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IDF says Hamas killed captives shortly before bodies found, as families' group accuses Netanyahu of abandoning' abducteesIsrael has confirmed the deaths of six more hostages taken in the 7 October attack by Hamas, saying they were killed by their captors shortly before their bodies were found on Saturday in a tunnel complex under Gaza.According to our initial estimation, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them," a military spokesperson, R Adm Daniel Hagari, told reporters in an early-morning briefing. Continue reading...

Tinuke Craig says current black British theatre talent was developed when schemes to improve access were commonThe lack of investment in arts schemes aimed at working-class children will create a cultural landscape that is whiter and posher, according to one of the UK's leading black British theatre directors.Tinuke Craig, who has worked on productions including the Donmar Warehouse's Trouble in Butetown, said the current crop of black British theatre talent was developed in the 1990s when free schemes aimed at improving access to the arts for working-class communities were common. Continue reading...

The opposition is yet to announce a policy that would create more housing supply, while the Greens put Airbnb in their sights

The south-east of the country is taking a battering and there is more to come as a very strong cold front' moves through on Sunday

Former UK prime minister praises Labour leader's handling of riots and advises him not to put off the hard decisions'

The PM's grim rose-garden message hasn't impressed voters and some MPs fear tough decisions' show a lack of empathy - and no promise they'll pay offIn March 2022, less than a year after she was appointed shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves talked movingly about families living in poverty in her Leeds West constituency. You look at the kids and you just think, I know you are poor," she said in an interview with the Observer at the time. You can see it in the school coats, especially in winter, and in the school shoes. Kids not wearing the proper school uniform, sort of abit of mix-and-match and it is really sad."It was the weekend before the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak was due to deliver his Spring statement to the House of Commons. The Labour opposition was calling for urgent measures from Sunak to ease the cost-of-living crisis. He really does need to show more empathy," said Reeves, adding that he should announce a big increase in benefits for those on low incomes, including pensioners. Continue reading...

Figures show how rail punctuality has been in decline since last Labour PM, with Sunak's tenure a recent lowAs commuters return en masse after summer holidays next week, the political omens - and the data - afford some hope that a new Labour government may change rail for the better. Say what you like about Gordon Brown, but at least he made the trains run on time.Analysis of official statistics throughout the tenure of the last seven prime ministers show that punctuality was highest, on average, under the last Labour PM in power. Continue reading...

Commonwealth Games Scotland says it could host sporting event for a fraction of the Victorian government's $6bn estimation

The energy minister has been taking every opportunity to undermine the Coalition's plan' on nuclear energy. This blog is now closed

With voters rejecting mainstream politics, many expect a disastrous results outcome for Olaf Scholz's coalitionVoters in two eastern German states are about to go to the polls in elections that could see the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party score its first wins at the regional level and a separate new populist force on the left establish a firm foothold.The results in Saxony and Thuringia, due on Sunday evening, are expected to be disastrous for the three ruling parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left-led coalition government in Berlin, one year before Germany holds its next general election. Continue reading...

Linda Reynolds has argued that social media posts by former staffer contained mistruths that damaged her reputation - which Brittany Higgins denies

Out of control' fire destroyed a van and damaged a car and lorry, at open-air yard in Canning Town, LondonA controlled explosion on a film set near the O2 arena in London sparked a fire that destroyed a van, as well as damaging a car and lorry.London fire brigade said firefighters were called to an open-air yard in Dock Road, Silvertown, shortly before 8pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

High demand crashes ticket-selling websites amid scramble to secure place on 17-date tourThere was frustration and disappointment for many Oasis fans earlier as they struggled for hours to buy the million-or-so tickets available for the Manchester band's 17-date reunion tour.Tickets went on sale at 9am and were expected to be snapped up in minutes, but instead many waited in online queues for hours, only to be kicked off booking websites. Continue reading...

Matthew's* father had no idea his son was even gambling, let alone deep in debt, until he got a terrifying phone call

Peter Doig says crazy prices' on the secondary market must be reined in to protect young artistsPeter Doig became the most expensive living painter in Europe in 2007, when White Canoe, his atmospheric painting of a a moonlit lagoon, sold for 5.7m.The Scot then saw his auction record broken in 2017 and in 2021 respectively, when Rosedale, his depiction of a house in a snow storm, and Swamped, another enigmatic painting of a canoe, sold for the eye-watering prices of 21m and nearly 30m respectively. Continue reading...

Vice-president accuses Republican rival of political stunt' as Democrats call for inquiry into apparent altercationKamala Harris - the Democratic nominee for November's White House race - has accused Donald Trump of disrespecting sacred ground" on his recent visit to Arlington national cemetery, as the controversy over an apparent altercation between workers of his campaign and cemetery staff continued to build.The vice-president on Saturday accused the former president and Republican nominee of staging a political stunt" after the US army accused the Trump campaign of turning a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday to mark the deaths of US soldiers in Afghanistan into a photo opportunity. The army also accused two campaign workers representing Trump - who said he was invited to the ceremony by the family of one of the honored soldiers - of pushing aside an official who told them it was forbidden to take pictures at the graves of military members who had recently died. Continue reading...

The Children's Society urges schools and government to ensure undue financial strain' is not placed on familiesParents are routinely paying more than double the price for branded school uniforms compared with similar items offered by supermarkets and high-street stores, an analysis by the Observer reveals.Despite government guidance to reduce costs, the analysis shows that parents who are required by state schools to buy clothing featuring official school logos are still paying significantly more than for unbranded blazers, jumpers, ties and sports kit. Continue reading...

Unconventional marriage of Princess Martha Louise and Durek Vellet celebrated with three-day schedule of events and a documentary to followShe is the clairvoyant daughter of one of Europe's longest-serving monarchs; he is a self-styled sixth-generation shaman from California. The wedding of Princess Martha Louise of Norway to Durek Verrett on Saturday on Saturday afternoon wasn't your conventional royal affair, but that didn't stop spectators lining the overcast streets of Geiranger in the hope of catching a glimpse of the bride.The eldest daughter of Crown Prince Harald and Queen Sonja, 52-year-old Martha Louise is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne. She married Verrett, 49, in a traditional church of Norway ceremony attended by royals and celebrities at the four-star Hotel Union in a small village beneath the Geiranger fjord. Continue reading...

Labour accused of dropping pledges after it abandons cap on costs and prepares to scrap care worker training fund Unless Labour wakes up on social care, tragedies will happenLabour has discarded its social care commitments and seems set to repeat the failure of previous governments to tackle the care crisis, the sector's leaders have warned.Announcements by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, that she would not cap costs for older people's care and Stephen Kinnock, the care minister, that he would scrap a fund giving training for 37,000 care workers, have alarmed the social care sector. Continue reading...

The first minister says after a private session that members blamed its election result on a host of scandalsThe Scottish National party can only move on from the successive scandals that resulted in heavy election losses by focusing on the issues that matter to the people of Scotland, the party leader, John Swinney, has said.The first minister acknowledged that SNP members had blamed the party's disastrous election result - plummeting from 48 seats to nine - on scandals such as the embezzlement charges against former chief executive and former health secretary Michael Matheson's 11,000 iPad expenses claim. Continue reading...

Easyfundraising has been accused by easyJet's founder of misleading the public by adopting a charity guise' to market a profitable companyThe website Easyfundraising calls itself the UK's biggest charity shopping site", raising millions of pounds for good causes across the country, from leading charities to friends' groups to support local schools.It says it has raised more than 50m for good causes since it was launched in 2005, describing itself on Facebook as a charity organisation". Continue reading...

Cher Maximen was with three-year-old daughter when stabbed and chef Mussie Imnetu had head injuriesA mother and a chef who worked under Gordon Ramsay have both died after they were attacked in separate incidents connected to the Notting Hill carnival.Cher Maximen, 32, was with her three-year-old daughter and other family and friends on Sunday when she was stabbed in the groin in broad daylight after she tried to intervene in a fight. Continue reading...

Official says strike hit a house and a high-rise building, killing five young menThe US has decided against a proposal to deploy American contractors to Ukraine to maintain Western military equipment, including F-16 fighter jets.A Wall Street Journal report carried by Euromaiden stated that the Biden administration elected not to send contractors due to safety concerns, after Ukraine lost the first F-16 fighter jet it received from Western allies earlier this month. Continue reading...

Video of Caitlin Upton from 2007 used by Vance to mock Kamala Harris drove the young woman to consider suicideA former Miss Teen USA contestant who drew widespread mockery because of a stuttering response to a question that she fielded at the 2007 competition has said it is a shame" - as well as condemned online bullying" - after JD Vance recirculated a video of her difficult moment to attack Kamala Harris.Meanwhile, the Republican nominee for vice-president in November's election has ruled out apologizing to Caitlin Upton, who has spoken openly about how she previously contemplated suicide at the height of the ordeal revived by Vance. Continue reading...

Weather warning in place until Sunday evening, with lightning and power cuts predicted in south-westThunderstorms and heavy rain could bring flooding to parts of the south-west of England over the weekend.The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning, which runs from 4am to 9pm on Sunday. Continue reading...

Between 3 and 5% of people who received tubal ligation surgeries later reported pregnancies, new study revealsA new study finds that getting pregnant after a woman gets her tubes tied" - the colloquial expression for permanent female surgical sterilization - may be surprisingly common.The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence, examined survey data of more than 4,000 women who reported tubal ligations, the formal term for a range of surgeries that clamp or remove fallopian tubes. Researchers found that 3-5% of these women reported pregnancy after surgery. Continue reading...

Officer in hospital after approaching Audi S3 in Hamilton to engage occupants'A police officer has been seriously injured after being hit by a car he had approached while on duty.The officer, 33, was on patrol when he approached an Audi S3 in Low Waters Road in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, at about 1pm on Friday. Continue reading...

Leader of headteachers' union warns of disruption to students' learning and urges government actionA headteachers' union is calling on the government to provide financial protection" for schools at risk of collapse, as well as funding for students to catch up on any lost learning.In 2023, schools were told to close any buildings containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) that did not have existing safety measures in place. Continue reading...

Health groups challenge Keir Starmer to ban firms behind unhealthy products' from lobbying by giving giftsMPs are being urged to stop accepting freebies to sports and cultural events from tobacco, alcohol and junk food firms because their products cause so much illness and death.More than 100 health groups are urging Britain's lawmakers to reject offers of gifts and hospitality from unhealthy products industries" because they use an array of underhand tactics to disguise the harm they create in order to protect their sales. Continue reading...

The accusations against PC Jake Cummings relate to three women, and include voyeurism and coercive behaviourA serving Metropolitan police officer is due to appear in court charged with rape and stalking.PC Jake Cummings, attached to central west command unit, has been charged with two counts of rape, three counts of stalking, three counts of controlling and coercive behaviour and three counts of voyeurism. Continue reading...

Companies and politicians braced for heavy criticism, with bereaved hoping it will lead to criminal prosecutionsSurvivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster expect the public inquiry's final report next week to finally halt a carousel of blame-pointing" and damn the conduct of government, construction firms and multinational material manufacturers.Hundreds of people who lost loved ones or escaped the burning council block in west London on 14 June 2017 after a cut-price refurbishment will gather on Tuesday to hear the inquiry chair, Martin Moore-Bick, privately share his delayed conclusions and recommendations. Continue reading...

Seven American troops injured during battle in Anbar desert, says central commandThe US military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected Islamic State group militants in the Iraqi western desert that killed at least 15 people while seven American troops were hurt, officials said on Saturday.The US military's central command said the militants were armed with weapons, grenades and explosive belts during the battle on Thursday, which Iraqi forces said happened in the Anbar desert. Continue reading...

Risk of raising tensions after parallel institutions serving Serb minority are declared illegal and shuttered by ethnic Albanian-led governmentKosovo authorities on Friday closed five parallel institutions working with the ethnic Serb minority, a move that was immediately criticised by the US and could further raise tensions with neighbouring Serbia.Elbert Krasniqi, Kosovo's minister of local administration, confirmed the closure of five so-called parallel institutions in the north - where most of the ethnic Serb minority lives - writing online that they violate the Republic of Kosovo's constitution and laws". Continue reading...

Visibly angry' Qian Bo demands correction of Taiwan's development partner' label despite its use for more than three decades

Mark Chavez, 54, to turn over medical license as lawyer says client is incredibly remorseful' for role in star's deathOne of two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry's death made his first appearance in a federal court in Los Angeles on Friday after reaching a deal to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors.Dr Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this month to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine. He is the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star's fatal overdose last year. Continue reading...

Jas Athwal, the Ilford South MP, shocked' by allegations and profoundly sorry' for condition of his propertiesA newly elected Labour MP has been accused of renting out flats with black mould and ant infestations.Jas Athwal, the MP for Ilford South, owns 15 rental flats, according to a report by the BBC. Continue reading...

Official tickets are priced at between 73 and 151, but some resellers are charging in the thousands for themOasis have issued a warning to people against reselling tickets for their reunion tour - or buying those resold tickets - on the secondary market at vastly inflated prices.The band said tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters". Continue reading...

Anera says four men who died in Gaza were volunteers, but IDF describes them as armed assailants' who hijacked carAn aid agency whose convoy was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Thursday has said that the four men killed were local community members who had asked to serve as an escort for the convoy.The four men were the only casualties from the strike, which hit the lead vehicle in which they were travelling. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described them as armed assailants" who had hijacked the convoy. Continue reading...

Mykola Oleshchuk's dismissal thought to be linked to death of pilot and loss of plane newly delivered to UkraineVolodymyr Zelenskiy has fired the head of Ukraine's air force a day after it emerged that a recently delivered F-16 jet had crashed earlier this week, killing the pilot.I have decided to replace the commander of the air forces ... I am eternally grateful to all our military pilots," Zelenskiy said in his evening video address on Friday, without giving a reason for the dismissal of Mykola Oleshchuk. Continue reading...

A new report lays down a challenge to Keir Starmer to take on vested interests of food, drink and tobacco companies

Republican candidate's comments seen by Democrats as hypocritical and sadden' anti-abortion activistsOver the last two weeks, Donald Trump has publicly backed away from multiple anti-abortion positions - a move that Democrats see as hypocritical and that, anti-abortion activists warn, risks alienating voters who have long stood by him.On Thursday, Trump said that, if elected, he would make the government or insurance companies cover in vitro fertilization - a type of fertility assistancethat some in the anti-abortion movement want to see curtailed. Trump also seemed to indicate that he planned to vote in favor of a ballot measure to restore abortion access in Florida, which currently bans abortion past six weeks of pregnancy. I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks," Trump told NBC News in an interview. Continue reading...

Health minister at Stormont was sole candidate to replace Doug Beattie when nominations closedThe former television news presenter Mike Nesbitt is to become the leader of the Ulster Unionist party for the second time, succeeding Doug Beattie who quit last week.Nesbitt, 67, who led the UUP between 2012 and 2017, was the only declared candidate when nominations closed on Friday evening. He is expected to be formally ratified as leader at an extraordinary general meeting of the party on 14 September. Continue reading...

Hundreds of titles from Judy Blume to Mark Twain purged from school libraries following rightwing challengesSix major book publishers have teamed up to sue the US state of Florida over an unconstitutional" law that has seen hundreds of titles purged from school libraries following rightwing challenges.The landmark action targets the sweeping book removal provisions" of House Bill 1069, which required school districts to set up a mechanism for parents to object to anything they considered pornographic or inappropriate. Continue reading...

Complaint brought against White Fragility author over passages in 2004 paper, but some suspect political motivesRobin DiAngelo, the author of a number of books on racism including White Fragility and Nice Racism, has been accused of plagiarism over her doctoral thesis.A complaint citing 20 instances of alleged research misconduct was lodged with the University of Washington - where DiAngelo is an affiliate associate professor of education and completed her PhD - according to the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news site that has published a number of similar complaints against diversity officials and staff of colour at US universities. Continue reading...

Liberals said the vice-president came across as competent if unexciting, while conservatives struggled for a line of attackDemocrats lauded it as the perfect pitch; Donald Trump dismissed it as boring", while fellow Republicans invoked derogatory terms like gobbledygook".Between the two extremes, Kamala Harris appeared to have achieved what she wanted from Thursday's groundbreaking CNN interview, given along with her running mate, Tim Walz - her first since become the Democratic presidential nominee. Continue reading...

Jacqui Smith says Labour hopes to make it much more likely' that smokers will want to give upThe Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has said the UK is deeply worried" by the methods Israel has employed" in an IDF military operation in the occupied West Bank.In a statement on Friday morning, an FCDO spokesperson said:The UK is deeply concerned by the ongoing IDF military operation in the occupied West Bank.We recognise Israel's need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.We inherited a Tory housing crisis.Too few homes have been built. Continue reading...

Royal Lancaster Infirmary carries out review of Rachael Galloway's death after caesarean section complicationsA first-time mother died after complications relating to a caesarean section just 30 minutes after giving birth to twin sons.Rachael Galloway, 36, died on 1 August at Royal Lancaster Infirmary. The hospital said it was carrying out an internal review, and there was a continuing coroner's investigation but it did not give any details. Continue reading...

Video footage shows Angela Rayner dancing to remix of Somebody That I Used to KnowPoliticians of all stripes have been chasing the brat" label all summer, but only one has come close to truly pulling off the role.On Thursday, Angela Rayner was spotted raving behind a DJ deck in Ibiza, belting out the lyrics to a remix of Gotye's hit song Somebody That I Used to Know to a large, cheering crowd. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Debt-ridden company also warned officials of chilling effect' renationalisation would haveThames Water has lobbied the government to intervene with the regulator to allow it to charge far higher bills, the Guardian can reveal.Advisers and board members of the beleaguered water company are understood to have met Whitehall officials in recent weeks to warn that allowing it to be temporarily renationalised would have a chilling effect" on the entire UK's appeal to international investors, sources familiar with the discussions told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Badenoch and Jenrick are the bookies' favourites but the party's reduced ranks make the numbers extremely tight