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Scott Bessent says treasury is launching economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections' as Tehran vows to retaliate against cooperating countries

US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugsAfter a pause of more than two months, the US military announced Monday that it once again carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs.It brings the overall death toll to 223 people killed in 67 strikes during the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing alleged drug boats off Latin America's Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command says the campaign has resulted in the destruction of 64 speedboats, three low-profile" ships and a semisubmersible craft. Continue reading...

Blaze near Crawley destroyed 140 vehicles, damaged nearby businesses and led to power cuts on Saturday nightA man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire tore through a car park used by people flying from Gatwick airport, destroying about 140 vehicles.The blaze erupted at Caldyne business park near Crawley, about eight miles from the airport just after 9pm on Saturday. Images showed vehicles on fire and enormous plumes of smoke rising close to overhead power lines. Continue reading...

A day after suggesting other projects were more important to Victorians, Carroll says train line will go ahead but at a slightly reduced cost

Everything Sprouts recalls products after CDC says agency is aware of dozens of food-poisoning cases nationallyUS healthcare officials recently said a food-poisoning outbreak tied to alfalfa sprouts and involving multiple germs had sickened people in at least 15 states.Officials announced the outbreak after documenting more than three dozen cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin. On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency was aware of at least 55 cases nationally, including four people who had been hospitalized. Continue reading...

Washington launches campaign to isolate Tehran but it is unclear whether it will apply measures to ChinaThe US has threatened to impose severe sanctions against any country or entity maintaining economic ties with Iran, hoping to achieve with economic measures what military means have so far failed to do.It is unclear, however, how far the Trump administration is prepared to go in confronting China, Iran's biggest trading partner, which has signalled its resistance to US economic pressure to cut off links with an ally. Continue reading...

Move is latest deterioration in trade relations between neighbors with historically strong economic tiesDonald Trump announced a new 50% tariff on automobiles and crucial raw materials from Canada, the latest deterioration in trade relations between the two neighbors with historically strong economic ties.The US president said that the increased tariffs would start on 1 January 2027 on all cars, trucks, automobile parts and steel. He also derided the nation's tariffs on American farmers, writing on social media that Canada has been ripping off" the US for years". Continue reading...

Cost of living has hit campaign group while multinationals are threatening to squeeze out independent breweriesFor centuries, the wooden real ale pump has been the hallmark of a good British boozer. But now problems are brewing for the proper pint, as the Campaign for Real Ale has seen its membership sink to an eight-year low and its accounts show it is firmly in the red, making an 800,000 loss last year.Real ale is a traditional draught cask beer, a living" product that is produced and stored in its cask. It differs from a cold, fizzy lager, in which the yeast is killed and carbon dioxide is added. Real ale contains live yeast so it continues fermenting until it is served. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen, who was attending meeting in Kyiv, advises high-profile women to embrace self-acceptanceSick of getting unsolicited beauty tips on social media, even while she's in a war zone, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed a male cosmetic surgeon's offer to fix" her and advised women in similar situations to embrace self-acceptance.Frederiksen, a Social Democrat and Denmark's second female prime minister, posted on Instagram that she had just returned from a trip to Ukraine where she was subjected to air raid sirens when she found a message proposing some help with her appearance. Continue reading...

Coalition of the Willing condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, pledges to work on constraining Russia's war chest'Here's the full quote from Kremlin's Peskov, via AFP:Britain is methodically and regularly throwing oil on the fire and methodically and regularly plotting schemes to prevent even the slightest progress in the peace process." Continue reading...

Restore Britain leader paid up to 1,476 an hour by platform, which critics say is financially incentivising inflammatory contentRupert Lowe, the leader of Restore Britain, is on course to earn as much from the social media platform X as he does from his salary as an MP, after surging income from posts that include demands for mass deportations.Lowe has earned 932 an hour for his posts on X, formerly Twitter, since the start of the year, according to his own declarations in the register of MPs' financial interests, which detail how many hours he has spent on X for each payment he received from the platform. Continue reading...

Spokesperson for Duke of Sussex says he remains an active and avid supporter' of African Parks' missionThe Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of a major African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy.Prince Harry's spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo. Continue reading...

As well as pledging military help and diplomatic backing, the prime minister could be useful in dealing with the USSince moving into Downing Street in July, Andy Burnham - a foreign policy neophyte - has expressed strong support for Ukraine. But on Monday he saw the bitter human cost of the war up close for the first time, visiting Kyiv during his first international trip as prime minister.The occasion was the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave awards to the families of fallen soldiers. Relatives wept, hugging Ukraine's president. Photos of young men in their prime were shown on a giant screen. Continue reading...

The host also discussed the rise of forgotten monthly subscriptions for anything from dishwashers to litter boxesOn the Sunday night episode of his HBO show, John Oliver discussed the rise of subscription-based business models across the worlds of music, film and TV, beauty, food, cleaning services and more.Subscriptions are now basically everywhere and many of us don't even realize how much we spend on them," Oliver said. Continue reading...

After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UKHouseholds in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as 7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about 500m over the past year to a record 6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices. Continue reading...

Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups

Downing Street repeats calls for social media platforms to review content and policies as companies urged to uphold legal dutiesLee Anderson, the Reform UK MP for Ashfield, is first up to speak. He says young people in his constituency - and in many areas across the country - have absolutely no chance" of securing council housing or social housing. He says that Reform's government would put British people first" in a housing system he characterises as being unfair.Reform UK will use a press conference that is due to begin at 11am to announce its pledge to prioritise British-born workers under 35 when allocating social housing. We will bring you the key lines from the conference, fronted by deputy leader, Richard Tice, and the party's chairman, Lee Anderson, here. You can watch it live: Continue reading...

EU police agency says shift could point to involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific artefactsRobberies at European museums are becoming increasingly violent, with thieves sometimes brandishing guns, assaulting staff and using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to smash their way into buildings and display cases, according to a report by Europol.The EU police agency said that while museum thefts were generally seen as a non-violent form of organised property crime, member states had detected a recent shift towards violent and forceful methods" that could point to the involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific cultural artefacts. Continue reading...

Nine men and three women aged between 19 and 61 arrested as part of investigation into events leading to deadly collisionTwelve people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including being involved with organised crime as part of the investigation into events leading to a crash on the A66 that killed two police officers and five others.Cleveland police confirmed that nine men and three women were detained by officers investigating the events that led up to PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough dying when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough collided with their marked armed response vehicle. All five men who were in the second car, aged between 17 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Ombudsman Iain Anderson says he is concerned police had no clearly understood definition of racial profiling'

Campaigners accuse ministers of trying to grab headlines with announcement before a working system is readySurvivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing world first" plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work.Key campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones, designed to lock" offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families. Continue reading...

World's largest streaming services have also increased subscription costs repeatedly in US, research finds

Moscow warns of increased tensions with Britain as Burnham offers Ukraine declassified details of missile components

Test of US rhetoric will rest on whether nations such as India, China and Russia view economic threats as credibleTehran has vowed to retaliate against any country that cooperates with the US attempt to impose fresh sanctions against Iran in what the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has billed as the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary".In advance of the US announcement, the United Arab Emirates, Iran's single biggest trading partner in the Middle East, announced it was ending all trade with Iran, a move Tehran believes was coordinated between Washington and the UAE. Continue reading...

Updated draft highway code follows several court rulings assigning blame for road accidents to careless pedestriansItaly's updated highway code will target pedestrians who stare at their mobile phones while crossing the road, as the country's transport ministry strives to improve road safety by cracking down on perilous distractions.The offence, contained in a draft version of the highway code which is expected to be approved by mid-October, carries fines of 75 or more. Continue reading...

Watchdog data shared with Guardian shows contributions to Republican Attorneys General Association and othersOver a dozen US companies that signed a 2021 letter urging Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act continue to contribute to state political groups that are actively working to undermine the legislation, according to a campaign finance watchdog.Researchers at the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonpartisan organization that tracks financial disclosures, found that companies - including Airbnb, DoorDash, Target and Zillow - that signed the letter are contributing to groups known as 527 organizations that prop up key state races, according to data provided exclusively to the Guardian. Continue reading...

Algorithms are responsible for fever pitch content surrounding trial, including misinformation, experts sayAs the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, starts to wind down, a now international discussion on social media about the case has hit a fever pitch as viewers examine details of the trial and question the state of maternal mental healthcare in the United States.Amateur sleuths and armchair psychologists have been creating content throughout the several weeks of the trial, pointing out perceived discrepancies in evidence. They've pointed to Clancy's last recorded heart rate and body temperature as smoking guns", suggested that Patrick Clancy, Lindsay's ex-husband and father of the children, actually committed the crime, despite no legal evidence to back up the claim. Continue reading...

Campaigners say proposal for 10bn rescue deal in bid to avoid nationalisation is a cosy stitch-up'

West African country reports 46 suspected cases in outbreak declared in July, amid fears virus may be spreading undetectedMore than half of the mpox cases reported in Guinea-Bissau have been among children, local authorities have said, almost two months since the country announced an epidemic.A national outbreak was declared on 4 July, just over a week after a 27-year-old woman became the first confirmed case of mpox in the west African country. Since then, there have been seven confirmed cases and 46 suspected cases. Half of those patients have been children, with 16 under the age of four. Continue reading...

The US is scooping up treasury bonds in an effort to raise their price and push yields down - but it's not workingThe bond market is driving the Trump administration crazy. Last week, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced that the government would sharply ramp up its purchase of treasury bonds, in an effort to raise their price and thus push down their yield, which amounts to the interest rate the government pays on its debt.It didn't quite work as planned. Yields on treasurys fell after Bessent's bond market intervention but soon bounced back. By Friday afternoon, the yield on the 10-year treasury was back near where it was before the secretary's announcement. The yield on the 30-year bond was again trading around its highest level in 20 years or more. Continue reading...

Endorsement of Republican incumbent over challenger with same name adds twist to unusual campaign in Alaska

China-based retailer swung to $99m loss in first quarter and faces scrutiny over its environmental footprint

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Nidia Webb, who is legally settled in UK, falls foul of known issue' with Home Office's digitised immigration processA woman who is legally settled in the UK was left stranded at a Spanish airport after the Home Office's post-Brexit visa system mixed her up with her twin sister.Nidia Webb fell foul of what she was told was a known issue" with the eVisa, which was brought in as part of the government's drive to digitise the UK's immigration system but has faced problems that have caused concern for thousands of people. Continue reading...

Police arrest five men and search six properties including the union's Victorian headquarters

Charles Perrottet appeared to be furthering fugitive developer Jean Nassif's interests by undermining adversaries, a former NSW MP claims

Just 8,383 jobs for people leaving university were advertised in July, says recruitment website Adzuna

Phillip Island's iconic' little penguins get first bird flu vaccinations in what is thought to be largest program of its kind

Pair are offspring of two beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in DecemberWild beaver kits have been born in Norfolk for the first time in more than 500 years.The pair of newborns are the offspring of two free-living beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in December. Continue reading...

Radio host's indecent assault and sexual touching trial enters fourth week, with shock jock Jason Morrison telling court complainant C appeared stuck' beside Jones

Prime minister Christopher Luxon's party to introduce bill seeking the ban, citing harm to a generation of childrenNew Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon has said his party will introduce a bill in parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10% of a platform's global revenue for non-compliance.The bill would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users' ages, including by utilising existing account information, facial technology and digital identity documents. Continue reading...

Foundayo will be available on private prescription, with pharmacists warning of counterfeit GLP-1 problemA new daily pill that treats diabetes and helps with weight loss will be available in UK pharmacies from Monday.Pharmacists said the move would be welcome for people who cannot use weight-loss jabs, but also issued a warning over the growing problem of fake, unlicensed or counterfeit versions of GLP-1 tablets. Continue reading...

Poll also finds sizeable majorities who believe it should be easier to install air con in homesGiven the choice, more people across five major European nations including the UK favour encouraging the adoption of air conditioning over keeping carbon emissions down, a survey has found.After four extreme heatwaves that have caused thousands of excess deaths across the continent, the survey showed between 30% and 52% of people in six countries had feared for their household's health in temperatures close to or above 40C (104F). Continue reading...

Study finds device brings significant fall in chest pain in 75% of patients, but further trials and NHS approval are neededIt's an amazing relief, both physically and emotionally, to be able to live my life again normally, without feeling that I'm limited all the time in what I can do."Cristian Jensen is describing the difference that an implant inserted in his chest - to reduce the symptoms of his debilitating angina - has had on his life. Continue reading...

Press Association given list of 65 items from publicly owned collection that have gone missing since 2024A photograph of Benjamin Disraeli, an engraved portrait of William Wilberforce and a cartoon of Barbara Castle have all been misplaced by the UK parliamentary authorities, a freedom of information (FoI) request has revealed.The Press Association has been given a list of more than 65 works of art that have been missing since 2024. They also include a photograph of Margaret Beckett, the UK's first female foreign secretary and the first woman to lead Labour, and a satirical cartoon by Martin Rowson from the Conservative leadership battle of 1995. Continue reading...

US agency releases plan to lease millions of hectares of seabed off the coast of the Northern Mariana Islands and GuamA US government plan to lease out millions of hectares of seabed near the Mariana Trench for deep sea exploration has drawn opposition from US territories in the Pacific, as the Trump administration remains locked in a race with China for control of critical ocean minerals.On Tuesday, the Marine Mineral Administration (MMA), an agency under the US department of the interior, released a proposal to auction deep sea mining leases for 28m hectares (69m acres) of seafloor off the coast of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. Continue reading...

Review will look at improving system for English and Welsh hospitality venues before next revaluation date in 2029The government has promised that business rate valuations will be made fairer" for pubs and hotels in England and Wales, as Andy Burnham faces growing calls to help the UK's struggling hospitality sector.An independent review for England and Wales will look at improving the system for hospitality venues, which were hit by higher business rate bills this year after the end of pandemic-era relief and when new revaluations took effect. Continue reading...

Resolution Foundation suggests economy may finally be emerging from shadow of 2008 financial crisisProductivity in the UK - a vital measure of economic health - is growing more strongly than official figures suggest, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation.The thinktank suggests the chancellor, John Healey, may have inherited an economy finally starting to emerge from the long shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis. Continue reading...

PM will use independence day trip to announce sharing of classified information about Storm Shadow componentsBritain will boost Ukraine's capacity to make its own long-range missiles, Andy Burnham will announce on Monday, as he travels to Kyiv for the country's independence day on his first foreign visit as prime minister.Burnham will arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning at a crucial time in the war, with Kyiv braced for another wave of Russian missile attacks and the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing his most direct domestic challenge. Continue reading...