test the cohesion of the western military alliance.Western sources also fear there could be danger on the horizon because the Kremlin is coming under pressure from Ukraine's campaign of long-range attacks on targets near Moscow and St Petersburg. Continue reading...

Hundreds of graduates and interns at finance firm will now have to work in office at least three days a week

Sentencing of 27-year-old Sadia Moalim Ali condemned by former president and prime ministers as well as rights groupsA rickshaw driver in Somalia has been sentenced to three years in prison for comments she made on social media, in a case that has caught the public's attention and provoked outrage in the country.Sadia Moalim Ali, a 27-year-old nursing graduate, was originally charged with insulting government institutions and incitement to commit a crime, but convicted only of the former. Her sentence, immediately condemned as fundamentally unjust", was handed down on 25 June. Continue reading...

Three pumped storage hydroelectric power station sites in Scotland on list of 16 long-duration electricity storage plans

Airport has also been engaging closely' with regulator to discuss cost of plan to build third runway

Austrian Grand Prix declares heat hazard as dramatic rise in temperatures forecast in central and northern EuropeTemperatures are forecast to rise dramatically in parts of central and northern Europe this weekend as the intense heatwave continues. In Germany and Poland, highs up to or exceeding 40C (104F) are expected on both Saturday and Sunday, days after swathes of France experienced similar extreme temperatures. The Austrian Grand Prix, taking place this weekend in Spielberg, has declared a heat hazard, the first race to do so this season. Temperatures are expected to rise into the low 30s celsius during the race, almost 10C warmer than usual for the venue.Across Europe, the intense heat has led to severe thunderstorms. In the Sverdlovsk region of central Russia, a strong tornado was reported on the evening of 22 June. Rated a 3 out of 5 on the international Fujita scale, the twister injured 16 people and destroyed or damaged about 100 homes and businesses in the town of Kushva. Emergency services have been working on restoring power to the town. Tornadoes are not unheard of in Russia but are rare. Forecasters say they may become more common in future as the climate breaks down. Storm warnings remained in effect in the southern part of the country on Friday. Continue reading...

Sarah Steele has told of degrading' experience under US military justice system after assault by airman in CambridgeA UK justice minister has described the case of a British woman strangled by an American fighter pilot as really serious" and said the Ministry of Justice would examine it.Sarah Steele, an academic, has come forward to speak about the distressing and degrading" experience she had with the US military justice system after she was assaulted by the airman in Cambridge. Continue reading...

Minns government waited on federal approval of carbon credit scheme before proceeding with long-awaited great koala national park

Alejandro Gertz Manero's cars and properties contrast starkly with Morena party's long association with austerityWith his million-dollar jewellery collection and his two Rolls-Royces, Mexico's new ambassador to the UK will fit right in with the Mayfair crowd.Former attorney general Alejandro Gertz Manero was appointed to the post by President Claudia Sheinbaum last year, but only recently disclosed his financial assets. Continue reading...

About 40 members of staff looked at information of boy, three, who ended up in zoo enclosureAbout 40 members of hospital staff accessed the medical records of a three-year-old boy hurt in a crocodile pit, prompting an investigation, it has been reported.Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) has referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and is investigating whether all the workers had a legitimate reason for looking at his information. Continue reading...

Fears hard-won gains in reducing child mortality over 20 years are at risk after end of USAID funding for nutrition programmesChild malnutrition in Nepal has reached alarming" levels, according to the largest ever survey of under-fives in the country.The new figures came just over a year after USAID, the former US flagship agency closed by the Trump administration in 2025, stopped funding work on child nutrition in Nepal. Continue reading...

Emerging research suggests datacentres create a heat island effect, pushing up temperatures in the immediate vicinity by as much as 9CThe community living next to the largest datacentre park in Europe say the scorching summer heat has grown unbearable.On days like Wednesday, said Nabeel Nawaz, the store manager of a Chaiiwala franchise in the centre of Slough, the heat is like something pinching your body and burning your skin". Continue reading...

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New structure to be built above 194-year-old Mitchells Causeway as residents face months of delays to reopening of Victoria Pass section of highway

All branches of the military will be taught how to use technology that has become a game changer on the battlefield', says defence ministerAll of South Korea's military forces will be trained as drone operators in a sweeping overhaul of its warfare strategy, the defence minister has said.All soldiers should be able to use drones like a second personal firearm," Ahn Gyu-back, who heads the defence ministry in Seoul, said on Friday. Continue reading...

Apple Macbook 13-inch prices jumps from $1,799 to $2,099 while the cost of iPads surges by 25%

Conservationists emphasise importance of protecting nesting sites used by strongly faithful' red-listed speciesMigratory swifts loyally return every year to their nests in buildings, according to a study, underlining the importance of providing the endangered birds with hollow nesting bricks if traditional nest sites are lost to renovations.The swift, which is on the red list of conservation concern, is one of Britain's most threatened species, having declined in number by 70% since 1995 because of the loss of nesting sites, often when old buildings are re-roofed or given better insulation. While Scotland this year made the installation of swift bricks - a simple hollow brick - a legal requirement in new buildings, the government in England has repeatedly refused to oblige builders to include a 35 swift brick in every new home. Continue reading...

There was no ambiguity. I did not do what was alleged,' Guy says of fellow state Liberal MP's accusation

Australian Labor party president says authoritarian trends must not be normalised' in Australia

When the academic Sarah Steele was assaulted in England, she had no idea her case would end up in front of a US military court. Harry Davies explains why military judges and juries are ruling on crimes committed in the UKA little-known system in which US military personnel are tried through a court martial for alleged crimes committed in the UK is under growing scrutiny. One person who has been through that system is the academic Sarah Steele.Steele told the Guardian investigations correspondent Harry Davies that after she was strangled one night by Jacob Wulfson, a US fighter pilot who lived in a flat in Cambridge, her case was taken up by the US military justice system. The members of the jury at her trial were all men from the air force. It's been really difficult having to literally sit in a room full of people in uniform, overwhelmingly older men, and have those individuals who haven't any semblance of life experience similar to my own; they were culturally different," she said. Continue reading...

US among countries sending help to search for survivors on north coast, where dozens of buildings flattened, as official death toll reaches 235Rescue teams are racing to Venezuela's shattered northern coast after almost simultaneous earthquakes reduced dozens of buildings to rubble, killing at least 235 people but with thousands more fatalities feared. Officials said at least 4,300 people were injured as rescue missions continue.The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the defence department would help search and rescue teams deploy to the affected region after Venezuela's main gateway, the Simon Bolivar international airport, near the capital, Caracas, was badly damaged by 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes less than 40 seconds apart, late on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

China's leader wants to promote his alternative to the current world order, and his efforts are being assisted by a capricious USXi Jinping meets Bangladesh's new prime minister on Friday, the latest in a wave of world leaders to visit Beijing this year as the Chinese leader builds his influence and economic ties, and seeks to shift the balance of power" away from the west.Xi's meeting with Tarique Rahman comes less than two weeks after the Chinese leader welcomed Myanmar's military chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, in Beijing. Continue reading...

Proposal to introduce one-time tax of 5% will go to voters in November after backers decline to withdraw measure

Blaze on Tintwistle Moor, Glossop, has burned more than 500 square metres, forcing road closures and smoke warningA major wildfire close to Greater Manchester has torn through large areas of moorland for more than 24 hours, forcing road closures and smoke warnings as fire crews battle to bring it under control.The blaze, on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, has burned an area of more than 500 square metres of moorland and woodland, with thick plumes of smoke directly affecting the villages of Tintwistle, Hollingworth and Woolley Bridge. Continue reading...

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is an anti-Islamic, far-right political activist well known in the UK and Europe