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Family said Ameiya Del Brocco and younger brother Ricardo Junior were two beautiful, bright, and deeply loved children'A British brother and sister who drowned off a beach on the north-eastern coast of Spain have been named as Ameiya Del Brocco, 13, and 11-year-old Ricardo Junior.Their father, Ricardo Senior, who had also entered the water, was rescued by local emergency services after the incident during a family holiday in the Catalan town of Salou on Tuesday. Continue reading...

The coalmine generated millions in revenue in its early days but recorded an operating loss - a pattern that would repeat at scale

Baltimore saw up to 4in of rain and the New York transportation system was flooded on Thursday; more rain is possible, weather service warnsA 13-year-old boy has died after he was trapped in a storm drain in Maryland during heavy rainfall and flooding on the east coast, officials said.Kids were playing in the rain on Thursday in a common area between apartment buildings in Mount Airy, a town of about 10,000 people about 30 miles (48km) west of Baltimore, but flood waters rushed in and the boy was swept into the pipe, according to Mount Airy volunteer fire company spokesperson Doug Alexander. Continue reading...

Steve Witkoff visits Rafah site where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forcesThe UN human rights office said on Friday that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for aid in the Gaza Strip since late May, most of them by the Israeli military, AFP reports.In total, since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of (US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," the UN agency's office for the Palestinian territories said in a statement. Continue reading...

Pilot program, first pitched under Biden, will cover GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic to address chronic obesity in USThe Trump administration is planning a pilot program to cover miracle" weight loss drugs under the government health insurance systems for low-income people and retirees, Medicaid and Medicare, in a move aimed at tackling the US's chronic obesity problem.Such a plan was previously proposed by the Biden administration in its final months before Donald Trump re-entered the White House after winning a second term in office in the 2024 election. Continue reading...

IAG warns price paid per passenger could double under airport's plans to invest almost 50bn in expansion

Redrawn congressional maps could secure five seats for Republicans ahead of next year's midterm electionsWhen Texas Republicans redrew their congressional map this month at the urging of Donald Trump, they faced a difficult task. They needed to find a way to pick up five seats that the president wanted ahead of the midterm elections next year without spreading their voters too thin and jeopardizing the 25 seats they already held.Republicans unveiled their plan to pick up the seats on Wednesday, revealing a map that could dilute Hispanic voting power. Under the new proposed districts, they would be favored in five new seats, giving them a hold on 30 of Texas's 38 congressional districts. Had the district been in place for the 2024 election, Trump would have won all 30 by at least 10 points. Continue reading...

Club faces total collapse' in 72 hours unless owner, Jason Whittingham, agrees to sell up, shareholders sayFans of Morecambe football club said they were about to lose everything", with the 105-year-old institution facing closure on Monday without an 11th-hour takeover.Shareholders at the National League club said it would officially shut" and face total collapse" in 72 hours unless the owner, Jason Whittingham, agreed to sell up. Continue reading...

Minister says programme will help ensure Whitehall has broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country'A new civil service internship scheme will be open only to working-class students as part of a drive to make Whitehall better reflect the country, the government has said.The programme will give students from lower-income backgrounds the chance to apply for paid government placements. The definition of working class will be based on what jobs applicants' parents held when they were 14 and replaces an existing programme open to all. Continue reading...

Six out of 10 Americans fault president for financial struggles and eight out of 10 worry about tariffs' impactAmericans are struggling financially, grappling with debt and the rising cost of living, and are blaming the Trump administration and corporate interests for worsening economic outlooks for working families, according to a new poll.Six out of 10 Americans place blame on the Trump administration for driving up their cost of living, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Century Foundation, which asked 2,007 Americans how they are managing the high cost of living in the US economy, who they think is to blame and what are the solutions. Continue reading...

Amid climate of intimidation, Esther Salas tells of how son Daniel was killed by lawyer posing as pizza delivery manA judge whose son was murdered by a disgruntled lawyer posing as a pizza deliveryman voiced anguish that the crime has spawned a spate of copycat threats against other jurists.Esther Salas, a US district judge for New Jersey, fought back tears on Thursday after being asked to respond to a trend of judges receiving home pizza deliveries with the name of her late son attached as a means of intimidation. Continue reading...

Rashid Khalidi, in open letter published by Guardian, accuses university of capitulating' with $200m settlementHistorian Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, has cancelled plans to teach this fall in response to the school's recent agreement with the Trump administration.Khalidi made the announcement in an open letter to Columbia's acting president published in the Guardian on Friday. Continue reading...

Stride in the right direction' as Eastern Caribbean supreme court rules St Lucia's laws on gay sex unconstitutionalActivists have hailed a historic judgment striking down colonial-era laws that criminalised gay sex in St Lucia as a step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean country.This week the Eastern Caribbean supreme court found that the island's so-called buggery and gross indecency laws, which criminalised consensual anal sex, were unconstitutional. Continue reading...

Verdict could could pave way for millions of motorists to claim compensation for mis-sellingThe UK's highest court is poised to give its verdict on the 44bn car finance scandal, which could pave the way for millions of motorists to claim billions of pounds in compensation for mis-selling.The supreme court judgment, which will be handed down after financial markets close at 4.35pm on Friday, will decide whether or not to uphold a finding by the court of appeal in October that hidden commissions paid to car dealers by lenders were unlawful. Continue reading...

Video appears to show aide dropping ball in favourable position, as golf fans say it is a bad look for the sport

Palestine Action Group Muloobinba accuses police of bullying tactics' after cancellation of the Make Some Noise charity event, the second such incident in a week

Victoria police allege inappropriate images were inadvertently displayed during a university lecture in Melbourne CBD in February

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Average price of property rises 0.6% in July to 272,664, says NationwideHouse prices in the UK returned to growth last month, as the market recovered from a dip in June after the end of a tax break on stamp duty.The average price of a home rose 0.6% in July to 272,664, bouncing back from the biggest month-on-month fall in more than two years in June, according to Nationwide. Continue reading...

Unions chief says industrial relations lawyer Stuart Wood KC is very well experienced' but queries whether he may bring personal biases' to the role

Exclusive: The highly significant' decision comes after criticism of superannuation funds increasing their investment in the gambling industry

Commission says new Best Start project should be called Sure Start to rebuild trust in austerity damaged areasThe government should greatly expand family centres under the Sure Start brand to help win back Reform voters in former Labour heartlands, a commission backed by Labour politicians has said.Hilary Armstrong, the Labour peer and former cabinet minister, was among those pressing for a fuller reintroduction of family centres under the Sure Start label, saying it would help to rebuild trust in neighbourhoods damaged by austerity. Continue reading...

Former president says some politicians watch deportations of legal immigrants with glee' in speech to National Bar Association galaFormer United States President Joe Biden took the stage at the National Bar Association's 100th Annual Awards Gala in Chicago to deliver remarks honoring the United States civil rights legacy, and the state of the country.Speaking amid continual scrutiny around his physical and mental health, Biden played up the importance of a strong judicial branch, and characterized the US as at a moment in time that makes us confront hard truths." Continue reading...

Tania Safi and Robert Martin allege they were strip-searched and barred from external communication and access to medication before Australian embassy was allowed to assist

ALP MLC Stephen Lawrence criticises slow and steady demonisation of protest' in NSW

Spokesperson for Don Farrell says no country has reciprocal tariffs lower'

Accuser who died in April wanted justice for victims and urged Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, family saysThe siblings of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers who died earlier this year, said their sister had wanted the so-called Epstein files to be released, and urged Donald Trump not to pardon his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Giuffre's family said she would have wanted the documents - a trove of materials related to the investigation into the years of abuse into the late sex offender - made public. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Follow live coverage of the Trump tariffs news on our new liveblog here, and read our main tariffs story hereDonald Trump is at the White House today. His schedule includes lunch with JD Vance, the vice-president, followed by an executive order signing at 4pm EST.Also on the agenda today Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, will hold a briefing at around 1pm EST. Continue reading...

Press secretary says 900 sq ft ballroom will hold up to 650 seats as US president proposes a lot of improvements'The White House will soon begin construction of a new $200m ballroom to be ready before Donald Trump's term ends in early 2029.Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the building will be 90,000 sq ft and will hold up to 650 seats. Continue reading...

Isotopes can be detected at airports and borders even in large containers and are harmless to the animalsA South African university has launched an anti-poaching campaign to inject the horns of rhinoceroses with radioactive isotopes that it says are harmless for the animals but can be detected by customs agents.Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population, which they are calling the Rhisotope Project. Continue reading...

Martial arts fighter loses attempt to overturn jury's order that he compensates Nikita HandConor McGregor has lost an appeal in Ireland over a civil court ruling last year awarding damages to a woman who accused him of rape.Three judges at the court of appeal in Dublin dismissed all the grounds for appeal raised by McGregor, 36. Continue reading...

Yinon Levi was placed under three days of house arrest, while police have refused to release the body of Awdah HathaleenIsraeli police have refused to release the body of Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and journalist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, while the settler accused of killing him, Yinon Levi, has been released from custody.Hathaleen was shot to death on Monday night during a confrontation between settlers driving a bulldozer in the village of Umm al-Khair in the occupied West Bank and residents of the town. A video appears to show Levi firing his gun wildly and then people screaming as Hathaleen, standing a distance away in the town centre, collapsed. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedNine out of 10 nurses have rejected their 3.6% pay award for this year and warned that they could strike later this year unless their salaries are improved, Denis Campbell reports.The Ministry of Justice has also published performance figures for prisons in England and Wales for 2024/25. They show that around half of them are rated as having performance either concern or serious concern. Continue reading...

Salt Lake City-to-Amsterdam flight landed in Minneapolis and injured passengers were taken to the hospitalAt least 25 people were injured in a severe case of turbulence that forced a Delta Air Lines jet flying to Amsterdam into an emergency landing in Minneapolis, the airline said in a statement.The flight had taken off from Salt Lake City in Utah but landed at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul international airport after significant turbulence" struck. Continue reading...

Nats blames radar-related issue' for disruption during which hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayedA radar-related technical failure that led to hundreds of flights being disrupted on Wednesday was an isolated event" with no evidence of malign activity", the transport secretary has said, after summoning the head of the UK air traffic control service, Nats, to account for the disruption.Heidi Alexander said she met Martin Rolfe, the under-fire chief executive of Nats, to understand what happened and what could be done to prevent a reoccurrence in the future after more than 150 flights were cancelled and others delayed by the latest glitch. Continue reading...

Inner-city FSM pupils in capital also twice as likely to gain places at selective universities as counterparts elsewhere

Gareth Thomas says move is political judgment' after challenge from 40 members of House of Lords

Former vice-president signals intent to become key force in Democrats' rebuild but leaves open possibility of future runFollowing a devastating loss to Donald Trump, Kamal Harris returned home to California in January with a decision to make about her political future: to enter the race for governor, or not.As she deliberated privately, the Democratic party was grappling publicly with a new political reality - one entirely reshaped by her defeat in last year's presidential election. Continue reading...

Opposition groups have vowed to snub poll that has been dismissed as a fraud' designed to legitimise military's ruleMyanmar's junta has ended the country's state of emergency, stepping up preparations for a December election that is being boycotted by opposition groups and criticised by international monitors.The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a many-sided civil war that has claimed thousands of lives. Continue reading...

After heavy snowfall in alpine regions of NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT as well as in Western Australia, SA and Queensland could be next

AI platform Flok Health to be rolled out to other NHS trusts but experts warn tech-based care could increase health inequalitiesThe first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic has halved the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS trust where the pilot has taken place.More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform run by AI, over a 12-week period starting in February. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Survey of officers in England and Wales reveals symptoms so severe that some have had multiple surgeriesMusculoskeletal damage, crushed testicles and lumps in breasts are just some examples of the harm police officers say they experience because of ill-fitting, uncomfortable and low-quality uniforms.Officers responding to the first national uniform and equipment survey across all 43 forces in England and Wales reported symptoms so severe that some had to have multiple operations. Continue reading...

Shane Prior says Crisafulli government was completely inflexible' amid widespread member backlash over 8% pay deal he had previously described as the largest ever'

Music superstar announces 2014 courtroom drama This House of Grief as first Australian pick for global monthly book clubHelen Garner has praised Dua Lipa as a serious and sensitive" interviewer after the British superstar added Garner's nonfiction book This House of Grief to her monthly book club.Garner's 2014 courtroom drama will be the first Australian inclusion on the popular list, taking the Melbourne author's work to the singer's growing global audience. Continue reading...

Latest report delivers bad news on targets including adult imprisonment rates, children in out-of-home care, suicide and childhood developmentWarning: This article contains reference to Indigenous Australians who have died

Victorian Liberal deputy leader's wife says timeline suggested in Herald Sun report relating to when she first began relationship with husband is baseless and false' as pair also threaten defamation action against News Corp

New Zealand and Australia were signatories to a declaration that indicates they could follow suit in the coming monthsThe Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has announced his country plans to formally recognise Palestine during the UN general assembly in September, after France and 14 other countries co-signed a declaration that pointed towards a wave of future recognitions of an independent Palestinian state.Canada's plans follow similar announcements by France and the UK to formally recognise Palestine, while New Zealand and Australia were also signatories to a declaration that indicates they could follow suit in the coming months. Continue reading...

AAA says carmakers overstating improvements in fuel use and environmental performance despite repeated investigations

Would-be co-leader, standing with Adrian Ramsay, faces eco-populist'Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, was doing a media round this morning. The Conservatives have been strongly critical of Keir Starmer's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood (unless Israel meets conditions which would be near impossible for Benjamin Netanyahu to accept) and Patel's comments in part echoed what the Israeli government has been saying. (See 10.50am.) But the Tories are also claiming that this shows Starmer is too weak to stand up to his own MPs.Patel told GB News:We've just seen the government just really appease its back benches, saying that they will recognise Palestine, but do so without a plan, and that is why this is a very serious issue.I think it's a major problem for the British government and also for Britain's standing in the world. We've seen this terrible situation of humanitarian crisis in Gaza for months upon months now, and Britain simply hasn't been leveraging its influence.Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.A jihadist state on Israel's border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW. Continue reading...

Under Trump order, parcels valued at or under $800 outside of international postal network to face all applicable duties'The United States is suspending a de minimis" exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the United States without facing tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday.Under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Wednesday, packages valued at or under $800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face all applicable duties" starting on 29 August, the White House said. Continue reading...