Senate minority leader condemns Republicans after Donald Trump's former defense lawyer was confirmed by 50 votes to 49 early on Saturday morningAdding to Chuck Schumer's comments, New Mexico's Democratic representative Melanie Stansbury said the confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general represents a dark moment" for the nation's traditional system of checks and balances.She said this is because the justice department is being weaponized for retribution, shielding the administration from accountability, and actively obstructing the Epstein case." Continue reading...
Asked whether he targeted reporter who investigated party finances, Brexit campaigner says: When you live by the sword, you die by the sword'The prominent Reform UK member and Brexit campaigner Arron Banks is said to have set private investigators on a Sunday Times journalist after he broke a series of stories about Nigel Farage.Banks is alleged to have paid for the services of investigators to examine Gabriel Pogrund, editor of the paper's Insight investigations team. Continue reading...
The mission of the Flock app is quietly subversive: to encourage users to ditch their screens and explore the wonderful world of birdingOn a brilliantly bright afternoon in his gallery and studio in Bolinas, a small town on the northern California coast, Keith Hansen was putting the finishing touches on a watercolor of an almost improbably flamboyant painted bunting.With an ultra-fine sable brush, he made a few intricate additions to the cobalt blue plumage on the bunting's head, and, satisfied with his work, slipped the watercolor into a stout binder that every few days welcomes a new addition. Continue reading...
Ryder Williams, 16, presented with distinctive red jacket by star of TV rescuer reboot, Stephen AmellAs life imitates art and vice versa, the star of the Baywatch reboot recently presented one of the distinctive red jackets seen on the beach rescuer drama to the teenage lifeguard who went viral for saving a boy off the California coast on camera.Stephen Amell, who was cast as the main protagonist for the first season of the new Baywatch scheduled to premiere in early 2027, presented the garment worn by lifeguards on the fictional show and its prequel franchise to 16-year-old Ryder Williams in a video posted on social media by the production on Friday just after midnight eastern time. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#77HX6)
Britain's spooks take quiet satisfaction from survey ranking Secret Intelligence Service Europe's top espionage agencyMI6 has the swagger of James Bond; its French equivalent, DGSE, the complexities of the television drama Le Bureau. The film and TV shows may be fictional, but a survey run by a French magazine that placed the British spy agency above the French as No 1 across all of Europe this week is not.L'Express, a news weekly, conducted a Eurovision-style poll of 60 current and former spies from across the continent, plus the CIA and Israel's Mossad. Each was asked to rank their top five foreign intelligence agencies, in secret, naturally enough. MI6 was first with 251 points ahead of DGSE on 169, with other agencies trailing behind. Continue reading...
Unexploded ordnance and a military motorcycle also recovered owing to record heat and drought conditionsRecord-low water levels in the Danube have exposed remnants of Europe's Nazi past, with dozens of second world war warships emerging from the riverbed during an intense drought.In the middle of the river on the Serbian and Romanian border, a broken-up hull was visible on a sandbank that is normally underwater. Other vessels were partly submerged, some still believed to be laden with weapons. Continue reading...
The US president's profound ignorance of his enemy has led to an impotent cycle of empty threats, analysts sayBeing the subject of mockery may be the most intense of all Donald Trump's known aversions.Yet more than five months after embarking on a war of choice against Iran, the US president risks attracting ridicule as he struggles to secure a military victory - while repeatedly threatening devastating bombardment against the Tehran regime, only to back down on the pretext of renewed negotiations. Continue reading...
Drought and record heat have forced the Norfolk and Suffolk league to move kick-off to the end of August as the ground is deemed too dangerous to play onThis summer's record drought has forced a football league to delay the start of its season because rock hard" pitches are a danger to its players.The 2026/27 season in the Anglian Combination League of 85 amateur teams in Norfolk and Suffolk was due to start next weekend. Continue reading...
Watchdog examines handling of an incident last year that was treated as an attempted burglaryCounter-terrorism police investigating the death of Ann Widdecombe have reopened an inquiry into an incident last year, in which Nigel Farage's home was allegedly firebombed.During the incident in April 2025, a lit incendiary device was pushed through the Reform UK leader's letterbox, according to reports. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent on (#77HVK)
UK hosts decades-old event for first time where many participants are from opposite sides of global disputes from Israel and Palestine, to India and PakistanOn the surface it looks like a normal summer school in the Devon countryside, with teenagers playing volleyball in the sun, doing arts and crafts in the hall, and preparing for the night's talent show.But behind the scenes, intensive discussions are taking place. Many of these teenagers come from opposite sides of historical national conflicts - from Israel and Palestine, India and Pakistan. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman and Rory Carroll in Belfast on (#77HT9)
A horrific knife attack on a street in June sparked another summer's night of racial violence, stoked by loyalist groups. How did the unrest erupt - and why do many fear it will happen again?Shortly after 10.30pm on Monday 8 June, as a summer twilight lingered over Belfast, a horrific scene unfolded on Kinnaird Avenue: a man straddled and repeatedly stabbed a figure lying on the ground in a bloody assault that ended only after onlookers intervened.Others captured the drama on cameraphones and uploaded the footage to social media. Once seen, the grainy images were hard to forget, and by dawn on Tuesday 9 June they were ricocheting around X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and other platforms. Continue reading...
TUC will urge John Healey to order root and branch' assessment of watchdog amid claims its forecasts downplay investment benefitsThe TUC is urging the new chancellor, John Healey, to order a root and branch" review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, claiming the forecaster's approach holds back investment.With Andy Burnham promising good growth in every postcode", the union umbrella body is calling on Healey to use his first budget on 28 October to re-examine the assessments of the watchdog. Continue reading...
Scientists race to untangle complex links between exposure and mortality as fire weather grows more prevalentA thousand kilometres from the infernos gorging on northern Ontario's boreal forests, Erin O'Connor watched the sky above Canada's biggest city turn an almost post-apocalyptic" orange as it filled with light-scattering particles of soot and ash. Stepping outside the halls of Toronto General hospital, where air filters were keeping patients safe from the worst of the fumes, she was struck by a smell so strong it felt like standing by a campfire.It really hit you in the face as soon as you walked outside," said O'Connor, who runs University Health Network's emergency department and saw a rise in patients presenting with allergies and shortness of breath. As the days progressed, it was like that everywhere. It seemed even inside you could smell that burning." Continue reading...
Trump ally Abelardo De La Espriella vows to start profound transformation' of country's destiny as he is sworn inThe Trump administration plans to provide $1bn in security assistance to the government of Colombia's new rightwing president, the US state department announced, soon after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in and used his inaugural speech to pledge a vigorous fight against drug trafficking, as well as austerity measures to restore confidence in the economy.De La Espriella, 48, won June's runoff election with promises to crack down on armed groups, shrink the state by as much as 40% and revive the oil and gas sector. Continue reading...
British and Germans themselves share stereotype but other nationalities are likelier to put out towels - or umbrellasGermans are sunlounger hoggers, or so the longstanding stereotype goes. But not only is that cultural trope mostly confined to British - and, even more so, German - perceptions, surprising new data reveals that in fact Italian and French holidaymakers are the ones most likely to use their towel to stake their claim to a sunlounger.A poll by YouGov of Europeans holidaymakers found that while many Germans (51%) and Britons (46%) associate Germans with the ritual of waking up at the crack of dawn to mark their spot, the perception barely exists elsewhere in Europe, with just 5-17% of those surveyed in other countries sharing the stereotype. Continue reading...
Industry body calls for more regular reviews of repeat prescriptions to tackle growing problem'The amount of wasted medicines thrown away in England in one year could fill 75 swimming pools, according to a pharmacy group.The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) estimated that 3,400 tonnes of partly used medicines were disposed of in England in 2024-25. Continue reading...
Move comes in response to Rome imposing similar measures after mass migration rush to CeutaSpain has announced it will introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy in response to Rome imposing similar measures after a mass rush of people from Morocco into Ceuta.The checks, which come amid the persistent irregular migration pressure" facing Italy, will start at midnight on Saturday and last until 7 September, Spain's interior ministry said in a statement. Continue reading...
People voice frustration with officials' failure to engage with community over placement of asylum seekers in areaA smashed window pane and some broken eggshells on a footpath were some of the tell-tale signs of events that took place this week on a residential street at the edge of Thetford.On Friday afternoon it was not hard to find local people with a sense of foreboding after the latest disorder in the Norfolk market town which has seen crowds attempt to break into properties believed to be housing asylum seekers. Continue reading...
Decision follows supreme court ruling that allowed US government to strip protections for Haitians and SyriansTemporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of South Sudanese nationals in the United States is set to end after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with stripping their protections.On Friday, US district judge Patti Saris of the district of Massachusetts rejected an attempt by immigrant rights organizations including the New York-based African Communities Together to keep TPS for South Sudanese nationals living in the US. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Seven in 10 survey respondents expect services to be reduced or shut, while more than half anticipate job lossesMillions of adults and children in England face being forced to wait longer for mental health care, with more than two-thirds of NHS providers planning to cut services and half expected to axe jobs, the Guardian can reveal.With mental health services already under extraordinary pressure amid soaring demand for support, experts warned the proposed cuts - drawn up by trusts to plug holes in their finances - would also have significant" consequences for the wider NHS, the economy and public services. Continue reading...
Disclosure comes after Conservative and Reform claims that French police refusing to intervene in crossingsThe French authorities have halted small boats at sea in the Channel on 10 occasions since the spring, officials said on Friday.Despite claims from the Conservatives and Reform that the French were refusing to intervene in small boat crossings, Maritime Prefect officers were using intervention tactics" to board or control vessels at sea and take asylum seekers back to France. Continue reading...
Taxi driver says he acted as middleman between Yorgen Fenech and three men already convicted of 150,000 contract killingThe businessman accused of paying for hitmen to murder the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was impatient for the killing to take place, and once texted from his boat to say he was preparing champagne" to celebrate, a jury in Malta has heard.Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes several Hilton hotels, is on trial in Malta for complicity in the murder of Caruana Galizia. She died in a car bombing in October 2017 after publishing a series of revelations about senior politicians that were so damaging they triggered a snap general election. Continue reading...
Group calls for thorough and transparent investigation' of hiring of professor who resigned after his claims came under scrutinyThe University of Cambridge has announced a review into the way it vets and hires senior academic staff in an effort to fend off external and internal criticism of its appointment of Jason Arday as a professor.But a group of Cambridge academics quickly rejected the university's response, saying: We strongly believe that a thorough and transparent investigation into the wider circumstances of this damaging episode is essential." Continue reading...
Counter-disinformation group says social media channels connected to Pravda network helped amplify messageAccounts with links to the Russian military promoting far-right messages reached more than 500,000 people in the days following the mass influx of people into Ceuta, according to an analysis by 411, a counter-disinformation group.Russia-linked social media accounts frequently spread destabilising narratives in Europe, often promoting far-right talking points about immigration. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#77HD5)
Delays to sexual assault charges and failures to report past convictions in court hearings gave Simon Levy chance to attack more women Violence against women: has anything changed in policing since Sarah Everard's killing?Catastrophic errors left a persistent and proven sex offender free before he murdered two women in London, it can be revealed.On Friday, an Old Bailey jury found Simon Levy, 40, guilty of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later. Continue reading...
by Alexandra Topping and Jessica Elgot on (#77HDZ)
Some in party are delighted by leader's tack rightwards but opponents have savoured latest Conservative controversyThere was a moment in the middle of this week when a news alert raised eyebrows among the politically committed. It read: Kemi Badenoch: Former neo-Nazi candidate would just be sorting out bins." It was a collection of words that might prompt palpitations in the most sanguine of communications professionals, followed by panicked advice that retreat was necessary. But as a deeply weird week for the Conservative party came to a close on Friday, its leader appeared adamant she would hold the line.With Badenoch accused of aping Reform UK on policy and purging centrists from her party in recent weeks, her decision to stand by a man who was jailed after creating sexualised images of a Jewish MP and calling her a rodent" has prompted concerns about the leader of the opposition's political antennae and the Tories' wider strategy. Continue reading...
Andrew and Tristan Tate remain in jail as they fight extradition to UK to face charges of rape, assault and moreLawyers for Andrew and Tristan Tate urged a US judge on Friday to release the brothers from a Miami jail as they fight the British government's efforts to extradite them to face charges of rape, assault and facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.In a filing in Miami federal court, the Tate brothers' lawyers said their extraordinary public visibility" would make it impractical for them to try to flee, meaning there was no need to keep them behind bars until the extradition proceedings end. Continue reading...
by Taz Ali (now) and Tom Ambrose (earlier) on (#77H6M)
Home Office minister Anna Turley says PM is authentic' and praises video of him discussing bar snacks with John HealeyStreeting said it was not OK" that the killers of PC Andrew Harper were eligible for early release, PA reports.He said the government should never have been put in a position" where prisons were so full that offenders were going to be let out at an earlier stage of their sentence. Continue reading...
Teenager killed his grandparents before opening fire at school near Bangkok, where more than 30 were woundedA Thai teenager killed his grandparents before opening fire at his school, where he shot five people dead and took his own life, police have said, in an attack that has shaken a country struggling to deal with gun violence.The 14-year-old wounded more than 30 people in the shooting at the prestigious Debsirin Nonthaburi school in the Nonthaburi province on Bangkok's outskirts. Nine people were in a critical condition, the Thai health department said. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#77HD4)
Experts say the attackers' behaviour, and the handling of their cases, have striking similaritiesAbout 40 metres off Tottenham High Street, up a slip road for deliveries to a B&M homewares store, is a stretch of concrete paving behind a 2-metre wall topped with spikes.This is the patch of ground that Simon Levy tried to turn into his personal killing field. Continue reading...
by Thomas Graham in Chocó. Photography by Santiago M on (#77H5A)
As Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as president vowing a new military offensive, the country's last leftwing rebels are getting ready to fight backAs the boat approached the riverbank, camouflaged figures watched from the tree line.Behind them, in the dim understory of the jungle, a commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN) sat with his rifle on his lap, amid the buzz and whine of insects and the thwacks of machetes on bamboo as his troops set up camp, hidden from enemy drones. Continue reading...
Yinon Levy charged with manslaughter in first exception this decade to culture of impunity for Israelis who kill Palestinians in the occupied West BankProsecutors in Israel have indicted an extremist settler for shooting a Palestinian activist last July, the first attempt this decade to hold an Israeli responsible for killing a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank.Yinon Levy, who was under western sanctions, is charged with manslaughter over the death of Awdeh Hathaleen, an English teacher and peace activist. In his last moments, Hathaleen filmed the settler drawing his weapon and opening fire towards him. Continue reading...
Officials try to find homes for residents as talks to save social assistance hub collapse amid government crackdownRome authorities are scrambling to find homes for hundreds of people sleeping in tents in extreme heat after talks aimed at saving Italy's most high-profile centre for housing and social assistance collapsed amid a crackdown by Giorgia Meloni's government on squatted buildings.The approximately 400 evicted residents of Spin Time Labs, located in a 10-floor building in Rome's Esquilino district occupied by grassroots groups since 2013, will not be allowed to move back in after its private owner refused Rome council's offer to buy the property. The residents were forced out at the end of last month. Continue reading...
Musician's projects included Madonna's Ray of Light, Blur's 13 and All Saints' chart-topping singles Pure Shores and Black CoffeeWilliam Orbit, the British music producer whose dreamy yet propulsive style invigorated work by Madonna, Blur, All Saints, U2 and more, has died aged 69.A statement on his social media, attributed to family and friends, said he died at home on 23 July. He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music, friendship and kindness," the statement read. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...
More air-conditioned spaces are open during extreme heat, but distance, stigma and risk perception keep many awayResponding to an uptick in extreme heat waves this summer, US cities have increased their efforts to establish cooling centers to keep people safe but continue to encounter a problem: actually getting people to enter the public air-conditioned spaces.Lower-income people, who often do not have - or cannot afford to operate - air conditioning, face a greater risk of heat-related illness or deaths, which means public agencies in the US concentrate their efforts on trying to reach them. Continue reading...
High 30s celsius forecast for France, Spain and Italy next week, before affecting Germany, Poland and CzechiaAnother pulse of heat is expected to affect central and western Europe next week. The latest forecast models show daily maximum temperatures well into the high 30s celsius widely across France, Spain and Italy during the first half of the week, while Germany, Poland and Czechia will experience the highest temperatures towards the end of the week. The shift in the focus of the heat as the week progresses can be attributed to the movement of high pressure. At the start of the week, low pressure centred in the Atlantic and high pressure centred over the low countries will draw warm air from southern Europe northwards into parts of France. During the working week, the high pressure will slip a little farther south and east, enabling the warm air once situated over western Europe to make inroads into parts of Germany and central Europe.The heat in central and western Europe this summer has been unrelenting. Last week's weather tracker highlighted record-breaking temperatures for the month of July in Austria. However, only a few days later, on 4 August, the all-time record was shattered with 41.0C achieved in Stammersdorf, north-east of the capital, Vienna. This comfortably broke the previous all-time record set in August 2003 by 0.7C. Unbelievably, that record was broken again the following day when 41.2C was recorded in Deutsch-Altenburg. Slovakia also set an all-time record on the same day, of 41.4C. The continuing European heatwave, associated with a vertically extensive anticyclone, raised the freezing level above 4,000 metres across much of the Alpine region. This represents a level in the atmosphere well above many Alpine glaciers, accelerating the seasonal melting process. On the opposite side of the Atlantic, 51.8C was recorded in Badwater, California, the highest temperature in the US for 2026 so far. Continue reading...
Met police say charge relates to alleged assault that reportedly took place in December at venue in LondonThe England footballer Ivan Toney has been charged with assault after an incident at a nightclub in Soho in December last year.Scotland Yard said the striker had been charged on 31 July with assault causing actual bodily harm. Toney, who plays for the Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, is due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on 24 September. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#77H76)
Stephen Akinsanya says being mistaken for defendant shows lack of progress on racism within legal systemA black barrister has said a security guard told him he could not park in a court's car park in London because it's not for defendants".Stephen Akinsanya, who in June was awarded an OBE for raising awareness of youth knife crime and its prevention, said the incident, at an east London court about four weeks ago, illustrated the lack of progress on racism within the criminal justice system. Continue reading...
Ten months into her tenure as editor in chief, Weiss' biggest - and riskiest - bet is getting closer to taking flightBari Weiss is 10 months into her tenure as editor-in-chief of CBS News, but her biggest test is right around the corner.The newest season of 60 Minutes is set to premiere next month after Weiss overhauled the show's correspondent corps and production staff in the spring. Long considered the gold standard in television news, the show still generates a staggering nine million average viewers per night at a time when linear television's core audience is either aging out or turning to digital alternatives. Continue reading...
DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin says We're going after them right now' despite threat of violence in home countryHundreds of thousands of Haitians are faced with the prospect of imminent risk of arrest and deportation - to a home country racked with crime, violence and political unrest - after the Trump administration officially stripped them of humanitarian protections that had allowed them to live and work legally in the United States for years.US district judge Ana Reyes confirmed on Wednesday that her order blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from ending temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti was no longer in effect. This followed the controversial supreme court ruling in June that upended judicial review of the program and opened the door for immigration enforcement to track down and detain Haitians en masse. Continue reading...
Florida man faces count of attempted felony murder after confrontation over a spot to catch lobster, authorities sayA Florida boater was alleged to have tried to kill a diver by cutting off his air supply while they fought over a spot to catch lobsters off the state's coast recently, according to authorities.Michael Joseph Simpson Jr's criminal defense attorney on Thursday issued a statement dismissing those allegations as false". Nonetheless, Simpson, 51, was faced with a count of attempted felony murder after he was jailed in what a sheriff's office report portrayed as a particularly heated case of boat rage on the waters of Miami's Biscayne Bay. Continue reading...
US president's complaint industry making too much money' comes after his policies boosted corporationsDonald Trump's statement that oil companies have made too much money" from the Iran war has angered environmentalists, who say that his policies were designed to benefit those very corporations. If he really believes his own claims, he should impose a windfall profits tax, advocates say.
The curator of Norway's national museum in Oslo is bringing the work by the Flemish baroque artist Clara Peeters out of obscurity in a major exhibition of female artists
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