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The fire at the Play to Learn centre in Castle Hill caused minor damage and police are looking into whether it is linked to a blaze in Turramurra last week

Witnesses describe the aircraft leaning to the left shortly after takeoff before crashingLondon Southend airport has been closed and flights cancelled after a small plane crashed into a fireball shortly after takeoff.The Beechcraft B200 aircraft crashed about 4pm on Sunday, soon after taking off from the airport, which is in Essex. The plane was seen in flames with dark smoke billowing from it, according to witnesses and photos circulating on social media. Continue reading...

SBU intelligence agency claims to have liquidated' members of Russia's FSB who were suspected of killing Colonel Ivan Voronych last weekUkrainian intelligence agents killed members of a Russian secret service cell wanted on suspicion of having shot dead a colonel last week, the SBU said.The SBU intelligence agency said in a statement that the operation had sought the arrest of the agents of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), who it believes were behind the killing of Colonel Ivan Voronych - also a member of the SBU security service - in Kyiv on Thursday. Continue reading...

Deals for homes worth more than 750,000 are up 7% in June over last year with more properties on marketSales of expensive UK country houses rose in June, signalling a possible recovery in demand as buyers are tempted out by lower prices after an extended slump.The estate agency Knight Frank said the number of exchanges of contract for sales of country houses - defined as a rural home worth more than 750,000 - was up 7% in June compared with last year as the number of properties for sale rose while prices fell. Continue reading...

Funding for social impact bonds to help children facing mental health difficulties, school exclusion or crimeRachel Reeves will announce 500m for charities and civil society organisations to invest in youth services on Monday as the government seeks to combat accusations it is not doing enough to tackle child poverty.The chancellor will launch a new better futures fund", which will give money to schemes helping children struggling with mental health difficulties, school exclusion or crime, with the hope of attracting an additional 500m from local government and other organisations. Continue reading...

Leader who ousted Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 three decades after brief stint as military ruler dies after prolonged illness'Nigeria's former president Muhammadu Buhari, who led Africa's most populous country from 2015 to 2023 and was the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box, died in London on Sunday, a presidential spokesperson has said.President Bola Tinubu's spokesperson said in a post on X: President Buhari died today in London at about 4.30pm [1530 GMT], following a prolonged illness." Continue reading...

Ehud Olmert says forcing people into camp would be ethnic cleansing, and anger at Israel over Gaza war is not all down to antisemitismThe humanitarian city" Israel's defence minister has proposed building on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians inside would be ethnic cleansing, Israel's former prime minister Ehud Olmert has told the Guardian.Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, Olmert said, and construction of the camp would mark an escalation. Continue reading...

Creative studio says financial districts deserted in working-from-home shift could host revitalised nightlife sectorCould the future of Canary Wharf lie in thumping beats and dancefloor raves? Could the City of London become a global hub of nocturnal revelry?With financial districts struggling to bounce back to full capacity post-Covid, and the nightlife industry facing an existential crisis, there are suggestions clubs could move into deserted office blocks at evenings and weekends. Continue reading...

Senior Church of England clerics want ministers to intensify sanctions and be willing to suspend Israeli trade agreementFour senior Church of England bishops have called on the UK government to intensify the use of sanctions and to be willing to suspend its trade agreement with Israel over settler violence in the occupied West Bank.The situation there is in freefall with increasing levels of settler violence and intimidation against Palestinians", the bishops say in a letter to the Guardian. The settlers are acting with impunity, they add. Settler violence is state violence by any other name." Continue reading...

Two fathers tell education secretary they will seek judicial review in bid for statutory ban to safeguard childrenTwo fathers plan to take legal action against the government in an attempt to get smartphones banned in schools in England.Will Orr-Ewing and Pete Montgomery wrote to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, on Friday warning that they would seek a judicial review. They argue that current guidance, which allows headteachers to decide how smartphones are used, is unlawful and unsafe for children. Continue reading...

Recognising Putin is not serious about peace is first step towards strategic neutralisation' proposed by ex-ministerWhile Donald Trump - and other western leaders - are taking their time to catch up with reality, it is obvious that Vladimir Putin has no apparent desire to halt the war in Ukraine. A realistic future military and diplomatic strategy for Kyiv has to accept that fact - and formulate a new approach.The past six months have been dominated by the erroneous assumption that it would be possible for Trump to negotiate a ceasefire, even an armistice. That would be followed by the arrival of an Anglo-French led stabilisation force to secure the future of Ukraine. But Putin has shown no desire to stop attacking. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labor Friends of Palestine concerned by Jillian Segal's recommendation government adopt IHRA's contested definition of antisemitism

Gaza health ministry says more than half of the dead are women and childrenA funeral has been held for two men - 20-year-old Palestinian-American Sayfollah Saif" Musallet, and Razek Hussein al-Shalabi, a 23-year-old Palestinian man, who were killed by Israeli settlers in a town in the north of the occupied West Bank at the end of last week. Here is a report containing some video of the funeral on Sunday:Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli airstrikes killed at least 19 people on Sunday, including six children at a water collection point.In Gaza, officials at Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza said it received 10 bodies after an Israeli strike on a water collection point in Nuseirat, also in central Gaza. Among the dead were six children, the hospital said.

Nine killed in separate bombing of a home on Sunday and 31 others shot dead near aid distribution site on Saturday

Fresh plea for funds to repair copy of frigate that carried Louis XVI's promise of aid in American revolutionary warFrench maritime enthusiasts are battling to save a replica of an 18th-century warship that became a symbol of the country's historic relationship with America.The copy of L'Hermione, a three-mast, 32-gun frigate that carried the Marquis de Lafayette across the Atlantic to announce France's support for American independence from Great Britain in the revolutionary war, has been in dry dock at Anglet, near Bayonne, since its oak hull was found to be riddled with fungus four years ago. Continue reading...

Letter calls group's proscription under anti-terrorism laws major assault on our freedoms'The singer Charlotte Church and veteran peace campaigners are among hundreds who have signed a letter describing the move to ban the group Palestine Action as a major assault on our freedoms".Trade unionists, activists and politicians have also added their names to the letter opposing the group's proscription under anti-terrorism laws last week. Continue reading...

Relatives describe Daniel Drewitt, 16, as a handsome, funny and talented boy with a beautiful spiritThe family of a teenage boy who died after going missing in a lake in the West Midlands have said his death will forever leave an everlasting pain in all of our hearts".Daniel Drewitt, 16, died after getting into difficulty in Powell's Pool at Sutton Park nature reserve in Sutton Coldfield on Thursday evening. A body was found on Friday after a major search operation. Police are not treating the death as suspicious. Continue reading...

Child reportedly died at Alder Hey hospital amid surge of measles cases in cityHealth officials have urged people to come forward for the measles vaccine if they are not up to date with their shots after a child at Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool died from the disease.The city has experienced a surge in cases among young people, with the hospital warning parents last week that the spike in infections was due to falling rates of uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Continue reading...

Actor says she is latest in long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by US presidentRosie O'Donnell has shrugged off a threat from Donald Trump to revoke her US citizenship on the grounds that she is a threat to humanity".The New York-born actor and comedian said on Sunday that she was the latest in a long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by the US president. Continue reading...

Transport secretary promises to make buying electric cars easier and cheaper' as 700m subsidy package preparedThe transport secretary has promised to make it easier and cheaper" to buy electric cars, as the government announces 63m worth of funding to help build charging infrastructure.Heidi Alexander said on Sunday she wanted to make it more affordable to switch to electric vehicles as she announced new money for councils and other bodies to spend on facilities to charge cars. Continue reading...

Authorities say at least one person arrested after disorder broke out in Torre Pacheco over attack on pensionerSeveral people were hurt in a second night of anti-migrant unrest in the town of Torre Pacheco in south-east Spain after a pensioner was beaten up, authorities said.Despite a major police presence, groups armed with batons roamed the streets looking for people with foreign origins, the regional newspaper La Opinion de Murcia reported. Continue reading...

Relatives call for honesty, transparency and an unwavering commitment to uncovering the full truth'Families of the Air India crash victims have said they are hoping for more answers from investigators after a report found the plane's fuel switches were cut off, deepening the mystery of what happened.The preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, published on Friday, said both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the cut-off position immediately after takeoff, stopping fuel supply to the engines. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Latest poll comes as Wes Streeting to meet BMA to avert unnecessary and unfair strikes'Wes Streeting will meet representatives from the British Medical Association this week as he looks to avert five days of strikes by resident doctors.The health secretary will meet the union amid a continuing pay dispute, despite having previously called the planned industrial action completely unreasonable". Continue reading...

As members vote to strike for a 29% pay rise, newly elected chair of UK's main doctors union says he is no party lackeyIf things had turned out differently, Tom Dolphin would now be a Labour MP, sitting on the government's backbenches and supporting Wes Streeting, the health secretary.Instead he is the newly elected chair of the British Medical Association, the UK's main doctors union. Its almost 55,000 members, who are resident doctors in England, gave the government a huge headache this week by voting to strike for up to six months in pursuit of a 29% pay rise, starting with a five-day walkout from 25-30 July. Continue reading...

Absence of French president makes it less likely there will be announcement of recognition of a Palestinian stateA UN summit on a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel - postponed by the Israel-Iran war - has been rescheduled for 28 and 29 July, but it is not expected French president Emmanuel Macron will attend, making it less likely that it will trigger a series of high-profile announcements on recognition of a Palestinian state.Macron, who last week told UK parliamentarians a two-state solution was the only way to build peace and stability for all in the whole region", has been trying to build momentum for recognition of a state of Palestine by a wide group of countries, but the a lack of movement in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is making such decisions more complex. Continue reading...

Young Americans are holding off on buying a home, with the average age in 2024 being a record high of 38A cornerstone of the American dream is drifting out of reach.The estimated number of first-time homebuyers in the US dropped to a little more than 1.1 million in 2024, according to data from the National Association of Realtors shared with the Guardian: the lowest level since the NAR started tracking new buyers, in 1989. Continue reading...

YouGov survey suggests majority support idea of Britain returning to bloc - but not on same terms it once enjoyedA decade after MPs voted to hold the referendum that led to Britain leaving the European Union, a poll has found majorities in the bloc's four largest member states would support the UK rejoining - but not on the same terms it had before.The YouGov survey of six western European countries, including the UK, also confirms that a clear majority of British voters now back the country rejoining the bloc - but only if it can keep the opt-outs it previously enjoyed. Continue reading...

Legal challenge argues commissioners breached Local Government Act by refusing to allow proper scrutiny of decisionLegal action is being taken after commissioners sent to oversee Birmingham council blocked scrutiny of a controversial decision to close adult day centres.An application for a judicial review has been brought in the names of Robert Mason, 63, and Jenny Gilbert, 50, who attend day centres for adults with physical and learning disabilities in the city. Continue reading...

Manchester City manager pictured backstage with children of Liam and Noel Gallagher at Heaton Park showThe homecoming of Oasis in their long-awaited Manchester gig turned into a family affair with the children of Noel and Liam Gallagher pictured together backstage for a gig many in the city thought would never happen.More than 70,000 people descended on Manchester for the concert in Heaton Park, with the Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, among the crowds. Continue reading...

Europe accused of trampling over Palestinian rights' with deal linked to imports from pipeline running parallel to Gaza coastThe EU is trampling over Palestinian rights" and risks breaching international law, over an energy deal signed with Israel to bring more gas to Europe, a campaign group has said.A report by Global Witness shared exclusively with the Guardian concludes that the EU could be complicit in breaches of international law" over a 2022 energy deal linked to gas imports from a pipeline said to traverse Palestinian waters. The NGO has called on the EU to cancel all gas imports linked to the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline and terminate the 2022 deal, which was also signed with Egypt. Continue reading...

MP pushes on with plans after week of confusion after announcement she would co-lead party with Jeremy CorbynZarah Sultana has launched a fundraising drive and supporter sign-up page under her own name as she pushes on with plans for the formation of a new leftwing party.The Coventry South MP, who announced last Thursday that she would be co-leading the new party with Jeremy Corbyn, used the platform ActionNetwork to gather supporters. The landing page has so far recorded more than 64,000 actions taken". Continue reading...

Centre-right government rejects long-established national policies focused on rehabilitation and reintegrationSweden is moving away from criminal rehabilitation in favour of US-style mass incarceration, experts have said, as the country prepares to rent places in Estonian jails to help house its rapidly expanding prison population.The move to outsource prison places is one of a slew of policies aimed at transforming the Swedish criminal justice system as the centre-right government struggles to tackle gang violence and prisons warn of overcrowding. Continue reading...

The three Cambodian sites' inscription coincides with the 50th anniversary of the rise to power of the brutal regimeThree locations used by Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime as torture and execution sites 50 years ago have been added by Unesco to its world heritage list.The three locations were inscribed to the list by the UN cultural agency on Friday during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. Continue reading...

Preschool establishment asked for extra fee for consumables' without making clear it was optionalA nursery has refunded a father almost 1,200 after an investigation found he had been charged mandatory top-up" fees for hours of childcare that should have been free.Tiago Gomes's daughter was eligible for government-funded childcare at the Lake House day nursery and preschool in Bristol but he was told that he must pay an extra compulsory fee for consumables". Continue reading...

People in Ukrainian capital are exhausted and struggling for normality amid a dramatic rise in bombardmentAt 1am on Thursday, Dartsia Liuba went to the basement of her Kyiv apartment building with her two children and husband, Roma. The air-raid siren had gone off. A Russian attack was coming. Liuba scooped up her seven-month-old baby daughter, Halyna, and woke her bleary-eyed nine-year-old, Orysia, and they staggered down three floors to wait in sticky darkness.Soon explosions began. There was an ugly whine in the sky immediately above their district of Podil. It came from a Shahed kamikaze drone. The streets echoed with booms and rat-tat-tat machine-gun fire as Ukrainian air defence units tried to bring it down. The moped-like buzzing stopped - and then resumed as more drones appeared, in a swarm too big to count. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartelA son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin El Chapo" pleaded guilty on Friday to US drug-trafficking charges, becoming the first of the drug lord's sons to enter a plea deal.Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. They became known locally as the Chapitos", or little Chapos", and federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a major effort to send staggering" quantities of fentanyl into the US. Continue reading...

Author of Um defeito de cor wins seat in 128-year-old institution long dominated by white menBrazil has elected its first Black woman to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, founded in 1897 and modelled on the Academie Francaise.Ana Maria Goncalves, 54, is one of Brazil's most acclaimed contemporary authors, and her election on Thursday is being widely celebrated by writers, activists, literary scholars and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Continue reading...

Majority of those killed were in the vicinity of sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian FoundationThe number of people killed by strikes in Gaza on Friday has risen to seven, according to the region's civil defence agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than 2 million people living there. Continue reading...

PM jets to Beijing to strengthen ties as multibillion-dollar US submarine deal spurred by China's military buildup hangs in doubt

Two trials will take place due to large number of defendants in September 2027 and January 2028

US singer pleads not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and denies having an offensive weaponThe singer Chris Brown has denied further charges over an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub.The American musician pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Abraham Diaw at the Tape venue, a private members' club in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on 19 February 2023. He also denied having an offensive weapon, a bottle, in a public place. Continue reading...

Ad, which states vessel can hold about 185 slaves', comes to light as city dock is being turned into contemplation space'An advert for a 19th-century British slaver's ship has been discovered in Liverpool, where a site formerly at the centre of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people is being transformed into a contemplation space", highlighting a long-hidden history.Liverpool Black History Research Group (LBHRG) found the advert for the Metis, dated 25 July 1805, while looking into the history of the River Mersey's Canning Dock, in work commissioned by National Museums Liverpool. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Charity hit by increase in employer national insurance and minimum wage and aims to save 26mThe National Trust is to cut at least 550 jobs in a cost-cutting drive that aims to save 26m after changes made in the chancellor Rachel Reeves's debut budget pushed up labour costs.The conservation charity, which looks after 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, said a more than 10m rise in costs in employer's national insurance and the minimum wage in April had outstripped an increase in income from welcoming more visitors. Continue reading...

Coalition's decades-long brawl over climate change and energy policy laid bare as former deputy prime minister sends out clarion call on Facebook

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West Midlands police say child was reported missing in water in Sutton Park on Thursday eveningThe body of a teenage boy has been recovered from a lake after a large search operation.West Midlands police said the teenager was reported missing in the water at Powell's Pool in Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, shortly after 6pm on Thursday. Continue reading...

Airport is seeking increase to expand passenger capacity and fund new lounges, shops and restaurants

Exclusive: Speciality Steel UK, which employs 1,450 people in South Yorkshire, could be supported if it enters administrationMinisters are considering options to step in to save another major steel plant if its parent company collapses into administration after a key court case next week.The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, is understood to be looking at what the government can do to support Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) - part of the Liberty Steel Group owned by Sanjeev Gupta - should it be faced with possible closure after Wednesday's insolvency hearing. Continue reading...

Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, settled a lawsuit filed against it by Donald Trump for $16m last week. It came after Disney and Meta settled lawsuits with the president in similar ways. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US columnist Margaret Sullivan about why these companies are caving to Trump's demands, and whether critics are right to be worried about what this means for the future of a free pressArchive: CBS News, PBS, NBC News, WHAS11, CNN, Fox 5 New York Continue reading...

Police say car driven by 91-year-old came from behind' and struck a woman, man and toddler near a playground in Melbourne's east on Thursday