World news | The Guardian

Local papers reported so-called anti-rioters' wore hoods and masks to apprehend suspected troublemakers during unrestThe French navy is investigating claims that masked, off-duty marines tackled rioters in the western city of Lorient, home to a major military base, during national unrest last week.Local newspaper Le Telegramme published pictures of groups of so-called anti-rioters" who wore hoods and masks as they apprehended and beat up suspected troublemakers in the city on Friday night. Continue reading...

Ch Insp Dale Sexton was cleared of wrongdoing in March but, after a review of the evidence, the CPS has been asked to investigateThe police officer in charge of emergency services on the night of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 could face criminal charges after a review of the original investigation was carried out at the request of the victims' families.A file of evidence concerning Ch Insp Dale Sexton's comments will be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the police watchdog has confirmed. Continue reading...

Labour leader will argue against snobbery of vocational' and academic' education, saying young people need bothBritain needs to shatter its snobbish class ceiling" that prevents children from getting ahead, Keir Starmer is to argue in a speech setting out his fifth and final mission" aimed at removing barriers to opportunity.Speaking at a college in Gillingham, Kent, the Labour leader will argue that students must be taught creativity and the human" skills that cannot be done by computers, advocating a shift in focus for the artificial intelligence age.Highest sustained growth in the G7. The first mission to be announced, this is the most specific of the five and arguably the most risky, given it depends on events in other countries. In a rare moment of agreement with Liz Truss, Starmer said economic growth targets were useful, while insisting Labour's plan would be based on a stable mix of free markets and the state.Cutting crime. A perennial pledge for any opposition party, this is seen as particularly relevant given a perception of police absence and court delays. Starmer pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, using measures including dedicated rape courts" and domestic violence experts taking 999 calls.Restoring the NHS. Another obvious subject for the roster, Starmer said Labour would increase real-terms spending on NHS England, although he dodged questions on how this would be done. Other priorities included a focus on better preventive health.Making the UK a clean energy superpower. Very firmly building on the work of Ed Miliband, this mission is a restatement of intent after the party rowed back on its promise to invest 28bn in a green industrial strategy. Starmer said he would throw everything" at net zero and create jobs for a low-carbon future.Improving social opportunity. The last mission to be launched, this covers everything from a revised school curriculum aimed at boosting creativity and human" skills in the AI age, to bringing child poverty reduction experts into schools. Starmer has promised it will tackle the class ceiling" in which children are pigeonholed according to background. Continue reading...

Home affairs select committee members criticise policy of working with businesses such as VivastreetSenior police officers have cosied up" to pimping websites" that allegedly allow trafficked women to be raped multiple times a day", MPs have said.Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said it was disgraceful" that police forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) were engaging with businesses such as Vivastreet. Continue reading...

West Lindsey council votes down proposal to relocate dog, named after a racial slur, to Norfolk airbaseCouncillors have rejected proposals to exhume and relocate a dog buried at the former base of the Dambusters put forward amid concerns about the suitability of the grave's location once the site is repurposed as accommodation for asylum seekers.During an extraordinary planning meeting on Wednesday evening, West Lindsey district councillors unanimously voted down an application by RAF Heritage to relocate the dog to an airbase in Norfolk. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts say fall in funding caused turning point' in standards in health service in EnglandThe quality of care that the NHS provides has got worse in many key areas and patients' long waits to access treatment could become even more common, research has found.The coalition government's austerity programme in the early 2010s led to the heath service no longer being able to meet key waiting time targets, the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation said.Fewer people with long-term heath conditions such as cancer, diabetes and depression, are getting enough help to manage their condition.Breast cancer screening rates for women aged 53-74 have fallen.It has become harder for patients to see a named GP.Only 6% of midwives think their maternity unit has enough staff to do its job properly. Continue reading...

The singer was known for voicing Mulan in the Mandarin version and becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the OscarsCoco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter who had a highly successful career in Asia, has died by suicide, her siblings said on Wednesday. She was 48.The star had depression for several years, Lee's elder sisters Carol and Nancy Lee said in a statement posted on Facebook and Instagram, with her condition deteriorating drastically over recent months.In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 and online chat is also available. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org Continue reading...

Gillian Keegan says she can't think of a worse time' for action by NEU membersThe education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has accused striking teachers of undermining children's recovery from the Covid pandemic, saying she did pretty well" at winning extra funding for schools from the Treasury.Keegan told a conference in Bournemouth: Let me be clear, we should not be having these strikes in general, but certainly not now. Children have been through so much in the pandemic and I can't think of a worse time to be willingly keeping them out of school." Continue reading...

Yolanda Diaz says money for study, training or starting a business would ensure equality of opportunity'Spain's leftwing labour minister, Yolanda Diaz, has proposed a scheme to tackle social inequality by giving every young person in the country 20,000 (17,000) to be spent on study, training or setting up a business once they reach the age of 18.According to Diaz's Sumar platform, which announced the policy before Spain's snap general election on 23 July, the initiative would cost 10bn, which would be raised by taxing the rich. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more about the war in Ukraine hereSuspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, reports that overnight residential buildings and a medical facility were damaged by a rocket attack on Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region.The claims have not been independently verified. Continue reading...

Police said man charged with assault, which could see him fined and jailed for a yearIndian authorities on Wednesday demolished the home of a man accused of publicly urinating on a member of a tribal community after footage of the alleged assault sparked public condemnation.A video shared widely on social media appeared to show Pravesh Shukla urinating on his young victim in a dark street in the central Sidhi district while smoking a cigarette. The attack took place last year but came to public attention only this week. Continue reading...

From rising demands to falling pay and the pressures of underfunding, teachers are leaving the profession in record numbersMax, in his 30s, a primary school teacher from southern England, is among thousands of teachers in England who will be striking on Wednesday to protest against the government's offer of a 4.3% pay rise and 1,000 one-off payment.He will only be striking, though, he says, in solidarity with colleagues. I have handed in my notice and will be leaving the profession in 10 days' time. It is my third year as a teacher and it has been horrendous." Continue reading...

Clean-up begins after three-day operation, the largest attack on occupied West Bank in two decadesOn the second floor of the Shibli family home in the Jenin refugee camp, three small boys knelt on the tile floor, picking up hundreds of spent bullet casings left by Israeli snipers who had used their kitchen as a firing position. The cartridges clinked and chimed gently as the children cleared up and their glum parents surveyed the extent of the damage inflicted on their property.The 50 members of the extended family, who all live in flats in the same large building, returned to their homes on Wednesday morning after Israeli forces withdrew the night before. The three-day operation, codenamed Home and Garden, was the largest Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank in two decades, involving airstrikes and up to 2,000 ground troops. Continue reading...

Body of Bruno Delnegro was found in a cave in Abruzzo last year, with three sons and girlfriend of one now under investigationItalian police believe that the body of man found by walkers in a remote spot in the Abruzzo region a year ago had been left there by his sons who continued to pocket his pension.The body of Bruno Delnegro, who died of natural causes, was found by two Canadian walkers last July in a cave about 215 miles (350km) from his home in Trani, in the southern Puglia region. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage hereYesterday Sajid Javid, the Tory former health secretary, called for the creation of a royal commission to consider the future of the NHS. He argued that this would take the debate about the future of the service out of the realm of party politics, and, in an article in the Times, he said that in private politicians believed that the NHS was unsustainable in its current form. He said:Of course, as we approach that next general election, political parties will energetically debate the future of the NHS. But behind closed doors, they know the current set-up is unsustainable. Saying that publicly is much more difficult.We are investing now and building a workforce for the future. So I'm very confident that in 25 years time, the NHS will be thriving.I don't begrudge NHS staff past and present celebrating the enormous contribution they make and the NHS has made to our country over the last 75 years.What I do begrudge is the prime minister and other government ministers out celebrating, because when you look at the state the NHS is in today objectively we have the worst crisis in its history, the shortest or the lowest patient satisfaction ever and the highest waiting lists on record. Continue reading...

Median unit in harbour city now costs more than median house in every other capital, Domain says, as immigration adds to rental pressure cooker'

Whistleblower tells Senate inquiry into federal government's use of consultants that self-regulation is failing' across the industry

Neuropsychologists and psychiatrists argue the evidence for broad-scale implementation of psychedelic drug use is insufficient

Though there are usually no signs initially, symptoms such as wheezing and a persistent cough can emerge over timeFor the first time since records began, the number of women diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK is to overtake the number of men this year, according to a Cancer Research UK analysis for the Guardian.Experts say the earlier lung cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat. While there are usually no signs or symptoms in the earliest stages, they can emerge as the condition progresses.A cough that does not go away after three weeks.A longstanding cough that gets worse.Recurring chest infections.Coughing up blood.An ache or pain when breathing or coughing.Persistent breathlessness.Persistent tiredness or lack of energy.Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss.Changes in the appearance of your fingers, such as becoming more curved or their ends becoming larger (this is known as finger clubbing).Difficulty swallowing or pain when swallowing.Wheezing.A hoarse voice.Swelling of your face or neck.Persistent chest or shoulder pain. Continue reading...

Supreme court determines civil law test on use of force applies rather than criminal law testA police officer who shot a man dead in 2015 could face professional misconduct proceedings after supreme court judges dismissed an appeal, in a landmark ruling that provides significant clarity over holding officers who use force to account.The unanimous judgment brings to an end a long legal case by the firearms officer known as W80 who shot unarmed Jermaine Baker, 28, during a foiled attempt to free an inmate from a prison van near Wood Green crown court, north London. Continue reading...

Marcus Osbourne faces life sentence after pleading guilty to murdering Katie Higton and Steven Harnett in MayA 34-year-old man has admitted murdering his former partner and her new boyfriend in planned attacks carried out over several hours.Marcus Osbourne was told by a judge he faces an inevitable life jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to murdering Katie Higton and Steven Harnett in May. Continue reading...

The 15% raise being considered by ministers will not help to solve the severe shortage in immigration lawyers, The Law Society saidThe Law Society has warned that a proposed 15% increase in legal aid rates will not be enough to ensure that there are sufficient immigration lawyers to deal with the government's controversial scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation on increasing legal aid rates by 15% on 27 June for immigration lawyers representing asylum seekers threatened with removal to Rwanda under new rules in the illegal migration bill. Continue reading...

Theatre boss calls TfL decision ridiculous' after poster found to breach rules aimed at tackling obesityLondon's transport network has defended a decision to ban a theatre poster featuring an image of a Victoria sponge cake for flouting rules aimed at tackling childhood obesity.The proposed poster for Tony n' Tina's Wedding depicted a bride and groom on top of a severed wedding cake with a jam and cream filling. Continue reading...

Comments came as ministers blame young people using platforms like TikTok to incite violence after shooting of teenagerEmmanuel Macron has said the French government should consider controlling and cutting off social media networks when things get out of hand" in the country.The president's comments came as ministers blamed young people using platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok for organising and encouraging rioting and violence after the shooting last week of a teenager during a police traffic stop in a Paris suburb. Continue reading...

Regulator's investigation of hedge fund manager follows allegations of sexual misconduct, which he deniesThe UK's financial regulator is investigating whether Crispin Odey, the hedge fund manager facing allegations of sexual misconduct, is a fit and proper person" to work in financial services.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has told MPs it was investigating claims that Odey, who was forced out of his firm Odey Asset Management (OAM) by its board last month, dismissed the firm's executive committee for an improper purpose". Continue reading...

Raelene Polymiadis allegedly deliberately overdosed Brenda Anderson and Lynton Anderson, both aged 94, court hears

Turning Point Australia says appearances of former president's son in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne postponed due to unforeseen circumstances'

Former administration staffer Candice Jackson partnering with Lauren Adams Bone, legal director of radical feminist' groupA former senior Trump administration staffer with extremist connections and the legal director of radical feminist" group the Women's Liberation Front (Wolf) are now partners in a Wisconsin law firm exclusively focused on anti-transgender litigation.The firm, Jackson Bone LLP, unites Candice Jackson, who rolled back Title IX protections for complainants in college sexual assault cases under Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos, and Lauren Adams Bone, co-author of a Women's Bill of Rights" that has shaped anti-trans bills currently before several state houses. Continue reading...

Short, handwritten note was for Charles Ellet Jr, who had written to the president for a civil engineer corps during the civil warA previously unpublished letter written by Abraham Lincoln during the civil war has been discovered and put up for sale in Pennsylvania, offering rare insight into the US president's strategic thinking in the first year of the conflict.The recipient of the short, handwritten note was Charles Ellet Jr, later a colonel in the Union army who wrote to Lincoln seeking the formation of a well funded civil engineer corps to help fortify Washington DC against the Confederate threat. Continue reading...

Twelve Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead after Israel carries out one of the biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank in yearsIsrael has withdrawn its forces from the Palestinian city of Jenin after carrying out one of its biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank for years.Local media quoted Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari as saying all troops had left Jenin and that the operation was completed. Witnesses in Jenin reported seeing convoys of Israeli military vehicles leaving the city after dark. Continue reading...

Russian strikes target military funeral in Kharkiv; Ukraine accuses Russia of planning provocation' at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Minister for Indigenous Australians claims no campaign's aim is to polarise, to sow division' and to mislead'

Independent Office for Police Conduct's finding that officer had no case to answer overturned in high courtThe high court has overturned a decision by the police watchdog that an officer who punched an elderly black man in the face had no case to answer.Errol Dixon, 71, sustained a broken nose, displaced septum and fractured a cheekbone and an eye socket in the incident in south-east London in September 2021. He was stopped in his car by police officers in Bromley and the primary officer held Dixon round the neck and punched him in the face. Continue reading...

Abel Chunda, 27, due to appear in court over killing of Leonardo Reid, 15, and a 23-year-old manDetectives investigating the deaths of a 15-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man who were killed while making a music video have charged a suspect with two counts of murder.The two victims died after witnesses saw a fight break out among a group of about 40 people who had been filming on their phones and posing with luxury cars in Islington, north London, on Thursday 29 June. Continue reading...

Agreement is the first in the world between a telco and Starlink, with rural and remote mobile service customers set to benefit

Defiant premier says she is the right person to lead the party as Labor's primary vote drops to 34%

In today's newsletter: Staff are leaving in droves, wait times have tripled and critics say it's locked in a death spiral'. But the situation might not be terminal, with some big changes Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning, and a heartfelt happy birthday to the NHS, which was launched by Labour health minister Nye Bevan on this day in 1948. Don't hold your breath for champagne and cake on your local hospital trust's budget, though - you will be waiting almost as long as a typical queue at the nearest A&E.The NHS may be profoundly cherished for its millions of dedicated staff and the still astonishing cradle-to-grave principle that underpins it, but there is no question that the UK's healthcare system is very sick. More people are dying waiting for ambulances. Waiting times for treatment have almost tripled since 2020. GP surgeries and mental health services are at breaking point. Staff are leaving in droves, and nurses, junior doctors and even consultants are striking - once an unimaginable prospect - over pay and patient safety.Climate | The government is drawing up plans to drop the UK's flagship 11.6bn climate and nature funding pledge. A leaked briefing note to ministers seen by the Guardian, lays out reasons for dropping the UK's contribution to the fund for developing countries. The Foreign Office initially refused to comment on the leak, before describing it as false".Partygate | Scotland Yard is reopening its investigation into potential Covid breaches at a lockdown party at Conservative headquarters. The force will also scrutinise an event in parliament that the Tory MP Bernard Jenkin - a member of the privileges committee that produced a highly critical report into Boris Johnson - is said to have attended.Jenin | Israeli forces have withdrawn from the Palestinian city of Jenin, military officials have said, after carrying out one of the biggest operations in the occupied West Bank in years. Twelve Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed in the operation.UK news | Private bank Coutts has reportedly shut Nigel Farage's bank account after he fell below the prestigious lender's wealth requirements, raising questions over the Brexiter's claims that the bank was targeting him over his political views.Scotland | Mhairi Black, the SNP's deputy Westminster leader, will step down at the next general election, blaming the toxic" environment in Westminster. Black became the youngest MP in 350 years when she was elected in the SNP landslide of 2015 at the age of 20, described the Commons as one of the most unhealthy workplaces that you could ever be in". Continue reading...

Former PM says service needs radical reform, including pointing patients to private healthcare offersThe NHS must undergo radical change or it will continue to decline and lose public support, Tony Blair has argued on the service's 75th anniversary.It must embrace a revolution in technology to reshape its relationship with patients and make much more use of private healthcare providers to cut waiting times, the former Labour prime minister says. Continue reading...

ACCC says number of centres charging above hourly rate cap has doubled as government's cheaper childcare package comes into force

Wave of unrest after teenager's death leaves French president weighing pleas to tackle inequality against calls for tougher policingEmmanuel Macron is facing the biggest domestic challenge of his fraught second term in office, after the police shooting of a teenager of Algerian origin at a traffic stop last week led to multiple nights of urban unrest.The French president on Tuesday announced crisis funding to help the reconstruction of burned-out buildings and public services. But questions remain over deep divisions in French society and the political class. Continue reading...

Commons committee's report calls for government strategy to engage with young boys to tackle problemSexual harassment of girls is a scourge" in England's schools, according to MPs, who have called for a government-led strategy to focus on boys who are failing to engage with relationship and sex education.MPs on the women and equalities committee said in a report that there should be training for all teachers to help them hold conversations with boys and young men about sexual harassment and gender-based violence, in a way that challenges prevailing gender norms and ideas of masculinity. Continue reading...

Focus group compares first minister with Sturgeon and discusses appeal of Labour as cost of living crisis continuesScottish voters overwhelmed by the cost of living want Humza Yousaf to get a grip and listen" to their struggles, as previous SNP supporters discuss the appeal of revitalised Scottish Labour.As Yousaf reaches 100 days as first minister this week, members of a focus group convened by More in Common UK agree his public profile is not as strong as his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, despite divergent views on her recent arrest. Continue reading...

Study by Greater London authority finds mayor has received over 300,000 pieces of racist abuse since being electedSadiq Khan has received more than 300,000 pieces of openly racist or racially-oriented abuse on social media since he was elected London mayor, with a recent surge in such messages connected to his plan to expand the city's clean air zone, research has found.The study, carried out by the Greater London authority, found that racist abuse against the Labour mayor, which peaked when he was targeted on Twitter by Donald Trump, has started to rise again this year. Continue reading...

Simon Holmes a Court says the laws make it nearly impossible' for independents to successfully campaign

Kristian White was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to 95-year-old grandmother

Ronan Davies, who was 17 months old, died in June after being taken to hospital with severe head injuries

Kremlin spokesman says there have been certain contacts on the subject' with the US but says any discussion will be held in secretThe Kremlin has suggested it could be open to a possible prisoner exchange involving jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but reaffirmed that such talks must be held away from the public eye.Asked whether Monday's consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March on charges of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in US custody on cybercrime charges, could potentially herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow and Washington had touched on the issue. Continue reading...

President's claims come after meeting with Emmanuel Macron, and Russia's competing claim that Ukraine was planning its own attack on the plant

Inquiry comes after President Emmanuel Macron met mayors to explore deeper reasons' for violenceFrench prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of a 27-year old man who was hit by a projectile at the time of the riots on Saturday, the Marseille prosecutor's office has said.The man died on Saturday night while Marseille was engulfed in riots and pillaging, but prosecutors said it was not possible to determine where the man was when he was shot or whether the victim had taken part in the riots. Continue reading...

Damning report highlights lack of control over billions in spending and no stockpile plan for future pandemicBritain's lead public health body has a staggering lack of control over billions of pounds of spending, and there is no plan for stockpiling vaccines or personal protective equipment (PPE) for a future pandemic, a damning MPs' report has found.The public accounts committee was highly critical of the repeated governance and financial failings at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which was set up with great fanfare under Boris Johnson. Continue reading...