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Annual report finds only five of the 19 measures monitored are considered to be on track

Rod Sims says criticism of regional carrier's decision to compete with major operators on capital city routes ignores failures of public policy

In today's newsletter: A mob descended on the Merseyside town and clashed with police after three children were killed - here's what happened Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.The horrific knife attack in which three children were killed in Southport has shocked the country. It has also been seized on by the far right to promote its hateful agenda and led to riots, injuring 54 police officers and the burning of a police van within sight of the venue where the child stabbing victims had danced to Taylor Swift.Israel-Gaza war | Iran has vowed revenge after airstrikes killed the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut in the space of 12 hours. The dual Israeli assassinations crushed hopes for an imminent Gaza ceasefire and fuelled fears of a dangerous escalation" in the region.US news | During a contentious and chaotic panel hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Wednesday, Donald Trump parroted disinformation and questioned Kamala Harris's race. Trump claimed that Harris suddenly became a Black woman" and had previously only been identifying with her Indian heritage. Is she Indian or is she Black?" Trump said, as the audience audibly gasped. I respect either one but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way and then all of sudden she became a Black woman."UK news | Fire brigades across England are rife with pockets of abhorrent behaviour" such as sexist, racist and homophobic language, an investigation has found.Science | A new accessible blood test that can predict male infertility could soon be used by GPs, researchers say. Researchers looked at data from almost 4,000 men who underwent semen and hormone testing from 2011-2020.India | The death toll from landslides in Kerala rose to 166 and almost 200 people were missing as the southern Indian state reeled from one of its worst disasters in years. Continue reading...

Sexist, racist or homophobic language has been used by almost a quarter of brigades, investigation findsFire brigades across England are rife with pockets of abhorrent behaviour" such as sexist, racist and homophobic language, an investigation has found.The firefighting inspectorate discovered that almost a quarter of brigades were culpable with their behaviour excused as old-school banter", according to a report into allegations of a toxic culture. Continue reading...

Merseyside police have said members of the far-right English Defence League took part in the riots in Southport on Tuesday night. The clashes followed the spread of misinformation and hatred online after three children were killed in a knife attack. John Harris talks to the Guardian correspondent Hannah Al-Othman, who is in Southport. Plus, our political editor Pippa Crerar's exclusive report on bullying allegations against the Conservative party leadership frontrunner Kemi Badenoch Continue reading...

Criminals change phone and email details to prevent users from receiving myGov notifications - before altering tax returns and bank account details

Leader says perverse and macabre' electoral rivals are stoking protests as US official calls for governments to acknowledge Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as election winnerNicolas Maduro has gone on the offensive after suspicions that he stole last Sunday's presidential election plunged Venezuela into turmoil and diplomatic isolation, blaming the unrest on a far-right conspiracy being spearheaded by perverse and macabre" political foes.Addressing foreign journalists at the presidential palace in Caracas - as international condemnation of the allegedly rigged election grew - Venezuela's authoritarian leader struck a defiant note. Continue reading...

A child was bitten and another knocked over by a wolf displaying disturbing' behaviour near Utrecht, authorities sayAuthorities have issued an urgent warning to visitors with small children to avoid a forested area in the central Netherlands after several disturbing" incidents involving a wolf, including a child who was bitten.The latest encounter happened on Wednesday morning when a large animal", presumed to be the wolf, knocked over a child near the village of Austerlitz, about 16km (10 miles) east of Utrecht. Continue reading...

Palestinian advocacy groups want the Labor government to give those fleeing Gaza a humanitarian pathway like those offered to Afghans and Ukrainians

This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur hereThe death of Haniyeh is damaging to Hamas, but he was not involved in the military operations on the ground in Gaza, and the group has survived past assassinations of its leadership.In 2004, Israel killed both Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin and co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in attacks in Gaza.This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals. We confirm that this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives.Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons. Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices and we are confident of victory. Continue reading...

Astonishing' signs of regrowth discovered on world-famous tree, whose destruction led to outpouring of griefThe felling of the Sycamore Gap tree brought forth an outpouring of emotion last year, with local people and tourists alike left bereft by pictures showing it on its side.But the latest stage of the saga has brought some astonishing" green shoots of recovery, the National Trust has said - in a literal and metaphorical sense. Continue reading...

About one in five teenagers aged 16-18 display problematic behaviour with their phones, study findsTeenagers who fall prey to problematic smartphone use" are more likely to suffer from insomnia, anxiety and depression, a new study suggests.About one in five teenagers aged 16-18 displayed problematic behaviour with their phones, with many saying they wanted help cutting down, experts from King's College London found. Continue reading...

Substantial proportion have cognitive and mental health problems years after infection, with some symptoms worseningHealth problems and brain fog can persist for years in people hospitalised by Covid early in the pandemic, with some patients developing more severe and even new symptoms after 12 months, researchers say.They found that while many people with long Covid improved over time, a substantial proportion still had cognitive problems two to three years later and saw symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue worsen rather than subside. Continue reading...

Bodies of a man and woman aged in their 50s or 60s found on 47ft yacht moored at Cammeray on Sydney's north shore

Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul, 27, cameraman Rami al-Rifi and a child died in blast, says satellite news networkTwo Al-Jazeera reporters have been killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, the satellite news network said - the latest Palestinian journalists working with the Qatari network to be killed in the war-torn enclave.A 27-year-old correspondent, Ismail al-Ghoul; a cameraman, Rami al-Rifi; and a child who was not identified were killed in a blast that struck the car in which the three were travelling in Gaza City, according to the network and the emergency and ambulance service, which helps recover and transport casualties to hospitals across Gaza. Continue reading...

Chaotic event hosted by National Association of Black Journalists saw Trump lie about abortion and immigrationDuring a contentious and chaotic panel hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Wednesday, Donald Trump parroted disinformation about immigration and abortion, questioned Kamala Harris's race and accused a panel moderator, Rachel Scott - the senior congressional correspondent for ABC News - of being rude" and presenting a nasty question" when she asked him: Why should Black voters trust you?"The appearance - which received backlash earlier this week from Black journalists citing the former president's anti-Black, anti-journalist and anti-democracy history - received a mix of jeers, laughter and interruptions from attendees as Trump evaded several questions asked by moderators. Continue reading...

Support boosts Harris in Michigan as UAW president Shawn Fain praises her record of delivering for the working class'The United Auto Workers (UAW) union endorsed Kamala Harris for US president on Wednesday, boosting the vice-president in the swing state of Michigan as her recently launched campaign ramps up.UAW president Shawn Fain, who spoke by phone last week with Harris, praised her record of delivering for the working class" and said she will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed". Continue reading...

Iran vows revenge after airstrikes kill Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on same day as commander killed in Beirut

Exclusive: MP also allegedly used her ministerial car for gym trips and ordered advisers to run personal errandsKemi Badenoch asked officials to pay for a holiday flight with taxpayers' money to the US while in government but was rebuffed by her former department's top civil servant, the Guardian understands.Officials at the department for business and trade (DBT) ended up booking her travel to Texas for a family holiday in February last year, sources claimed, although the former cabinet minister covered the cost herself. Continue reading...

Chief constable expects protests from group reportedly linked to English Defence League to last into next weekPolice are braced for further violence from far-right agitators in Southport in the days ahead as the seaside town struggles to come to terms with a knife attack that killed three children and left several others in a critical condition.A mob of up to 300 attacked officers with bricks, destroyed garden walls, set cars and bins alight and attacked a mosque and shop on Tuesday night while many residents of the Merseyside town were attempting to digest the horror that had unfolded at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for children on Monday. Continue reading...

The Villages has not voted for a Democratic candidate since 2000 and favored Trump in 2016Hundreds of supporters of presidential candidate Kamala Harris turned out this weekend to rally for Harris's campaign at the Villages retirement community in central Florida - a traditionally conservative stronghold.In videos posted online, hundreds of golf carts, decorated with Harris for President" posters and American flags, can be seen flooding a parking lot in the retirement community and driving around the area. Continue reading...

Moussa Dadis Camara convicted of crimes against humanity after ordering 2009 crackdown on unarmed protestersA court in Guinea has found the former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and seven other military commanders guilty of crimes against humanity in a long-awaited verdict relating to a notorious massacre and mass rape that took place in 2009.In a ruling delivered in the capital, Conakry, the initial charges including murder, rape and kidnapping were recategorised as crimes against humanity. Afterward, Camara and his former police chief Moussa Tiegboro Camara were given 20-year prison sentences for ordering a crackdown on thousands of unarmed protesters who were aggrieved that he had decided to stand in the presidential election the following year. Continue reading...

Israel has launched series of targeted strikes after vowing to kill all operatives who planned last year's assaultThe airstrikes on the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran early on Wednesday morning, and on the Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut late on Tuesday were the latest in a series of targeted assassinations across the region.Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for both attacks, has vowed to kill all Hamas leaders responsible for the 7 October 2023 attack and go after senior commanders from Iran and its militant allies. Continue reading...

Polling for the Republic campaign group says only 11% of voters want MPs to pledge allegiance to the monarchA reader asks:I was wondering if you ever got a response from the DHSC yesterday as to why the previous government claimed settling the junior doctors' dispute would cost 1.7billion?The real challenge we've got at the moment is the 2012 changes to right to buy [the discount was increased] meant that we can't replace the stock, because the taxpayers are funding us creating social homes and then we're not able to replace them once they are sold off at a highly discounted rate.We think right to buy is something people should have, if you've raised your family in your home, you've been in it a long time, then this should be a way for you to buy it. But we don't think the current situation is tenable when we want to build more social housing. Continue reading...

Group of special rapporteurs release report detailing long history of brutal and racist police misconductA group of United Nations experts is calling on the US federal, state and local authorities to take immediate and comprehensive" action to resolve a long-standing scandal where people are languishing behind bars after being allegedly tortured by Chicago police to extract false confessions.The group of UN special rapporteurs, who specialize in addressing the scourges of contemporary racism and torture, has released a report detailing a long history of brutal and racist police misconduct. Continue reading...

Pair's conviction could pave way for inclusion in any future prisoner exchange between Russia and westTwo Russian deep-cover spies arrested in Slovenia have admitted their guilt, in a swift court case that potentially paves the way for them to be included in a prisoner exchange between Russia and the west.The pair, whose real names are thought to be Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, were arrested in late 2022, and are believed to be illegals" - deep-cover Russian spies trained to impersonate foreigners, who spend years living abroad in their cover identities. They posed as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, an Argentinian couple, and spoke to their two children in Spanish. She ran an online art gallery and he had an IT business, but all the while they secretly worked for Russian intelligence. Continue reading...

Methods include firing squad, lethal injection and electric chair, while as many as eight inmates may be out of appealsThe South Carolina supreme court ruled on Wednesday that the state's death penalty, which now includes a firing squad as well as lethal injection and the electric chair, is legal.All five justices agreed with at least part of the ruling, opening the door to restart executions in a state that has not put a prisoner to death since 2011. But two of the justices said they felt the firing squad was not a legal way to kill a prisoner and one of them felt the electric chair was a cruel and unusual punishment. Continue reading...

Forensic analysts examined skeleton of baby found under floorboards of house being renovated in Bishop AucklandA skeleton of a human baby found under the floorboards of a house undergoing a renovation appears to have been there undisturbed for a number of years", police have said.The skeleton was found in an upstairs room at an address in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, at about 11.15am on Monday. Continue reading...

Former cast member will return to play the presumptive Democratic candidate for show's upcoming 50th seasonMaya Rudolph will return to Saturday Night Live to play Kamala Harris during the forthcoming season of the longrunning comedy program.According to Deadline, the former cast member has cleared her schedule to ensure availability for upcoming episodes with the 50th season of the show premiering on 28 September. Pre-production on Rudolph's Apple comedy series Loot has reportedly been put on pause. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner suggests that Yvette Cooper will be looking at' whether English Defence League should be proscribed as terror group after riots in Southport

Death came hours after Israel said it killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, fuelling fears of regional conflict

Customers, suppliers, landlords and Microsoft are owed 213m, say administrators of collapsed retailerCarpetright collapsed with debts of almost 345m, more than half of which are owed to customers, suppliers, landlords and other unsecured creditors who are unlikely to be repaid.Administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers, who were called in to the retailer this month, said unsecured creditors, including the technology group Microsoft and the carpet suppliers Condor and Betap, were owed 213m and that no more than 600,000 of that was likely to be repaid. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Memos show massive jump in contributions and volunteers for Kamala Harris campaign, in addition to $200m haulThe launch of Kamala Harris's campaign has injected newfound energy into her party with less than 100 days to go in the election cycle and raised Democrats' hopes of winning battleground states that once seemed irretrievably lost to Donald Trump, according to a set of memos exclusively shared with the Guardian.The memos show that Democratic parties in battleground states saw a dramatic surge in contributions and volunteer sign-ups in the past week, in addition to the Harris campaign's record-breaking fundraising haul of $200m. Continue reading...

Troubled planemaker hopes to turn its fortunes around after huge losses due to 737 Max 9 aircraft line fiascosBoeing on Wednesday named aerospace industry veteran Robert Kelly" Ortberg as its new president and CEO, tasking the former Rockwell Collins executive in turning around the struggling planemaker after it reported a $1.4bn loss.Ortberg, 64, led aerospace supplier Rockwell Collins before it became part of aerospace and defence giant RTX. He will assume his duties on 8 August, Boeing said. Continue reading...

Mainly male audience members had to step out of preview performance of The Years after graphic sceneAn award-winning play premiering in London had to be stopped for 10 minutes during a preview performance on Monday after several mainly male audience members called for medical assistance after a graphic abortion scene.The Years, directed by Eline Arbo, is about one woman's personal and political story, set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing postwar Europe - from advances in reproductive rights to setbacks such as sexism in the workplace. Continue reading...

Tourists face fines of 25-500 if they fail to comply with measures, which also ban the use of loudspeakersVenice will limit the size of tourist parties to 25 people from Thursday in the latest attempt to reduce the impact of crowds on the lagoon city.Local authorities will also ban the use of loudspeakers by tourist guides in measures aimed at protecting the peace of residents" and ensuring pedestrians can move around more freely. Continue reading...

Dozens of police officers injured in violent protests following vigil for victims of Monday's knife attack

Daniel Wiffen won gold in 800m freestyle 24 hours after Mona McSharry's bronze in 100m breaststroke

Housebuilder welcomes shake-up of planning rules as it reports half-year profits fell by nearly 60% to 99.7m

Former BBC News presenter admitted three counts at Westminster magistrates courtThe former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.Edwards, 62, admitted the offences, which took place between December 2020 and April 2022, when he appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Dinush Kurera has pleaded not guilty to murder and assaulting his son after wife's 2022 death in Melbourne home

While Hamas's capacity to retaliate is diminished, response could come from axis of militias backed by Iran

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Met Office says some areas could get a month's rainfall in a few hours bringing risk of floodingThunderstorms are due to hit Britain on Wednesday and Thursday, but warm weather is likely to continue for the rest of the week.Some areas could receive as much as a month's rainfall in a few hours on Thursday, which could cause flooding, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Outgoing CEO Noel Quinn will have paid $34.4bn to investors during final 18 months in postHSBC is giving a further $4.8bn to shareholders, providing a final parting gift from the outgoing chief executive, Noel Quinn, after a rise in second-quarter profit.The London-headquartered bank said it would buy back another $3bn (2.3bn) worth of shares from investors, who will receive $1.8bn in fresh dividends. Continue reading...

Rise in gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV rates partially due to reduced use of condoms across range of demographics, pathologists say

Foreign minister's alarming' phrasing echoes sovereignty recognised only by Israel and the US under the Trump administration, Palestine advocates say

Survivor Victor Lewis and victim Alan Dare's widow Kerry demand changes and accountability in testimony to Queensland inquest

Japan's agriculture ministry blames shortage on tourists' vast demand for rice and low crop yields last yearJapan's rice stockpile has fallen to the lowest level this century, with a tourism boom part of the cause, government officials say.Private-sector inventories of rice fell to 1.56m tons in June, down 20% from a year earlier and the lowest since 1999, when comparable data was first gathered, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It attributed the decrease to the high temperatures that hit crops in 2023 as well as demand from inbound visitors. Last year Japan recorded its hottest September since records began 125 years ago. Continue reading...

Farm north of London to be returned to something like pasture once enjoyed by Anglo-Saxon kingIt was once woodland where Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king, rode in pursuit of deer. Over recent decades, the hillside with a panoramic view of London has become arable fields, pony paddocks and a Christmas tree plantation.But now Harold's Park, a 200-hectare (500 acre) farm just north of the M25 on the edge of the capital, is to be rewilded and returned to something like the tangled wood pasture once enjoyed by King Harold. Continue reading...