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In return, Keating chastises former US House speaker for her recklessly indulgent visit to Taiwan' in 2022A war of words has broken out between the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating and the former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over Taiwan, after the prominent Democrat accused Keating of making a stupid statement" about the territory.Keating was quick to hit back on Tuesday, suggesting Pelosi had very nearly" sparked a military confrontation between the US and China over her indulgent" 2022 visit to Taiwan. Continue reading...

Tomato and pepper growers call for UK to strike deal with EU to avoid disruption and duplicate testingVegetable growers in the UK have said crops could be adversely hit this year after post-Brexit border changes resulted in delays to seed imports.Trade bodies representing UK tomato and pepper growers said new rules for seed imports from the EU were causing delays of up to six weeks for deliveries, disrupting their growing schedules and finances. Continue reading...

Private sector wages growth was up just 0.7% for the June quarter, the equal lowest since the end of 2021

One in four practices capping number of patients they see to 25 a day amid first action in 60 yearsAlmost half of GP surgeries in England are staging industrial action for the first time in 60 years amid a row over funding, with one in four capping the number of patients they see to 25 a day, a survey suggests.Family doctors voted overwhelmingly in favour of collective action earlier this month in protest at the last government increasing their budget by only 1.9% this year. The new government has pledged to increase funding for 2024-25 to 6%. Continue reading...

Job listings portal's revenues plunge and CEO says paid ad volumes expected to keep falling this financial year

Street artist has revealed new work on his Instagram every day since a goat silhouette appeared last MondayBanksy has revealed the eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection in London, a mural of a rhinoceros that looks as though it is climbing on top of a car.The street artist has been presenting artwork on his Instagram at about 1pm every day since Monday 5 August. Continue reading...

Attempt to show gratitude to Paul Spiers, 63, in Beckenham turns sour as Veolia says he cannot accept giftAn uplifting story of a community rallying to show its gratitude to the man who keeps their streets clean has soured after his bosses said he could not accept their donations for a holiday.More than 200 people in Beckenham, south-east London, made contributions to send Paul Spiers on a summer break in Portugal. By Monday, 3,000 was in the kitty, mostly from small sums of 5 or 10. Continue reading...

Arms supply had been halted over role in Yemen war, but move is sign of hope kingdom can help resolve Gaza conflictThe United States has confirmed it will resume sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, as concerns over human rights in the kingdom's Yemen war give way to US hopes for it to play a role in resolving the conflict in Gaza.More than three years after imposing limits on human rights grounds over Saudi strikes in Yemen, the state department said it would return to weapons sales in regular order, with appropriate congressional notification and consultation". Continue reading...

Some residents of wealthy Italian village reportedly passing on photos to police who are hunting illegal unitsIt is baking hot in Portofino, but the atmosphere has turned decidedly chilly among residents of the exclusive Italian coastal village since a crackdown was imposed on air-conditioning units.With a year-round population of just 379, Portofino has emerged as Italy's wealthiest municipality and is well known for being a magnet for the rich and famous. Continue reading...

Backers are reportedly told the former prime minister has been sounded out as paper's global editor-in-chiefBoris Johnson has reportedly been courted for an executive role with the Daily Telegraph by a potential bidder for the newspaper group.The former Conservative prime minister is said to have been sounded out by his former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who has approached a number of wealthy backers about assembling a potential bid for the Telegraph newspapers and Spectator magazine. Continue reading...

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin orders USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to quicken transit to Middle East and deploys guided missile submarine, says Pentagon

Prosecutor says it cannot be proved the Dutch contestant caused serious fear' in backstage incident involving camera operatorSweden has closed an investigation into the Dutch Eurovision contestant Joost Klein, who was disqualified from the 2024 final in Malmo after a camera operator accused him of threatening" behaviour, the prosecution authority has announced.The singer was barred from performing his song Europapa hours before the Eurovision final on 11 May, after a female member of the production crew claimed he had made a threatening movement towards her after his semi-final performance two days earlier. Continue reading...

Ex-House speaker tells event attended by top Californian Democrats: VP makes us proud'. Plus, can grunting improve your gym performance?

Catherine Mann says Britain should not be seduced' by price rises easing to the BoE's target

Exclusive: Dr Ziad Basyouny is the first of several independents expected to challenge federal Labor seats amid the Israel-Gaza war

New text reveals any party can terminate their collaboration on nuclear-powered boats with just one year's notice

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Meanwhile, a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic is increasingly likely to develop into named storm in next few daysStorm Debby, which initially struck Florida as a hurricane, caused widespread destruction as it moved up the east coast, leaving many without power and dealing with severe flooding.The storm brought significant damage across Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with power outages affecting large areas days after the storm's passage. In Steuben County in New York, heavy rain triggered flash flooding, leading to road closures and evacuations. In Pennsylvania, numerous water rescues were necessary as flood waters rose rapidly. Continue reading...

Trio who allegedly raped woman after she met another man for a Tinder date have pleaded not guilty

Change in shopper behaviour is sweeping through company earnings in Australia and overseas

Cyclist Emma Finucane and weightlifter Emily Campbell dominate sports headlines as 2024 Games come to a closeUK and French newspapers have celebrated their countries' athletes at the end of the Olympic Games in Paris, with many of the British papers featuring cyclist Emma Finucane and weightlifter Emily Campbell.The Guardian's sport section goes with Something incredible: Team GB performance hailed despite several near-misses", below a picture of Campbell, who won a bronze medal. The incredible" comment was the bullish message" coming from Team GB after an extraordinary 16 days of action", the paper reported. Continue reading...

City economists predict annual rate to rise to 2.3% in July after two months at Bank's 2% targetThe Bank of England is poised for a setback in the battle against high inflation this week amid expectations for a first increase in the headline rate this year, highlighting the pressure from the cost of living crisis.In a week of key updates from the British economy, official figures on Wednesday are expected to show inflation returned above the Bank's 2% target in July, driven in part by fast-rising prices for air fares, package holidays and hotels. Continue reading...

NSW police found body of woman with stab wounds after discovering a second person dead in Burwood courtyard

Robert and Anne Geeves are accused by the prosecution of conspiring to deliberately impregnate the teenager so they could take her baby. They deny the accusations and have pleaded not guilty

Experts demand fresh focus on harms of nicotine products as number who both smoke and vape doublesThe proportion of adults who vape in the UK is at its highest level, with the number who both smoke and vape doubling over the past three years, according to analysis.The number of smokers who use both cigarettes and vapes has increased from 17% in 2021 to 32% in 2024 - the equivalent of 2.2 million people. Continue reading...

RAC urges government to give councils funding to fix pothole-ridden roads after years of underinvestmentThe number of UK drivers concerned with the state of local roads has hit record levels, according to the RAC, as the government faces pressure to fix the country's battered infrastructure.The motoring body urged the government to provide more funding for councils to fix the state of local roads after it found 56% of the 2,700 drivers surveyed put the poor condition of council-maintained roads as their top concern. Continue reading...

Bosses of UK's biggest companies are now paid 120 times more than average full-time worker in some instancesPay for the bosses of the UK's 100 biggest listed companies has increased to the highest level on record, with the average chief executive paid more than 100 times the average full-time worker in Britain.As millions of households cut back on spending amid the cost of living crisis, analysis by the High Pay Centre showed median pay for a FTSE 100 chief executive increased from 4.1m in 2022 to 4.19m in 2023. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Justin Welby condemns violent disorder of recent days as unchristian'

Bare-chested climber had ascended halfway up north face of structure when he was intercepted by Paris policeA climber scaled the north face of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday, the last day of the Olympics, but was intercepted by police midway up, police said. At 2.45 pm, an individual was seen climbing the Eiffel Tower," a police spokesman said. The police immediately intervened and arrested the individual."Videos showed the bare-chested man skirting the Olympic rings as he made his way up without ropes. Continue reading...

Hottest day of the year expected on Monday in southern England while sudden flooding' alerts also issuedWeather warnings of disruption from thunderstorms have been issued for the northern parts of the UK while southern England is braced for what may be the hottest day of the year so far.Temperatures were expected to reach 34C or more in the south-east on Monday. So far the hottest day of the year in the UK was recorded on 19 July when a temperature of 31.9C was recorded at St James's Park in central London. Continue reading...

The shoal of fish on a police box follows works depicting a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans and a catA central London glass police box has been made to look like a tank of piranhas, in the seventh in series of works by the graffiti artist Banksy.The elusive artist claimed the work as his own by featuring it on his Instagram account in a post at 1pm on Sunday. Continue reading...

Anti-racism marches attract large crowds as foreign secretary says rioters forgot what it means to be English'Planned far-right rallies did not materialise over the weekend, amid a large turnout of anti-racist protesters and comments from the director of public prosecutions that rioters could end up with 10-year prison sentences.Planned far-right action in towns and cities such as Newcastle, Liverpool, Basildon, Wakefield and Shrewsbury did not happen, while a handful of small rallies resulted in swift arrests. Continue reading...

Police take unusual step of rebutting online rumours about arrested pair as Suffolk village reels from killingAt about 5am on Wednesday 24 July, Anita Rose pulled on her bright pink waterproof jacket and left her home in the village of Brantham, Suffolk, to take her springer spaniel, Bruce, for a walk. As she did each morning, the 57-year-old turned on to a loop leading through fields near the shoreline of the Stour estuary.Ninety minutes later, at 6.25am, a fellow dog walker found Rose lying unconscious on the path with serious head injuries. She was taken to hospital but died four days later, on 28 July, when Suffolk constabulary's investigation became a murder inquiry. Continue reading...

Alice Dearing, the first Black swimmer to represent Team GB, ended her career in April - and has some advice for those retiring after the Paris OlympicsAlice Dearing knew she would retire if she failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics. So when things began to go catastrophically wrong" for the 27-year-old Team GB swimmer in the middle of a qualifying event earlier this year, she was forced to confront not only the demise of her dream of Paris, but the end of her career.Dearing, who made history as the first Black female swimmer to represent Team GB at Tokyo 2020, officially announced her retirement in April. The decision was not easy: It's a challenge for athletes because you want that high," she said. My whole point of trying to go to Paris was that I just wanted a better result [than] Tokyo. To finish on probably one of the worst races of my career was a bit of a weird one." Continue reading...

A scheme transporting Scotland's green power to England is likely to be controversial despite lengthy consultationsWithin weeks, work is expected to begin on a 121-mile (195-kilometre) clean energy superhighway" designed to channel green electricity from Scotland's rich renewable resources to the north of England.The industry regulator Ofgem is expected to give the green light for work to begin on the first section of the multibillion-pound high-voltage cable project, Eastern Green Link (EGL), in the coming days. Ofgem's approval for a second section is expected to follow within weeks. Continue reading...

Asio director general says some of the countries trying to intimidate diaspora communities would surprise you'

Medal success has offered the president welcome weeks of respite in his country's fraught political climate - but what happens when the athletes go home?The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is famed for his enthusiastic hugging of sports stars - as the footballer Kylian Mbappe can attest. Macron walked on to the pitch, somewhat awkwardly pulled Mbappe to his chest and patted his head to console him after defeat to Argentina in the last World Cup.But at the Paris Olympics, Macron's touchy-feely approach to the nation's athletes has exceeded anything that had gone before. Continue reading...

Fatal clashes between Turkish criminals in the heroin trade are spreading in Europe, an Observer investigation revealsIt was a pleasant spring Saturday in Barcelona and diners were crammed into the popular restaurants of the Diagonal Mar neighbourhood.Inside one, on Llull Street, four men sat down for lunch. One received a phone call, excused himself and headed outside. Continue reading...

Robert and Anne Geeves recorded discussing how investigating police can't find nothing'

Exclusive: secretive artist trying to raise a smile with pelicans, elephants, monkeys, wolf, goat and catA big cat by Banksy appeared briefly, stretching in the morning sun, on a bare advertising hoarding on Edgware Road in Cricklewood, north-west London, on Saturday. A few hours later it had gone, removed by contractors who feared it would be ripped down.The anonymous artist known as Banksy, who confirmed the image was his at lunchtime on Saturday, also promised a little more summer fun to come. Continue reading...

Woman claims APM threatened to cut off her jobseeker payment after she refused to sign false time sheet. APM denies any wrongdoing

Released audio reveals conversation between uncle and dispatcher shortly after suspect was killed by Texas policeThe uncle of the Uvalde school shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers begged police to let him try to talk his nephew down, according to a 911 call included in a massive trove of recordings and transcripts released by city officials on Saturday.Maybe he could listen to me, because he does listen to me. Everything I tell him he does listen to me," said the man, who identified himself as Armando Ramos. Maybe he could stand down or do something to turn himself in," Ramos said, his voice cracking. Continue reading...

Using an array of technology and intelligence tools, police are hopeful of tracking down key perpetrators, even those who were maskedThe hunt to find the rioters and the people who incited them began the moment the first brick was thrown. But the efforts to catch them will last weeks or months, and involve super-recognisers, specialist software, video doorbells and, in a few cases, criminal stupidity.A dizzying number of newly convicted rioters and online agitators were this weekend waking up in a prison cell on the first day of their sentence. Of the more than 700 arrests made so far, about 300 people had been charged by Friday night, with more arrests and court appearances on Saturday. Continue reading...

Compound where about 6,000 displaced people were sheltering hit as many prepared for dawn prayersAt least 80 people have been killed in Israeli missile strikes on a school compound in Gaza City, according to the territory's civil defence service, the latest in a string of attacks on schools that the Israeli army says are targeting militants using them as bases.The bombing of Tabeen school, where about 6,000 displaced people were sheltering, was hit when many people were preparing for dawn prayers on Saturday, and reportedly caused a fire. Video from the scene showed horrific loss of life, with body parts, rubble and destroyed furniture scattered across blood-soaked mattresses. Continue reading...

Lucy Connolly remanded in custody after post on X that called for mass deportations and arson attacksThe partner of a Tory councillor has appeared in court charged with one count of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred.Lucy Connolly, 41, appeared at Nottingham magistrates court on Saturday via a live link and did not enter a plea. Continue reading...

Neil Basu, ex-head of counter-terrorism, says former home secretary's remarks are divisive and untrueThe former head of UK counter-terrorism has accused Priti Patel of putting officers at risk after the Tory leadership hopeful made divisive" comments about two-tier policing.Since far-right riots erupted across England and Northern Ireland last week, there have been false claims on social media that police are treating white people taking part in the disorder more harshly than minority groups. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe death toll from an Israeli air strike on a Gaza City school has risen to 80, Palestinian health authorities said.The Israeli military acknowledged the strike on the Tabeen school on Saturday morning, claiming it hit a Hamas command centre within the school. Hamas denied having a base at the school. Continue reading...

Lord Falconer reveals that Keir Starmer will not block Commons vote on giving terminally ill people choice of ending their livesParliament is facing a once-in-a-generation chance to hand the terminally ill a choice over ending their life, the Labour peer championing a change in the law has said.Charlie Falconer, the former lord chancellor whose bill was introduced into the House of Lords last month, revealed he had been reassured by Downing Street that it would not stand in the way of a historic Commons vote on assisted dying should its advocates secure one. Continue reading...

The Save plan - a means-tested program - was blocked from further implementation by Republican-appointed judgesA federal appeals court has sided with Republican-controlled states to deliver another setback to Joe Biden's student loan relief plan designed to reduce monthly payments for millions of lower-income graduates and speed up debt forgiveness for some borrowers.A unanimous, unsigned ruling issued on Friday by three Republican-appointed judges in Missouri blocked further implementation of the Saving on a Valuable Education (Save) plan - the Department of Education's means-tested debt relief program that is being challenged by seven Republican-led states. Continue reading...

As international intake dwindles, leading institutions become less cautious about offers post-CovidSchool leavers collecting their A-level results on Thursday will have an easier time getting into their chosen university than their predecessors in the past two years, experts are predicting.A record number of 18-year-olds are competing for university places this year, but experts said that many universities hope to fill accommodation and lecture theatres with more UK students, due to anxiety about falling numbers of lucrative international students. Continue reading...