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Rescue deal with Tapi Carpets and Floors will still result in about 1,000 job losses

Property company will use some of proceeds with LVMH-backed investor L Catterton to pay down debtThe property firm Hammerson has sold its stake in the group that controls Bicester Village, the cut-price designer goods shopping centre in Oxfordshire, to the luxury market investor L Catterton in a 1.5bn deal.Hammerson said it would raise 600m in cash proceeds from the sale of its near-40% stake in Value Retail, which also owns nine luxury shopping destinations near Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Munich. The property company plans to use the cash to pay down debt, invest in its other centres and return 140m to shareholders. Continue reading...

US president's contacts list is unmatched since George HW Bush's, but his VP has been slowly building her portfolio

Ex-politician reportedly in talks with potential backers including the Reuben family

Media group controlled by Vincent Bollore to break up, with advertising company Havas to list in Amsterdam

Dani says his 26,000 salary is not high enough to sponsor his wife so she can join him in BritainA police officer working in Manchester says he has been forced to quit his job after Rishi Sunak raised the salary threshold to sponsor his Italian wife to live in the UK in the post-Brexit immigration scheme.Campaigners have warned that his tale of Brexit anguish is being repeated up and down the country in low-paid public sectors where many EU citizens work. Continue reading...

Gregory Aymond blames three predecessors as memo says he socialized or lived with 48 allegedly abusive clergymenThe Roman Catholic archbishop of New Orleans has said the allegations at the heart of a child-sex trafficking investigation being conducted by state police against his archdiocese are a sin", evil" and a crime - but he has insisted he was oblivious to them when they unfolded during a bygone era earlier in his career.Gregory Aymond's comments, in an interview published on Sunday by New Orleans' Times-Picayune newspaper, were his first about an investigation which erupted into public view in April as Louisiana state troopers served the archdiocese's headquarters with a search warrant that accused the institution of potentially having run a child-sex trafficking ring responsible for widespread sexual abuse of minors dating back decades". Continue reading...

Strong winds and heavy rain trigger 230 weather-related events across the country, while Tropical Storm Gaemi nears TaiwanSlovenia was hit by heavy rain and strong winds on Friday as a series of storms brought an abrupt end to a prolonged hot and dry spell.More than 230 weather-related events including flooding and landslides have been reported across the country. The worst-hit regions were in the Gorenjska municipality of Preddvor, and in Koroka in the north, which experienced similarly devastating floods last August. Continue reading...

Robert Geeves, who is accused of teenage mother's murder, waited 14 days to report her missing, court hears

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Court hears Gregory Geason, who denies assaulting the woman, searched how to get domestic violence charges dropped' in days after argument

Coroner says those who find themselves in same situation as 17-year-old Rohan Cosgriff must know situation will not define them'

African countries hailed for achievements, but UNAids says cases on the rise in other areas of the worldThe majority of new HIV infections last year occurred in countries outside sub-Saharan Africa for the first time.African countries have made swift progress in tackling the virus, with the number of infections in sub-Saharan Africa 56% lower than in 2010, a new report from UNAids said. Globally, infections have fallen by 39% over the same period. Continue reading...

Pro-democracy campaign group finds exports of goods to Russia, vital to its war efforts, roughly doubled in a yearHong Kong has become a global trade hub for the world's most brutal regimes", according to a report examining the city's role in facilitating the flow of goods to countries under sanctions by the west, including Russia, Iran and North Korea.A report published on Monday by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a campaign group, found that between 2021 and 2022, exports of semiconductors from Hong Kong to Russia roughly doubled to $400m (310m), second only to shipments from mainland China. Semiconductors are vital to Russia's war effort as they are a component in weaponry such as drones and cruise missiles. Continue reading...

System missed 14,000 emergency calls after technical faults caused nearly 11 hours of disruption last summer

Publication's longest-serving editor calls time amid unrest at Nine Entertainment over job cuts and and latest pay offer

Police allege Kiesha Thompson, 23, was deliberately struck and killed by a silver Toyota Prado after she had dropped her daughter off with carers

Many south-eastern areas had their coldest morning of the year, weather bureau says, while Brisbane's 6.3C low was 3.6C colder than Victoria's capital

IWF warns of more AI-made child sexual abuse videos as tools behind them get more widespread and easier to useAdvances in artificial intelligence are being used by paedophiles to produce AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse that could increase in volume as the technology improves, according to a safety watchdog.The majority of such cases seen by the Internet Watch Foundation involve manipulation of existing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or adult pornography, with a child's face transplanted on to the footage. A handful of examples involve entirely AI-made videos lasting about 20 seconds, the IWF said. Continue reading...

Inspector says monitoring after short sentences could be stopped and youth services could take on some casesMinisters should consider reducing the caseload of the probation service by up to 40,000 offenders if they are to ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons, a watchdog has told the Guardian.Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation in England and Wales, said the current model was not sustainable" and suggested ministers should free up capacity by no longer asking probation officers to monitor people released from prison after short custodial sentences for crimes such as shoplifting.He suspects that each of the probation service's 12 regions in England and Wales are already struggling to cope with the number of cases.Approximately two-thirds of the cases his staff inspect fall short of the standards that have been set to keep the public safe.97% of probation delivery units examined by the watchdog were falling below the standards set for good practice.He is drawing up an inspection programme for probation hostels - halfway houses for high-risk offenders - because at present there is no independent oversight of their work. Continue reading...

Victims tell Guardian about widespread practice in war-torn OmdurmanWomen struggling to survive in the war-torn Sudanese city of Omdurman say they are being forced to have sex with soldiers in exchange for food.More than two dozen women who have been unable to flee fighting in Omdurman said that sexual intercourse with men from the Sudanese army was the only way they could access food or goods that they could sell to raise money to feed their families. Continue reading...

Overground station platforms don't have barriers like newer metro lines where glass doors keep people and objects away from the edge'

Temporary deal agreed to prevent escalation of standoffs around the Sierra Madre, a Philippine ship grounded on the disputed Second Thomas ShoalThe Philippines says it has reached an understanding" with China on resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship that has been a key flashpoint between the two countries in the South China SeaThe Chinese foreign ministry confirmed the temporary arrangement" with the two sides agreeing to jointly manage maritime differences and de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea. Continue reading...

Former defence minister is suing Higgins over a series of social media posts she says damaged her reputation

Premier Chris Minns says announcement an important milestone in our work to utilise nontraditional methods of delivering more homes sooner'

Ahmad Farhad's abduction sent ripples across Pakistan. After being released on bail, he insists on telling his storyIt was late at night in Islamabad and Ahmad Farhad was returning from a quick trip to the shops when someone walked up behind him. Don't be scared, don't scream and come with us," the figure, dressed in civilian clothes, whispered discreetly into his ear.Still clutching bread, eggs and jam intended for the next morning's breakfast, Farhad went to the car without a sound. With a sinking feeling the poet recognised the vehicle, with its blacked-out windows, as one known to be used by shadowy military agencies in Pakistan for abductions. Continue reading...

Case raises questions about complicity of western financial institutions in persecution of Chinese government criticsTwo exiled pro-democracy Hong Kong activists have been blocked from accessing their pensions, depriving them of tens of thousands of US dollars of their savings and raising questions about the complicity of western financial institutions in the persecution of Chinese government critics.Assets, including pension savings, belonging to Ted Hui, a former pro-democracy legislator who is now based in Australia, were frozen shortly after he fled from Hong Kong in December 2020. The assets are held by HSBC, a British bank. Continue reading...

Celsius Ballarat fined $10,000, with no conviction recorded, for failing to provide a safe work environment

NHS data also shows diagnosis rate misses target and remains below pre-pandemic levelsRecord numbers of people in England have received a dementia diagnosis in the past year, NHS figures show.The latest data shows a record 487,432 people had a diagnosis in June. However, the rate remains below pre-pandemic levels, with 65% of people estimated to have the condition diagnosed, below the NHS's 66.7% target, which was last met in 2019. Continue reading...

Collision between motorbike and car an absolutely tragic' incident, say police, as appeal for information issuedSix people, including two children, have died in a collision between a car and a motorbike in West Yorkshire.The collision happened on the A61 Barnsley Road between Staincross, Barnsley and Newmillerdam, Wakefield, police said. Continue reading...

Obama and party leaders highlight president's lifetime of service as some begin to back Kamala Harris

Former president and other Republicans say Biden is not fit to serve', with some saying he should resign immediately

After announcing decision not to seek re-election, Biden offers full support and endorsement' of vice-president

The president announced on Twitter he will not seek re-election, and he endorsed Kamala Harris in his place

The president endorses Kamala Harris to succeed him and celebrates his achievements in office

Gloucestershire police say vehicle left A436 and collided with tree in early hours of Sunday morningFour men have died in a car crash on the A436 in Gloucestershire.Officers discovered a black Renault Clio that had left the road and collided with a tree in Ullenwood, near Cheltenham, shortly before 2am on Sunday, Gloucestershire police said. Continue reading...

Lawmaker who unsuccessfully challenged Biden in primary says fear of retribution stops some from speaking publiclyDean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman who unsuccessfully mounted a primary challenge to Joe Biden earlier this year, has called on fellow elected Democrats to hold an immediate vote of confidence" on the president and share the results directly with him.Phillips's idea - discussed Sunday in a Wall Street Journal column that he penned as well as repeated on US political talkshows - comes as Democrats find themselves locked in a crisis over Biden's viability to win re-election in November, exposing deep fissures within party unity. Continue reading...

Call by West Virginia Democrat turned independent adds to mounting pressure on president to step asideUS senator Joe Manchin called on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race on Sunday, adding to mounting pressure on the president to step aside.Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat turned independent, said on Sunday it was time for Biden to to pass the torch to a new generation". Leaving the race, Manchin said, would allow Biden to focus on issues the president cared about, including helping Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion and ending Israel's war on Gaza. Continue reading...

Campaigners write to Keir Starmer saying delay in implementing industry reforms will cost livesKeir Starmer has been urged to follow through on the previous government's plan for a 100m-a-year levy on gambling companies.In an open letter to the prime minister, deeply concerned" advocates of the proposal issued a warning that a delay could cost lives. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New government urged to make coherent and committed investment in cycling for transportThe new government should end the previous culture war-based approach to active travel and start investing properly in safe bike routes, the country's biggest cycling campaign group has said.The call from Cycling UK comes after a survey it commissioned, which looked into the reasons people don't ride a bike, found that almost half cited safety worries, with older riders particularly concerned about this. Continue reading...

Deaths during prolonged power outages pushes number of storm-related fatalities to at least 23 in TexasAs the temperature soared in the Houston-area home Janet Jarrett shared with her sister after losing electricity in Hurricane Beryl, she did everything she could to keep her 64-year-old sibling cool.But on their fourth day without power, she awoke to hear Pamela Jarrett, who used a wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube, gasping for breath. Paramedics were called - but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the medical examiner saying her death was caused by the heat. Continue reading...

Bethel Park high school stopped short of saying it could disprove recollections of former schoolmatesThe high school from which the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump graduated has claimed it has no evidence backing up ex-students' claims that the shooter was ruthlessly bullied on campus - or that its rifle team rejected him from joining because of his poor aim.Yet the statement released Saturday by Pennsylvania's Bethel Park high school stopped well short of saying that it could disprove the recollections of the would-be assassin's former schoolmates. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Heather Iqbal says Iqbal Mohamed should disown supporters after she faced abuse and harassment'A Labour candidate defeated by a pro-Gaza independent in the general election has called for the new MP to formally disown supporters who she says waged a campaign of intimidation, abuse and harassment" against her.Heather Iqbal, who came second in the Dewsbury and Batley constituency to Iqbal Mohamed, who was standing as an independent, called for her opponent to take action and be explicit" in calling out supporters for their actions. Continue reading...

Sarah Packwood and Brett Clibbery's life raft washed up on a remote Canadian island after they were reported missing on 18 JuneThe bodies of a couple who were on a sailing trip across the Atlantic Ocean have been found on a life raft that washed up on a remote Canadian island almost six weeks after they were last seen.Briton Sarah Packwood, 54, and her Canadian husband, Brett Clibbery, 70, are thought to have abandoned their yacht and died before washing up on Sable Island - known as the graveyard of the Atlantic" - east of Nova Scotia in Canada on 12 July. Continue reading...

Responsibility for prescriptions moving to 42 integrated care boards has led to patients having to work out how to get treatment, often when illClinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) people with Covid are struggling to get timely access to treatments such as antiviral drugs, charities, patients and doctors have warned amid a summer wave of the virus.People with certain health conditions or who meet other specific criteria are eligible for medications that can help the body fight the virus that causes Covid. They include those 85 years or older or who have Down's syndrome, an organ transplant, a weakened immune system, lung cancer or sickle cell disease. Continue reading...

The Australia Institute says tax exemption on commercial vehicles' with no testing requirement is incentivising people to buy utes instead of EVs

NSW, Victoria and Queensland local governments have limited roles in approving developments, but advocates say they're best placed to keep communities onside

Houthi military spokesperson says there will be no red lines' in response to Israel after airstrikes hit Hodeidah on Saturday, killing at least six people

Ex-supporters have more in common, including doubts about Starmer and concerns on immigration, Onward saysThe Conservatives must resist the false choice of wooing voters who shifted to either Reform or the Liberal Democrats in the election, according to a leading Tory-facing thinktank, as the party faces a crunch week in deciding its post-defeat future.Former Conservative supporters who opted for Reform or the Lib Dems on 4 July had common characteristics, including scepticism towards Keir Starmer and worries about immigration, Onward said. Continue reading...

Store owners say marks and holes add character to pieces and make them more appealing to discerning buyersAt the 99 Vintage store in the centre of Winchester, curated rails of worn-in Dickies trousers sit alongside paint-splattered band T-shirts and a 1964 track-and-field hoodie with the left cuff falling off. We call it the trashed look," said Jack Edwards, 27, who co-owns the family business.In the past, I would have rejected things because of a mark, but now we see the positives in some stains and distressing. It helps tell the story of the piece." Continue reading...