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The president will speak at the Democratic national convention in Chicago on Monday night

UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and daughter also among six unaccounted for after superyacht was hit by tornado and sankMorgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer is among those missing after a yacht carrying UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, an Italian official has said.Salvatore Cocina, head of the civil protection agency in Sicily, said Bloomer and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, were among the six people missing. Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were also unaccounted for as of late Monday. Continue reading...

Kill Bill star arrested for domestic battery in Malibu after a disagreement' with his wifeMichael Madsen has been arrested on a domestic battery charge following a disagreement" with his wife.The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed that shortly after midnight on Saturday, they received a call from a woman alleging her husband pushed her and locked her out of the house". The woman was later confirmed to be the actor's wife, DeAnna Madsen. Continue reading...

Farm-to-table spot claims top gong, while a casual Keralan eatery in Melbourne gains nod for new talent

Issuing of visa comes after Gessen expressed surprise at being functionally denied' entry

Study also finds they are less likely to go on to further or higher education than those not suspendedYoung people who were suspended at least once while at secondary school in England are twice as likely to be out of education, employment or training by the age of 24 as their peers, according to research.They are also less likely to achieve level three qualifications such as A-levels and to go on to higher education than classmates who were not suspended, analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) thinktank shows. Continue reading...

Government urges pensioners to check their eligibility for credit which will also qualify recipients for winter fuel supportMinisters have launched a pension credit publicity campaign to minimise the impact of the government's decision to radically restrict winter fuel payments.Last month the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, introduced a means test for the winter fuel payments, which have been a universal benefit available to all pensioners since 1997, so that only those on pension credit would qualify, as part of the difficult decisions" she had to make having inherited a dire state of public finances" from the Conservatives. Continue reading...

Jason Pascal Flore, 26, charged and remanded after woman confirmed dead at Crawley train station car parkA man has been charged with murder after a woman was found stabbed in a car park at Crawley train station on Sunday.Officers were called to a report of an altercation between a man and woman at about 7.10am on Station Way in Crawley. Continue reading...

Stephen Chamberlain was VP of finance for Autonomy, the firm co-founded by British tech tycoon missing in SicilyStephen Chamberlain, once Mike Lynch's co-defendant in a US fraud trial, has died after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire, his lawyer has said.Chamberlain, the former vice-president of finance at British software firm Autonomy, was hit on Saturday morning and had been placed on life support, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

Ex-Republican congressman was known for this outlandish lies and fantasies peddled throughout his short career

Presidential nominee shares AI-generated images, contributing to spread of online election disinformation

President of university said policies are for a safe, inclusive climate' after pro-Palestinian protests swept across USThe president of the University of California has announced that the system would enforce bans on encampments as well as the use of masks to conceal identity" in guidance that comes as schools across the US are planning for protests in support of Gaza similar to those that roiled campuses across the country.Michael V Drake, the president of the 10-campus university system, said in a statement on Monday that the UC was taking steps to ensure a safe, inclusive campus climate that fosters a free exchange of ideas". Continue reading...

Witnesses tell of absurd tragedy' and a mother describes how she fought to save her child from drowningThe 12 holidaying passengers had come from the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, occupying six luxurious suites of Bayesian, a 56-metre-long superyacht boasting the tallest aluminium mast in the world. Among the 10 crew members were people from Sri Lanka.The award-winning, British-flagged vessel, which was built in 2008 by the Italian shipbuilder Perini and managed by Camper & Nicholsons, left the calm blue waters of the Sicilian port of Milazzo on 14 August, sailing for a few days around the Aeolian Islands and off the historic coastal village of Cefalu. Continue reading...

Exclusive: RCN renews call for investigation into sector as unscrupulous employers target vulnerable workersThe number of foreign social care workers reporting that they are trapped in exploitative contracts has risen sixfold in the last three years, in the latest evidence of widespread abuse of migrants in the British care system.Data from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) shows that the organisation was contacted 134 times in 2023-24 by care workers reporting that their employers were demanding large sums of money from them to cover hiring costs", including visa processing, if they left their jobs. This figure was up from 22 such complaints just three years ago. Continue reading...

US secretary of state says Netanhayu supports US ceasefire proposal, after meeting with Israeli PMThe US secretary of state has said during a visit to Israel that the current round of ceasefire talks is maybe the last opportunity" to broker a truce and a hostage and prisoner swap in the 10-month-old war in Gaza.Antony Blinken met Israeli officials, including in a three-hour one-on-one with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday during a 24-hour trip to Tel Aviv before he travels on to Egypt. Continue reading...

Huw Merriman calls for end to demonisation' of train drivers and apologises for failing to bring reformsA former Conservative minister has called for an end to the demonisation of train drivers and said he understood why the new Labour government had decided to cut a deal" with unions.Huw Merriman, who served as the rail minister for the entirety of Rishi Sunak's premiership, apologised for failing to bring in workplace reforms and his inability to reach an agreement to end the strikes. Continue reading...

Claremont Park neighborhood has seen increased numbers of coyotes, but officials say there's no need for concernOfficials are urging calm in a New York City neighborhood after it became alarmed by an increase in sightings of coyotes.Over the summer, residents around Claremont Park in New York's Bronx borough say that they have seen an uptick in coyotes, leaving some park-goers scared for their safety and that of their pets. Continue reading...

One man dead and six people missing including Lynch and his daughter after superyacht carrying 22 sank in storm

Concert giant of monopolistically inflating ticket prices and hurting artists in suit now including 26 states and DCAttorneys general from about two dozen US states are going after three times the monetary damages originally sought against Live Nation Entertainment and its ticket-selling unit, Ticketmaster. In an updated version of a lawsuit first filed in May, the states allege the concert giant monopolized markets across its industry.The attorneys general had sought damages under state law in the initial version of the lawsuit. By adding claims under the federal anti-monopoly law, states can seek three times the monetary damages, a penalty for especially egregious conduct known as treble damages. Continue reading...

Index on Censorship said 53% of librarians polled had been asked to remove books - and that in more than half of those cases books were taken off shelvesMore than two dozen school librarians in the UK have been asked to remove books - many of which are LGBTQ+ titles - from school library shelves, according to new survey data.The Index on Censorship survey found that 28 of 53 librarians polled - 53% - said that they had been asked to remove books. In more than half of those cases books were taken off shelves. Continue reading...

Donna Conniff, 40, encouraged boy to throw missile at police and was seen kicking out at an officerA woman who threw a brick at police officers has been jailed for two years as more people were sentenced for their part in far-right riots in England.Donna Conniff, 40, encouraged a young boy to throw a missile at police and was seen kicking out at an officer in actions a judge called truly disgraceful". Continue reading...

Tories and allies have tried criticising Labour's willingness to negotiate with unions before to no effect, and unions have strong support at a time when the cost of living is highLabour caves in to unions. Fears of a wage-price spiral. Back to the 1970s and a new winter of discontent. The Conservative party and their friends in the media have been in full cry since the government made an offer to train drivers last week aimed at ending two years of disruption on the railways.The rightwing press needed little prompting to claim that Britain is taking a step back into the industrial anarchy" of the past and was eager to contrast the deal for the Aslef union with Rachel Reeves's decision to means test the winter fuel allowance for pensioners. The level of outrage was further ratcheted up on Friday when Aslef announced plans for 22 days of strikes at weekends from late August to November on LNER trains. Continue reading...

GOP call Biden corrupt' in 291-page report meant to derail the president's now abandoned re-election effort

Reece forecasts further softness' in the building and renovation markets over the coming year

Hot winds predicted to push temperatures four to seven degrees above average across the east of the country

Childcare workers, aged carers, teachers and retail assistants are among those priced out of the market, analysis suggests

Israeli prime minister says meeting with US secretary of state was conducted in good spirit' as Blinken says latest push for ceasefire is last opportunity

Forecasters warn of life-threatening surf and rip tides: It's going to be really dangerous out in the water today'Tropical Storm Ernesto became a hurricane again on Sunday as it churned away from Bermuda and headed further out in the Atlantic, sending powerful swells toward the US east coast, generating rip currents associated with at least one death and prompting many rescues.The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ernesto's maximum sustained winds were 75mph (120km/h), just barely category 1 strength. Continue reading...

First minister told to justify secret meeting between Angus Robertson and Israel's deputy ambassador to UKJohn Swinney is under growing pressure to justify a meeting between a senior Scottish minister and an Israeli diplomat that caused a revolt within his Scottish National party.Senior figures in the SNP have criticised a secret meeting between Angus Robertson, Scotland's external affairs secretary, and Israel's deputy ambassador to the UK earlier this month, with some calling for Robertson to be suspended. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president says troops meeting their objectives and have taken more prisonersAn update to that earlier map, showing the three bridges hit by the Ukrainian air force:Ukrainian forces have struck and damaged a third bridge over the River Seym, near the village of Karyzh in the Kursk region of Russia, according to a member of Russia's Investigative Committee. The hit could seriously complicate Russian military logistics as Moscow attempts to fend off Ukraine's incursion into the region.Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Russian president Vladimir Putin, has said that Ukraine's attack on Kursk means Moscow is not ready to hold peace talks for now. Proposed discussions aimed at negotiating a halt to strikes on energy and power infrastructure between the two sides had been planned to be held in Qatar.RIA News, a state-owned news agency, says Russian forces have captured 19 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region. The report has not been independently verified.Ukraine's air force said on Monday morning that the country's air defence units had repelled an overnight Russian drone attack on multiple cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Cherkasy. Continue reading...

Mark Smith, who quit Dublin embassy role, says he raised his concerns over weapons sales with foreign secretary

As madrilenos head for the cooler Atlantic coast, those in the north have given them an unflattering nicknameGalicia and Spain's other Atlantic regions are becoming increasingly popular holiday destinations for Spaniards, and people from Madrid in particular, as they turn their backs on overcrowded and overheated Mediterranean resorts in favour of the more temperate north.But while welcoming the income from tourism, Galicians have also given a nickname to their notoriously haughty visitors from the Spanish capital: fodechinchos, which translates literally as fish thieves". Continue reading...

President to meet party and parliamentary leaders this week for series of exchanges' in effort to end stalemateEmmanuel Macron is to meet French party and parliamentary leaders this week for negotiations to break the political deadlock over who should form a new government.France has been led by a caretaker administration since the July general election failed to leave any party with a working majority in the national assembly. Continue reading...

Debbie Duncan tells of online harassment she has faced since Slater's disappearance on holiday in TenerifeThe mother of Jay Slater, the British teenager who died while on holiday in Tenerife, says she has been terrorised" by internet trolls since her son's disappearance.Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle near Accrington in Lancashire, disappeared after attending a music festival with friends on the holiday island in June. The 19-year-old's body was found about a month later in a ravine close to where he was last seen and an autopsy found he had died after an accidental fall. Continue reading...

Register of MPs' financial interests show former home secretary is highest earner for speeches this parliament

UK's largest housebuilder will waive conditions put on 2.5bn deal, set to be completed this week, from CMAThe housebuilder Barratt is pushing ahead with its 2.5bn takeover of rival Redrow this week despite concerns raised by the government's competition watchdog.Barratt said on Monday that it would waive conditions put on the deal - set to be completed this week - from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after it found that the merger could disadvantage homebuyers in the area around a town in Shropshire. Continue reading...

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Rachael Young tells court Higgins' medical state' forms part of the reasoning behind no longer calling her to give evidence

Nearly 1,000 train fans were at Sydenham station before 5am to ride the first service on the new city section

Queensland police sent to remote property had no idea about the correspondence and their checks raised no significant red flags, inquest hears

In parliament, opposition leader accuses Anthony Albanese of misleading the house by selectively quoting Australia's spy boss Mike Burgess

Cornwall Insight analysts predict price cap for October until end of December will increase by 9%Energy bills across Great Britain could rise by 9% this winter to an average of 1,714 a year for the typical household's gas and electricity, according to forecasts.Analysts at Cornwall Insight, a well-respected energy consultancy, have forecast that the government's energy price cap will rise for the average dual-fuel energy bill from October, up from its current level of 1,568. Continue reading...

Highest traffic levels since 2015 anticipated, though overseas visitors remain below pre-pandemic levelsBritain is set for the busiest August bank holiday getaway on the roads in nearly a decade, with severe delays expected on routes towards the Leeds and Reading music festivals, despite overseas tourists continuing to stay away.An estimated 19.2m leisure journeys by car are expected over the weekend, according to the RAC - the highest level since the breakdown services company began recording traffic data in 2015 - as drivers go day-trip crazy". Continue reading...

Discovery of Victorian network hiding under some of city's busiest streets set magical' new challenge for 150m projectWhen a contractor working on the site of the new London Museum at Smithfield market knocked a tentative hole in a bricked-up basement wall, all he could see, peering in with a torch, was a muddy pile of rubble and some scurrying rats.That unpromising beginning, however, would lead to an unparalleled" discovery. Behind the wall, once the detritus had been carefully removed, the architects and builders were astonished to find an enormous and beautifully constructed network of subterranean brick vaults that no one, even a year into the ambitious multimillion-pound building project, had known were there at all. Continue reading...

Payments finally received into accounts set up for each victim more than a decade after the fraudVictims of the Norton Motorcycles pension scandal have finally been paid 9.4m in compensation more than a decade after they had seemingly lost their life savings.The move represents some long-awaited good news for more than 200 people who fell victim to what is known as a pensions liberation fraud during 2012 and 2013, when they were tricked into allowing about 11.5m to be transferred out of their retirement plans. Continue reading...

Clemency Jacques told to pay extra 1,300 for accidental carer's allowance breach or have case sent to CPSA vulnerable unpaid carer threatened by benefits officials with prosecution for fraud unless she agreed to pay a 1,300 penalty for an accidental breach of carer's allowance earnings rules has described her experience as like blackmail".Clemency Jacques, a carer for her disabled son, was told by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) investigators her case would be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unless she paid a 50% charge on top of an existing agreement to repay 2,600 in carer's allowance overpayments - a total of 3,900. Continue reading...

Clement Jacques was questioned under caution and agreed to pay penalty for error that could have been spotted soonerClemency Jacques's interview under caution by benefits officials is seared into her memory. She was accused of benefits fraud and, utterly bewildered, she tried to defend herself. It did not go well. I sat there for two hours crying," she recalls.In a room at the local jobcentre, officials had read her her rights just like in the movies". She was warned that she could face police arrest, referral to the Crown Prosecution Service and a criminal court appearance. It was bloody scary", she says. Continue reading...

Comedian was in top 10 on three previous occasions - here are this year's best gags, as voted for by a public panelA joke by Mark Simmons has been declared the funniest of this year's Edinburgh fringe festival, chosen by a public panel from a shortlist compiled by comedy critics.Simmons, who got into comedy more than a decade ago after his friend convinced him to do an open mic night, won the television channel U&Dave's funniest joke of the fringe award with I was going to sail around the globe in the world's smallest ship but I bottled it". Continue reading...

Philippines says two coast guard vessels damaged by China's unlawful manoeuvres', while Beijing says it took control measures' after vessels illegally entered waters around shoal

President states he wants to stop cross-border attacks by Russian forces and that counteroffensive was much neededVolodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine's military incursion into Russia's Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border.It marked the first time the Ukrainian president had clearly stated the aim of the operation, which was launched on 6 August. Previously, he had suggested it aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling. Continue reading...