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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...

US president says UK move would reward Hamas' after appearing to endorse recognition plan in Scotland meetingDonald Trump has doubled down on his backing for Israel after having appeared to give a green light to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, to recognize a Palestinian state.Amid signs of mounting opposition among his Maga base to Israel's military operation in Gaza, Trump criticized Starmer's plan to grant recognition as rewarding Hamas" even after having not taken issue with it when the pair met in Scotland this week. Continue reading...

Susan Miller says US intelligence chief's allegations were based on misrepresentations of discoveries made by her team about Russian actionsA former CIA officer who helped lead the intelligence assessments over alleged Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election has said Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is ignorant of the practices of espionage after she accused Barack Obama and his national security team of treasonous conspiracy" against Donald Trump.Susan Miller, the agency's head of counter-intelligence at the time of the election, told the Guardian that Gabbard's allegations were based on false statements and basic misrepresentations of discoveries made by Miller's team about Russian actions, which she insisted that were based on multiple trusted and verified sources. Continue reading...

Police say attack on Lee Vogler at office of magazine was related to personal matter' and not his politics or positionA councilman in Danville, Virginia was attacked and set on fire on Wednesday over what police are describing as a personal matter" not related to his position or politics.According to a statement released by the Danville police department, the councilman, Lee Vogler, 38, was attacked at the offices of a local magazine, where he is also employed. Continue reading...

System restored after Nats limited flights due to technical problems that raised fears of repeat of chaos in August 2023

UK air traffic control has been restricting flights due to technical issue'More flights are now taking off from airports that previously reported being affected by the disruption, with American Airlines' AAL137 to Los Angeles departing with a delay of just over two hours from London Heathrow just moments ago.UK Civil Aviation Authority is actively directing passengers to its guidance for passengers affected by delays, saying remember that you have passenger rights if this happens." Continue reading...

Powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia triggered tsunami alerts across Pacific including for US and Japan

Move follows protests in Ukrainian cities over bill passed last week that curtailed independence of two bodiesUkraine's parliament will vote on a new law on Thursday that would restore independence to two anti-corruption bodies, backtracking on a law passed last week that curtailed their powers and led to a political crisis.Last week's legal changes prompted rare wartime street protests against the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and accusations that the presidential office was trying to protect powerful associates from anti-corruption investigations. Continue reading...

Justin Plummer spent 28 years in jail for 1997 killing of Janice Cartwright-Gilbert, who was found stabbed and throttledThe court of appeal has quashed the conviction of a man who has spent 28 years in jail for a violent murder he has always claimed he was innocent of.Justin Plummer, aged 54, was convicted of the murder of 38-year-old Janice Cartwright-Gilbert in 1998, a year after she was fatally attacked at the building site of her future home near Wilden in Bedfordshire. Her body was found in a burning caravan with multiple stab wounds, a knife and scissors sticking out of her neck, having been throttled by an electrical flex. Continue reading...

Far-right activist flies to Spain after video emerges of him at scene of alleged assault at London St Pancras stationThe far-right activist Tommy Robinson has arrived in Tenerife as British police seek to question him over an alleged assault after he was filmed close to a man who was left seriously injured on the ground.Robinson flew to Spain from the UK early on Tuesday. On Monday evening video emerged of him saying he come at me", an apparent claim of self-defence, at the scene of the alleged assault in St Pancras station in London as a 64-year-old man lay motionless on the ground. Continue reading...

Tech company says it will use machine learning to estimate ages in order to show users in US age-appropriate contentYouTube announced on Tuesday that it will begin to use artificial intelligence to estimate the ages of users in the US, in order to show them age-appropriate content.The rollout of the new feature comes one day after Australia's government announced it would ban children under 16 from using YouTube and less than a week after the UK implemented sweeping age checks on content on social networks. Continue reading...

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz convicted of assault of PC Lydia Ward and PC Ellie Cook in 2024 incidentA student has been found guilty of assaulting two female police officers at Manchester airport last summer during a violent disturbance that went viral on social media.One of the officers, PC Lydia Ward, suffered a broken nose and fell to the ground after Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, punched her. Continue reading...

Bishop of Monmouth chosen after Andy John stepped down in June following scandal at Bangor CathedralThe Bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, has been elected as the new archbishop of Wales, becoming the UK's first female archbishop and first LGBTQ+ leader in the church in Wales in a symbolic break with recent safeguarding scandals.Vann, 66, was chosen on Wednesday after an electoral college made up of clergy and laypersons met for two days of deliberations at St Pierre church near Chepstow. Continue reading...

Settlements include payout to former elections chief falsely accused of trying to sabotage Corbyn campaign in 2017Labour has settled claims brought by 20 people, mainly former staffers, who featured in a leaked internal document about antisemitism within the party, with the costs estimated to be close to 2m.The settlements include a payout to Labour's former elections chief Patrick Heneghan, who was falsely accused in the dossier of having tried to sabotage Jeremy Corbyn's chances of winning the 2017 election. Continue reading...

EU entry exit system, involving fingerprinting and facial recognition, being introduced from 12 October for non-EU citizensSpeaking of the EU-US trade deal, German finance minister Lars Klingbeil joined the growing list of national leaders expressing their dissatisfaction with the agreement today, saying he feared it would hit the German economy.I have no illusions about it, it is rather growth-weakening," Klingbeil said in the presentation of the 2026 draft budget as per Reuters, lamenting that the EU was too weak" in the negotiations.Still, all in all, it is good that there is an agreement with the US, that there are no further escalations. Continue reading...

Justice department revealed that only two law enforcement witnesses testified during grand jury proceedingsTranscripts of the grand jury proceedings that led to the sex trafficking indictments of the sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, British socialiate Ghislaine Maxwell, include the testimony of just two law enforcement witnesses, the Department of Justice has said, as it argues for the documents' release.Top justice department officials disclosed in a filing late on Tuesday in New York City federal court that separate grand juries convened to consider the criminal investigations of Epstein and Maxwell, and had heard from only two witnesses. Continue reading...

Trump administration gives no details about reason for departure of Vinay Prasad, but he had critics and had taken unusual actionsThe top vaccine official at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Vinay Prasad, has left the federal agency less than four months after being appointed as the head of the division overseeing biological products like blood, vaccines, and cellular and gene therapies, a government spokesperson has said.Prasad, an oncologist and a professor of epidemiology, biostatistics and medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, had previously criticized the FDA. Continue reading...

Carmaker avoids reporting a slump by sending three months' worth of sales on last day of the quarter at levy of 10%Aston Martin scrambled to deliver three months' worth of cars to dealers in the US within 24 hours as it rushed to qualify for lower tariffs that came into effect on 30 June.By invoicing the whole quarter's cars on that same day it also avoided having to report a sales slump that might have alarmed investors. Continue reading...

Powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake triggers tsunami alerts in US and Japan. Plus, eight profound reasons to be hopeful for the future

As official health guidance changes, scientific groups are stepping in with evidence-based recommendationsThe US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is adopting a recommendation from independent advisers to drop thimerosal, a preservative found in about 4% of flu vaccines, despite evidence that it poses no risks and helps prevent bacterial and fungal infections.But Robert F Kennedy Jr, the HHS secretary, has not adopted two other votes from the advisory meeting: recommending annual flu vaccines for everyone over the age of six months and RSV shots for infants. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns say party could slide into irrelevance if it chooses new leader with polarising' approachThe Green party risks going into reverse if they elect Zack Polanski as leader, his two opponents have said, arguing that his promised brand of eco-populism" would prove polarising, divisive and likely to put off more moderate voters.Speaking to the Guardian before the opening of the month-long leadership vote, which begins on Friday, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns said the party in England and Wales was at a crossroads", and could miss the chance to hold the balance of power at the next election. Continue reading...