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Fate of Black Country pub could serve as catalyst for campaigns to preserve a flawed but colourful pastWhen Paul Turner started an online petition calling for his local pub in the Staffordshire village of Himley to be saved after it was sold to new owners, he was expecting only a few hundred signatures. Then the Crooked House pub burned down, making headlines around the world.I expected it to be just a few names, but we're approaching 16,000 signatures now," said Turner. It has turned into something completely different. The amount of support we've had has been unbelievable." Continue reading...

Events marred by violence in Sweden, Canada and the US were billed as cultural, but activists say they are militaristic and full of hate speechAfter opponents of the Eritrean government stormed a festival in Stockholm that was allegedly promoting the east African country's regime earlier this month, setting light to cars and throwing stones, the Swedish government tried to distance itself from it all. The justice minister, Gunnar Strommer, said it was not reasonable for Sweden to be drawn into other countries' domestic conflicts".But in the sunlit cafeteria of a community space in Kista, a few miles from the festival site in Jarvafaltet, a wooded area north of the Swedish capital, Abdulkader Habib disagreed. Opposition to Eritrea's dictator, Isaias Afwerki, was not an Eritrean problem: this is a big international problem," he said. Continue reading...

Met Office predicts that after a brief period of wet weather, temperatures across the UK will be significantly higher by FridayTropical air could make parts of the UK hotter than California at the end of next week with temperatures forecast to possibly rise above 30C, but only after heavy rain lashes the country.High pressure expected to build from the middle of the week means temperatures in south-east England could reach 32C on Friday, according to the Met Office - higher than the 26C predicted for Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to navigate economic and political turmoil after Imran Khan convictionA little-known senator from Pakistan's least populous province has been announced as caretaker prime minister to see the country through to the next election, the leader of the opposition said.The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and opposition leader, Raja Riaz, agreed on Saturday to name senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as caretaker premier. Continue reading...

Negotiating committee of Writers Guild of America says it is evaluating offer in substantial step forwardHollywood TV and film writers represented by the Writers Guild of America are evaluating a counterproposal from studios that would end their ongoing strike of more than 100 days, marking a substantial step forward in negotiations.Your Negotiating Committee received a counterproposal from the AMPTP today," the guild's negotiating committee said in a statement referring to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. We will evaluate their offer and, after deliberation, go back to them with the WGA's response next week. Continue reading...

Search and rescue operation ongoing after dozens of boats tried to cross from France at same time, according to mayorAt least six people have died and more than 50 have been rescued after a boat trying to cross the Channel from France capsized, according to French authorities.Franck Dhersin, the mayor of Teteghem, near Dunkirk, said a vast rescue operation was launched at about 6am (5am BST) as dozens of boats tried to make the crossing at the same time. Continue reading...

The disappearance of a statue of the comic book artist in his Belgian birthplace was thought to be an act of decolonisationIt would have been a suitable assignment for Tintin, the intrepid Belgian boy reporter and his multi-talented, intuitive dog, Snowy.Across Brussels, where Herge, the creator of the eponymous comic books, was born, there are constant reminders of one of its most famous exports. A giant image of the character clinging to the back of a steam train from the book Tintin in America adorns one of the exits from the city's Eurostar station, while a mural of Tintin, his seafaring friend Captain Haddock and Snowy covers the gable end of a house just over a mile away, surviving graffiti and vandalism. Continue reading...

Thirteen people rescued after Europe-bound vessel sank near city of Gabes, says coastguardAt least two Tunisians including a baby died when their Europe-bound boat sank off the north African country's south-eastern shores, the coastguard said, adding five others were missing.The vessel carrying 20 Tunisians went down at 2am 120 metres (395ft) from the beach in Gabes, a statement said, as search operations continue. Continue reading...

Labour writes to immigration minister while David Davis derides startling incompetence' of Home OfficeThe shadow immigration minister, Stephen Kinnock, has written to the Home Office demanding to know what the department knew about the risk of legionella bacteria being present on the Bibby Stockholm before moving people on to the barge.Thirty-nine people were removed from the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, on Friday, after the potentially deadly bacteria was detected in the barge's water system. Continue reading...

As breaking prepares for Olympic debut in Paris next summer, British B-Boys and B-Girls gather in LondonIs it an art form or a sport? Are they dancers or athletes?Either way, almost exactly a year to the day before breaking makes its debut as the newest Olympic sport, competitors will gather in London this weekend to battle for the title of UK champion. Continue reading...

Some broadband consumers still cannot access messages or old emails have yet to be restoredCan you imagine being told that you can't access your emails for the next three weeks? No access to work or family messages, your expensive holiday booking, or the tickets to a gig that were emailed over. What would you do?That is the situation a number of Virgin Media customers say they have found themselves in this summer, and it has left some so furious that they are threatening to not renew their broadband contracts. Continue reading...

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Governor says it's too early to tell if Maui's emergency siren system failed; Lahaina subject to 10pm-6am curfew and thousands still without power. This blog is now closed

After last year's craze for one-inch inseam' shorts, celebrities are championing a longer length style - and sales are surgingUnlike 2022's one-inch inseam summer", this year thigh coverage is cool.Knee-grazing jean shorts, AKA jorts, have replaced bum-grazing short shorts, with retailers reporting a surge in sales and celebrities such as the models Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber championing the longer length styles. Continue reading...

Attacks keep up pressure on Vladimir Putin, although have become not a big deal' for many unmoved RussiansA new campaign of drone strikes has targeted the Russian capital in recent days as Kyiv has demonstrated its ability to hit Moscow and to keep the Kremlin's war in the hearts and minds of the Russian elites and others seeking to ignore the invasion of Ukraine.Video on Friday showed a drone slamming into the ground and exploding near a residential area in the north-west of the city, as rowers nearby participated in a national championship in the Krylatskoye district. Continue reading...

Meeting meant to brief leaders about best options' for deploying force to Niger delayed indefinitely for technical reasons'West African nations have suspended a key military meeting on the crisis in Niger, a day after saying they would muster a standby" force in their bid to reinstate the country's deposed leader.Fears also mounted for elected president Mohamed Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on 26 July. Continue reading...

Chancellor's younger brother was diagnosed with sarcoma three years agoThe younger brother of the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has died aged 53 after being diagnosed with cancer three years ago.Charlie Hunt discovered he had sarcoma, an aggressive and rare type of cancer that typically begins in the bones or soft tissue, in 2020. Continue reading...

Erin Honeycutt was able to grow record-setting 11.8in beard because she has polycystic ovarian syndromeA Michigander has grown the globe's longest beard on a woman after ditching her routine of shaving three times a day, according to Guinness World Records.Erin Honeycutt, 38, was able to grow the record-setting 11.8in (30cm) beard mainly because she has polycystic ovarian syndrome, Guinness officials said in a news release Wednesday. Continue reading...

Merrick Garland's announcement has failed to satisfy opponents of the president fully determined to uncover wrongdoingThe decision by the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, to appoint a special counsel in the investigation of Hunter Biden has rankled some of the same congressional Republicans who have demanded more scrutiny of the president's son.Republicans might have celebrated Garland's announcement as a vindication of their dogged efforts to uncover wrongdoing in Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings, which have become a central focus of their investigative work since regaining control of the House of Representatives in January. Instead, Republicans voiced doubt that the special counsel appointment would result in a fair investigation, and they took the opportunity to repeat their unfounded claims about Joe Biden's allegedly corrupt financial activities with his son. Continue reading...

Judge Tanya Chutkan rules ex-president free to share non-sensitive materials' but rejected majority of his other requestsThe federal judge presiding over Donald Trump's 2020 election subversion case on Friday warned inflammatory remarks from the former president would push her to schedule the trial sooner, saying she would take every step to safeguard the integrity of proceedings and to avoid tainting the potential jury pool.The admonition came as the US district court judge Tanya Chutkan ruled on Trump's requests to have fewer restrictions in a protective order that will govern what evidence turned over to his lawyers in the discovery process the former president could share publicly. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president describes taking of cash from people who want to avoid conscription as form of treachery

Asylum seekers removed from Bibby Stockholm after bacteria which can cause serious lung infection found in water

Dominic Grieve and Edward Garnier denounce lefty lawyer' rhetoric as dossier target fears abuse will turn physicalTwo former Conservative law officers have criticised the political rhetoric against lefty lawyers" as damaging and wrong as the head of the Law Society warned it could lead to physical attacks on immigration solicitors.Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general, and Edward Garnier, a Conservative peer and former solicitor general, said lawyers should not be attacked for doing their jobs, regardless of who they represent or their personal views. Continue reading...

One missile strike was destroyed but probability of airstrikes remains high, says general staff of Ukraine's armed forces

Exclusive: BMA council chair says medics will have no option but to stage more industrial action until ministers make credible offer'Rishi Sunak's increasingly intransigent" and belligerent" stance on medics' pay is blocking the path to ending the industrial action in the NHS, leaving no option but to strike until the next general election, one of Britain's top doctors has warned.Speaking to the Guardian on Friday after junior doctors launched a fifth round of industrial action, Prof Philip Banfield, the chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, said the union was standing firm and that doctors would continue to hold stoppages until they received a credible offer". Continue reading...

Inverclyde welcomes second largest number of twins on record to start primary educationSeventeen sets of twins will start primary school in one Scottish local authority next week, the second largest number on record.Schools in Inverclyde will welcome the twins for the first time on Friday 18 August, in an area that has colloquially become known as Twinverclyde". Continue reading...

Col Benjamin Oakes pleads not guilty to two counts of causing injury by careless driving outside North Yorkshire collegeThe head of space policy for the US joint chiefs of staff at the Pentagon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of causing injury by careless driving in North Yorkshire.Benjamin Oakes, 46, is accused of causing a collision that left two 15-year-old boys seriously injured outside Ashville College in Harrogate. Continue reading...

Critics concerned energy department decision on fledgling technology will undermine efforts to phase out fossil fuelsThe US energy department has announced it is awarding up to $1.2bn to two projects to directly remove carbon dioxide from the air, a fledgling technology that some climate experts worry will distract and undermine efforts to phase out fossil fuels.The process, known as direct air capture, does not yet exist on a meaningful scale, and the move was being seen as the US government taking a big bet coming after July was confirmed as the hottest month ever recorded on its surface. Continue reading...

UK-backed move could help spread cost of developing fighter jet and drones, but may prove controversialSaudi Arabia has asked the UK, Japan and Italy to be made a full partner in their joint effort to build the next generation of fighter jets, in a move backed by the British government.Companies from the UK, Japan and Italy are working together to build a new fighter jet and other systems such as drones under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), also known as Tempest. The programme aims to deliver the first planes by 2035, a tight turnaround. Continue reading...

Asylum seekers removed from Bibby Stockholm after legionella bacteria found in water system onboardThe Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced their candidate in the forthcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection.Gloria Adebo, who works as a data analyst, will run for the party in the vote triggered by the successful recall petition for Margaret Ferrier.The Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection is a real chance for local people to deliver a judgment on the difficulties and disasters we have been landed in by incompetent, populist governments in London and Edinburgh.It needn't be like this. And it is the Liberal Democrats who, increasingly, are a growing and dynamic part of an alternative way forward - offering hope in place of despair, founded on a belief in individuals, in the rule of law, in equality of opportunity and the importance of human rights here and across the world. Continue reading...

ATE Farms and associated firms attracted dozens of complaints before pub burned down in StaffordshireThe new owners of the Crooked House pub in Staffordshire, which was burned down in a fire and subsequently demolished, have angered local people in a series of other redevelopment plans across the Midlands.Planning documents reveal ATE Farms, which bought the Crooked House from Marston's brewery in July, and its associated companies have attracted dozens of complaints over plans that include building a solar farm and holiday lodges in the countryside, and redeveloping a village pub. Continue reading...

Growers say temperatures have been just right' and expect their highest and best yields of grapes to dateWhile the rainfall in July may have been unwelcome to some, it came at the right time for wine producers in England. They are predicting bumper harvests after perfect weather this year.Growers are expecting the highest and best yields to date, boosting the burgeoning wine industry in the UK. There are now 943 vineyards spread across Great Britain, according to a new report from trade group WineGB. The industry produced 12.2m bottles in 2022, a large rise on the 5.3m bottles produced in 2017. Continue reading...

Hakeem Jeffries was accused of giving cover to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he tried to curtail Israeli judiciary powerA Democratic congressional delegation is under fire for a visit to Israel funded by the hardline lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which is working to defeat other members of the party in next year's elections.Critics have accused the most senior Democrat on the tour, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, of giving political cover to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced months of huge demonstrations against his far-right government's power grab. Continue reading...

US Democratic senator will reportedly miss anniversary of Inflation Reduction Act, Biden's landmark climate legislationThe West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin is expected to skip a prominent White House celebration of one of Joe Biden's signature legislative achievements, NBC reported, as he considers leaving his party - and perhaps running for president himself.Next week, the Biden administration will celebrate the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a healthcare, climate and tax reform package Joe Biden hailed on signing as the biggest step forward on climate ever". Continue reading...

Black Country Living Museum, which displays recreated historical buildings, says it is not able to save demolished Staffordshire pubEver since it burned down and was then demolished last week, there have been calls for the Crooked House pub in Staffordshire to be rebuilt from scratch.Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, told the local council he wanted to see it rebuilt brick by brick (using as much original material as possible)", and a Facebook group calling for it to be rebuilt has attracted more than 10,000 members. Continue reading...

Veteran MP responds by criticising leadership and says he will stand as independent candidate at next general electionThe Scottish National party (SNP) has expelled its veteran MP Angus MacNeil, who immediately confirmed he would stand as an independent candidate at the next election.He was suspended from the party's Westminster group last month after reportedly clashing with its chief whip, Brendan O'Hara, over his attendance record at Commons' votes. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jamar Powell, who was 16 at the time, says he feared for his life when he was stopped and searchedThe Metropolitan police have paid damages to an innocent black teenager who was stopped and searched, handcuffed, ordered to kneel in the street, and allegedly had a Taser gun pressed to his neck.Jamar Powell, who was aged 16 when the incident happened, said he thought he was going to die, surrounded by officers - some holding firearms - and with a Taser aimed at him. Continue reading...

Dame Vera Baird KC to lead independent review into force's treatment of women in custodyThe mayor of Greater Manchester has launched an independent inquiry into the treatment of women in custody with a focus on strip-searches.The former victims commissioner Dame Vera Baird KC was asked last month to examine three cases of women who accused Greater Manchester police of unjustified intimate searches. Continue reading...

Prosecutors withdraw several charges against Emma Walters, who is still accused of making a threat to kill Setka, which she denies

Broadcaster's managing director says crew did not collude with Perth protesters but corrects earlier claim they had no knowledge of action

Air defence foils strike on Kyiv; Russia claims to have downed Ukrainian drone over Moscow after airport temporarily closed

Deadline has passed for Beijing to appeal against Tower Hamlets council's rejection of plans

North of continent records unusually wet and windy summer conditions while Portugal and Spain battle flamesFloods struck northern and central Europe last week. Some areas of Slovenia recorded more than 200mm of rain in 12 hours on Thursday and Friday, causing extensive flooding across two-thirds of the country. Many buildings and roads were damaged, at an estimated cost of 500m (432m), and six deaths were reported.Storm Hans hit the Baltic region a few days later. Hans originated as an area of low pressure over eastern Europe, but quickly deepened as it travelled northwards towards the Baltic Sea. The low was unusually deep for a summer storm, and led to daily rainfall totals of 80 to 100mm in parts of southern Norway and Sweden earlier this week. Continue reading...

Strike could push number of appointments cancelled due to NHS industrial action over a millionJunior doctors in England have launched a fifth round of industrial action, with thousands going on strike just days after starting their first NHS jobs.The latest strikes from British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors began at 7am on Friday and will end at 7am next Tuesday. It could result in the total number of appointments cancelled due to NHS industrial action hitting 1m. Continue reading...

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Benedicte Colin stressed her resignation was not linked to appointment of Josh Murray as transport secretary

Cause of death of Tayla Cox and baby Murphy remain unclear, as husband Matthew James Cox has first Queensland court appearance

Campaigners say efforts to stamp out custom of banishing girls and women during menstruation have been set back by CovidA 16-year-old girl from Nepal has died as a result of the illegal practice of chhaupadi, where menstruating women are forced to stay in huts outside their homes.Anita Chand, from Baitadi district, in the west of the country, bordering India, is understood to have died on Wednesday from a snake bite while she was sleeping. Her death is the first reported fatality from chhaupadi since 2019 and campaigners fear progress to eliminate the practice is being eroded. Continue reading...

Comcare announces department has been charged and may be fined $1.5m

Nicholas Reece says council's technological solutions' will crack down on hoon behaviour' such as riding on footpaths