The ISC's warnings are unlikely to act as much of a brake on Britain's approach to ChinaIf there is one constant in the UK's policy towards China over the past three decades it has been its short-termism and inconsistency, the scathing intelligence and security committee report on China rightly finds, comparing Britain's to Beijing's capacity to think strategically about how to advance the global interests of the Chinese Communist party.If Downing Street thinks in terms of the next news bulletin, China has a planning cycle that in some of its documents takes it to 2049, as the ISC was told by one of its intelligence agency witnesses. Continue reading...
Iger, 72, says decision by Sag-Aftra to recommend strike action will have a very, very damaging effect on the business'As a strike by Sag-Aftra appears imminent without a contract, Disney chief executive Bob Iger has said writers and actors preparing to picket are not being realistic" with their expectations, and that the threat of a strike is disturbing".In an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box on Thursday morning, Iger said the decision by the actors and writers unions to go on strike is very disturbing to me. We've talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we're facing, the recovery from Covid, which is ongoing, it's not completely back. Continue reading...
Sources claim corporation journalists may have made early inquiries into allegations of workplace improprietyFor six days, the BBC's top journalists have gathered at Broadcasting House in central London and dedicated themselves to investigating Huw Edwards, the corporation's most famous news presenter.Up above them, on the building's fourth floor, the BBC director general, Tim Davie, has been working non-stop to get a grip on the scandal, receiving updates on the allegations, and fighting for the broadcaster's reputation. Continue reading...
Researchers reported alarming increase' in drownings among low-income and ethnically diverse childrenParents are being asked to speak to their children about water safety after new data revealed an 85% increase in the number of child drownings in England between 2019 and 2022.There were 20 drownings in 2019 to 2020 compared with 37 in 2021 to 2022, according to a report published on Thursday by the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) team at the University of Bristol. Continue reading...
Inspectors praise sensitive and impartial' teaching of relationship and sex education at Rye College after secret video raised concernsOfsted has given the school at the centre of the cat pupil" allegations a clean bill of health, with inspectors praising its culture of kindness" as well as its handling of relationship and sex education.Ofsted inspected Rye College in East Sussex after a complaint by Kemi Badenoch, the minister for women and equalities. There had been media coverage of a video of pupils arguing with a teacher over gender and identity, with one pupil appearing to claim that a student identified as a cat. Continue reading...
Antonio Avola, 66, went on trial for sexually assaulting student, 17, but judge rules grope too fleeting to be a crimeAn Italian judge has provoked outrage after clearing a school caretaker of groping a teenage girl because the sexual assault only lasted a handful of seconds".The case relates to a 17-year-old student at a school in Rome who described being groped by the caretaker as she walked up a staircase with a friend. Continue reading...
Unions hail verdict that describes Kwasi Kwarteng's approach as unlawful and irrational'Legal changes brought by the government to let agency staff fill in for striking workers have been quashed by the high court, with ministers' approach to the policy being labelled irrational".A number of unions, including Aslef, the RMT and Unite, joined in legal challenge to strike-breaking" regulations announced last summer by the government as it faced widespread industrial action across rail and other sectors. Continue reading...
by Aubrey Allegretti Senior political correspondent on (#6CYAP)
Police, junior doctors and teachers in England to get more money and minister says frontline services will be protectedMillions of public sector workers will be given a pay rise of at least 6%, but government departments have been told to fund the rise from within existing budgets.Police officers, junior doctors and teachers in England are among those who would benefit after Rishi Sunak accepted all the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies. Continue reading...
Parliamentary committee says Beijing is targeting UK economy, politics, civil infrastructure and academiaChina's state institutions are aggressively targeting the UK, putting the country on course for a nightmare scenario that represents not just a commercial challenge but an existential threat to liberal democratic systems, parliament's influential all-party intelligence and security committee has found.The inquiry - launched in 2019 and subject to various delays was completed in May - is scathing about the failure of the UK to wake up to the scale of the systemic challenge posed by the Chinese government's whole of state" assault on the British economy, politics, civil infrastructure and academia. Continue reading...
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are the preferred platforms for those who prey on vulnerable people, says attorney generalMark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, is being asked to respond to the extraordinary" number of cases in which the company's social media platforms are used to facilitate human trafficking in Florida.It follows revelations this week that Meta's platforms - Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - were used to facilitate human trafficking in 146 of the 271 reported cases of social media platforms being used by traffickers to commit their crimes in Florida, between 2019 and 2022. Continue reading...
Broadcaster resumes investigation, as Sun faces questions over its suggestion presenter had bought explicit images from 17-year-old which the young person deniedThe BBC has resumed its internal investigation into the presenter Huw Edwards, after the police concluded that the News at Ten presenter had no criminal case to answer over allegations he had paid a young individual for explicit images.A spokesperson for the BBC said it would focus on fact finding", with the corporation also likely to consider separate allegations of potential workplace misconduct that are not of a criminal nature. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: As Labour reaffirms its pledge to remove VAT exemption from private education, a new report outlines the impacts on the wider system Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. If you can afford to pay tens of thousands of pounds to educate your children, do you deserve a hefty tax break? That question has long been at the centre of debates over private education in the UK, and the particular tax status of what, by tradition, are known as public schools (yet are anything but).Private schools in Britain, the majority of which are also registered charities, are exempt from VAT on their fees, meaning they escape the 20% tax that is applied to most other goods and services.BBC | Huw Edwards has been named as the presenter suspended over allegations he paid a young person for explicit images. The Sun newspaper - which alleged in a front-page story that the presenter paid a young person, now aged 20 but 17 when it started, for photos - faces questions over its reporting and ethical standards after police concluded there was no evidence to support this allegation of serious criminal wrongdoing. Edwards, one of British TV's most famous faces, is now receiving inpatient hospital care for serious mental health issues", his wife, Vicky Flind, said in a statement on Wednesday.Nato | Joe Biden concluded the Vilnius summit on Wednesday promising Ukraine full support even without membership in the alliance. Leaders only signed off a carefully negotiated declaration promising Ukraine could join after making democratic and security sector reforms". Britain's defence secretary earlier suggested Ukraine should show more gratitude for the west's help. Separately, Russia's foreign intelligence chief said he and his CIA counterpart discussed the Wagner mercenary mutiny and what to do with Ukraine" in a phone call.Science | An unprecedented" closeup image of the nearest star-forming region to Earth was released by Nasa on Wednesday to mark the first year of operation of the James Webb space telescope. The space agency called it a dynamic image that belies the region's relative quiet - and practically begs for explanation of what exactly we are looking at".Technology | Anthropic, a US artificial intelligence company, has launched Claude 2, a rival chatbot to ChatGPT that can summarise novel-sized blocks of text and operates from a list of safety principles drawn from sources such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The chatbot is publicly available in the US and the UK.Conservatives | Nadine Dorries has been reported to the chief whip and Commons speaker after allegedly sending forceful" emails to the government about not being given a peerage. In a highly unusual move, the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, said he had flagged" the issue to the parliamentary authorities, and also asked for advice about any potential breach of the law. Continue reading...
Device trialled at tournament captures images with camera and projects them into sight lineRosie Pybus has been to Wimbledon several times and watched her first tennis match this year, thanks to a headset for visually impaired people. She told of the exhilarating" moment she tested the innovative device, which allows users to watch live action from the stands.Visually impaired tennis fans at SW19 have been trialling the headsets, which capture images with a camera and project them into a person's sight line. Users can adjust the images with a remote control. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6CY2W)
One in five firms see risk of financial failure in next six months due to sums owed by NHS and councilsDozens of home care companies in England fear collapse because invoices are going unpaid by councils and the NHS.Hundreds of millions of pounds in unpaid bills are threatening parts of a care industry already stretched by a recruitment crisis and rising wages, according to research by the Institute of Health and Social Care Management (IHSCM). Continue reading...
Police say no evidence of criminal offence committed, as presenter's wife names him as the man at the centre of the allegationsSouth Wales police say they have ended their inquiries into the matter.The force said a meeting with the BBC and Met police earlier this week led to them carrying out fresh inquiries. Continue reading...
Comments come after Ukrainian leader complained his country had not been given firm timetable for joining allianceBritain's defence secretary and the US national security adviser have suggested Ukraine ought to show more gratitude for the help it has received from the west, in response to Volodymyr Zelenskiy's complaints that his country has not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining Nato.Their unscripted remarks - at two different events on the margins of the second day of the Nato summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius - appeared to prompt a change of tack from the Ukrainian leader on Wednesday, who later said he was grateful to all leaders of Nato countries" for their support and help. Continue reading...
Venus of the Rags, one of the contemporary Italian artist's most famous works, was burnt to cindersOne of the most famous works by Italian contemporary artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, Venus of the Rags, has been burnt to cinders in a suspected arson attack in Naples.The installation, in which a statue of the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility stands next to a vast pile of coloured, discarded clothes, was destroyed where it stood on display near the town hall in the southern Italian city. Continue reading...
Another 14 wounded after seven improvised devices set off in attack by organized crime group in Tlajomulco, Jalisco stateFour police officers and two civilians have been killed by bombs planted in a road in western Mexico that officials said were an ambush set by a drug cartel.The attack late on Tuesday appeared to mark the first time that Mexican criminals have successfully targeted law-enforcement personnel with improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in the latest example of the brazen military challenge posed by organized crime groups in the country. Continue reading...
Junior doctor leaders have threatened to keep up industrial action until spring unless they receive a credible pay offer'Rishi Sunak's pledge to cut NHS waiting times will be impossible to meet if strikes are still disrupting care beyond the summer, health service chiefs have privately warned ministers.The prime minister promised in January that NHS waiting lists will fall" when he outlined five pledges, reflecting the people's priorities", by which voters should judge his performance, he said. Continue reading...
Documents containing allegations of torture filed to court in support of complaint made by Bobi WineThe Uganda president, Yoweri Museveni, and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba have been accused of sponsoring violence and abusing critics in harrowing testimony filed before the international criminal court.The submissions contain detailed allegations of the torture of opposition figures and activists who report being arrested arbitrarily and being held incommunicado in torture centres", where they were reportedly interrogated about their links with the opposition figure Bobi Wine and subjected to physical harm and indignifying treatment. Continue reading...
RSL president Bernadine Evaristo highlights need to change to become an organisation for all writers rather than just the white and middle classBroadcaster and writer Emma Dabiri, young adult author Patrick Ness, Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik and poet Anthony Anaxagorou are among the fellows newly elected to the Royal Society of Literature (RSL).The RSL, a UK charity aimed at advancing literature, announced its 62 new fellows during a ceremony at the Garden Museum in London on Wednesday. Continue reading...
by Sammy Gecsoyler (now); Martin Belam and Helen Sull on (#6CX2B)
Zelenskiy suggests Ukraine could get up in the morning and express our words of gratitude personally to the minister'What we know on day 504 of the invasionIn the last few moments an air alert that had been in place across some of southern Ukraine has been lifted, however there is still a warning in place about artillery fire in Nikopol.This is not unusual, as the city lies on the right-bank of the Dnipro, opposite Russian occupied territory near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and occupied city of Enerhodar.This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com Continue reading...
Inquiry into disappearance of boy, 2, who went missing on Saturday will shift to evaluation of evidence already gathered'A massive air and land search for a toddler missing for four days in a hamlet in the French Alps has been called off, with investigators saying the focus will now shift to the evaluation of evidence already gathered.The two-year-old boy, named only as Emile, 2, was staying with his grandparents when he went missing on Saturday. He was last seen by two neighbours walking alone on a street of Haut Vernet, a tiny village of 25 inhabitants. Continue reading...
Writer speaks to the BBC about his physical and mental health as well as his thoughts on his attempted murdererSalman Rushdie has spoken about the crazy dreams" he has experienced since being attacked in New York.The 76-year-old writer spoke to the BBC about the incident, which saw him stabbed as he prepared to give a lecture, and his physical health. I have a very good therapist who has a lot of work to do," he said. I have crazy dreams." Continue reading...
This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage hereCivil service chief Simon Case said the last five years had seen a deterioration in relations between officials and politicians, although he added the situation had improved since Rishi Sunak became prime minister, PA News reports.The cabinet secretary told MPs:The last five years or so have seen, I think, an increased number of attacks on civil servants individually and collectively by significant political figures which has undoubtedly undermined the good functioning of government.I'm very happy to say that under this prime minister things have changed very significantly.Obviously I don't agree with a characterisation which is insulting, dehumanising, totally unacceptable.It would surprise me if current ministers were using this language, not least because if they were it would indicate something akin to self-defeating cowardice.Yes, was aware of those communications and have flagged them to both the chief whip and Speaker of the House. Continue reading...
Surfacing of old posts threatens to damage reputation of Tim Sheehy, one of party's leading hopes to take control of SenateThe US Senate campaign of Montana Republican Tim Sheehy has been forced on to the defensive following the publication of misogynistic and racist social media posts he is alleged to have written.Sheehy is one of his party's leading hopes to help it take control of the Senate in next year's elections, and he is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Jon Tester, seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6CXE0)
Bank of England says millions of homeowners will be paying up to 220 more a month by end of yearAlmost 1 million UK homeowners will be forced to shell out at least 500 more a month to cover mortgage payments by the end of 2026, as borrowers suffer the consequences" of rising interest rates, the Bank of England has warned.Forecasts released on Wednesday showed that of the 4 million homeowners expected to roll on to new mortgage contracts over the next three years, the majority will be paying up to 220 more a month to cover the mortgage by the end of this year because of the difficulty of finding contracts with comparable rates. Continue reading...
State's efforts unable to persuade company to stay amid growing risk for carriers as climate crisis increases strength of stormsFarmers Insurance became the latest property insurer to pull out of Florida on Tuesday despite repeated efforts by the state's legislature and its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, to try to calm the volatile market that is making home ownership less affordable.Farmers informed the state that it was discontinuing new coverage of auto, home and umbrella policies. The company said in a statement that the decision would affect policies issued through its exclusive agency distribution channel". It said there would be no effect on 70% of current policies in Florida. Continue reading...
Comb and gold hair-ring dating back more than 3,000 years unearthed near Barry in south WalesThey are sometimes depicted as unkempt and wild-haired but the discovery of what is being billed as possibly the UK's oldest wooden comb suggests prehistoric people liked to take care of their appearance.The comb and a beautifully crafted hair-ring, dating back more than 3,000 years to the bronze age, were unearthed near the seaside town of Barry in south Wales. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#6CX86)
Tesla Electric seeks executive with healthy scepticism of status quo' to manage entry into UK energy marketElon Musk's Tesla is poised to disrupt Britain's energy market with the launch of a new household supplier.The maker of electric cars, which also runs an energy supply business in the US, plans to begin selling electricity to homes and running virtual power plants", according to a recent job listing. Continue reading...
by Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington on (#6CX3V)
US couple gives evidence to New Zealand court in case against island's owners and tourism operatorsAn American couple who were badly burned when Whakaari/White Island erupted in December 2019, killing 22 of the 47 people in its crater, told a New Zealand court that neither their guides nor anyone else involved in their trip to the crater told them that such an event was likely - or even possible. Information about the dangers they faced on the island volcano was minimal, they said, and safety protections lax.Evidence from Matthew Urey, 40, and Lauren Urey, 36, opened the prosecution's case in the Auckland district court on Wednesday, beginning a lengthy trial for the island's owners and other tourism companies involved in the ill-fated trip. Continue reading...
Rocket went 1,000km, says South Korea, after Kim Jong-un's sister threatened shocking' consequences for alleged US spy plane flightsNorth Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast towards Japan on Wednesday, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said, in a move that followed threats of retaliation for alleged US spy plane flights.The missile flew about 1,000km (621 miles) before crashing into the water, South Korea's military said. Japan's chief cabinet secretary said the missile came down about 250km west of Okushiri island in Japan's northernmost Hokkaido prefecture, after a flight taking 74 minutes that reached an altitude of more than 6,000km. Continue reading...
by Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent on (#6CX2E)
Antony Blinken speaks at launch of US-led coalition to address synthetic drug threatsWho is responsible for the United States' opioid epidemic? According to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, the culprits are transnational criminal enterprises" who need to be tackled via international law enforcement operations.But according to Chinese state media, the fentanyl crisis in the United States is demand-driven", primarily by the users themselves". Continue reading...
Magistrates under fire amid controversial inquiries involving leading figures in Meloni coalitionItaly's far-right government is embroiled in a power struggle with magistrates amid controversial investigations involving leading figures within the ruling coalition.In a memo citing sources from the office of the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, a segment of the judiciary" came under attack for choosing to play an active opposition role" in allegedly attempting to bring down her administration ahead of next year's European parliamentary elections. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian