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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...

Law allowing committee to fire staff for supporting terror' backed by education minister and national student unionIsrael's education minister and the country's national union of students are backing a draft law to limit academic speech in the country, which the heads of leading universities have attacked as McCarthyite" and fundamentally undemocratic.The legislation, currently being debated in the Knesset, would give a government-appointed committee the power to order the firing of academic staff that it decides have expressed support for terror". If the universities refuse, their funding would be cut. Continue reading...

Houthi military says US ship in Red Sea also targeted after Israeli strikes on oil facilities and power station in Yemen

Poll shows considerable alignment' between perception of NHS pay levels and claims of unions and associationsAbout half the public think newly qualified nurses, junior doctors and healthcare assistants are underpaid, polling has found.Research also showed that more people thought NHS staff overall were badly paid than well paid, amid signs that public sector pay could become an early test for the Labour government. Continue reading...

Court overturns ruling reserving 30% of government jobs for independence war veterans and their relativesBangladesh's top court has scaled back the quotas on government jobs that led to widespread student-led protests and violent clashes that killed more than 100 people.According to reports in local media, on Sunday afternoon the supreme court overturned a ruling that had reintroduced quotas for all civil service jobs, meaning that 30% were reserved for veterans and relatives of those who fought in the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971. Continue reading...

Move targeting those in city for less than 12 hours is latest measure from mayor to tackle effects of mass tourismBarcelona's mayor plans to raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers who visit the city for less than 12 hours as part of his continuing efforts to tackle the consequences of mass tourism" in the Catalan capital.Jaume Collboni, a member of the Catalan Socialist party, has announced a series of measures designed to reduce overtourism and improve the city's housing situation since taking office last year. Continue reading...

Nostell trail tells story of Swiss-born Sabine Winn's isolation and unhappiness after move to mansion in West YorkshireIn the painted portraits it is all serenity, happiness and domestic bliss. But behind the smiles of 18th-century lady of the house" Sabine Winn is a different story: one of isolation, loneliness and marital anguish.The National Trust is to tell, for the first time, the story of Winn at the country house where she lived for 30 years and which brought her profound unhappiness - Nostell, a Palladian mansion near Wakefield in West Yorkshire. Continue reading...

Fears about keeping up with demand have replaced post-pandemic concerns about a slump in the aviation sectorThe residents of Farnborough, Hampshire, are constantly disturbed by flights to and from the UK's busiest airport for private jets. But for one week in July every two years, the whine of commercial aircraft is replaced by the bone-juddering roar of fighter planes.The occasion is the Farnborough international airshow, a gathering of top executives from airlines, aircraft makers and arms manufacturers hoping to sell their wares and pressflesh. Continue reading...

Independent pay review bodies for teachers and NHS staff have reportedly advised increases of about 5.5%Rachel Reeves has indicated that the government could agree above-inflation pay rises for teachers and other public sector workers, saying that there is a cost to not settling" pay negotiations.The chancellor, who did not dispute reports that independent pay review bodies for teachers and NHS staff had advised increases of about 5.5% - higher than the current 2% inflation rate - said she would set out full details later in July. Continue reading...

Head of child protection says intimate images should be reported to tackle tidal wave' of online sexual abuseParents of under-18s should be monitoring their children's phones for nude pictures, according to the police chief for child protection, in order to tackle a tidal wave" of online sexual abuse cases.The new lead for child abuse investigations at the National Police Chiefs' Council, assistant chief constable Becky Riggs, told the Sunday Times parents needed to report any intimate images of their children to police.In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

All inner-Sydney light rail lines are due to grind to a halt during peak hours from 8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm from Monday to Friday

This blog is now closedEmergency meetings to assess IT outage falloutFurther emergency meetings will be held to examine the fallout of a global IT outage in Australia, AAP reports.We are still in recovery stage ... there is still more work to do to make sure that the residual issues arising from this outage are able to be addressed.There will be opportunity in time to reflect on what's occurred over the last couple of days, whether it exposes vulnerabilities that we are able to address. Continue reading...

Police say they rescued second two-year-old unharmed after pram carrying twin girls rolled off platform at Carlton train station

Chancellor says industry taskforce will allow retirement scheme managers to increase pension pots by up to 11,000 Will Hutton: pension reform is the key to unleashing investment boom and turning round stock marketLabour has promised to bring forward wide-ranging reforms of the 2tn private pensions industry in a review that aims to boost investment, increase pension pots and tackle waste in the pensions system".A taskforce of industry executives and ministers from the Treasury and department of work and pensions will propose ways to cut costs and improve investment options, allowing retirement scheme managers to boost pension pots by up to 11,000. Continue reading...

Campaigners raise concern over risk of problem gambling as more than 300 24-hour sites spring upMore than 300 slot machine adult gaming centres are running 24 hours a day on Britain's high streets, despite warnings of the risks they pose to vulnerable gamblers.Two of the leading slot machine operators - Merkur and Admiral - have opened dozens of new around-the-clock outlets in empty retail units across the country over the last few years. The two firms operate more than 500 venues across Britain, with most now open 24 hours a day. Continue reading...

Zoe Daniel says previous body set up by Coalition to oversee unions was so politicised' that it could not be effective

2024 Games organiser Tony Estanguet tells how chats with British sporting legend Sebastian Coe have kept him on an even keelIt has to feel pretty weird. You're in charge of the biggest event your country's ever organised. You have worked on it to the exclusion, basically, of everything else in your life, for very nearly a decade. And now - it's a week away.It's a very strange feeling," confirms Tony Estanguet, head of the 2024 Olympic Games organising committee. I come from this small town in south-west France. My sport is a very minor one. It's been ... quite a ride. But here I am. And now, well, here we all are." Continue reading...

Police allege the 24-year-old mounted the footpath and deliberately hit the 23-year-old mother in Daisy Hill in south-east Brisbane

Police say the 37-year-old man and a friend had shared a pizza and were walking to a friend's house in Guildford when three masked men attacked them

Police said there was a fight between two men and a woman that left one man dead and the woman with life-threatening injuries

Attack comes after Israeli fighter jets hit Houthi military targets in Yemen's Hodeidah, killing three people and wounding 87

Keir Starmer under pressure to scrap limit as more than dozen MPs thought to support king's speech amendmentKeir Starmer has come under further pressure to scrap the two-child benefit limit after another of his backbench MPs described the policy as heinous".Writing in The Sunday Times, Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield said the cap, which came into effect under then-chancellor George Osborne in 2017, was sinister and overtly sexist" and had been the main reason driving her to stand for parliament. Continue reading...

Flights continue to be cancelled while GP surgeries and hospitals will be dealing with impact of backlogsThe aftershocks of the Microsoft IT outage continued to ripple across the UK on Saturday as holidaymakers and patients suffered the brunt of the computer systems failure.Customers experienced flight cancellations, faulty train ticket machines and failures in GPs' prescription and appointment systems after a flawed security update from CrowdStrike, a US cybersecurity firm, crashed 8.5 million devices across the world running the Windows operating system. Continue reading...