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Letter signed by 50 police leaders, including every chief constable in England and Wales, says there is profound strength of feeling across policing'Andy Burnham is facing an unprecedented mass call from police chiefs to block the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers, as unions warned his emergency plan to create more space in prisons risked causing confusion or prisoners being freed by mistake.A letter signed by 50 police leaders across the UK, including every chief constable in England and Wales, called on the prime minister to do everything in his power to stop the killers benefiting from a programme designed to free up prison spaces, saying there was a profound strength of feeling across policing" that this should not happen. Continue reading...

Federal staff will have to stay 100ft outside polling sites in Hennepin and Ramsey counties after county officials refuse access

Journalists and others were allowed to fly on presidential jet despite security threat while Trump was spirited away

Brittany Boltinhouse's attorney says removal of title and crown another troubling example of cancel culture'A lawyer for beauty queen Brittany Boltinhouse, dethroned as Miss North Carolina USA last week, is threatening legal action, claiming the actions of pageant organizers were wrongful and unjustified".The attorney, Patrick Mincey, described the removal of her title and crown another troubling example of cancel culture". Continue reading...

Ruling expands on earlier order that prevented implementation in 23 mostly Democratic-led states

Revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke terms of their visas, government saysThe US Department of State has canceled more than 175,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to office, quadrupling the pace of revocations under Joe Biden's final year in the White House, according to a new tally released by the department this week.The announcement said the revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, defrauded US citizens, abused the immigration system or endangered national security. Many followed run-ins with law enforcement, the department said, with assault, drunk driving, theft and drug offenses the leading causes, alongside reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse and fraud. Continue reading...

Justice department is asked to weigh new charges against David Hearn after US attorney dropped vandalism chargesThe White House has asked the Department of Justice to weigh new charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, according to a person familiar with the matter, pushing to revive a case Donald Trump has fumed about ever since an ally dropped the case citing insufficient evidence.Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, dropped the charges against the man, David Hearn, on 31 July, blaming a contractor for a flawed installation. In a 20-page filing dismissing the charges, Pirro's office said it had received evidence that damage to the pool occurred before Hearn visited it, and that it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt." Hearn has maintained that he reached in the water to touch a piece of already detached lining while he was on a bike ride in June. Continue reading...

Reform deputy leader condemned for seeking disclosure of documents that could reveal reporter's sourcesReform's deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of using nasty tactics" in an attempt to intimidate journalists and deflect attention from his own financial affairs after issuing a legal threat to the Guardian.In a letter sent from his lawyers, a Guardian correspondent was singled out for her reporting on a series of Tice's financial transactions that were referred to the National Crime Agency. Continue reading...

Star, 53, says disease has metastasised to her bones and it is too late for chemotherapyLucy Davis, the actor best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in The Office, has said she has incurable stage four breast cancer.The 53-year-old said she was diagnosed a year and a half ago and the disease had metastasised to her bones including her spine, right hip and ribs. She said it was too late for chemotherapy. Continue reading...

British driver Andy Green reached 406.320 mph in car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion enginesThe only person to break the sound barrier in a car earned another world record on Tuesday in a show of force for hydrogen power.British driver Andy Green reached 406.320mph (653.908km/h) in a car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines with a combined 1,600 horsepower, setting the record for that vehicle category, according to the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the international governing body of motor sports. Continue reading...

Clifford Wilby, 63, blocked the Walthamstow MP from leaving, filmed her and talked about her failings as a member of parliament'A 63-year-old man has been found guilty of harassing the Labour MP Stella Creasy after he was abusive and aggressive" to her on a tube train.Clifford Wilby, of east London, saw the MP for Walthamstow in July 2025 on a Victoria Line train, Westminster magistrates court heard. Continue reading...

Mike Heard used his paddle to strike gator that had latched on to swimmer in Silver River after hearing yells of Gator!'A Florida paddleboarder rescued a woman from an alligator attack in Marion county over the weekend.On Saturday, an alligator bit the woman on the arm while she was swimming in the Silver River, according to local reports citing Marion county authorities. Continue reading...

School said it is pivoting away from letter-grading system to curb the mental health crisis' among college studentsThe University of Michigan will pivot to a pass-or-fail-style grading system, instead of letter grades, for first-semester students in an effort to curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals".The school said in a notice on Tuesday that its goal was to help first-year students acclimate to the demands of college and allow intrinsic motivations to guide personally meaningful academic journeys" and foster a culture of connection and collaboration - rather than competition". Continue reading...

Prediction comes amid warning of extreme heat' this week with temperatures of 38C possibleThe Guardian's environment editor, Fiona Harvey, has written a useful explainer about the UK public services that are struggling in the extreme weather. You can read it in full here:There's only one solution in the end to the drought now declared across most of England and that's rain, says Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology at the University of Reading.An important consequence of drought is that very dry soils can become less able to absorb rainfall when it does arrive. This can increase surface runoff and can even contribute to localised flash flooding, particularly if rain falls intensely over a short period.The current situation highlights the need to improve long-term resilience to both drought and flood risk as climate variability increases, and shows one more damaging impact of the burning of fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Nearly 500 personnel battle Timber fire in Los Padres national forest as blaze grows to 2,000 acresEvacuations have been ordered for areas along California's famous Big Sur coast as a wildfire burns in the nearby steep, rugged mountains.The Timber fire in Monterey county started on Sunday and grew to 2,000 acres by Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire, the state's fire agency. Nearly 500 fire personnel had been assigned to the fire in the Los Padres national forest. Continue reading...

Union chief says vote is about staff warning they cannot protect the public properly'In his pooled TV interview, Andy Burnham repeated the point he made in his Facebook post earlier (see 9.58am), saying he was confident that more could be done to free up space in the prison system (which would allow the early release system to be changed so that PC Andrew Harper's killers are excluded). Burnham said that since becoming PM he had been pushing the system every single day" to go further.Explaining how extra space could be found (see 9.19am), he particularly singled out the more than 2,000 prisoners on indeterminate IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentences. He said:[The] plan will include issues like returning more foreign national offenders to their country of origin, and looking at the injustice of IPP sentences, which have led to young people, or young when they were imprisoned, being imprisoned indeterminately, and that clearly is unfair.My office was in touch with the family last night [see 10.04am], and I know the justice secretary is in regular touch as well.So, we will keep close to the family through this whole process because we understand how difficult this process has been for them. Continue reading...

Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms' climate accountability caseThe supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows.The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005. Continue reading...

Key tourist route closed and residents rallying round as battle against wildfire expected to go on for several daysThe battle to contain a large wildfire spreading across the New Forest will go on for several days, experts have said, as wind changes and a desiccated landscape fuel the flames.Smoke billowed above the deserted A31 road, the main tourist route into the New Forest national park where tens of thousands of families are on holiday, late on Tuesday while a helicopter flew above the blaze. Firefighters at the scene said they were trying to contain several hotspots across the more than 100 hectares (247 acres) of dried heathland as winds swirled over the area. Continue reading...

The new president is a former judge on the European Court of Human RightsSpanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares visited Ceuta earlier today, as he insisted that Madrid had it all under control despite the most unique and complex" border arrangements there.He said Spain was in direct dialogue with the Moroccan authorities on how to prevent another border crisis. Continue reading...

Prof Wyn Evans, who raised concerns over treatment of female staff at Institute of Astronomy, was subject to baseless' investigation, judge rulesA University of Cambridge whistleblower who alleged bullying of female staff inside the university's Institute of Astronomy has won a tribunal against his employer.Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that the Institute suffered from a bad history of misogyny". He claimed that one woman in the department had been hounded out of a job", another was left a frightened woman", and a third had faced aggressive professors" at the institute. Continue reading...

Lawsuit challenges executive order targeting international criminal court for investigating Israeli crimes in PalestineFour prominent US human rights organizations have accused the Trump administration of using its crippling" sanctions regime against the international criminal court (ICC) to undermine global efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity.In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, the groups - the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute - argued that the administration's targeting of the ICC, as well as of groups and individuals affiliated with it or assisting its work, amounts to a blatantly illegal attack on international justice", the groups said. Continue reading...

When it comes to the Reserve Bank, there's a whiff of a parent making a threat they have no intention of carrying out

Poll finds consensus on what makes people proud to be British but deep divisions on issues such as immigrationYou may think it's a commitment to buying a round, the ability to chat at length about the weather, or making a proper cup of tea. But when it comes down to what makes people proud to be British, there is a consensus across all ages, demographics and political groups - and tea, pints and the weather don't get a look-in.Hard work, fair play and community are the values that voters - no matter which political party, age group, social class or region they come from - instinctively believe capture what it means to be British, according to a large-scale study of British values by Public First. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he has asked justice secretary to push through measures to increase the number of prison placesAndy Burnham has said he is increasingly confident he can adapt the early release scheme for prisoners to exclude the killers of PC Andrew Harper and other serious offenders, saying he understood and shared the public's concern about their potential release.Writing on Facebook, the prime minister said on Tuesday he had asked the justice secretary, Alex Norris, to rapidly push through a series of measures to increase the number of prison places, requiring fewer people to be released early to free up room. Continue reading...

Rooms in Icelandic capital Reykjavik cost double usual rate and Spain also enjoying strong bookings

Quake of 7.4 magnitude collapses and severely damages buildings in several major cities, including Cali and PereiraMore than 100 people died after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, collapsing and severely damaging scores of buildings in major cities including Cali and Pereira.The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7.34am local time on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Choco. It was felt in neighbouring Venezuela, still reeling from a deadly double earthquake on 24 June. Continue reading...

The wild capture and release of a female big cat into a nature reserve is the first step towards reintroducing a population that hasn't been seen for 70 yearsOn 31 July, Umit" - which means hope in Kazakh - was released into a nature reserve on the edge of Lake Balkhash after more than a decade of careful planning to return the caspian tiger to the region. With this release, Kazakhstan became the first country to restore its tiger range after they had been thought extinct, with the last reliable sighting in the country recorded more than 70 years ago.Umit - a wild-caught female tiger transported from the Russian far east - will be joined by more big cats in the coming years, with plans to establish a self-sustaining population of about 50. A wild-caught male flown from Russia is still being monitored by authorities and will be released when he is judged fit to survive alone. Two wild tiger cubs are also being reared on the reserve in special enclosures, with as little human contact as possible, and are likely to be released into the marshlands next year, to feast on boar, deer and kulans, a type of wild donkey. Continue reading...

Apollo, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and KKR among those working with chipmaker to fund infrastructure

Fair Work Commission issues a new minimum standards order for gig workers to come into effect 17 August

Consultant Jeremy Greenwood gives evidence to Independent Commission Against Corruption as it investigates allegations linked to Christian Liberal group

West London airport reports 7.86 million passengers in July, compared with 8.15 million for Istanbul

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Anthony Albanese facing criticism after appearing to joke on a podcast about a gift of melons from Sanae TakaichiAustralian prime minister Anthony Albanese has rejected calls to apologise to Japan's prime minister over a joke he made about melons on a satirical podcast, amid a media frenzy and accusations of sexual innuendo.Government MPs have defended the prime minister as criticism mounted over last month's remarks, branded by the Coalition opposition as grubby". Assistant minister Pat Gorman told media: I don't know why we're still talking about this". Continue reading...

Barclays says survey shows people feel more secure in jobs and have more leeway to spend on non-essentials

Some Liberal and National MPs warned against over-regulation in party room discussion, while others argued for more stringent rules

In today's newsletter: As we enter our fifth summer heatwave, Andy Burnham's government is looking at what the UK should do with its remaining North Sea oil and gasGood morning. What a difference a new job can make. To have a shot at staying within 1.5C global warming, we can't have any new oil or gasfields ... It's irresponsible and shortsighted to be funding new #fossilfuels when we need to be getting to #NetZero."

This blog is now closed - a full report is herePeople remain trapped in Cali, one of Colombia's largest cities, after more than two dozen structures collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said.He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to support rescue efforts. Continue reading...

Parent-carers of disabled children are exposed to chronic levels of extreme stress and often reach crisis point before help is available - then they face a fight for basic support', experts say. This is Matilda Davis's storyTwo days before she died, Matilda Davis issued a plea on Facebook. Sharing a study that found more than 40% of parent-carers had considered suicide, she called for greater awareness, action and change" in Britain's broken social care system. This speaks the words I can't," she wrote.Matilda, known as Tilly to her family and friends, had spent years battling for support in a regime that close observers and those who rely on it often say is increasingly confusing, fragmented and difficult to navigate. Continue reading...

Supply in nine blocks in Tower Hamlets affected with some residents suspecting nearby building developments

In a widely expected decision, the Reserve Bank of Australia holds interest rate after three hikes earlier this year

Former 2GB and 2UE radio host, now 85, has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching

Lord mayor says Town Hall square will be fantastic' - but business advocate says project's scale of demolition presents unwanted disruption'

Federal government also hopes to vaccinate some wild birds but admits catching them once, let alone twice for both doses, is difficult'

Premier Ben Carroll promises if re-elected to close every loophole' used by high-profile accused and convicted criminals to hide their identities in the courts

President and RFK Jr, the health secretary, repeatedly referred to autism during signing, though studies show no link between it and vaccinesDonald Trump has signed an executive order with plans for sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule that attempts to override the authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).It is an attempt to undergird the changes made earlier this year to CDC vaccination recommendations, which were halted by a federal judge. The CDC is the federal agency tasked with recommending vaccines, not the White House. Continue reading...

Vape shops in England and Wales to need planning permission while betting shop law change will also apply in ScotlandCouncils are to be given powers to stop betting and vape shops taking over their high streets under new plans announced by Andy Burnham.Local authorities will be able to reject new betting shops and adult gaming centres, while vape shops will be subject to planning permission under plans Downing Street said could be in place from the start of next year. Continue reading...

Sara Sanchez, 27, and her daughter died after a speedboat capsized in the New York Harbor over the weekendThe driver of a speedboat that capsized in New York Harbor over the weekend, killing a 27-year-old woman and her infant daughter, was charged on Monday with causing their deaths through misconduct or neglect.Manuel Hernandez, 46, wiped his eyes with his hand as he arrived for his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court. He was not required to enter a plea and was released on bail. Continue reading...

US president's statement is latest sign that negotations to end war and reopen strait of Hormuz have stalledDonald Trump has said he will demand that Iran pay compensation for the deaths of thousands of US soldiers and Iran's own civilians killed in recent decades in the latest sign his negotiations to end the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz have reached an impasse.The US president is trying to end conflicts in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon, and his additional demands of Iran are likely to provoke anger in Tehran at the same time as Israel has rejected Trump's terms for a 15-point roadmap to end the war in Gaza. Continue reading...

Exclusive: FBU calls for more funding as unprecedented summer' puts rising demands on already stretched crewsFirefighters in the UK are under increased pressure as a result of an unprecedented summer of dangerous and volatile wildfires", the Fire Brigades Union has said, as many parts of the country brace for a fifth heatwave of the year.As authorities declared almost three-quarters of England was now in drought, Steve Wright, the FBU general secretary, said the unpredictable environmental challenges the UK was now confronted with meant it was a national priority" to have enough properly equipped firefighters to face these threats". Continue reading...