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Democratic nominee touts policy plans at rally in swing state where polls show she and Trump are nearly tied

More than 130,000 people will benefit from check-ups that will be considered the equivalent of an NHS appointmentMore than 130,000 people across England will benefit from workplace health checks being trialled to help protect people from preventable diseases, the government has said.The checkups, which will begin on 30 August and can be completed by employees at their workplace, involve recording a range of information via a questionnaire for each patient. The answers are used to determine their risk for various cardiovascular conditions, and will be considered the equivalent of an NHS appointment. Continue reading...

PM urged to stand firm after chancellor promises employers government will co-design' reforms with businessKeir Starmer has been warned against caving in to pressure to water down a ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts, after fresh evidence showing the financial hit for millions in insecure work.Bosses have told the prime minister he risks causing real damage" for the economy if the government's proposals for the biggest overhaul in workers' rights for a generation are pushed through too quickly. Continue reading...

PM's biographer says portrait of predecessor commissioned by Gordon Brown no longer hangs in the Thatcher RoomKeir Starmer has had a portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from No 10 Downing Street, according to his biographer.Tom Baldwin said that after Starmer took office he had spoken with the prime minister in Thatcher's former No 10 study, unofficially known as the Thatcher Room, where a portrait of her was on display. Continue reading...

A moment of great sadness for the nation' as Mori king, considered the paramount chief of several tribes, or iwi, diesNew Zealand's Mori King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died peacefully on Friday morning, aged 69, according to a statement released by his representatives.The death of Kiingi Tuheitia is a moment of great sadness for followers of Te Kiingitanga, Moridom and the entire nation," spokesperson Rahui Papa said on social media. He added the King had been in hospital recovering from heart surgery just days after celebrating the 18th anniversary of his coronation. Continue reading...

Esther McVey used poem about complicity with the Nazis to criticise Labour's proposals about smoking in beer gardensThe Conservative MP Esther McVey has been urged to get a grip" after she posted a poem about the Holocaust to criticise government plans to introduce outdoor smoking bans.McVey, the MP for Tatton and a former cabinet minister, posted on X the words of Martin Niemoller's 1946 poem First They Came, about inaction from within Germany against the Nazis. Continue reading...

IDF claims armed assailants' tried to hijack vehicle leading convoy of medical supplies, which aid organiser deniesThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said they carried out an airstrike on a humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza aimed at armed assailants" trying to hijack it but the charity that organised the aid said people killed in the strike were employees of the transport company it was working with.The convoy, organised by the US-based NGO Anera, was carrying medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati-run hospital in Rafah on Thursday evening at the time of the attack. Its route had been coordinated in advance with the IDF, under a deconfliction process intended to prevent aid vehicles being bombed. Continue reading...

Meteorologists predict scorching temperatures for the weekend before weather cools just in time for Labor DayMillions of Americans will continue to swelter as Labor Day weekend approaches, with much of the country under some kind of excessive heat watch.The brutal heatwave the US midwest suffered earlier this week has spread to the eastern half of the country, with more than 20 million people under some kind of a heat alert. Continue reading...

Planned 22 days of disrupted weekend services suspended with Aslef stating it has resolved a longstanding disputeA series of weekend strikes by train drivers on LNER from Saturday has been called off, their trade union Aslef has announced.Passengers travelling between London and Edinburgh had faced the prospect of months of disruption after LNER drivers earlier this month announced 22 days of industrial action from the start of September until early November. Continue reading...

While most people don't experience symptoms after bite of infected mosquito, about one in 150 develop serious illnessTwo people in eastern Wisconsin and one person in northeastern Illinois have died of West Nile virus, according to health officials.A third person in Wisconsin has been hospitalized because of the mosquito-borne illness, the Wisconsin department of health services said Thursday in a release. Continue reading...

Samaritans charity calls on government to invest in suicide prevention as it has with smoking reductionMinisters have been urged to treat suicide as a public health crisis after the rate at which people killed themselves in England and Wales reached the highest level in more than two decades.The official figures, described by the suicide prevention charity Samaritans as worse than expected", showed 6,069 suicides were registered in the two nations in 2023, up from 5,642 in 2022 and the highest rate since 1999. Continue reading...

EU foreign policy head says members have given up hope of seeing voting tallies in disputed presidential electionThe EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said its members have given up hope of Nicolas Maduro producing evidence that he won Venezuela's election and will not accept his legitimacy as president-elect.Addressing reporters after EU foreign ministers held a video call with Edmundo Gonzalez, the former diplomat widely believed to have beaten Maduro in the 28 July vote, Borrell announced: The European Council decided that Maduro has no democratic legitimacy as president." Continue reading...

Mussie Imnetu from Sweden, who worked under Gordon Ramsay, was assaulted while in London on business tripA Swedish chef who had worked under Gordon Ramsay is in critical condition after being attacked near Notting Hill carnival on Monday.Mussie Imnetu, 41, the head chef at the Arts Club in Dubai, was visiting London on a business trip. At about 11.20pm on Monday, Imnetu was attacked at the Dr Power restaurant in Queensway. Continue reading...

Robert O'Brien says UK could face US counter-embargos and put its role in F-35 fighter jet project in dangerLabour risks a serious rift in the UK's special relationship with the US if it goes ahead with a ban on arms sales to Israel, Donald Trump's last national security adviser has warned.Robert O'Brien, still one of the key security voices in the Trump circle, said the UK was endangering its future role in the F-35 project as well as facing the risk of US congressional counter-embargos. The F-35 fighter jets are made in part by British arms firms and are used by Israel's air force as part of its bombing of Gaza. Continue reading...

Hospitality industry expresses concern about impact on businesses of leaked proposals not denied by PMKeir Starmer is on a collision course with the hospitality industry and political opponents after signalling plans for major curbs on outdoor smoking.The proposals, not denied by the prime minister, would potentially prohibit tobacco use outside pubs and restaurants, including on pavements. The restrictions would come on top of existing plans to gradually outlaw smoking year by year. Continue reading...

Jade Anthony Barnett, who was attacked in Clapton, used a mobility scooter after losing a leg in a motorcycle accidentTributes have been paid to a jolly, cheerful, caring" man who was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday.Officers were called at 3.38pm on Wednesday to reports of a fight in Rushmore Road, Clapton, where they found Jade Anthony Barnett, 38, with stab wound injuries. Continue reading...

Tentative announcement follows Israeli PM's hints at partial truce to help vaccination of 640,000 children

Jake Wray, 23, who was also charged, held up traffic and asked whether motorists were white and EnglishA grandmother, her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend have admitted taking part in violent far-right disorder earlier this month in Middlesbrough.Amanda Walton, 52, who was walking her pet chow chow, threw a missile and damaged a car. Her daughter Megan Davison, 24, jumped on the roof of a car. Davison's boyfriend Jake Wray, 23, stopped cars at a junction demanding: Are you white? Are you English?" Continue reading...

Ugly' footwear trend boosts German shoemaker's sales of closed-toe styles by more than twice the average for its productsStrong sales of clogs - which have been adopted by the American models Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner as part of this summer's trend for ugly" shoes - have helped Birkenstock to the highest quarterly sales in its history.The German shoemaker, which listed on the US stock market in October last year valued at $7.5bn, said sales of closed-toe silhouettes", which include its clunky clogs, rose by more than twice the average for its products. Continue reading...

Retailers report high volume' of thefts and then seeing items for sale locally or on Facebook or WhatsAppShops across the UK are buying stolen goods from professional shoplifters who thieve to order for criminal gangs to feed their addiction problems, retail groups have said.The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said its members were reporting high volume" and very brazen and direct" incidents of shoplifting, with meat, cheese and alcohol items typically targeted. Continue reading...

International survey of 250,000 15-year-olds found nearly a third of them did not use a condom or the pillAn alarming decline in condom use is putting young people's health at risk, the World Health Organization has warned.The WHO's survey of nearly 250,000 15-year-olds in 42 countries and regions across Europe and Canada found that between 2014 and 2022, condom use among sexually active adolescents declined significantly, putting them at significant risk of sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Continue reading...

Nine children among those admitted after incident at Everyone Active sports centre in WembleyEleven people including nine children have been taken to hospital after reports of a chlorine leak at a swimming pool in London, emergency services said.Two adults were also admitted to hospital after the incident at the Everyone Active sports centre in Wembley. Continue reading...

Giving young people chance to work, learn and train across Europe is glue' between countries, says German ambassador

IAEA has urged both sides to refrain from fighting around nuclear plantsRussia said Thursday that it took two more east Ukrainian villages - in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions - as its forces continue their advance deeper into the country.The defence ministry said Russian forces captured the village of Mykolaivka, around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as well as the settlement of Stelmakhivka in the neighbouring Lugansk region. Continue reading...

Thousands of schoolchildren in Rio de Janeiro's favelas miss classes and risk violence as Brazil's police battle drug gangsTextbooks and marker pens are not all that science teacher Roberto Brandao, 54, takes with him each morning when he sets off for work in a school in one of Rio de Janeiro's largest favelas. He also carries a first-aid kit in case he or any of his students is hit by a bullet.I always have it in my backpack because I could be shot at any time," he said, displaying the red waterproof bag after attending a seminar on how police operations are affecting children's learning in Mare. Continue reading...

Thursday's attack follows major raids across the region which saw at least 10 Palestinians killed as part of an operation the military said could last days

Vietnamese man was one of seven people rescued from space the width of a human chest' in adapted vehicleA Vietnamese man suffered a life-limiting stroke" after being rescued from a tiny hidden compartment in a lorry with six other people being smuggled into the UK.The group was packed so tightly inside a space the width of a human chest" that none could move their arms, a Home Office investigator has said. Continue reading...

Following online outrage, airline says child was taken to lavatory by strangers to be educated' with grandmother's consentTwo women in China have been accused of child abuse after they separated a crying toddler from her grandmother and locked her in the toilet of a plane, on a domestic flight.In a video uploaded by one of the women to social media, the girl can been seen wailing and trying to get out of the locked lavatory door. One of the women can be heard saying, if you stop crying, you can go out" and if you stop crying, auntie will take you back to grandma". Neither of the women are thought to be related to the child. Continue reading...

Absence of legally binding targets for greenhouse gas reductions from 2031-49 deemed unconstitutionalSouth Korea's constitutional court has ruled that part of the country's climate law does not conform with protecting the constitutional rights of future generations, an outcome local activists are calling a landmark decision".The unanimous verdict concludes four years of legal battles and sets a significant precedent for future climate-related legal actions in the region. Continue reading...

The 41-year-old says it is right time for someone new to take the role as he backs MP Claire HannaThe leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP), the once dominant party of Irish nationalism in Northern Ireland, has announced he is stepping down after nine years in the job.Colum Eastwood, 41, the MP for Foyle, told a news conference in his native Derry that the time was right for someone else to take on the role and named his fellow party MP Claire Hanna as his preferred successor. Continue reading...

Deaths in Tulkarm bring toll to 16 during Israel's deadliest operation in occupied territory since 7 October

More shows added at Heaton Park, Wembley and Murrayfield with tickets selling for as much as 506.25Oasis have released three more dates in Manchester, London and Edinburgh for their reunion tour next year.Noel Gallagher posted on X that due to unprecedented demand" shows had been added in Heaton Park, Manchester, on 16 July, Wembley in London on 30 July and Murrayfield, Edinburgh, on 12 August. Continue reading...

Chris Patten condemns dark day for press freedom' as Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam convicted over 11 articlesTwo journalists from the closed Hong Kong media outlet Stand News have been found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials - the first such convictions since Hong Kong's return to Chinese control - after a trial that was closely observed as a bellwether for the city's diminishing press freedom.The former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were arrested on 29 December 2021 after police raided the outlet's newsroom. Continue reading...

Political landscape faces upheaval as far-right AfD and left-conservative BSW expected to perform stronglyThe far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party has plastered the city centre of Erfurt with eye-catching posters of a jet soaring through a clear blue sky, conjuring up many Germans' dream of a tropical holiday. Only the tagline reveals a darker message: Summer, Sun, Remigration".As it campaigns for votes in its east German heartland, the AfD has long since embraced the slogan that last winter sent hundreds of thousands of Germans on to the streets in protest against revelations of a rightwing master plan" to deport unwanted foreigners and citizens alike. Continue reading...

An estimated 38% of graduate student employees are now in unions as unionization becomes a tactic for change'Unionization has been surging in higher education, according to a new comprehensive report that reveals a133% increase among graduate student employees in the US since 2012.An estimated 38% of graduate student employees are now unionized, with more than 150,000 workers in 81 bargaining units as of January 2024. Continue reading...

Chinese leader speaks with Jake Sullivan who was making his first visit to Beijing as US national security adviserXi Jinping has spoken with the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in a surprise meeting during the senior Biden aide's three-day visit to Beijing.The meeting, reported by Chinese state media on Thursday afternoon, came after several days of talks between Sullivan and senior Communist party officials including the foreign minister, Wang Yi, and a vice-chair of the central military commission believed to have the ear of Xi. Continue reading...

Person held on suspicion of aiding and abetting murder of Londoners Farooq Abdulrazak and Juan CifuentesSwedish authorities have arrested and held a person on suspicion of aiding and abetting the murder of two British citizens who were found dead in a burnt-out car in Malmo.The two victims, whose identities have been confirmed by the prosecutor as Farooq Abdulrazak, 37, and Juan Cifuentes, 33, were found dead on 14 July. Continue reading...

Matt Comyn tells parliamentary inquiry that criticism of business profits erodes trust in institutions'

Sodium nitrite has been used in dozens of deaths in the state and federal government should take action, coroner says

Whale Watching Sydney photographer says his phone has not stopped going' since the sighting

Leaked Whitehall documents reveal plans to extend indoor smoking ban to a number of open-air spacesSmoking could be banned in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, outside hospitals and at sports grounds in the UK under tighter restrictions being considered by ministers, according to leaked documents.The measures are being proposed as part of a tougher version of the previous government's tobacco and vapes bill, which would prohibit the sale of tobacco to those born on or after January 2009, the Sun reports. Continue reading...

Move by Hollywood-backed Marlow Film Studios seen as test of Labour's push to prioritise economic growthThe developers of a planned 750m film studio near London backed by Hollywood directors including Titanic's James Cameron have said they hope to revive the stalled project in a case seen as a test of a broader push by the new government to prioritise economic growth.Marlow Film Studios said it would appeal to a national planning body after the proposed new complex was rejected earlier this year by Buckinghamshire county council. Continue reading...

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Defence counsel for man, who can not be named, says woman fabricated that she had rejected his sexual advances more than once to make sex sound more nonconsensual'

Burns becomes first Labor MP to speak against Albanese government decision, saying we need as few blind spots as possible'

Doctors' union has been in turmoil since it voted to in effect reject findings of transgender healthcare reportThe British Medical Association (BMA) has been accused of undertaking a witch-hunt" to try to identify which senior figure leaked that it was set to oppose the landmark Cass review on transgender healthcare.It has warned its ruling council's 69 members that whoever tipped off the media about its stance should own up or face their non-cooperation being seen as an act of dishonesty". Critics said its action is disgraceful", Orwellian" and witch-hunt-like". Continue reading...

The birds are the first creatures to be granted the honour since conurbation gained city status in 2022Hamish, a handsome Indian blue peacock, is pecking at a cauliflower head with determination in the late afternoon sunshine in Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline. Angel, a delicate white peahen, sits at the top of the outdoor aviary, calling to her chicks.The birds appear only mildly perturbed at the bagpipers and local dignitaries assembling for a short ceremony on Wednesday afternoon to award them the freedom of the city. They are the first creatures of any species to be granted this honour since Dunfermline, in Fife, was conferred city status in May 2022. Continue reading...

Violence has increased and reports have emerged of misconduct by staff and hardening of conditions', monitoring board findsSafety has deteriorated and violence has increased at one of the UK's largest immigration detention centres, with failings that were identified in a public inquiry almost a year ago still not addressed, according to a report.The findings are published in the annual report by the independent monitoring board for the Gatwick immigration removal centre.Assaults nearly tripled last year, with 146 assaults on staff compared with 55 in 2022, and 82 assaults between detainees compared with 33 in 2022.Use of force more than doubled.Handcuffing of detainees for hospital and other external visits jumped from 30% to 100%.There were some indications" that some staff were involved in the supply of drugs to detainees.Home Office staff from the detention engagement team felt reticent" about moving around the centre. According to the report, the concerns appear to be related to their personal safety".Twelve complaints of serious misconduct by staff escalated to the Home Office's professional standards unit for investigation.There was bedding so old that it had yellowed with age". Continue reading...

Anna Cody worries the Albanese government's backflip could strengthen the voices of discrimination'

Organisations who try to save lives in Mediterranean say Sicily response showed what can be doneThe tremendous resources and global attention dedicated to the tragedy of the Bayesian superyacht hint at a double standard for shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, several NGOs dedicated to assisting asylum seekers have said, citing the barriers they regularly face as they attempt to save lives in the same waters.The groups that spoke to the Guardian were swift to express their regret and extend their sympathies for the deaths of seven people after the luxury vessel was hit by violent storms off the coast of Italy. Continue reading...