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Move to allow spyware to be placed on reporters' phones would have a chilling effect', say media expertsDraft legislation published by EU leaders that would allow national security agencies to spy on journalists has been condemned by media and civic society groups as dangerous and described by a leading MEP as incomprehensible".On Wednesday, the European Council - which represents the governments of EU member states - published a draft of the European Media Freedom Act that would allow spyware to be placed on journalists' phones if a national government thought it necessary. Continue reading...

Labour and Lib Dems both say they can win Tory seat, where constituents angry at being left in limboNadine Dorries' announcement that she would step down as an MP, before then delaying her exit, has brought a new focus on her Mid Bedfordshire constituency - and claims that the former culture secretary is barely visible in an area she has represented since 2005.It's been quite surprising how many people say, We never see her here,' or She's never done anything for this area,'" one opposition campaigner said. We're also getting lots of people who are angry at being left in limbo by her failure to resign." Continue reading...

Leader says there is no quick fix and there are problems with approach advocated by Lib DemsKeir Starmer has said he would not support subsidising mortgage holders to spare them the pain of rising interest rates, as the Bank of England pushed its base rate up by 0.5 percentage points to 5%.The Labour leadersaid there were problems" with the approach advocated by some, including the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, who has called for a 3bn support scheme to help vulnerable borrowers. Continue reading...

Hannah Smethurst, 23, tweeted screenshot of messages from sender who claimed to have looked up details in airline's systemAn airline passenger received unsolicited WhatsApp messages from a contractor working for Etihad Airways while she was waiting to board a flight from Abu Dhabi to Manchester, she has said.Hannah Smethurst, 23, tweeted a screenshot showing WhatsApp messages from a United Arab Emirates number she did not recognise, displaying the name Muhammed, at 1.32am on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Church pension and endowment funds shed holdings after U-turns by BP and ShellThe Church of England is divesting from fossil fuels in its multibillion pound endowment and pension funds over climate concerns and recent U-turns by oil and gas companies.The church said it was abandoning oil and gas companies and all firms primarily engaged in the exploration, production and refining of oil or gas by the end of 2023, unless they were in genuine alignment with a 1.5C reduction pathway. Continue reading...

Rescues come as refugee charities say more than 30 people may have died after dinghy sank on same route this weekEmergency services say 168 people have been rescued near Spain's Canary Islands, one day after refugee charities said they feared more than 30 people had died after their inflatable dinghy sank on the same route.The Canary Islands, off the coast of west Africa, have become the main destination for refugees and migrants trying to reach Spain, with a much smaller number also seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the Spanish mainland. Summer is the busiest period for all attempted crossings. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Democracy Index downgrades country amid backsliding under nationalist rule of Narendra ModiThe Indian government has been secretly working to keep its reputation as the world's largest democracy" alive after being called out by researchers for serious democratic backsliding under the nationalist rule of Narendra Modi, according to internal reports seen by the Guardian.Despite publicly dismissing several global rankings that suggest the country is on a dangerous downward trajectory, officials from government ministries have been quietly assigned to monitor India's performance, minutes from meetings show. Continue reading...

Disciplinary panel rules PC Phillip Smith's actions were excessive and gratuitousA police officer who Tasered a vulnerable man six times has been sacked after a disciplinary panel ruled his actions were excessive and gratuitous.PC Phillip Smith was part of a group of officers responding to reports of concern for the welfare of a suicidal man at his home in Dukinfield, near Manchester, in June 2018. Continue reading...

The PM says a yes vote should lead to more cost-effective health, education and housing programs for Indigenous people

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Dozens of events targeted by extremist groups in past year, raising fears of backslide on LGBTQ+ rightsConservative MPs and peers are mainstreaming hostility to drag events, which are increasingly being targeted by extremist groups as part of a wider anti-LGBTQ+ narrative, a report says.Across the UK, at least 57 drag events have been targeted over the past year, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), which has also documented how anti-LGBTQ+ messaging from the US is increasingly being imported to the UK. Continue reading...

Starting in Nairobi, the initiative aims to provide daily lunches for 4 million primary school children and to eliminate the shame of hunger'The largest school meals programme in Africa is to begin in Nairobi this August, in a drive to eliminate the shame of hunger in [Kenya]".Ten new kitchens, now under construction, will provide 400,000 daily lunches for children in 225 primary schools and Early Childhood Development centres in the Kenyan capital. The programme will start on 28 August, the first day of the autumn term, and the kitchens will employ 3,500 people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Program hosted by David Speers bucks trend of declining audiences for broadcast TV, according to internal documents

Farmer Butch Pilley says their impact on wild dog attacks has been quite remarkable'

Rescue team says every noise being tracked and analysed; every possible effort' being made to bring missing crew home, says Polar Prince co-owner

California's Taqueria Garibaldi fined for a host of alleged violations, including conducting confessions' on employeesA northern California restaurant chain will have to pay more than $140,000 in back pay after it ran a shameless" wage theft scheme that involved a fake priest who had workers confess to any sins they committed while on the clock.The owners and operators of Taqueria Garibaldi, a Sacramento-based restaurant chain, are also accused of threatening workers and fabricating timesheets as part of an effort to obstruct an investigation into the business. The US Department of Labor previously found that the company illegally denied workers overtime pay. Continue reading...

PC Luke Wenham found guilty of two counts of assault after incident last yearA Metropolitan police officer who used pepper spray on a man as he climbed down a drainpipe attached to a high-rise apartment block has been convicted of assault, the force said.PC Luke Wenham, 31, forced entry into the man's flat on the 12th floor of Albert Barnes House in Southwark, south London, to arrest him on suspicion of robbery. Continue reading...

Most university students supporting themselves say it is negatively affecting their studies, survey findsThe cost of living crisis is forcing more university students to take on more hours in their part-time jobs, with most saying that supporting themselves is affecting their studies, according to a new study .More than half of the 10,000 students surveyed by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) said they did paid work during term time, with most saying they were using their wages to support their studies. Continue reading...

Charity calls for prioritisation of NHS heart care after nearly 100,000 excess deaths since March 2020England is engulfed in a cardiovascular disease emergency, health bosses have said, as stark figures reveal there have been almost 100,000 excess deaths since the start of the Covid pandemic.Analysis of official government data suggests that more than 500 people a week are dying needlessly from heart disease, heart attacks or strokes. There have been 96,540 extra cardiovascular-related deaths since March 2020, according to the report by the British Heart Foundation. Continue reading...

Motion to bring back legislation on puppy smuggling and live exports that was part of Tory manifesto rejected in CommonsMPs have voted down an attempt by Labour to revive the government's animal welfare bill.Last month ministers announced they were dropping the kept animals bill, which was part of the Tories' 2019 manifesto. The legislation aimed to clamp down on puppy smuggling and dog theft, as well as banning the live exports of farm animals. Continue reading...

Firefighter Iain Hughes, from the West Midlands, set off on Tuesday morning but was reported missing that eveningThe search for a firefighter who went missing in the Channel has been called off, West Midlands fire service (WMFS) has said.Crew manager Iain Hughes, based at Wednesbury station, set off from the Kent coast on Tuesday morning on a charity swim but disappeared that evening in French waters. He was accompanied by a support boat when he began the effort. Continue reading...

Child among the dead and 24 people rescued in Moroccan-led operation, say Spanish maritime sourcesAt least 35 people are feared to have drowned after an inflatable boat carrying up to 60 migrants and refugees sank while en route to the Canary Islands early on Wednesday morning.The Spanish migration NGO Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said 60 people were on the boat, of whom 39 were missing. Another migration NGO, Alarm Phone, put the number of people onboard at 59 and said 35 were missing. Continue reading...

UK defence secretary had earlier shown interest in the role, but the US is believed to want Jens Stoltenberg to stay in postThe defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said he does not expect to be the next head of Nato, amid claims that the US wants the current leader to stay.In an interview with the Economist, the Conservative MP said it's not going to happen", adding that he thinks the United States wants the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, to remain in post for another year. Continue reading...

Julie Inman Grant says platform has dropped the ball' on tackling peddlers of outrage'

Police tell people to avoid Val-de-Grace area after several buildings catch fire in fifth arrondissementAt least 37 people have been injured, four of whom are in a critical condition, after a gas explosion sparked a blaze in buildings in the Latin Quarter of Paris.The blast happened in the fifth arrondissement at about 5pm on Wednesday and resulted in several buildings catching fire, local officials said. Continue reading...

Palestinians say man was killed and 10 were injured after settlers rampaged through West Bank town and army opened fireA large group of Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to homes, cars and fields in a revenge rampage that left one Palestinian dead from gunfire and 10 others injured, according to Palestinian witnesses and officials.Many of the hundreds of settlers who raided the town of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, on Wednesday were armed. Continue reading...

A co-founder of the Palestinian station Radio Alhara was due to address the arts centre via a livestreamThe Barbican has apologised after asking a Palestinian speaker to avoid discussing free Palestine" at length during an event, calling the intervention unacceptable and a serious error of judgment".Last week Elias Anastas, a co-founder of the Palestine-based Radio Alhara, was invited to deliver a livestreamed talk remotely on the radical possibilities of radio, exploring how broadcasting could be used as a tool of subversion. Continue reading...

Simon Crump says the ordeal has cost him his career and relationship, and asks for his name to be clearedAn author and academic who received a suspended prison sentence for demonstrating against tree-felling work in Sheffield has made a plea for the council to help clear his criminal record and compensate him for the mental, emotional and reputational harm" caused.On Tuesday the local authority issued a four-page apology for its flawed" programme to fell 17,500 street trees - many of which were healthy - after an independent inquiry found a serious" mishandling of the long-running dispute. Continue reading...

Sounds are inconclusive', says US Coast Guard captain, but focus of search relocated to that area

Armed people went into rival gang's cell block, opened fire and doused survivors in flammable liquid, officer says after 46 killedGang members at a women's prison in Honduras slaughtered 46 other female inmates by spraying them with gunfire, hacking them with machetes and then locking survivors in their cells before dousing them with flammable liquid, a senior police officer has said.The carnage in Tuesday's riot was the worst atrocity at a women's prison in recent memory; the intensity of the fire left the walls of the cells blackened and beds reduced to twisted heaps of metal. Continue reading...

Archives show about 400 long-term sick and mentally ill people were repatriated, according to BBC investigationHundreds of long-term sick and mentally ill people from the Windrush generation were repatriated to the Caribbean from UK hospitals, sometimes without giving informed consent, according to a BBC investigation.Analysis of formerly classified National Archives documents found that about 400 people were sent back to their countries of birth between the 1950s and the 1970s under a scheme that was supposed to be voluntary but that may not have involved a proper consent process. Continue reading...

Chancellor and former health secretary tells Covid inquiry Britain was too slow to test and isolate

Two people stabbed thought to be maintenance staff at Central Middlesex hospital, and one has life-threatening injuries, Met saysA man has been arrested after two people were stabbed following a pickaxe attack at a London hospital, and one of the victims is in a life-threatening condition, police have said.The two stabbing victims are thought to be NHS maintenance staff members who work at Central Middlesex hospital, sources have told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Intensity of assaults on Russian forces appears to have abated as Putin says nuclear-capable ICBMs will be entering service

MPs call for shakeup to stop super-spads' being made non-executive directors in government departments

UK foreign secretary says Ukraine has evolved quickly', as Zelenskiy tells summit it can be engine of green growth

Angela Smith says priority will be to get laws passed if party wins power, even if size of Lords increases

I want to see the day when deaths in custody stop,' says nephew of David Dungay Jr, who died in police custody in 2015

Botched system upgrade has created a vast backlog of MP expense claims that will not be cleared for at least 12 months, documents reveal

Wet weather forecast to ease by Friday, when there is doubt over whether headliners Arctic Monkeys will performThe UK's biggest festival has officially begun with the founder greeting attendees at the gates amid a burst of torrential rain. At this year's Glastonbury festival, held on Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, the headliners Arctic Monkeys, Elton John and Guns N' Roses will perform on the Pyramid stage. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend.Welcome to Glastonbury," the co-organiser Emily Eavis said, addressing thousands of queuing festivalgoers. Continue reading...

Sophie Lambert went missing last Friday and personal possessions were found the next dayPolice searching for a missing 22-year-old woman have found a body in a river.Sophie Lambert went missing from her home in Starbeck, Harrogate, last Friday evening. In recent days the search for her has centred on Nidd Gorge after personal possessions including a bank card, mobile phone and jumper were found on Saturday by a member of the public. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Women, ethnic minorities and those from working-class backgrounds will be urged to stand for office

All England Club teams up with IBM to offer AI-generated audio commentary and captions in online highlights clipsGame, set and chatbot: Wimbledon is introducing artificial intelligence-powered commentary to its coverage this year.The All England Club has teamed up with tech group IBM to offer AI-generated audio commentary and captions in its online highlights videos. Continue reading...

Brendan Cox will marry Anna Ryder seven years after his wife was murdered by a far-right extremistThe widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox is to marry a violence against women campaigner.Brendan Cox is to remarry with Anna Ryder seven years after his wife was shot and stabbed by a far-right extremist. Ryder, 37, is the director of Killed Women, a group that supports the bereaved families of victims of violence. Continue reading...

The Labour leader accuses the prime minister of being out of touch with the fears of homeowners

China scores better on food, health and housing, while crackdowns have worsened Hong Kong's ratingsChina has been ranked as the worst country in the world for safety from the state and the right to assembly, in a human rights report that tracks social, economic and political freedoms.The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI), a New Zealand-based project, has been monitoring various countries' human rights performance since 2017. Continue reading...

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Consulting firm used confidential government information to help private clients avoid tax, interim report tabled in parliament finds

Party vows to keep pursuing rent caps after working with Coalition to delay vote on Albanese government's housing fund

Minister says referendum is about addressing life expectancy in Aboriginal communities in emotional plea for voters to support voice