World news | The Guardian

Total remuneration at companies in England and Wales - many of them under scrutiny for sewage discharge - was 15m in 2024-25The pay of water company chief executives in England and Wales rose by 5% in the last financial year to an average of 1.1m, despite a ban on bonuses for several companies and widespread outrage over the sector's poor performance.Total pay reported by water companies reached 15m in 2024-25, up 5% on 13.8m the previous year, according to Guardian analysis of 14 companies' annual reports. Continue reading...

Authorities accuse activists linked to pro-democracy group Hong Kong Parliament of subversionHong Kong's national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet.They are accused of organising or participating in the Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say intended to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 after months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. Continue reading...

Police data indicates overlaps between public violent disorder and domestic violence and abuseTwo out of every five people arrested after participating in last summer's riots had been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.Police data released under freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that 41% of 899 people arrested for taking part in the violent disorder last July and August had been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence. Continue reading...

Jihadist separatist group Jaish al-Adl claims responsibility for mortar, shooting and grenade attack in Sistan-BaluchestanAn attack by the jihadist separatist group Jaish al-Adl on a courthouse in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan killed at least nine people, including a mother and child, and wounded 22, Iranian media reported on Saturday.Attackers stormed the building, shooting a number of people inside. They then launched a second attack with mortars and grenade launchers on the courthouse, where a clash that lasted three hours began with security forces, according to the Baluch human rights group Haalvsh. Continue reading...

More than 2.6m people voted in radio poll to find the most loved homegrown hits of all timeNever Tear Us Apart by INXS has been named the best Australian song of all time in Triple J's poll of the country's favourite homegrown hits.The 1987 song topped the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs, a spin-off of Triple J's annual poll of the year's most popular tracks. The poll, which aired on Saturday, was open to Australian releases from any time in history. Continue reading...

Analysis shows phone theft claims in UK have risen by 425% since 2021 with 42% of thefts occurring in LondonNearly two in every five phones stolen in Europe are taken in the UK, according to data collated an insurance firm.An analysis of claims made to the American insurance company SquareTrade showed that 39% of all phone thefts across the company's 12 European markets were in Britain. This was despite the UK only making up 10% of the company's European customers. Continue reading...

Lioness has gone from prospect to superstar at Euro 2025 - and she's got more than just football in her lockerFour years ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl at Wembley stadium, witnessing the Lionesses' rule the pitch in a 4-0 victory against Northern Ireland. Now, at just 19 years old, she no longer finds herself retrieving balls that have veered out of play, but is an integral part of the team she once admired from the sidelines.The forward, who football fans hope will be showing off her on-pitch magic on Sunday as the Lionesses' face off against Spain in the Euros 2025 final, began her journey to the top of the sport in her Essex home town of South Ockendon. Continue reading...

Nash Keen, born at exactly 21 weeks, 133 days ahead of his mother's due date, has been recognized by Guinness World RecordsAn Iowa toddler who was born when his mother was less than five months pregnant isn't only the most premature baby recognized by Guinness World Records after recently turning one.As his mother, Mollie Keen, put it, Nash Keen is also very determined, curious ... and he's just all smiles all the time" after surviving against what Guinness described as phenomenal odds". Continue reading...

Pro-democracy campaigners suggest pre-buttal' is more powerful than factchecking in fighting falsehoodsTruth, the progressive California politician Hiram Johnson once said, is the first casualty of war. His oft-cited remark was supposedly made in 1918 in reference to the first world war, which had by then caused millions of human casualties.More than a century later, truth is again caught in the crossfire, this time as a casualty of 21st-century culture wars. Continue reading...

The 31-year-old was charged with attempted murder after alleged attack that left co-worker with upper body wounds

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon may appear to be a one-man band, but behind him is a colourful inner circle helping to pull the strings of the far rightThe Tommy Robinson outriders were early to Epping. Wendell Daniel, a former Labour councillor who is now a film-maker for Robinson's Urban Scoop video platform, turned his microphone to a young woman on the edge of the protests in the Essex town.Look into that," he said pointing to the camera. Talk to Tommy, tell him you want to see him coming down here." Continue reading...

Detention of Dr Marwan al-Hams by Israeli undercover unit on Monday takes number of doctors being held to 28, says Healthcare Workers WatchTwenty-eight doctors from Gaza are being held inside Israeli prisons, eight of whom are senior consultants in surgery, orthopaedics, intensive care, cardiology and paediatrics, according to data from Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation.Twenty-one of those detained have been held for more than 400 days. HWW said none had been charged with any crimes by the Israeli authorities. Three healthcare workers have been detained since the start of July. Continue reading...

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Continue reading...

Christopher Street Day event organisers urge vigilance amid increase in abuse from rightwing extremistsThe organisers of the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin have urged participants to be vigilant amid a rise in attacks on LGBTQ+ events across Germany.Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the German capital this weekend for a loud and colourful celebration held in memory of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, Christopher Street being the location of the Stonewall Inn. But behind the party atmosphere there is a more sombre mood than usual as LGBTQ+ organisations warn that attacks have become more frequent. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dr Eric Descheemaeker files court application against university after 2023 email to Melbourne law school dean leaked last month

Prime minister risks either provoking mutiny in his cabinet and party over Gaza or alienating White HouseFrance's decision to recognise Palestine at the next UN general assembly is an attempt to build momentum for change and make a break from the major western powers' impassivity in the face of Israel's mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza.Emmanuel Macron's declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side. Continue reading...

Ward, 27, is accused of offences against one woman in January 2023, say Metropolitan policeMicheal Ward, the Bafta-winning actor who has appeared in Blue Story and Top Boy, has been charged with rape and sexual assault.Ward, 27, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, has been charged with two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, the Metropolitan police said. The offences relate to one woman and are alleged to have taken place in January 2023. Continue reading...

Government concerned about risk of unrest spreading ahead of new protests at the Bell hotel in EssexAsylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels to new accommodation will have their support withdrawn, the Home Office has said, before more protests at a site in Essex this weekend.Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, said the government was working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system". Continue reading...

Thai PM says cross-border clashes could develop into war' as fighting spreads to 12 locationsThailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along its border with Cambodia, as the worst fighting between the two neighbours in more than a decade spread to new areas with both sides firing artillery.Clashes had taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, according to a Thai military official - an expansion of the conflict that erupted a day earlier. Continue reading...

Prominent Democrats and progressive activists spoke out ahead of first public hearing on proposed redistricting plan

As White House continues its immigration crackdown, church steps up to assist members too afraid to leave homeThe archdiocese of Los Angeles is launching a new initiative to provide essentials such as hot meals, groceries, and prescription medications to people and families too afraid to leave their homes due to immigration raids.The move to support immigrant parishioners experiencing heightened fear amid a nationwide crackdown by the Trump administration that has seen tens of thousands of arrests and outraged civil liberties groups. Continue reading...

More than 2,100 people contacted the tenants' union in 2024 for advice about access, despite no basis' for the charge

Volker Turk says the Home Office proscription restricts right to freedom of expression and peaceful assemblyThe UK government's ban on Palestine Action limits the rights and freedoms of people in the UK and is at odds with international law, the UN human rights chief has said.Volker Turk, the UN human rights commissioner, said ministers' decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation was disproportionate and unnecessary" and called on them to rescind it. Continue reading...

Up to 50,000 doctors stage five days of action from 7am on 25 July to 7am on 30 July after pay talks break downResident doctors in England have begun strike action after the British Medical Association and government failed to reach an agreement over pay restoration.Up to 50,000 people went on strike at 7am, with the action intended to last for five days until 7am on Wednesday 30 July. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health secretary urges medics not to join BMA industrial action on Friday

Comments by Phumtham Wechayachai come as death toll climbs to 16 on second day of clashes along contested border

French president announced decision on X, saying he hoped it would bring lasting peace' to Middle EastFrance will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN general assembly, Emmanuel Macron has said.The French president announced the decision on X on Thursday evening, saying he hoped it would bring peace to the region. Continue reading...

Celebrated flugelhorn and trumpet player released over 30 albums and sold millions of records throughout his careerThe Grammy-winning jazz musician and composer Chuck Mangione died on Tuesday, according to a statement from his family. He was 84.The family of Chuck Mangione is deeply saddened to share that Chuck peacefully passed away in his sleep at his home in Rochester, New York on July 22, 2025," his family said in a statement released on Thursday to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Continue reading...

Claims Essex police force bussed in antiracism activists have been denied but have spread on social media and rightwing news channelsEnjoying beers in the afternoon sunshine on Epping High Street, the three local men were adamant about recent events in the town.Not only had Essex police used their own vans to bus in" antiracism counter-demonstrators last week to Epping, said one of the men, but masked undercover police officers had been among the lefties". Continue reading...

Police arrested rapper after finding a significant amount of marijuana' in her Atlanta home during investigationThe American rapper GloRilla was arrested on felony drug charges the night before her performance at the WNBA all-star game, after police responded to a report of a burglary at her home in Atlanta on Saturday.The Forsyth county sheriff's office confirmed to Atlanta's WSB-TV that authorities responded to a call about a burglary at a home owned by the rapper, legal name Gloria Hallelujah Woods, around 1.30am on Saturday. Woods was in Indianapolis at the time to perform at the WNBA all-star game that evening. Continue reading...

Customers report problems making or receiving calls on mobiles and landlinesThousands of EE and BT customers have reported encountering problems when making or receiving calls, as a result of a widespread mobile network outage.Reports of problems with EE, as well as its parent company BT, were first logged by users at 11.15am on Thursday morning on the website Downdetector, which monitors internet outages. Continue reading...

Alleged offender was partner of woman running the service, operating at a private home in NSW. The girl's parents had no idea' he lived there

Exclusive: Welfare reform paper also urges increases to rent assistance and payments to families and single parents

Tbilisi judge rejects lawyer's offer of plea agreement for release of pregnant Teesside teenager, now 19, at hearingThe British teenager Bella Culley is to be held in a Georgian prison for at least five more weeks as she awaits trial on drug-smuggling charges, a court in Tbilisi has ordered.Culley, the great-granddaughter of a former Labour MP, was arrested on arrival at the city's airport in May. Georgian prosecutors said she was carrying a large amount of illegal drugs in luggage she brought with her from Thailand. Continue reading...

Longstanding relationship between media mogul and US president is being tested amid Trump's lawsuit over a WSJ story about his ties to EpsteinRupert Murdoch had made up his mind. We want to make Trump a nonperson," he assured one of his former executives in a 2021 email, two days after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.Over seven decades, Murdoch has sought to charm, challenge and change prime ministers and presidents as he built one of the world's most powerful media empires. In this particular endeavor, however, he failed. Continue reading...

The 21-year-old was discovered by housekeeping staff on holiday island Phuket

Rebranding before homecoming gigs, reflecting local pronunciation, to be permanent after outpouring of supportAn Aldi store in Greater Manchester rebranded Aldeh in honour of Oasis is to keep the new name, the supermarket chain has said.The new sign was erected at the Prestwich store ahead of the Oasis homecoming gigs earlier this month. The band played five sold-out shows at Heaton Park, which is near the store. Continue reading...

Indigenous affairs minister Malarndirri McCarthy says stunt by Pauline Hanson's party was incredibly childish' and disrespectful

Tory leader says she can fulfil same role as Milei, a far-right leader promising big cuts to public spendingKemi Badenoch has said she aspires to become Britain's version of Javier Milei, the Argentinian far-right, chainsaw-wielding president whose driving mission is slashing the size of the state.Asked whether the UK needed its own Milei and whether she herself fit that role, Badenoch, whose party is languishing in third place in the polls, said: Yes and yes." Continue reading...

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New vehicles declined 12% in first six months of this year as Trump's tariffs caused chaos, SMMT figures showBritish car and van manufacturing slumped in the first half of the year to its lowest since 1953 outside the Covid pandemic, as Donald Trump's US tariffs caused global industry chaos.UK vehicle manufacturing declined by 12% to 417,200 units in the first six months of the year, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group, show. Continue reading...

Appeal decision in federal court opens door for legal action after 2020 incident at Doha airportFive Australian women who allege they were forced off a Qatar Airways plane by armed guards before some were intimately examined at Doha airport will be able to sue the airline directly, the federal court has ruled.The women launched an appeal in April last year hoping to overturn a ruling that the airline could not face trial for the October 2020 incident, when they were among more than a dozen women forcibly led from a Sydney-bound plane and escorted into ambulances. Continue reading...

Democratic lawmakers join dozens on march to Paramount headquarters: This is so much bigger than one TV show'Several dozen people on Wednesday took to the streets outside the Manhattan studio of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to call for CBS and its parent company, Paramount, to reverse the cancellation of the popular show.During the rally, which began at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater and wound its way to the Paramount headquarters in Times Square, demonstrators delivered 10 boxes filled with Save Colbert" petitions to the company. Continue reading...

Target easier to achieve than 10,000 steps and linked to 37% reduction in cancer deathsWalking more could reduce your risk of dementia, depression and dying from cancer, as well as being good for your heart, according to research. And you may not need to walk as far as previously thought to reap those benefits.The NHS recommends a brisk 10-minute walk every day. Many people aim to walk 10,000 steps, but struggle to achieve it. Now researchers have calculated that even 7,000 steps could be enough to protect health. Continue reading...

High temperatures and strong winds fan fires between Istanbul and Ankara forcing evacuation of several villagesA wildfire killed at least 10 forest workers and rescuers on Wednesday who were battling to douse the flames near Eskiehir in western Turkey, authorities said.The agriculture minister, brahim Yumakli, said the fire killed five forest workers and five rescuers. Local lawmaker Nebi Hatipolu and news website BirGun had earlier said 11 had died. Continue reading...

Labor's first term saw second-worst performance since 1993 in complying with Senate orders for documents, data shows

Former leader of Fire Brigades Union secured 5249 votes against Neil Butler after legal challenge to executive's earlier decisionMatt Wrack, a former leader of the firefighters' union, has been elected as permanent general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union following a ballot in which less than 5% of eligible members voted.He beat challenger, Neil Butler, winning 5249 votes to his rival's 3126, after the NASUWT's first contested leadership election for a generation. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer's government struggling to convince MPs and public it is doing enough for civilians starving in GazaWhen David Lammy stood at the dispatch box to deliver a statement condemning Israel's killing of starving civilians in Gaza on Monday, he was met with anger from MPs.We want action, and this is not action," thundered one Labour MP. Another questioned: Is this it?" A third asked: At what point does our basic humanity require us to take stronger action? Many of us think the red line was passed a long time ago." Continue reading...

For months Israel kept food shipments to Gaza far below starvation rations. Now the death toll is rising rapidly