Concerns raised about lighting outdoor fires after more than 500 blazes in the UK this yearFire chiefs have issued a warning over outdoor fires and barbecues after a sevenfold increase in UK wildfires, as amber heat alerts were issued across England before what is expected to be a scorching weekend.The UK has already experienced more than 500 wildfires this year, with incidents up 717% compared with the same period in 2024. Continue reading...
Army chief's effusive welcome in Washington hints at strategic recalibration amid Middle East turmoilAfter years in the diplomatic deep freeze, US-Pakistan ties appear to be quickly thawing, with Donald Trump's effusive welcome for Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, signalling a possible major reset.Once snubbed so badly that former prime minister Imran Khan had to board an ordinary airport shuttle after arriving in the US rather than being whisked off in a limousine, Pakistan is now enjoying top-level access in Washington, including a White House lunch for Munir on Wednesday and meetings with top national security officials. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#6Y3ME)
Vicky Foxcroft says she cannot support changes to disability payments ahead of key vote on welfare billThe Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft has resigned as a whip in protest at the government's welfare plans, saying she will not be able to vote for the cuts to disability payments.The government is braced for a major rebellion on the welfare bill, which includes significant changes to personal independence payments for disabled people. Continue reading...
Speaking at a hospital hit by an Iranian missile, the Israeli prime minister invoked ancient Persia as he hinted at a historic missionIt was in the Beersheba, about a thousand kilometers and 2,500 years from Babylon, that Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Thursday that the time had come for the Jews to repay their ancient debt to Cyrus the Great and bring liberation to Iran.The Israeli prime minister had just made a tour of Beersheba's Soroka hospital which a few hours earlier had sustained a direct hit from an Iranian ballistic missile on one of its buildings. It was for that reason the scene of an escape which was already being dubbed miraculous by Israel's leaders. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#6Y3JH)
Iran has struggled to respond effectively after Israel killed many of its top military commandersIt is a week since Israel began its largest attack ever on Iran, and in conventional military terms it is clear that Tehran is under extreme pressure. Israel has been able to achieve superiority over Iran's skies at extraordinary speed, within hours of launching its surprise assault. Its military claimed on Monday to have knocked out 120 Iranian air defence systems through a mixture of air and drone strikes, about a third of Tehran's pre-war total.In response, Iran's most effective weapon has been its stock of high-speed ballistic missiles, estimated at about 2,000 by Israel's Defence Force (IDF) at the outset of hostilities last week. But the heavy targeting by Israel of launch sites in western Iran, in underground bases such as at Kermanshah - coupled with Israel's grimly effective targeted killing of Iran's top military commanders - have left Iran struggling to respond militarily and presenting a significant threat. Continue reading...
Struggling steel sector among those expected to benefit in government's long-awaited industrial strategyUK manufacturing is expected to receive support to ease energy costs and boost skills, the Guardian understands, as part of a long-awaited industrial strategy due to be unveiled next week.Energy-intensive industries have long complained that they pay too much for electricity compared with competitors in the EU, while the wider industrial sector has struggled to recruit skilled staff. Continue reading...
PM Pedro Sanchez says he wants a more flexible formula' that would make target optional or allow Madrid to opt outSpain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has rejected Nato's proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP, saying the idea would not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive".Sanchez said that he was not seeking to complicate next week's Nato summit in The Hague, but he wanted there to be a more flexible formula" that would either make the target optional or allow Spain to opt out. Continue reading...
by Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent on (#6Y3G9)
US-made unmanned vessels will monitor maritime activity as part of trial, amid criticism over closer ties with AmericaDenmark is deploying floating drones on the Baltic Sea to protect undersea infrastructure and bolster maritime surveillance amid the growing threat of hybrid attacks from Russia.The arrival of Saildrone, a California-based company, has prompted criticism in Denmark over forging tighter bonds with the US in such a sensitive area as digital security. Continue reading...
London student who police fear may have drugged and raped more than 60 women receives life sentenceA serial rapist feared to be one of the worst sexual offenders in British history has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years for drugging and raping 10 women in the UK and China.Zhenhao Zou, a 28-year-old PhD student, drugged and filmed himself raping women between 2019 and 2024 after luring them to his flat with invitations to study or have drinks. Police fear more than 50 other women could be victims. Continue reading...
Order gives the Chinese-owned social media app, which has 170 million users in the US, until September to find a buyerDonald Trump has signed an executive order to delay the ban or sale of TikTok for the third time. The order gives the Chinese-owned social media company another 90 days to find a buyer or be banned in the US.I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025)," the president said in a Truth Social post. Continue reading...
Two serving officers and one former officer to face hearing after woman was also handcuffed and put in spit hoodTwo serving Metropolitan police officers and one former officer will face a gross misconduct hearing after a 90-year-old woman with dementia was targeted with a Taser, the police watchdog said.The woman was also handcuffed and put in a spit hood during the incident in Peckham, south London, in May 2023, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said. Continue reading...
Government strategy includes spending 9bn a year on fixing schools, hospitals, courts and prisonsMinisters have pledged to spend 9bn a year on fixing crumbling schools, hospitals, courts and prisons over the next decade as part of the government's infrastructure strategy.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, set out plans on Thursday to spend a minimum of 725bn over 10 years to boost UK-wide infrastructure and achieve a national renewal". Continue reading...
Graham Flatman may have acted outside his remit in seven cases between 2013 and 2024, investigation findsA psychologist who was found to have misled the family court about his qualifications had previously given expert evidence in at least seven other cases in which he may have been acting outside his remit.Graham Flatman, an educational psychologist based in Kent, was suspended for six months by the regulator for taking work as a clinical psychologist" and carrying out an assessment he was not qualified to make. Continue reading...
Jim Chalmers has kickstarted a conversation about productivity. If we lift it, what would we do with the dividends of our success: work more or spend more?
by Amy Sedghi (now) and Tom Ambrose (earlier) on (#6Y36G)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereCampaigners from trade unions, voluntary organisations and the Church of Scotland have announced plans for an anti-poverty march to demand better" from politicians in Scotland, reports the PA news agency.The campaign, Scotland Demands Better, will culminate in a march in Edinburgh on 25 October, walking from the Scottish parliament, up the Royal Mile and along George IV Bridge to The Meadows.Change for the better happens when people stand together and demand it. Scotland desperately needs that change.Too many of us are being cut off from life's essentials. Too many are frightened of what the future will bring. Too many of us are feeling tired, angry, isolated, and disillusioned.Air pollution remains the most important environmental threat to health, with impacts throughout the life course.It is an area of health where the UK has made substantial progress in the last three decades, with concentrations of many of the main pollutants falling rapidly, but it remains a major cause of chronic ill health as well as premature mortality. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#6Y3BM)
Zak Starkey says his father made the comment after he was fired over a disagreement about his performanceRingo Starr has reportedly criticised the way that little man" Roger Daltrey runs the Who after Starr's son was sacked from the band.Zak Starkey, 59, who was sacked as the Who's drummer over a disagreement about his performance, said he was proud that his father had come to his defence. Continue reading...
Pedro Sanchez reportedly says move would be counterproductive' and harm Spanish economyEarlier today, I cheekily suggested that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is probably wondering how to persuade US president Donald Trump to stay at the Nato summit in The Hague next week long enough to get to discussions on Ukraine and Russia - and not leave early, as he did at the G7 summit.Well, looks like this issue may have actually influenced the planning.Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on 28 June as a city event. Period." Continue reading...
Call for root-and-branch reform of treatment of children, many of whom are wrongly classified as adultsDecisions relating to lone child asylum seekers should be removed from Home Office officials because of fundamental problems with the way they treat this vulnerable group, a report has found.The report calls for root-and-branch reform of the treatment of thousands of children who have fled persecution in their home countries and made hazardous journeys in search of safety, often crossing the Channel in a dinghy or concealing themselves in the back of a lorry. Continue reading...
Opponents view the controversial act as part of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict abortion accessA new law has just come into force in Rio de Janeiro requiring all public hospitals and clinics run by the municipal government to display anti-abortion signs bearing messages such as: Did you know that the unborn child is discarded as hospital waste?"Reproductive rights activists view the act as the latest example of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict access to abortion in a country that already has some of the world's most restrictive laws. Continue reading...
by Mark Sweney Media business correspondent on (#6Y30P)
ASA report finds many use negative stereotypes and highlights concerns about targeting of end-of-life servicesAn elderly man fires off a tirade at a child who has asked grandad" to return a mud-covered football that has landed on his gleaming car. He is then seen eating a microwave dinner for one and chuckling, with the now-deflated ball pinned to the table next to him by a large kitchen knife.The TV advert for the Scotland-based Strathmore Foods, maker of the McIntosh of Strathmore ready meals stocked by most big supermarket chains, has been identified in a report by the UK advertising watchdog as showing an offensive" portrayal of older people - by stereotyping them as grumpy and intolerant, and implying many are lonely and isolated. Continue reading...
Office for Students guidance urges very strong' approach to permitting lawful speech on campusUniversities in England will no longer be able to enforce blanket bans on student protests under sweeping new guidance that urges a very strong" approach to permitting lawful speech on campus.
Read, who was found guilty of drunk driving, was accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston officer John O'KeefeA jury has found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of drunk driving in the death of her police officer boyfriend in a divisive and high-profile case that dueling lawyers presented as either a tragic love story or a sinister cover-up.Read, 45, was accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, 46, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a house party where other local police and a federal agent were closing out a night of drinking in 2022. Continue reading...
Investigators reportedly examining whether last resort' ram air turbine functioned after takeoffThe sole survivor of the Air India crash has helped carry his brother's flower-heaped coffin to a crematorium in the western Indian coastal town of Diu, days after they plummeted into the ground shortly after takeoff.With bandages still on his face and arm, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who was discharged from hospital on Tuesday, broke into sobs and was consoled by relatives. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani climate justice reporter on (#6Y2RG)
Two years after the devastating fires, many lack access to food, stable housing, work and healthcareMental health problems and economic hardship remain widespread among survivors of the Maui wildfire, as access to food, stable housing, work and healthcare remains a struggle for many, according to a study tracking 2,000 survivors.Two in every five (41%) adults report declining overall health since the August 2023 fire, with the burden falling heaviest on those still exposed to ash, smoke and debris, according to the latest findings of the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES), a pioneering longitudinal research initiative by the University of Hawaii (UH) and local community groups. Continue reading...
Killing of Canadian national was significant escalation in India's repression efforts' but leaders shake hands at G7Canada's spy agency has warned that the assassination in British Columbia of a prominent Sikh activist signaled a significant escalation in India's repression efforts" and reflects a broader, transnational campaign by the government in New Delhi to threaten dissidents.The report was made public a day after Mark Carney shook hands with Narendra Modi at the G7 and pledged to restore diplomatic relations in a very public attempt to turn the page on the bitter diplomatic row unleashed by the murder of the Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Continue reading...
Department for Work and Pensions publishes text of bill cutting benefits and claims three-month transitional period is one of most generous ever'Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, will be taking PMQs shortly. And she will be up against Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary.When Kemi Badenoch became Tory leader, she did not appoint a deputy (or even a de factor deputy", a post that has existed in Tory politics in recent years) and she said she would decide who would stand in for her at PMQs on a case by case basis. Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, got the gig the first time Starmer was away.Chris Philp follows Alex Burghart in rotating for Kemi Badenoch at PMQs. One Westminster wag asks When is it going to be Robert Jenrick's turn?"We have this profound challenge of the number of people joining the armed forces being outweighed by the outflow the people leaving. So ultimately its about retention.And the number one issue reason cited in last month's attitude survey for the armed forces for leaving was family life. We know the quality of housing is unfortunately poor. It's due to the basically to the structural nature of those homes.To wrap up this topic, the state of housing for the armed forces is in a poor state because your government did not do enough for it?[The housing] which is not in a good enough state because of your government?What did I do about it? I did something that hasn't been done for 30 years - yes, it completed under Labour - and now we would recommend to the government, when they bring forth their housing defence white paper, that we set up a housing association. Continue reading...
While some in Moscow have tried to put positive spin on Israel's assault, Kremlin risks losing key strategic partnerWhen a group of Russian and Iranian foreign policy officials arranged to meet in Moscow for a conference titled Russian-Iranian cooperation in a changing world", they probably did not anticipate just how timely that phrase would turn out to be.Seated around a table on Wednesday at the President hotel near the Kremlin, officials from both sides were forced to confront a stark new reality: Iran's regime - a key ally of Moscow - is facing its most serious threat in decades. Continue reading...
More than 130 were injured in Tuesday's attack on Ukrainian capitalAnd speaking of Russia's impact on its neighbours, let's quickly go to Miranda Bryant in the Nordics and see how the region monitors the global threat of war, terror and piracy on seas from its Maritime Cyber Resilience Centre.The European Commission has insisted there will be no return to Russian gas, as it published plans to phase out fossil fuel imports from its eastern neighbour by 2028. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#6Y2KN)
Exclusive: Whipps Cross hospital objected to fruit that is symbol of Palestine amid censorship of flagA senior NHS nurse who says he was ordered to remove a background on his video calls that showed a fruit bowl containing a watermelon because it could be perceived as antisemitic has launched legal action against his employer.Ahmad Baker, who is British-Palestinian and works at Whipps Cross hospital, north London, is one of three medical staff claiming Barts Health NHS trust's ban on staff displaying symbols perceived as politically or nationally affiliated is disproportionate and discriminatory. Watermelons became symbols of Palestine amid censorship of the Palestinian flag because of its similar colours. Continue reading...
Yvonne Ford, from Barnsley, had contact with stray animal while on holiday, UK Health Security Agency saysA woman from Yorkshire has died from rabies after contact with a stray dog while on holiday in Morocco, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.Yvonne Ford, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, was diagnosed in Yorkshire and Humber after returning from the north African country in February. Continue reading...
Withdrawal from event follows string of appearances as Catherine seeks right balance after cancer treatmentThe Princess of Wales has pulled out of attending Royal Ascot as she continues to seek the right balance of public engagements after her treatment for cancer.Catherine was said to be disappointed not to attend the race meeting on Wednesday with her husband and King Charles and Queen Camilla. Continue reading...
Higher fatality rates during Operation Rough Rider signals change in US policy and what could come in Iran, says monitoring group Airwars Middle East crisis - live updatesThe US bombing campaign of Yemen under Donald Trump led to the deaths of almost as many civilians in two months as in the previous 23 years of US attacks on Islamists and militants in the country.An analysis of Operation Rough Rider by monitoring group Airwars has concluded that 224 civilians had been killed between March and the end of the campaign in May, compared to 258 between 2002 and 2024. Continue reading...
Judge says refusing to hire people from hostile' states to roles that deal with national security is not discriminationRefusing to give a job to Chinese and Russian people in companies that deal with issues of national security and require security clearance is not racist, an employment tribunal has ruled.It is not discriminatory to stop people from hostile" states taking up certain jobs in the defence sector because of the risk to British security, the judgment says. Continue reading...
Academic and Lib Dem peer ask where funds go when candidates receive more than limit, and who donors areAlmost 2m given to candidates in the 2024 general election has essentially disappeared" from the public's view of British political campaign finance, a report claims.It notes that 170 candidates received in total almost 2m more than they were legally allowed to spend locally during the election, raising questions about where the surplus funds went after the campaign. The donors who funded them are also tricky to identify, especially if the candidate was unsuccessful. Continue reading...
Amendment to crime and policing bill would make it criminal offence to profit from selling sex onlineA ban on pimping websites has been proposed by MPs, as part of measures designed to rewrite legislation regulating the sexual exploitation of women.Campaigners say ordering a woman to be sexually exploited has become as straightforward as ordering a takeaway online, with the proliferation of websites that allow buyers to browse images and videos of women, and refine their search by postcode. Continue reading...
Garments thrown out by consumers from Next, George, M&S and others found in or near conservation areasClothes discarded by UK consumers and shipped to Ghana have been found in a huge rubbish dump in protected wetlands, an investigation has found.Reporters for Unearthed working with Greenpeace Africa found garments from Next in the dump and other sites, and items from George at Asda and Marks & Spencer washed up nearby. Continue reading...
Experts say the strikes have delayed Tehran's bomb-making by months - but may undermine chances of a diplomatic solutionIn just a few days of war, Israel has killed more than a dozen of Iran's top nuclear scientists, taken out much of its top military hierarchy and attacked key parts of its nuclear programme.It has been a powerful display of Israeli military and intelligence dominance, but has not critically damaged Iran's widely dispersed and heavily protected nuclear programme, Israeli military commanders and international nuclear proliferation experts agree. Continue reading...
by Agence France Presse and Nick Visser on (#6Y266)
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted on Tuesday afternoon, leading to several airlines cancelling flightsA volcano in eastern Indonesia has spewed a colossal ash tower into the sky, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Bali.Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584m twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted at 5.35pm local time on Tuesday, the volcanology agency said in a statement. Continue reading...
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