World news | The Guardian

Wildfire near Salt Lake City quickly grew to more than 200 acres as flames level homes in southern CaliforniaFirefighters across the US west were battling to contain multiple blazes on Monday amid blisteringly high temperatures, including a wildfire that forced evacuations near Salt Lake City, over the weekend and another that destroyed several homes in southern California.The Sandhurst fire broke out on Saturday afternoon near the Utah capital and quickly grew to more than 200 acres (81 hectares). Authorities said more than 100 firefighters responded to the scene, with helicopters and planes dropping buckets over the flames as ground crews tried to douse the fire, which was only 10% contained as of Monday. Continue reading...

PM endorses earlier comments by Bridget Phillipson amid brewing rebellion on policy among Labour MPsKeir Starmer has indicated for the first time that he will consider scrapping the two-child benefit cap, amid a brewing rebellion by Labour MPs.The prime minister endorsed comments by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, who said that removing the cap was among measures the government would look at as part of a review into child poverty. Continue reading...

Former leader rallies pro-EU MPs who German ambassador says now vastly outnumber ERG group of Eurosceptic ToriesNeil Kinnock has delivered a rallying cry to pro-EU Labour MPs, telling them that fortune favours the brave" when it comes to forging closer ties with Europe.The tide is shifting", the former party leader told a reception of the Labour Movement for Europe (LME), where there was applause when Germany's ambassador told of his delight that the grouping's more than 100 MPs now vastly outnumbered the Conservatives' European Research Group of Eurosceptic MPs. Continue reading...

Four MPs will be shortlisted before party conference, with Badenoch, Cleverly, Tugendhat and Patel current favouritesThe Conservatives will elect their new leader in November after the party agreed to an extended timetable to replace Rishi Sunak.Four Conservative MPs will be shortlisted by the parliamentary party to make their pitch to colleagues and members at party conference in October. Sunak will remain acting leader until his successor is agreed. Continue reading...

Independent candidate said to have discussed potential role if Trump were to win White House in NovemberThe independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr reportedly held recent talks with Donald Trump about endorsing his campaign for a second presidency and - if successful - taking a job in his administration.The talks, first reported Monday by the Washington Post, come days after Kennedy publicly apologized for a video posted online that showed part of a private phone call between him and Trump. The clip included Trump sharing his thoughts about childhood vaccines and being in broad agreement with Kennedy, a noted vaccine sceptic. In the video, Trump seemingly invited Kennedy to endorse his campaign. Continue reading...

Civil group Liberty has adjourned legal hearing over contentious legislation to allow talks with ministers to openYvette Cooper could abandon a law that has seen hundreds of people criminalised for carrying out peaceful protests.An attempt to overturn a high court judgment that the previous Conservative home secretary acted unlawfully has been adjourned to allow the civil liberties group Liberty and ministers to open talks about the future of the contentious legislation. Continue reading...

Experts warn recruiting one GP for every 24 hospital consultants will not help increase out-of-hospital careThe NHS's landmark plan to tackle understaffing will recruit just one GP for every 24 hospital consultants, experts have warned, leaving England needing thousands more family doctors.The Royal College of GPs has written to Wes Streeting protesting against what it says is a stark imbalance that threatens one of the government's key NHS goals. Continue reading...

The president damaged his party, but finally made the right decision. We must hope Democrats don't repeat their mistakesJoe Biden has never been the greatest orator or had the strongest political backbone, but he has always displayed one important skill throughout his decades in office: representing the center of the Democratic party, wherever that center may be at any given time.It explains why he followed his party's ideological journey and went from liberal Democrat in the 1980s to conservative austerian in the 1990s to Iraq war proponent in the 2000s to mildly progressive economic populist in this era. It also explains his announcement on Sunday that he is withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race. Continue reading...

President could help his VP win race, issue executive orders to cut student debt, or he could pardon his son HunterWhen Joe Biden finally ends his self-imposed seclusion at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, this week he will emerge into a very different world than the one from which he isolated when diagnosed with Covid last Wednesday.He will still be president of the United States, and as such the most powerful person on Earth. But it may not feel like that to him. His hopes of carrying on in that office died at 1.46pm ET on Sunday when he announced that he was standing down from the 2024 race. Continue reading...

Brazilian leader says he was frightened' by counterpart's warnings of bloodbath' if he loses to Edmundo GonzalezBrazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has urged Venezuela's government to respect the result of next Sunday's election, saying he had been frightened" by Nicolas Maduro's warnings of a bloodbath" if he loses the vote.After 11 years in power, Venezuela's authoritarian leader is currently trailing in opinion polls to the opposition candidate, the retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, and in recent weeks, Maduro and his allies have stepped up their predictions of post-election violence following what they say will be a victory for the ruling party. Continue reading...

Obscure statute grants reproduction of drugs in shortages - creating $1bn market of unbranded weight-loss drugsAn obscure federal statute is allowing US pharmacies to flood the market with unvetted knockoffs of Ozempic, the pricey weight-loss drug that is reducing and transforming the weight and silhouettes of millions of Americans.According to a Bloomberg investigation published Monday, a blind spot" in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that allows pharmacies and compounders to reproduce drugs that are in short supply has helped to create a market of unbranded weight-loss drugs worth $1bn annually. Continue reading...

We do need to get it right,' billionaire mega-donor and 2020 candidate warns as more senior figures back Kamala HarrisBillionaire Mike Bloomberg, the Democratic mega-donor and former presidential candidate, urged the party against picking a nominee right away" as more senior figures coalesce around Kamala Harris.Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, insisted in a statement which did not mention Harris that Democrats have more than enough time" to gauge views in key swing states. Continue reading...

Rene Graham was pronounced dead at scene in Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park in west London, Met saysA murder investigation is under way after a teenage boy was shot dead at a family fun day" event attended by more than 1,000 people in west London.Rene Graham, 15, was pronounced dead at the scene in Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park, near Ladbroke Grove, after being found with injuries, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Home secretary describes Tory policy that Labour has axed as the biggest waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen'The Conservative government spent 700m of taxpayers' money on the failed Rwanda deportation scheme, which has proved to be a costly con", the home secretary has said.Yvette Cooper described the policy, which was introduced two-and-a-half years ago and sought to send UK asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, as the biggest waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen". Continue reading...

Vice-president is clear favorite for Democratic nomination, but she will have to win over critics inside the party and out

Education secretary acknowledged crisis in sector with many institutions facing severe financial difficultiesUniversities in England facing severe financial difficulties should not expect a government bailout, the education secretary has said, despite warnings from the sector of thousands of job losses, course closures and even bankruptcies.With 40% of institutions projected to run budget deficits this year, Bridget Phillipson acknowledged the crisis. She said she was determined to develop a brighter future for universities" and put them on a sustainable footing in the long term". Continue reading...

Family found a tiny Mississippi Kite alone and worried that it was getting cold, so they swaddled it in a warm tortillaA Texas family got wrapped up in an unforeseen animal rescue mission and saved a baby bird by cocooning it in a tortilla, earning them praise for their quick, compassionate actions.In a viral 13 July Facebook post, the Wild West Wildlife rehabilitation center in Amarillo, Texas, recounted how its employees first learned of the saga upon receiving a call from the Adlongs, the family at the center of the story. Continue reading...

Risk of repeat of 2022 when mountains of refuse bags littered the streets during Edinburgh fringeScotland faces a wave of bin strikes this summer after unions rejected a new pay offer, with the Edinburgh fringe at risk of a repeat of 2022 when mountains of refuse bags littered the streets.The GMB and Unite unions said on Monday that their members had voted against a revised pay deal, which Scotland's local authorities had described as strong, fair and credible". Continue reading...

The Guardian's Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the US presidential race and whether the honeymoon period that Keir Starmer is enjoying will last. Plus, are the Tories really going to wait until next April to elect a new leader? Continue reading...

Spokesperson cites fiscal inheritance' after apparent softening of position by Starmer and PhillipsonKeir Starmer was asked about his relationship with US vice-president Kamala Harris.Obviously in the first instance, it's for the Democratic Party to decide who they want to put forward. It is then for the American people to decide who they want as their president. Continue reading...

The 49th edition features a string of world premieres for many films hoping to be included in the year's Oscar raceMajor new films from the directors Mike Leigh and Angelina Jolie and actors such as Jennifer Lopez, Hugh Grant and Pamela Anderson are toplining this year's Toronto film festival.The annual festival brings together a host of world premieres at a key stage in the race toward the Oscars. Continue reading...

Russian-American editor Alsu Kurmasheva convicted for spreading false information' about armed forcesA Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six-and-a-half years in prison after a rushed, secret trial.Kurmasheva, a Prague-based editor, was arrested last year during a family visit to the city of Kazan in south-west Russia for failing to register as a foreign agent" and for spreading false information" about the country's armed forces, under crippling censorship laws enacted after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading...

Underlying causes of youth crime are not being addressed, which is what ultimately would keep the community safer', Anne Hollonds says

Kyiv indicates it will keep reaching out to Republicans and Democrats, as Zelenskiy pays tribute to BidenUkraine will continue to reach out to Republicans and Democrats and avoid being sucked into US internal politics, and a bruising probable contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, officials in Kyiv indicated on Monday.Its president, Volodymyr Zelenksiy, paid a warm tribute to the departing Joe Biden on Sunday, thanking him for his unwavering support". He praised the US president's bold steps" taken in response to challenging times" and Russia's 2022 invasion. Continue reading...

Queen, his biggest show to date, opens in Liverpool and features new commissions of the city's drag performersAs a child, Magnus Hastings loved stealing his sister's clothes and wearing his mother's heels and feather boas, before he got shamed out of being a drag child".Now, decades later, the award-winning photographer is celebrating the artistry of drag and the collective spirit of pride in his biggest exhibition to date at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery. Continue reading...

Shane Roller, Shannen Morgan and their daughters Lillie and Rubie died in collision between two vehiclesA couple who died in a crash with two children in West Yorkshire on Sunday that also killed two other adults have been named by police as Shane Roller and Shannen Morgan.The collision between two vehicles, which also left an 11-year-old girl orphaned, happened on the A61 Barnsley Road between Staincross in Barnsley and Newmillerdam, Wakefield, on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading...

Records show Donald and Ivanka Trump made donations to vice-president's California attorney general re-election bidDonald Trump has moved swiftly to turn his attack machine on to the vice-president in the wake of Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, dusting off his derisive nickname for her: Laffin' Kamala Harris".But as the Republican nominee refocuses his campaign to target Harris, there is one awkward truth that Trump will have to face. What about that check for $5,000 dated 26 September 2011, bearing Trump's distinctive signature, and made payable to one Attorney General Kamala D Harris"? Continue reading...

As many Democrats echo Biden's endorsement of Harris, others say she should not be nominated by default

Europe's largest airline says passengers are waiting until later in the season to book tickets

Rescue deal with Tapi Carpets and Floors will still result in about 1,000 job losses

Property company will use some of proceeds with LVMH-backed investor L Catterton to pay down debtThe property firm Hammerson has sold its stake in the group that controls Bicester Village, the cut-price designer goods shopping centre in Oxfordshire, to the luxury market investor L Catterton in a 1.5bn deal.Hammerson said it would raise 600m in cash proceeds from the sale of its near-40% stake in Value Retail, which also owns nine luxury shopping destinations near Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Munich. The property company plans to use the cash to pay down debt, invest in its other centres and return 140m to shareholders. Continue reading...

US president's contacts list is unmatched since George HW Bush's, but his VP has been slowly building her portfolio

Ex-politician reportedly in talks with potential backers including the Reuben family

Media group controlled by Vincent Bollore to break up, with advertising company Havas to list in Amsterdam

Dani says his 26,000 salary is not high enough to sponsor his wife so she can join him in BritainA police officer working in Manchester says he has been forced to quit his job after Rishi Sunak raised the salary threshold to sponsor his Italian wife to live in the UK in the post-Brexit immigration scheme.Campaigners have warned that his tale of Brexit anguish is being repeated up and down the country in low-paid public sectors where many EU citizens work. Continue reading...

Gregory Aymond blames three predecessors as memo says he socialized or lived with 48 allegedly abusive clergymenThe Roman Catholic archbishop of New Orleans has said the allegations at the heart of a child-sex trafficking investigation being conducted by state police against his archdiocese are a sin", evil" and a crime - but he has insisted he was oblivious to them when they unfolded during a bygone era earlier in his career.Gregory Aymond's comments, in an interview published on Sunday by New Orleans' Times-Picayune newspaper, were his first about an investigation which erupted into public view in April as Louisiana state troopers served the archdiocese's headquarters with a search warrant that accused the institution of potentially having run a child-sex trafficking ring responsible for widespread sexual abuse of minors dating back decades". Continue reading...

Strong winds and heavy rain trigger 230 weather-related events across the country, while Tropical Storm Gaemi nears TaiwanSlovenia was hit by heavy rain and strong winds on Friday as a series of storms brought an abrupt end to a prolonged hot and dry spell.More than 230 weather-related events including flooding and landslides have been reported across the country. The worst-hit regions were in the Gorenjska municipality of Preddvor, and in Koroka in the north, which experienced similarly devastating floods last August. Continue reading...

Robert Geeves, who is accused of teenage mother's murder, waited 14 days to report her missing, court hears

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Court hears Gregory Geason, who denies assaulting the woman, searched how to get domestic violence charges dropped' in days after argument

Coroner says those who find themselves in same situation as 17-year-old Rohan Cosgriff must know situation will not define them'

African countries hailed for achievements, but UNAids says cases on the rise in other areas of the worldThe majority of new HIV infections last year occurred in countries outside sub-Saharan Africa for the first time.African countries have made swift progress in tackling the virus, with the number of infections in sub-Saharan Africa 56% lower than in 2010, a new report from UNAids said. Globally, infections have fallen by 39% over the same period. Continue reading...

Pro-democracy campaign group finds exports of goods to Russia, vital to its war efforts, roughly doubled in a yearHong Kong has become a global trade hub for the world's most brutal regimes", according to a report examining the city's role in facilitating the flow of goods to countries under sanctions by the west, including Russia, Iran and North Korea.A report published on Monday by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a campaign group, found that between 2021 and 2022, exports of semiconductors from Hong Kong to Russia roughly doubled to $400m (310m), second only to shipments from mainland China. Semiconductors are vital to Russia's war effort as they are a component in weaponry such as drones and cruise missiles. Continue reading...

System missed 14,000 emergency calls after technical faults caused nearly 11 hours of disruption last summer

Publication's longest-serving editor calls time amid unrest at Nine Entertainment over job cuts and and latest pay offer

Police allege Kiesha Thompson, 23, was deliberately struck and killed by a silver Toyota Prado after she had dropped her daughter off with carers

Many south-eastern areas had their coldest morning of the year, weather bureau says, while Brisbane's 6.3C low was 3.6C colder than Victoria's capital

IWF warns of more AI-made child sexual abuse videos as tools behind them get more widespread and easier to useAdvances in artificial intelligence are being used by paedophiles to produce AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse that could increase in volume as the technology improves, according to a safety watchdog.The majority of such cases seen by the Internet Watch Foundation involve manipulation of existing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or adult pornography, with a child's face transplanted on to the footage. A handful of examples involve entirely AI-made videos lasting about 20 seconds, the IWF said. Continue reading...

Inspector says monitoring after short sentences could be stopped and youth services could take on some casesMinisters should consider reducing the caseload of the probation service by up to 40,000 offenders if they are to ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons, a watchdog has told the Guardian.Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation in England and Wales, said the current model was not sustainable" and suggested ministers should free up capacity by no longer asking probation officers to monitor people released from prison after short custodial sentences for crimes such as shoplifting.He suspects that each of the probation service's 12 regions in England and Wales are already struggling to cope with the number of cases.Approximately two-thirds of the cases his staff inspect fall short of the standards that have been set to keep the public safe.97% of probation delivery units examined by the watchdog were falling below the standards set for good practice.He is drawing up an inspection programme for probation hostels - halfway houses for high-risk offenders - because at present there is no independent oversight of their work. Continue reading...

Victims tell Guardian about widespread practice in war-torn OmdurmanWomen struggling to survive in the war-torn Sudanese city of Omdurman say they are being forced to have sex with soldiers in exchange for food.More than two dozen women who have been unable to flee fighting in Omdurman said that sexual intercourse with men from the Sudanese army was the only way they could access food or goods that they could sell to raise money to feed their families. Continue reading...