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Money was withdrawn from gambling firm before founder warned chancellor against doubling machine games dutyThe billionaire Done family took a 30m dividend from their Betfred gambling empire, before warning that they would close hundreds of bookies and cut jobs if the government increases tax on high-street slot machines.The chancellor, John Healey, is understood to be considering proposals to double machine games duty in the upcoming budget, a move that the Social Market Foundation thinktank has said could boost state coffers by up to 460m. Continue reading...

European Commission declined to comment on reported disruption to Starlink's services in Ukraine

Beneath a wave of school protests in France lies a more existential worry: the future prospects of an entire generation Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereSay what you will about France's high schools, they still produce world-class slogan writers. Here's a brief selection spotted during three weeks of blockades and marches over chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings:Pas d'avenir, pas de calme" (No future, no calm). Diplomes aujourd'hui, precaires demain" (Graduates today, insecure tomorrow). Vous detruisez notre futur, on bloque votre present" (You destroy our future, we block your present). Continue reading...

Brand is in Southwark crown court today where his rape and sexual assault trial beginsTaking jurors through the third allegation, Karmy-Jones said Brand pulled another woman into a toilet during an incident at a bar in Soho in 2004.The third complainant was not so lucky as to be able to pull away", the prosecutor said.She continued to resist saying, I'm not coming in there, don't be silly. Are you mad? Get off,' and she managed to pull herself away, and to release his grasp.At that point he gave up and went into the toilet, and she left the area." Continue reading...

Relatives of William Chapman say footage of attack shared online deeply offensive' and causing them severe distress'The family of a man killed by a tiger at a wildlife park in the UK have spoken about their severe distress" at the circulation of online media after Donald Trump reposted a video of the incident.William Chapman, 23, was mauled to death after entering an enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, on Saturday. Continue reading...

Engineer Tristan Ralph describes task of maintaining and running Bristol structure without public moneyThe job does not give the holder age-old perks such as the right to drive sheep across the great structure, but the title bridge master" does have a certain ring to it.I don't tend to say I'm the bridge master when I'm at a party," said Tristan Ralph, the current holder of the title. But people do seem to know and bring it up. It's a job less ordinary, isn't it? It's a Victorian sounding title and people are really, really interested." Continue reading...

Jean-Noel Barrot criticises X owner in speech attacking foreign efforts to destabilise country before 2027 electionFrance's foreign minister has accused Elon Musk of using his social media platform to orchestrate massive online harassment campaigns" against European leaders as he took aim at foreign efforts to destabilise the country before next year's presidential election.Speaking at an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development conference on Tuesday, Jean-Noel Barrot pointed to the role that social media had come to play in the global battle over democracy. The forces seeking to undermine democracy now dominate the information landscape, where they employ tactics designed to polarise public debate," he said. Continue reading...

Health minister says government did not authorize' Danish-led hepatitis B trial in babies backed by RFK JrGuinea-Bissau has not approved the controversial hepatitis B study in newborns that would be funded by the US government and private partners, the African country's minister of health said on Tuesday.The study, which would not investigate the safety or effectiveness of vaccines but would instead track nonspecific" health outcomes like overall mortality or neurodevelopmental conditions, has been championed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime anti-vaccine activist. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper acknowledges unthinkable pain' caused by practice between 1930s and 1980s after campaign by Wirral woman and othersThe health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has issued a profound apology" for the unthinkable pain" caused to parents whose stillborn babies were buried in mass graves.Parents spent decades not knowing where their babies were buried, owing to a practice in which stillborn babies taken away from mothers at hospital and buried in communal graves. Continue reading...

Vatican says operation on US-born head of Roman Catholic church was successful'. Plus, after six decades in the US, Joni Mitchell has become a citizen

Investigators determined professor responsible for urine found on a backpack, in trash cans and in water bottlesA former professor at Macalester College in the Minnesota city of St Paul is facing a felony charge for allegedly spilling his urine on a student's backpack while he still worked at the school, costing more than $2,000 in damages, according to a state criminal court document.Paul Fischer, 55, is at the center of the bizarre, alleged workplace misconduct case that led to his being cited for first-degree damage to property - and linked to at least a half dozen such incidents involving urine at the liberal arts college over the course of a year. Continue reading...

Canada-born singer-songwriter, 82, posts footage of citizenship ceremony to InstagramJoni Mitchell has become a US citizen, after first moving to the country in the mid-1960s. The Canada-born singer-songwriter, 82, posted footage of her citizenship ceremony on her Instagram account, along with a photo of her next to an American flag, accompanied by the caption: A journey that began 62 years ago."It means that Mitchell can now vote in US elections, something that she had complained she wasn't able to do. Continue reading...

Inquest into death of eight-year-old Queensland girl who was denied insulin by her religious parents told her case was complex

Defence announcement comes after Jacqui Lambie tells parliament a camera had been found concealed in a women's shower on board

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Declining stocks and increased fishing pressure have led to lower sustainability ratings for two popular cod alternativesUK shoppers have previously been urged to avoid UK-caught cod and to buy European hake or coley instead - but now these fish are in trouble, too.The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), an environmental charity, publishes its Good Fish Guide to help consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices. It uses a traffic-light system to rate seafood according to the health of fish stocks and environmental impact. Continue reading...

Citizen scientists on UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme recorded insect visits to flowers during 10-minute surveysUbiquitous urban plants often derided as weeds" are the most attractive to pollinating insects.The autumn blooms of common ivy, rich in pollen and nectar, are the most visited by insects including bees and butterflies, according to an eight-year study. Continue reading...

Golf clubs, private schools and car washes may face tighter rules from water companies as England's drought continuesThree water companies are seeking to impose severe restrictions on businesses as the drought continues across most of England, putting rivers and wildlife under huge pressure.Golf clubs and private schools could be barred from using mains water to irrigate playing fields and courses, and commercial car washes stopped from operating, under non-essential use bans" being sought by the companies. Continue reading...

Special forces officer Serhii Kuznetsov denies involvement in the 2022 blasts that left pipelines badly damagedA Ukrainian soldier is to go on trial in Hamburg accused of taking part in one of the most brazen acts of sabotage in postwar European history - the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany.Serhii Kuznetsov, a special forces officer from the Ukrainian military, is accused by prosecutors of being an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure, causing an explosion, damaging property and disrupting public services. Continue reading...

Madeleine King says national gas reservation scheme, expected to come into effect from 2028, will reduce power prices

In today's newsletter: The collapse of the UK's one in, one out' asylum deal with France exposes the limits of border enforcement that did little to stop crossings, and only made them more dangerousGood morning. You'd be forgiven for missing it. Earlier this month, the government quietly scrapped its one in, one out" deal with France. The partnership was supposed to eliminate small boat crossings by deterring asylum seekers from making the treacherous journey across the world's busiest shipping channel.The deal, which lasted just 423 days, was beset with problems, had a negligible impact, and now joins a long list of policies that have tried and failed to address highly visible, often tragic small boat crossings. This morning, the Home Office announced that it would be doubling the number of riot police along the French coast in lieu of the deal.UK news | Extremists holding anti-immigration opinions are becoming increasingly likely to consider carrying out terrorist attacks against immigration centres and asylum hotels, the head of MI5 has warned.UK politics | Nigel Farage has denied that a Reform UK government would authorise lethal force against small boat crossings in the Channel.Ukraine | Andy Burnham will host Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street on Wednesday as the UK seeks to further underline its support for the Ukrainian president, in contrast to his difficulties with Donald Trump.US politics | Kimberly Guilfoyle is stepping down as US ambassador to Greece after weeks of reports that she sought payment from a Trump donor in exchange for access to administration officials.Pope Leo XIV | Pope Leo has lung cancer, the Vatican said late on Tuesday. Leo, 71, underwent an operation and had the lower lobe of his right lung removed, with tests confirming a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said. Continue reading...

Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das will spend spend five days in prison for entering Delhi's Jantar Mantar - a historic protest site that has been closed by authoritiesTwo leaders of India's youth-led Cockroach movement have been sent to jail for five days for violating a ban on protests at a site in central Delhi.A court ordered that Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, leaders of the Cockroach Janata party (CJP) movement, spend five days in Delhi's Tihar prison for jumping over police barricades, holding up slogans and waving the Indian flag at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Investigation finds racial inequality in live music industry rife and many genres labelled high risk' despite lack of evidenceBlack and south Asian music events in London face disproportionate cancellations, restrictions and licensing barriers compared with white events, according to a two-year investigation into racial inequality in the capital's live music industry.The Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report, led by Black Lives in Music, estimates that cancellations, displacement and events prevented from taking place cost London 127m to 141m annually, with projected losses exceeding 650m over five years. Continue reading...

Jury also shown 3D reconstruction of Paddington terrace outlining prosecution version of alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

Public gatherings stymied by bureaucracy, Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University researchers find

Federal court overrules decision by former environment minister for the McPhillamys goldmine development at Blayney

Rights groups warn of Tehran regime's increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 600 this yearHuman rights groups have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, after reports that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social-media post.Amini, an accounting student, is being held in Vakilabad prison in the north-east city of Mashhad. She has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and death in separate cases heard by a revolutionary and a criminal court. Continue reading...

Faced with deadlier threats, demining groups are coming up with new ways of working using drones and AICrouched over on her hands and knees in a field of weeds, Olena Kabanova is digging into the ground. With a shovel and a steady hand, the 58-year-old digs out a neat square around the spot where a mine detector has sensed a suspicious object.Four years ago, this field in eastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian soldiers. Now back under Ukrainian control, it is littered with landmines. Civilians such as Kabanova are trying to make the land usable again. Continue reading...

Police have charged a 31-year-old man with the alleged murder of Jayda Allen Bonner, whose body was found in a Carlton apartment on Saturday

Anger at electoral roll changes has boiled over, sparking a crisis for Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist governmentBorn into a small village in West Bengal, Shahida Fakir had always taken her vote for granted. That was, until it was suddenly taken away. She presented officials with her Indian birth certificate and family land documents from the village going back to 1962.Both her parents had been on the electoral roll going back decades, so she showed proof of that too. But when the final revised voter list came out in April, Fakir was not on it. Continue reading...

Australia's highest court says Queensland drug trafficker extracting and storing eggs is not assisted reproductive technology'

Treasurer's comments come after prime minister revealed he intervened to delay a controversial ban on such payments to the tax office

FSB security agency said reporter was arrested on island of Sakhalin, alleging he was collecting information about Russia's defencesRussia has arrested a Japanese journalist on the far east island of Sakhalin and accused him of espionage, Moscow said on Tuesday.Russia regards Japan as an unfriendly" country because it has joined western sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Russia has arrested several citizens of unfriendly" countries in recent years, accusing them of working for western intelligence services. Continue reading...

Rescuers respond to surge in callouts for the vulnerable bat species, which usually feeds on blossoms and tree nectar

New recruitment campaign to target adults in their 30s and 40s in bid to create 10,000 new foster care placesViennetta Basterfield, 67, spent two decades fostering more than 100 children in her west London home before she and her husband handed in the reins during Covid.Her own mother had died when she was nine and she was brought up by another woman who took her in. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to dedicate her life to passing that gift on to others. Continue reading...

Former investor alleges BitMEX sold products in UK despite not being regulated by Financial Conduct AuthorityA cryptocurrency exchange founded by the billionaire Reform UK donor Ben Delo is being sued for 20m over claims that the company mis-sold financial products in the UK.Lewis Barber, who is a software engineer, alleges that BitMEX offered crypto derivative products to investors in the UK, despite not being regulated or approved to do so by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Continue reading...

Historic eatery in capital's theatreland given to heritage charity after changing hands only three times in 228 yearsWhen Thomas Rule served his first oyster to diners on Maiden Lane in London's Covent Garden, mad" George III was on the throne of England, John Adams was US president and William Pitt the Younger had just come up with a wheeze called income tax to pay for the Napoleonic wars.More than two centuries later, Rules, the restaurant Thomas founded in what became the capital's theatreland, has outlasted nine British monarchs and 45 prime ministers - but has changed hands only three times. The interior of its four-storey home, stuffed with historic playbills and vintage caricatures and gilded antlers, is little changed from the 19th century, nor has the tone of its determinedly meaty menu - think rabbit rillettes, shin of veal and roast guinea fowl. Continue reading...

Research shows that the best linguists process unfamiliar foreign speech sounds more like non-speech soundsIf you want to get really good at French, Arabic or Hungarian, don't start with rote learning vocabulary and grammar, focus on how they sound instead, research suggests.A new study of how humans learn modern languages has found that the brains of the most talented linguists hear foreign terms as random noise, not words. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president's comments on particularly vile' strikes come after US threatened to halt intelligence sharingUkraine received no early warning from its partners about a second night of Russian ballistic missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, including a critical power plant struck after dark, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.The Ukrainian president had earlier described an attack involving five missiles on Monday as particularly vile". He emphasised that receiving intelligence from Ukraine's western allies helps saves lives, and this is one of the most critical issues". Continue reading...

Prime minister reiterates UK backing after the Ukrainian president's latest round of difficulties with Donald TrumpAndy Burnham will host Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street on Wednesday as the UK seeks to further underline its support for the Ukrainian president, in contrast to his difficulties with Donald Trump.The UK prime minister said his message to Zelenskyy and his country would be: We are with you for as long as it takes." Continue reading...

A 19-year-old man was arrested and charged at Silverwater correctional facility on Tuesday

Vatican says pontiff had lower lobe of right lung removed in successful, on schedule and as planned' operation in RomePope Leo has lung cancer, the Vatican said late on Tuesday.Leo, 71, underwent an operation and had the lower lobe of his right lung removed, with tests confirming a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, which followed an earlier statement saying the pope's operation had concluded successfully, on schedule and as planned". Continue reading...

You don't get to take a man from his family ... and just walk away from it,' judge says as former gang leader sentenced

More than 50 families call for investigation into how Vincent Chan was allowed to return to job after inquiry by nurseryThe parents of the victims of paedophile nursery worker Vincent Chan have reacted with fury to the news that he was cleared to return to work after significant concerns" were raised by the parent of a young girl.As first revealed in the Guardian, Chan was reported to his employer, the nursery chain Bright Horizons, by a concerned parent in 2021. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Caution urged over Javier Milei government's red notice' requests for arrest of individuals linked to oil projectBritain has appealed to Interpol to reject Argentina's requests for the arrest of individuals involved in a large oil project off the Falkland Islands.With tensions over the sovereignty of the British overseas territory reaching levels not seen since the war with Argentina in 1982, UK officials have sought urgent assurances from the international organisation. Continue reading...

Civilians warned to evacuate outskirts of Sana'a ahead of biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructureSaudi Arabia has launched a series of strikes on a strategic oil depot on the outskirts of Yemen's capital Sana'a, in a fresh escalation of the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthi forces.Before the attack on Tuesday, a Saudi spokesperson warned civilians to leave the target area, in an apparent attempt to strike fear into the local population ahead of the biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructure. Continue reading...

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joins teenagers calling for investment to fix teacher shortages and crumbling schoolsMore than 160,000 schoolchildren, students and trade unionists have marched in cities across France as protests over high school education continued into a third week and many demonstrators denounced policing tactics.Riot police fired teargas at the end of Tuesday's marches in Nantes and near the Montparnasse area of Paris, but most of the demonstrations over teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and crumbling school buildings held in cities including Lyon, Lille and Marseille were peaceful. Continue reading...

Ukraine's president says his country has halted strikes on Russian oil refineries for two days after Trump's energy ceasefire announcementOn frozen Russian assets, Poland's Sikorski says the use of frozen Russian assets is a complicated issue," but takes a very clear stance in response to any suggestion of releasing them back to Russia.We are working on it, but there is also some rumours that some people are expecting these assets to be released back to Russia.I don't think I'm speaking just for myself in saying: over our dead bodies."Russia right now is not ready for ceasefire, but still, this only can encourage us to stay with Ukraine and to, strengthen, the pressure on Russia and always be ready for conversations, but and also especially for, for ceasefire negotiations.But, until this doesn't happen, we are with Ukraine. We are with the president the German government is is backing the Ukrainian government and the president, completely. He is the person to lead Ukraine, and we are with him." Continue reading...

He argued there was no evidence to suggest the result of the Brexit vote had been swayed as a result of the effort

Abta advice comes as more than more than 150 websites offer service of securing entry to Schengen zoneBritons travelling to Europe have told not to apply for an Etias visa waiver, with more than 150 websites touting the service despite its introduction being delayed.Non-EU citizens, including UK travellers and those from other visa-exempt countries including the US, Australia and Canada, will soon need to pay 20 (17) for an electronic waiver to enter the Schengen zone under the European travel information and authorisation system (Etias). Continue reading...