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Not just boiled or steamed desserts in danger, charity finds, households also rarely make fruit pies and crumblesAt the end of the 17th century a French travel writer who crossed the Channel was clearly impressed by the sweet, comforting treats offered to him, declaring with relish: Ah! What an excellent thing is an English pudding!"More than three centuries on, English Heritage has sounded the alarm that the good old British pudding is facing extinction. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Parliamentary Budget Office analysis shows any loss of revenue from betting would be offset by lower government spending

Environmental groups had lodged a reconsideration request over a 2012 decision to allow for the expansion of salmon farming

Rod Price recounts frantic' call he received from Sarah Shaw after her detention at US border while returning from CanadaThe father of a New Zealand woman who has been held in a US immigration detention centre for three weeks with her six-year-old son is hopeful the pair will be released by the end of the week.US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detained Sarah Shaw and her youngest son after they attempted to re-enter the US from Canada on 24 July. Continue reading...

Stephen Fleming admits killing 67-year-old Annette Brennan at Coolaroo on 1 July 2024

Murray Watt and Sussan Ley survey devastation in Adelaide as scientists call for urgent funding for affected species

Environment minister says blazes, in which two people have died, are proof of country's vulnerability to global heatingThe heatwave-fuelled wildfires that have killed two people in Spain over recent days, devouring thousands of hectares of land and forcing thousands of people from their homes, are a clear warning" of the impact of the climate emergency, the country's environment minister has said.Speaking on Wednesday morning, as firefighters in Spain, Greece and other Mediterranean countries continued to battle dozens of blazes, Sara Aagesen said the 14 wildfires still burning across seven Spanish regions were further proof of the country's particular vulnerability to global heating. Continue reading...

Lai has been detained since December 2020, with western nations and rights groups calling for his releaseJailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai's national security trial, which began in late 2023, will enter its final stages on Thursday as lawyers present closing arguments.The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Continue reading...

US president also says he would push for three-way summit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Alaska meeting goes wellVladimir Putin will face very severe consequences" if he does not agree a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday.Speaking after a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Britain's Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well - this time including his Ukrainian counterpart. Continue reading...

Calls via foreign-owned platforms curbed as critics say Kremlin is pushing for greater control over Russia's internetRussia has announced restrictions on the messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.Moscow has clashed with foreign tech platforms for several years over content and data storage in a simmering dispute that intensified after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Critics say Russia is trying to expand its control over the country's internet space. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary reports oversight' to Environment Agency after failing to acquire necessary rod licenceDavid Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after going fishing with JD Vance without the required licence during the US vice-president's trip to the UK.The foreign secretary hosted Vance and his family at Chevening House in Kent last week, where the pair fished from the property's private lake. Anglers aged 13 and over must hold a rod licence to fish for freshwater species such as carp in England and Wales. Lammy failed to land a catch, but all of my kids did", Vance said. Continue reading...

Families of victims and advocacy groups condemn law that covers internal armed conflict from 1980 to 2000Human rights groups and families of victims of Peru's two-decade internal armed conflict have expressed outrage after the country's government granted a blanket amnesty for all military and police officers accused of human rights crimes from 1980 to 2000.The Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, signed the amnesty - which was approved by the country's congress last month - into law on Wednesday, to the applause of military top brass and ministers at Lima's government palace. Continue reading...

The Indian author is the next Future Library writer, set to submit a secret work to be locked in a library until 2114The next manuscript by Indian writer Amitav Ghosh will not be read for 89 years, as he becomes the 12th author to contribute to the Future Library project.Ghosh joins Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong and other prominent authors who have written secret manuscripts, which are locked away until 2114. Continue reading...

New York judge says he wants charge - which jury could not reach verdict on - to be tried again before year's endNew York prosecutors are looking to try Harvey Weinstein for a third time on a sexual assault charge on which a jury failed to reach a decision earlier this summer but which had succeeded in 2020 before being vacated by an appeals court.New York judge Curtis Farber said on Wednesday he wants a charge involving the actor Jessica Mann as the alleged victim to be tried again before the end of this year, though prosecutors indicated they would not be ready for trial until 2026. The news was first reported by NBC News. Continue reading...

Netflix summer hit in which girl band Huntr/x protect fans from supernatural threats will appear on the big screen over bank holiday weekendYounger audiences will be singing their hearts out in cinemas across the UK this month as KPop Demon Hunters arrives on the big screen for a series of special sing-along events.The unexpected Netflix hit, which has become the most popular animated film of all time on the streaming platform, has hooked children (and many parents) worldwide since its release in June. Continue reading...

Allowing police to disclose ethnicity and nationality of suspects could have consequences for race relations

Exclusive: Critics warn move could worsen impact of Donald Trump's rollback of funding for diversity and aid projects abroadMinisters are considering scrapping a commitment to spend 80% of foreign aid on projects supporting gender equality, the Guardian has learned.Critics warned the move could worsen the impact of Donald Trump's rollback of funding for diversity and aid projects abroad, which has affected maternal and reproductive health services in developing countries. Continue reading...

Veteran actor played antagonist in Sam Raimi's acclaimed horror hit and appeared in The Young and the RestlessLorna Raver, who played Mrs Ganush in Sam Raimi's hit horror Drag Me to Hell, has died at the age of 81.According to the Hollywood Reporter, her death was included in the in memoriam" section of the Screen Actors Guild's summer magazine. She died in May. Continue reading...

Democratic socialist edges further ahead of former state governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent mayor Eric AdamsNew York City's mayoral race is heating up, with Zohran Mamdani, the young progressive who leapt ahead of establishment figures in the primary to win the Democratic party nomination, appearing to widen his lead over his main rivals this week.Mamdani, 33, edged further ahead of the former New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, with the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, far behind, in advance of the election this November to pick a leader for the largest city in the US. Continue reading...

Hashem Abedi charged over incident in which four prison officers were injured at a maximum security prison in AprilThe brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been charged with three counts of attempted murder after prison officers were injured at a maximum security prison.The charges follow an investigation by counter-terror police into an attack at HMP Frankland in Durham on 12 April. Continue reading...

Brazilian president's comments come amid US attempts to pressure judges in coup trial against Trump ally BolsonaroThe Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has hit back at Donald Trump's campaign against the South American country's judiciary, claiming the US president would be put on trial in Brazil had the January 6 US Capitol attacks taken place there.Trump has triggered what some experts call the greatest ever diplomatic rupture between the US and Brazil by slapping 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports and sanctioning a supreme court judge in an attempt to help his far-right ally, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, avoid prison for allegedly trying to stage a coup after he lost the 2022 election to Lula. Continue reading...

Human Rights Watch also finds that Iran abused survivors of June attack, which killed 80 peopleIsraeli airstrikes on Tehran's Evin prison in June killed scores of detainees, visitors and staff in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called an apparent war crime". Iranian authorities have since subjected survivors to abuse, enforced disappearances and inhumane detention conditions, the rights group said on Wednesday.HRW's investigation, based on satellite imagery, videos and witness accounts, found the 23 June Israeli airstrikes destroyed visitation halls, prison wards, the central kitchen, the medical clinic and administrative offices. No evident military targets were identified in the facility, which held more than 1,500 prisoners at the time, many of whom had been jailed for peaceful activism. Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron writes to Cameroonian president with findings of joint commission on country's colonial pastFrance has acknowledged its role in decades of violent repression of independence movements in Cameroon, the latest stage in a slow process of reckoning with its brutal colonial past.In a letter to the Cameroonian president, Paul Biya, dated 30 July, Emmanuel Macron said it was up to me today to assume the role and responsibility of France in these events". Continue reading...

Zelenskyy accuses Putin of bluffing after a united' and positive' call between EU leaders and TrumpUkraine will not cede land that could be Russian springboard for new warWe are now getting reports via agencies that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now arrived in Berlin ahead of the series of calls later today.Separately, Estonia has moved to expel a Russian diplomat over alleged direct and active" involvement in undermining the constitutional order and legal system of Estonia." Continue reading...

Canada's largest airline expects full shutdown as workers protests over claims of poverty wages' and unpaid labourCanada's largest airline has started cancelling flights during the peak summer travel season ahead of a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants over what they say are poverty wages" and unpaid labour for work when planes aren't in the air.Air Canada said it would start suspending flights on Thursday ahead of full shutdown on Saturday after the flagship carrier and the union representing the flight attendances failed to resolve a months-long dispute over pay and working conditions. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary had failed to secure a rod licence before hosting US vice-president at his official residence in KentFormer Holyrood presiding officer George Reid has died at the age of 86, his family have announced. He died in the early hours of Tuesday at Strathcarron Hospice near Denny, just a few miles from where he was born in Clackmannanshire, reports the PA news agency.Flags at the Scottish parliament he helped to complete have been lowered as a mark of respect, current presiding officer Alison Johnstone announced.His passion for Scotland, his principled internationalist worldview, and his empathy for the plight of people everywhere made him a voice that could not be ignored across five decades.As an MP, he was a trailblazing member of the SNP's breakthrough victories of 1974. He became, for me, one of the compelling voices of the campaign for a Scottish parliament in 1979. Continue reading...

Danish capital's authorities could face bill of up to 23m krone for wrongful charges over seven-year periodAuthorities in Copenhagen could face a bill of tens of millions of krone after it emerged that the city had illegally charged wedding fees to about 12,000 couples over seven years.Most of those who were charged during the period are understood to have been from outside Denmark and did not have permanent residence in the country. Continue reading...

State of emergency declared around Chattanooga as child and two adults killed and heavy rain closes roadsFlash flooding and torrential rain has cost at least three lives in Tennessee on Wednesday and caused havoc on the roads around Chattanooga, as the county mayor declared a state of emergency.A tree uprooted from saturated ground and fell on a family in their car early on Wednesday morning, in East Ridge, on the outskirts of Chattanooga, killing a child and two adults, according to authorities in the area. Continue reading...

Decision follows bankruptcy filings in US and Canada by jewellery chain's parent companyClaire's is on the brink of collapse after the fashion accessories retailer said it is to appoint administrators in the UK & Ireland, putting 2,150 jobs at risk.The tween jewellery and ear-piercing retailer, which has 278 stores in the UK and 28 in Ireland, has struggled to arrest falling sales and competition from online retailers such as Amazon. Continue reading...

UN refugee agency says more people could still be missing at sea, with between 70 and 80 believed to have survivedAt least 20 people have died after a boat capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a United Nations agency and local media reported on Wednesday.Rescuers have recovered 20 bodies so far and operations were continuing, according to initial reports by Ansa news agency. Between 70 and 80 people were believed to have survived. Continue reading...

Jobs and Skills Australia says doomsday predictions are overblown but almost all occupations will be augmented by artificial intelligence

Officials in Mason voted to convert prison to Ice facility run by CoreCivic, US's second-largest private prison operatorOfficials in a rural Tennessee town voted on Tuesday to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite loud objections from upset residents and activists during a contentious public meeting.The five-member board of aldermen in Mason, along with the mayor, Eddie Noeman, and vice-mayor, Reynaldo Givhan, met in a fire station garage to discuss converting the closed West Tennessee detention facility into a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center run by CoreCivic Inc, America's second-largest private prison operator. Continue reading...

Girl, 16, and two boys, 14 and 15, detained after disturbance in Leysdown-on-Sea in which Alexander Cashford diedThree children have been charged with murder after the death of a man in a Kent seaside resort.A girl, 16, and two boys, aged 14 and 15, have been remanded in custody to appear at Medway magistrates court on Wednesday, Kent police said. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Universal Music Group deny that British chief exec had any meaningful involvement' in the promotion of allegedly defamatory track Not Like UsAs Drake's lawsuit continues against his record label's parent company, Universal Music Group (UMG), his lawyers have claimed that UMG's British chair and chief executive Lucian Grainge had a role in and knowledge of the scheme to defame and harass" Drake, and have requested that UMG produce texts and emails by Grainge.UMG has previously denied access to those communications, stating that Grainge has no meaningful involvement in the matters and decisions at issue in this litigation". Continue reading...

Undercover female officers deployed in running gear in pilot scheme to tackle catcalling, resulting in 18 arrestsA police force has sent out female undercover officers posing as joggers to catch men harassing women while they are out exercising.A pilot operation from Surrey police deployed female officers in running gear during rush hour to expose how often women are harassed. The pilot has resulted in 18 arrests for offences such as harassment, sexual assault and theft. Continue reading...

Hong Kong's CKI among those lining up to acquire struggling company if it collapsesA Chinese firm is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks.Hong Kong's CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times. Continue reading...

Accountancy firm's staff concerned by system that monitors wifi logons and swipes of work passesThe big four accountancy firm PwC has intensified the way it tracks how often its UK employees come into the office by monitoring swipes of work passes and connections to wifi, prompting concerns among staff.Bosses use a dashboard to record attendance and check whether workers are adhering to the company policy that requires them to spend three days a week, or 60% of their time, with clients or in the office. Continue reading...

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied territories, calls for practical actions and warns against distracting attention from where it should be: the genocide'The United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied territories has warned that moves to recognise a Palestinian state should not distract member states from stopping mass death and starvation in Gaza.Of course it's important to recognize the state of Palestine," Francesca Albanese told the Guardian after several more countries responded to the mounting starvation in Gaza by announcing plans to recognize an independent Palestine. It's incoherent that they've not done it already." Continue reading...

The two plan to meet behind closed doors Friday in Alaska to discuss land swapping'. What will happen this time?The lessons of Helsinki are clear: putting Donald Trump alone in a room with Vladimir Putin is an unpredictable - and often dangerous - affair.It was 2018 when the two leaders met at the invitation of Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish president, to discuss a collapse in US-Russia relations, accusations of elections interference, and the grinding war in east Ukraine, among other topics. Continue reading...

Coalition says government has handed Hamas a massive propaganda victory', despite Albanese's vow that terrorist group would be excluded from any future Palestinian state

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Julie Inman Grant said the laws would provoke a lobbying surge' brought on by concerns the ban would affect advertising revenue

For some the only hope is treatment abroad, but not all survive the long, desperate wait for Israel's approvalAbdel Karim Wahdan no longer has the energy to speak. When visitors arrive, the eight-year-old pretends to be sleeping so that no one looks at him. Between his frequent dialysis sessions, he cries. His bones hurt, he says.Abdel Karim is dying. His death should be preventable but because he lives in Gaza he cannot access the treatment that would save his life. What started as acute kidney failure is now chronic: his small body has begun to swell and he spends his days between hospital beds and injections that he hates. Continue reading...

Disclosure of migration status, and ethnicity, could help keep peace where there are high levels of disinformation'Police forces should consider disclosing the ethnicity and migration status of suspects when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive investigations, according to new official guidance.After a row over claims that police covered up" the backgrounds of two men charged in connection with the alleged rape of a child, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have backed plans to release details of nationality when there is a policing purpose" for doing so. Continue reading...

Reality TV star Matt Wright has pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice

Police allege man was behaving suspiciously before becoming verbally and physically aggressive towards AFP officers

Green party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick accused government MPs of lacking a spine' during a debate on whether to recognise a Palestinian stateAs more of its allies make moves to recognise Palestinian statehood, the issue is dominating New Zealand's politics, with a prominent MP ejected from parliament on Tuesday and the prime minister describing his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu as having lost the plot".Speaking to local media on Wednesday, Christopher Luxon said what was happening in Gaza was utterly, utterly appalling". Continue reading...

Department denies a culture of act first, check later' after report shows the Australian citizen was moved to immigration detention - despite them providing their birth certificateHome affairs wrongfully detained an Australian citizen because of an administration error, the Commonwealth Ombudsman has revealed, while another person with a valid visa was incorrectly held for 18 months in immigration detention.The Australian citizen, known as Mx C, was born in Australia to New Zealand parents in 1989, automatically granting them citizenship on their 10th birthday - but it was not recorded in departmental records. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Plans for ban on face coverings' at protests, with fines of up to $2,000, have been scaled back, sources say

Unprecedented temperatures causing difficulties in south-west France, Croatia, Italy and Spain with wildfire destruction across Europe up 87%