PM and leader of the opposition spar over defence spendingAlex Burghart, the deputy Tory leader, was giving interviews this morning. On Israel, he opened up a new line of attack against the government, accusing it of hypocrisy. This is what he told GB News.At the same time that Labour were saying all these things about Israel in the House of Commons, they put out a communique.They put out an account of a conversation that Andy Burnham has had with the Chinese president, and it said how constructive they wanted to be with China, how they wanted to work with China, and what a great relationship we have. Continue reading...
Authorities and public bodies to be urged to buy goods and services from Europe, but without binding quotasEuropean authorities will be encouraged to buy more domestic goods and services when they spend public money under the EU latest effort to counter China's economic might.In a further Buy European" plan, the European Commission published proposals on Wednesday for a sweeping overhaul of EU public procurement rules. Continue reading...
The state can't use new congressional districts under one court order - or its old ones under another. Plus, the architects in Europe turning urban spaces into areas of climate respiteGood morning. Clashing court rulings plunged Missouri's congressional elections into uncertainty less than two months before the November midterms that will decide which party controls a closely divided Congress.Conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the emergency request from Missouri officials to use a congressional map in November that was redrawn with Donald Trump's support to give Republicans an edge in the midterms, but a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri temporarily prevented the state from using its old congressional maps.Why is there legal action over the maps? The Missouri supreme court has previously ruled that the new map must go before voters to approve or reject the new districts, meaning it cannot be used in time for the November election. The president and Republicans had fumed over the decision, with Trump calling it horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional".What are the significant changes to the map intended to favor Republicans? The revised map targeted the fifth congressional district, held by longtime Democratic representative Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigned portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretched the remainder of Cleaver's district far eastward into rural Republican areas.What has the British prime minister said? Writing in the Guardian, Andy Burnham said he would not stand by" as horrific suffering continued, and that for too long the UK had been hesitant to act fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel". The measures we are taking," he said, are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole."How has Israel reacted? Israel has ordered the closure of the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem among retaliatory measures including entry bans on several UK lawmakers. The Israeli government added that longstanding British involvement in the training of Palestinian security forces on the West Bank would be terminated. Britain will also be excluded from the US-led Gaza coordination mission. Continue reading...
Maia Sandu speaks out after two people are killed during a strike on the Starokozache crossing with UkraineBack to Oslo, the funeral procession for King Harald is about the begin, and the 1.2km route to the Oslo Cathedral is lined up with 1,900 soldiers from all branches of the Norwegian defence forces.The procession is expected to walk very slowly - at around 60 steps per minute - and will include the royal family, including King Haakon, followed by a royal car with the widow, Queen Sonja. Continue reading...
AFL-CIO calls for ban on such labels to protect consumers and workers from surveillance pricing and job cutsThe universal adoption of electronic shelf labels in grocery stores across the US could cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost wages while further driving up grocery costs, according to a report released on Tuesday.An analysis by the AFL-CIO Tech Institute of the label manufacturers' own marketing materials found the universal adoption of electronic shelf labels, which are marketed to retailers as a cost-cutting measure, could cost workers between $1.6bn to $6.9bn in lost wages annually and affect between 44,223 and 191,633 jobs. Continue reading...
Andrew Frederick's body was found in property he was staying at in Grenada in JanuaryThe family of a British father who was found dead in the Caribbean in January is urging authorities in Grenada to work with UK police to uncover the truth about his death.Andrew Frederick's body was found in the property he was staying at in Grenada on 4 January. An autopsy, performed in the same week by a privately hired pathologist, concluded that the 47-year-old's death was a homicide. Continue reading...
Downing Centre court hears that the alleged victim was usually outgoing but his demeanour changed at a meeting with Jones at his apartment Listen to the podcast Alan Jones on TrialA politician who worked with an alleged victim of Alan Jones has told a Sydney court the man looked uncharacteristically sunken and diminished" when meeting with the broadcaster at his Circular Quay apartment.The former MP, who Guardian Australia has chosen not to name because it may lead to the identification of the alleged victim, known as complainant C, said the man was usually outgoing and engaged but his demeanour changed once he sat down at a table with his former boss. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason and Angelique Chrisafis in Paris on (#788W6)
Agreement between Nigel Farage and Jordan Bardella to return migrants to France faces backlash, with critics saying it goes against France's interests and sovereignty'Reform UK has insisted its deal with France's far-right National Rally to return migrants back across the channel was fully approved by the party and signed off by its president, Jordan Bardella, amid a furious backlash in France.The agreement unveiled on Friday between Nigel Farage and Bardella, who is the 30-year-old protege of presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, appeared to directly contradict Le Pen's long-held policy of refusing to accept the return of those who arrive in the UK in small boats from France. Continue reading...
Green leader says ministers must stop hiding the truth' about threat to UK security from climate and nature crisisZack Polanski will challenge Andy Burnham's government to publish an unredacted version of an explosive report by the UK's spy chiefs that found the collapse of overseas ecosystems would have catastrophic consequences for the UK's national security.The Green party leader in England will demand that the prime minister come clean about the scale and impact of the climate and nature crisis and call on the government to publish in full the report that warns the UK faces devastating security consequences. Continue reading...
by Kat Lay, Global health correspondent on (#788TT)
Key regions of the brain linked to movement, learning and emotions were affected and may lead to cognitive problemsBabies born to mothers with anaemia have smaller brains, particularly in key regions linked to movement, learning and the regulation of emotion, according to a study.Researchers said the differences, first detected at the age of one, could lead to cognitive problems when children started school. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#7889M)
More than 1,000 flights cancelled with disruption continuing on Wednesday and airlines calling for overhaul after third incident in just over three years
Roni Carlson, in wake of mistrial, says holdout juror could not be persuaded while colleague calls him very arrogant'A lone juror in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of the murder of her three children, would not agree to acquit Clancy despite expressing reasonable doubt about whether she was guilty, the jury's foreperson said in an interview airing Monday.Speaking to NBC 10 Boston just days after Clancy's trial ended in a mistrial, Roni Carlson, the foreperson, confirmed there was one holdout juror who would not be persuaded to acquit Clancy due to insanity.In the US, call the national maternal health hotline on 1-833-852-6262. In the UK, the Pandas foundation offers support via WhatsApp on 07903 508334. In Australia, the national maternal and perinatal mental health hotline is 1300 726 306. Continue reading...
Rise in fatalities comes amid news reports that the average age of Burning Man attendees is increasingThree men over 50 died at Burning Man this year, tripling the average number of deaths in connection with the annual festival that brings tens of thousands of people to build a temporary utopian community in the brutal conditions of the Nevada desert.The increase in fatalities comes as news reports have highlighted that the average age of Burning Man attendees is increasing, with fewer participants in their 20s, and more in their 40s and 50s. Continue reading...
Officials say sighting a sign species - driven to extinction in state before reintroduction in 2011 - expanding its rangeA gray wolf has recently been seen in California's Mendocino national forest for the first time since the species returned to the state 15 years ago, state wildlife officials confirmed.Officials in Lake county, which is about two hours north of San Francisco, said last week the California department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) had received reports of sightings in the forest in late August. The agency verified the presence of a wolf in the far north end of the county, county supervisor Brad Rasmussen said in a statement on social media. Continue reading...
A total of six people apprehended as clean-up of rubbish stacked 10 metres high cost about 6mTwo men have been arrested after fly-tippers dumped a mountain of illegal waste", stacked 10 metres high, in Oxfordshire.Hundreds of tonnes of rubbish appeared in a field between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington in November last year. The waste tip was so large that removing it could cost more than the local council's annual budget, the area's MP said. Continue reading...
Guy Campanile addresses ouster in Facebook post and says we were told to leave because we insisted on doing our jobs'The former managing editor at 60 Minutes, who was fired in May with several other top correspondents, has spoken out about the ouster, saying he and his colleagues, were dismissed because they would not compromise our principles or reputations by jamming unverifiable notions or White House talking points into our reporting".Guy Campanile, who worked at CBS News for 34 years, said in a private Facebook post obtained by the Guardian on Tuesday that he had held off on commenting about his dismissal right away, having decided it was wise to remain quiet when emotions are raw". Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd, Ben Quinn, Rajeev Syal on (#788J0)
Whitehall officials ask why laws meant to clamp down on mask wearing at demonstrations were not usedPolice have been told by the government they expect better intelligence gathering after masked far-right groups took to the streets at the weekend, the Guardian has learned, as the Kent force admitted mishandling warnings of potential trouble.Police in Kent on Saturday and then Portsmouth, Hampshire, on Sunday said they were taken by surprise when hundreds massed to oppose what they say is illegal immigration via small boats. Continue reading...
Sewage plume reached seven bathing waters and significantly affected water quality in June 2023United Utilities has been fined nearly 1m after illegally discharging raw sewage into the Lancashire coastline and polluting seaside holiday locations including Blackpool.The water company pleaded guilty to five environmental permit offences relating to a pollution incident along the Fylde coast in June 2023, and was ordered by Preston magistrates court on Tuesday to pay 964,225 in fines and costs. Continue reading...
Tickets set to cost 408 at return for Somerset festival after a fallow year, a jump from 378.50 in 2025After a fallow year in 2026, Glastonbury festival fans can start to get excited - and nervous - about tickets for 2027's event going on sale.The price breaks 400 for the first time, at 408 including a 5 booking fee, a rise from the 2025 cost of 378.50. The usual scramble to acquire them - with all the attendant frantic spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups - will begin at 9am on Sunday 4 October. Continue reading...
High yields threaten to wipe out at least half of the 24bn headroom John Healey was expecting to have for his budgetThe UK government was forced to pay the highest interest rate for a 30-year bond since 1998 on Tuesday, underlining the fiscal challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey.Echoing the global bond market sell-off that has driven up yields, or interest rates, on government borrowing across the main markets, the Treasury paid 5.82% to borrow 4bn. Continue reading...
Details passed to Kent police after far-right activists heard in pub boasting about going to to Dover to attack Muslims'Police were told the night before far-right agitators blocked roads into Dover that those involved had converged on a village 18 miles away and planned to use it as a launchpad, it has emerged.People in Preston-next-Wingham told of how hundreds of men had started to arrive in the village of just over 920 residents on Friday afternoon and in effect took over" the village. Continue reading...
Moscow's foreign minister issues warning to Russophobic lobby in Budapest' after diplomats expelled for unacceptable' activitiesBut the tone coming from Moscow is very different, as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was very confident that victory in its war against Ukraine is very near."Yes, we are confident, and we are sure that victory is very near," Peskov said in comments reported by Reuters. Continue reading...
More rapid use of blood products may have raised chance of 19-year-old making it to hospital, though chance was low, says counselThe death of a 19-year-old student who was killed in the Nottingham attacks in 2023 was potentially preventable", a public inquiry into the incident has heard.Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old caretaker, were fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, on 13 June 2023. Continue reading...
Attorney hopes Trump would consider a pardon' given the type of person she is' and what she has been through'Murder trial ends in dramatic deadlock - what comes nextThe lawyer of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her three young children, has said he hopes Donald Trump will pardon his client after her trial recently ended with a deadlocked jury.Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, made the appeal on a televised interview on the ABC show Good Morning America on Tuesday. The plea comes to Trump after a judge on Friday declared a mistrial after the jury in the Clancy case could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether she was guilty or not guilty.In the US, the national maternal mental health hotline is 1-833-852-6262. In the UK, the Pandas foundation offers support via Whatsapp on 07903 508334. In Australia, the national maternal and perinatal mental health hotline is 1300 726 306 Continue reading...
by Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and Agence France-Pre on (#78822)
Thieves took four artworks but it is thought they dropped two in museum garden as they fledTwo thieves have broken into a museum dedicated to the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France, stealing four artworks but leaving two behind as they fled.This morning, two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art," said Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer. Continue reading...
Alarm that Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania may fall next after party's Saxony-Anhalt election victoryThousands of Germans have staged protests against the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) after the party's watershed victory in a state election, warning it posed a danger in two more polls this month.Demonstrators at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate held a peaceful pro-democracy rally denouncing the anti-immigrant, pro-Russian AfD, which has called for mass deportations of asylum seekers and a rollback of state support for renewable energy and public broadcasting. Continue reading...
More than 140 clubs breached licences, with a third caught taking water illegally, analysis shows - but no fines issuedMore than 140 golf clubs in England have breached their water extraction licences in the past five years, according to data analysis by the Guardian.More than a third of these clubs were caught taking water illegally from the environment, either by taking more than permitted or by removing it outside the permitted period. Continue reading...
Sinking of inflatable dinghy in 2021 resulted in 31 people dead or missing, including a seven-year-old childFourteen men will go on trial in Paris on Tuesday over the deaths of at least 31 people in the worst mass drowning from a small-boat crossing in the Channel on record.The accused men, alleged to be linked to people-smuggling networks, face charges including manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised criminal group. Continue reading...
Package of military equipment includes Patriot missiles, supplies of which have dwindled amid Russian attacksThe UK has committed 100m to boost Ukraine's air defences over winter by buying a package of US military equipment that will include a number of urgently needed Patriot missiles.The air defence interceptors plus large-calibre artillery rounds and other drones will be supplied to Ukraine through a contribution to a Nato scheme to buy American weapons. Continue reading...
Draft legislation enforces digital duty of care including limiting children's exposure to misogynistic and eating disorder contentAustralia will allow social media account holders to opt out of the powerful algorithms pushing dangerous and divisive content into users' feeds, part of new laws designed to boost online safety.Users over 16 years of age will be given new tools to turn off algorithm-driven content, with platforms facing fines of more than A$100m for non-compliance. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#7882F)
Backers seek support for second attempt to get law through House of Lords after undemocratic' rejection last yearMPs on both sides of the assisted dying debate have voiced fears about turnout affecting the vote on Friday, when the bill returns to the Commons for its second attempt to become law.Those who back the change in the law in England and Wales have been emphasising the undemocratic" nature of the bill's rejection by the House of Lords after it was talked out by a handful of peers after passing the House of Commons. The bill fell despite multiple days of debate from peers because of the number of amendments tabled in the Lords. Continue reading...
OECD test sees results dip in almost all member nations and warns of digital distractions' eroding academic skillsEngland's teenagers are outperforming their peers in most countries in maths, reading and science, according to an international survey that warns of digital distractions" eroding academic skills around the world.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) programme for international student assessment (Pisa), which last year tested 760,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries and regions, found that results dipped in almost all of its members compared with previous years, with the exception of England and a handful of others. Continue reading...
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