by Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent on (#6Z9VS)
Danish capital's authorities could face bill of up to 23m krone for wrongful charges over seven-year periodAuthorities in Copenhagen could face a bill of tens of millions of krone after it emerged that the city had illegally charged wedding fees to about 12,000 couples over seven years.Most of those who were charged during the period are understood to have been from outside Denmark and did not have permanent residence in the country. Continue reading...
State of emergency declared around Chattanooga as child and two adults killed and heavy rain closes roadsFlash flooding and torrential rain has cost at least three lives in Tennessee on Wednesday and caused havoc on the roads around Chattanooga, as the county mayor declared a state of emergency.A tree uprooted from saturated ground and fell on a family in their car early on Wednesday morning, in East Ridge, on the outskirts of Chattanooga, killing a child and two adults, according to authorities in the area. Continue reading...
Decision follows bankruptcy filings in US and Canada by jewellery chain's parent companyClaire's is on the brink of collapse after the fashion accessories retailer said it is to appoint administrators in the UK & Ireland, putting 2,150 jobs at risk.The tween jewellery and ear-piercing retailer, which has 278 stores in the UK and 28 in Ireland, has struggled to arrest falling sales and competition from online retailers such as Amazon. Continue reading...
UN refugee agency says more people could still be missing at sea, with between 70 and 80 believed to have survivedAt least 20 people have died after a boat capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a United Nations agency and local media reported on Wednesday.Rescuers have recovered 20 bodies so far and operations were continuing, according to initial reports by Ansa news agency. Between 70 and 80 people were believed to have survived. Continue reading...
Officials in Mason voted to convert prison to Ice facility run by CoreCivic, US's second-largest private prison operatorOfficials in a rural Tennessee town voted on Tuesday to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite loud objections from upset residents and activists during a contentious public meeting.The five-member board of aldermen in Mason, along with the mayor, Eddie Noeman, and vice-mayor, Reynaldo Givhan, met in a fire station garage to discuss converting the closed West Tennessee detention facility into a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center run by CoreCivic Inc, America's second-largest private prison operator. Continue reading...
Girl, 16, and two boys, 14 and 15, detained after disturbance in Leysdown-on-Sea in which Alexander Cashford diedThree children have been charged with murder after the death of a man in a Kent seaside resort.A girl, 16, and two boys, aged 14 and 15, have been remanded in custody to appear at Medway magistrates court on Wednesday, Kent police said. Continue reading...
Lawyers for Universal Music Group deny that British chief exec had any meaningful involvement' in the promotion of allegedly defamatory track Not Like UsAs Drake's lawsuit continues against his record label's parent company, Universal Music Group (UMG), his lawyers have claimed that UMG's British chair and chief executive Lucian Grainge had a role in and knowledge of the scheme to defame and harass" Drake, and have requested that UMG produce texts and emails by Grainge.UMG has previously denied access to those communications, stating that Grainge has no meaningful involvement in the matters and decisions at issue in this litigation". Continue reading...
Undercover female officers deployed in running gear in pilot scheme to tackle catcalling, resulting in 18 arrestsA police force has sent out female undercover officers posing as joggers to catch men harassing women while they are out exercising.A pilot operation from Surrey police deployed female officers in running gear during rush hour to expose how often women are harassed. The pilot has resulted in 18 arrests for offences such as harassment, sexual assault and theft. Continue reading...
Hong Kong's CKI among those lining up to acquire struggling company if it collapsesA Chinese firm is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks.Hong Kong's CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times. Continue reading...
Accountancy firm's staff concerned by system that monitors wifi logons and swipes of work passesThe big four accountancy firm PwC has intensified the way it tracks how often its UK employees come into the office by monitoring swipes of work passes and connections to wifi, prompting concerns among staff.Bosses use a dashboard to record attendance and check whether workers are adhering to the company policy that requires them to spend three days a week, or 60% of their time, with clients or in the office. Continue reading...
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied territories, calls for practical actions and warns against distracting attention from where it should be: the genocide'The United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied territories has warned that moves to recognise a Palestinian state should not distract member states from stopping mass death and starvation in Gaza.Of course it's important to recognize the state of Palestine," Francesca Albanese told the Guardian after several more countries responded to the mounting starvation in Gaza by announcing plans to recognize an independent Palestine. It's incoherent that they've not done it already." Continue reading...
The two plan to meet behind closed doors Friday in Alaska to discuss land swapping'. What will happen this time?The lessons of Helsinki are clear: putting Donald Trump alone in a room with Vladimir Putin is an unpredictable - and often dangerous - affair.It was 2018 when the two leaders met at the invitation of Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish president, to discuss a collapse in US-Russia relations, accusations of elections interference, and the grinding war in east Ukraine, among other topics. Continue reading...
Coalition says government has handed Hamas a massive propaganda victory', despite Albanese's vow that terrorist group would be excluded from any future Palestinian state
by Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and William Christou in Be on (#6Z9JY)
For some the only hope is treatment abroad, but not all survive the long, desperate wait for Israel's approvalAbdel Karim Wahdan no longer has the energy to speak. When visitors arrive, the eight-year-old pretends to be sleeping so that no one looks at him. Between his frequent dialysis sessions, he cries. His bones hurt, he says.Abdel Karim is dying. His death should be preventable but because he lives in Gaza he cannot access the treatment that would save his life. What started as acute kidney failure is now chronic: his small body has begun to swell and he spends his days between hospital beds and injections that he hates. Continue reading...
Disclosure of migration status, and ethnicity, could help keep peace where there are high levels of disinformation'Police forces should consider disclosing the ethnicity and migration status of suspects when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive investigations, according to new official guidance.After a row over claims that police covered up" the backgrounds of two men charged in connection with the alleged rape of a child, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have backed plans to release details of nationality when there is a policing purpose" for doing so. Continue reading...
Green party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick accused government MPs of lacking a spine' during a debate on whether to recognise a Palestinian stateAs more of its allies make moves to recognise Palestinian statehood, the issue is dominating New Zealand's politics, with a prominent MP ejected from parliament on Tuesday and the prime minister describing his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu as having lost the plot".Speaking to local media on Wednesday, Christopher Luxon said what was happening in Gaza was utterly, utterly appalling". Continue reading...
Department denies a culture of act first, check later' after report shows the Australian citizen was moved to immigration detention - despite them providing their birth certificateHome affairs wrongfully detained an Australian citizen because of an administration error, the Commonwealth Ombudsman has revealed, while another person with a valid visa was incorrectly held for 18 months in immigration detention.The Australian citizen, known as Mx C, was born in Australia to New Zealand parents in 1989, automatically granting them citizenship on their 10th birthday - but it was not recorded in departmental records. Continue reading...
Chair Tony Juniper celebrates successes but says collective endeavour' needed to halt country's decline in natureEngland needs a massive collective endeavour" to halt the country's nature decline, its top conservation official says, after multimillion-pound investments in nature helped dormice, voles, willow tits and other species thrive.Targeted conservation projects led by Natural England as part of its 13m species recovery programme's capital grants scheme, have supported the recovery of 150 species, according to findings published on Wednesday. Continue reading...
The Arla cooperative says five in six farmers receive very few or zero applications for job vacanciesDairy farmers have warned that a long-running shortage of workers, exacerbated by Brexit and the pandemic, has put the UK's food security under pressure.Five in six farmers who have looked for workers said they have received very few or zero applications from qualified people for their job vacancies, according to a survey of dairy producers by Arla, the UK's largest dairy cooperative and the owner of the Lurpak and Cravendale brands. Continue reading...
Updated regulations ban the country's 40 million civil servants from lavish banquets, and restrict them from overseas travel for personal leisure'Adjacent to a municipal government building in Beijing, a normally bustling restaurant is now eerily quiet, at lunchtime most of its seats are empty.The recent crackdown on civil servants frequenting restaurants - part of a government austerity drive intended to crack down on corruption - has likely affected business and caused liquor sales to plummet, admits one waitress who works in the opulent establishment. Continue reading...
Shabna Begum of Runnymede Trust says toxic rhetoric could lead to more vigilantism and violenceThe vitriol faced by scouts and charity rowers mistaken for migrants was not an innocent mistake", a race equality campaigner has said, as she warned that toxic rhetoric could lead to more vigilantism and violence.A wave of anti-migrant protests outside asylum hotels in recent weeks has been followed by growing reports of vigilantism, with people facing abuse after being mistaken for migrants. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6Z9EK)
Transport committee also suggests rural weighting for bus funding and a national policy for services in EnglandPeople under the age of 22 should get free bus travel to help them access work and training in otherwise cut-off communities, a committee of MPs has said, urging ministers to show more ambition to reverse a long-term decline in bus travel.Plans to devolve powers over bus services to local transport authorities are welcome but are not enough on their own to make bus services more reliable in smaller towns and rural areas, according to the report by the cross-party Commons transport committee. Continue reading...
by Jason Burke International security correspondent on (#6Z9DW)
Fatal infections more likely due to malnutrition, injuries and lack of medical facilities under Israel's blockadeGaza is facing a new threat as diseases resistant to antibiotics spread across the devastated territory, research has revealed.Medical supplies are desperately scarce and tens of thousands of people have been injured in the 22-month war, while many others have been weakened by malnutrition, so the high levels of drug-resistant bacteria will mean longer and more serious illnesses, a more rapid transmission of infectious diseases and more deaths, experts said. Continue reading...
John Caldwell, then a DCI in the PSNI, was shot several times in Northern Ireland in 2023Two men have been charged over the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer in Northern Ireland two years ago, police said.John Caldwell, then a DCI in the PSNI, was shot several times, allegedly by two men, while he was off duty and putting footballs in the boot of his car at a sports complex in Omagh, County Tyrone, in February 2023. Continue reading...
by Guardian staff and agencies in Guatemala City on (#6Z9D2)
Two officers and four ex-child protection officials found guilty after fire at state shelter that had a history of abuseA Guatemalan judge has found six people guilty over the deaths of 41 girls in a raging 2017 fire at a state shelter for vulnerable youths that had a history of abuse.The sentencing is a step towards closure in one of the most horrific and deadly events in Guatemalan history. The tragedy drew international attention and highlighted pervasive abuse in the government's shelter system. Continue reading...
Sheinbaum says Mexico City is safer than US capital, but rejects Trump's portrayal of Latin American cities as more dangerousMexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum has affirmed claims made by Donald Trump that Washington DC had a higher murder rate than Mexico City, a statistic used by the US leader to justify his takeover of policing in the US capital.He said something like Washington is more unsafe than Mexico City,' which is true," Sheinbaum said on Tuesday. What we don't agree with is when he said that it's the most unsafe city in Latin America." Continue reading...
Numbers of return road and air trips continue to fall after trade policy row and threats to annex countryTravel to the US by Canadian residents has continued to drop significantly for the seventh month in a row, as new data confirms that Donald Trump's threats have helped upend the summer tourism season.Months of aggressive rhetoric from the White House have prompted widespread boycotts of US products by Canadians, who have also sworn off visits to their southern neighbour amid lingering feelings of betrayal and anger. Continue reading...
Ukrainian leader sees no sign of Russia preparing for ceasefire after reports of frontline breach in DonbasVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine could not agree to a Russian proposal to give up more of his country's territory in exchange for a ceasefire because Moscow would use what it gained as a springboard to start a future war.The Ukrainian president said he did not believe that Donald Trump supported Russia's demands, and he expressed hope the US leader would act as an honest mediator when he meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Continue reading...
Kim Keon Hee in custody on three charges while husband Yoon Suk Yeol detained over attempt to impose martial lawA South Korean court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, making her the first former first lady to be arrested in the country's history.The Seoul central district court ruling creates an unprecedented situation in which both members of a former presidential couple are simultaneously in custody. Continue reading...
Number of people who arrived in UK via small boats in first half of 2025 up 48% on same period last yearMore than 50,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since Keir Starmer became prime minister, official figures have confirmed.Home Office data released on Tuesday showed that 50,271 people, most of whom successfully claimed asylum, have arrived in the UK from France since Labour won the general election in July 2024. A total of 474 people arrived on Monday. Continue reading...
Justice department accuses Joshua Schroeder of reckless misrepresentations' and seeks financial penaltiesThe US Department of Justice is seeking sanctions against a lawyer who sought to block the deportation of his client, in another sign the Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to enact mass deportations.Earlier this year, Joshua Schroeder, a California-based attorney, was able to briefly delay the deportation of his client, a Hmong man from Laos, through several court filings. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Hayden Vernon (earlier) on (#6Z8T5)
Representatives from countries including UK, Australia and France say that humanitarian suffering has reached unimaginable levels'In a post on X, Israel Defense Forces claim to have debunked" what it called Hamas's starvation campaign" in Gaza.The IDF said that reviews of documents showed that most deaths by malnutrition in Gaza were linked to severe pre-existing conditions" and that only a handful of the 133 deaths by malnutrition claimed by Gaza's authorities in July could be verified". The post said that the expert review concluded that there are no signs of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon among the population in Gaza". Continue reading...
Ukrainian president thanks EU leaders for their support and calls for further pressure on RussiaJust days before the Trump-Putin summit, Ukraine's authoritative DeepState war map showed that Russian forces had advanced by at least 10 km (six miles) north in two prongs in recent days, part of their drive to take full control of Ukraine's Donetsk region, Reuters reported.The advance is one of the most dramatic in the last year, it stated.We're waiting for the US to follow through on the on the commitments they've made, the clear political commitments they've made, and, and that's where we are right now as soon as we have any updates, we'd be happy to provide them." Continue reading...
Jessico Bowman on X falsely claimed in 2024 that the January 6 riot was a Democrat plot' and made several sexually graphic posts about Kamala HarrisA newly appointed official at the US Department of Labor hired by the Trump administration has a recent history of racist, sexually graphic, and conspiratorial posts on social media.Jessico Bowman announced last week that she was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs at the labor department. According to the bureau's website, its job is to lead the US Department of Labor's efforts to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able to share in the benefits of the global economy". Continue reading...
Fake heiress denies responsibility as social media users accuse her of mistreating the three bunniesAfter years of prison and conniving her way into luxury, Anna Sorokin has New York talking about her again.This time, it is not posing as a German heiress or being jailed for four years, instead the convicted fraudster has been left disturbed" and horrified" after three rabbits used in her photoshoot were found dumped in a nearby park. Continue reading...
Trump forwarded a false narrative around DC crime stats to justify the move. Plus, funeral held in Gaza for five journalists killed by Israeli attackGood morning.Donald Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city's police force, describing a lawless" city in ways that are sharply at odds with official crime statistics.What do the crime figures tell us? That Trump is spreading a false narrative about DC crime - just as he did with LA. Violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low. In January, the Metropolitan police department and US attorney's office released a report indicating that total violent crime in DC in 2024 was down 35% from the prior year, marking the lowest rate in over 30 years.How are Democrats responding? Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House, described Trump as a wannabe king" and said: We stand with the residents of the District of Columbia and reject this unjustified power grab as illegitimate."How deadly has the war been for journalists? Before Sunday's airstrike, the Committee to Protect Journalists recorded at least 186 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since it began gathering data in 1992. The CPJ accuses Israel of directly targeting and killing 20 journalists and media workers. Any deliberate attack on a civilian could constitute a war crime, experts say. Israel, which has refused to let international media into Gaza, denies the accusation. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian