Judges say law does not allow group to challenge charitable status of new organisation with opposing viewsThe transgender children's charity Mermaids has lost its attempt to have charitable status stripped from the new gay rights organisation LGB Alliance.Tribunal judges Lynn Griffin and Joseph Neville rejected a challenge lodged last year by Mermaids, concluding after seven months of deliberation that the law does not permit Mermaids to challenge a decision made by the Charity Commission to register LGB Alliance as a charity. Continue reading...

Acclaimed architect, whose firm is designing London memorial, accused of sexual assault and harassment by three womenThe acclaimed architect Sir David Adjaye has stepped back from working on the planned UK Holocaust memorial in Westminster after being accused of sexual misconduct.His architectural firm, which won a competition to design the memorial, has told the government that Adjaye will not be involved in the project until the issues raised by the allegations have been addressed. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.

Belarus president says head of mercenary group is in St Petersburg and may be moving on to Moscow

Foreign minister says Ukraine war has changed country's mindset about chequebook diplomacy'

Higgins had called on the senator to stop' after Reynolds confirmed she intended to refer commonwealth's settlement with Higgins to anti-corruption watchdog

Newspaper publisher says ad should not have run' after federal independent Kate Chaney accuses no campaign of stoking fear and hate'

Google, the first of the firm's customers directly linked to the tax scandal, was not told the information was confidential and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the company

Aluel Ajak died after being struck by a car on Shaws Road in Werribee on Wednesday night

Workers say children being kept in lockdown 80% of the time, with one prison short-staffed for 359 of 365 days last year

With the inquiry findings due, Colleen Taylor is hoping for permanent reform to prevent such a shameful episode happening again

Investigations into the separate thefts have been launched by Victorian and Queensland police

Influenza cases are rising fastest among very young children as well as those aged five to 16 years, health authorities say

Shortage of children's doctors has led to long waiting lists, clinic closures and even prompted prospective parents to think againA shortage of paediatricians in South Korea is leaving hospitals unable to fill posts while raising risks for children's health, doctors have said, claiming that the shortage is both a result of the world's lowest birthrate and increasingly a factor behind it.The number of paediatric clinics and hospitals in the capital, Seoul, has fallen by 12.5% over the five years to 2022, to just 456. Over the same period, the number of psychiatry clinics increased by 76.8%, while anaesthesiology centres saw a 41.2% rise, according to the Seoul Institute, a public administration thinktank. Continue reading...

Justice Bernard Murphy dismisses Mostafa Moz' Azimitabar's application but delivers scathing rebuke of hotel detention policy

Leak in informal settlement in Boksburg on outskirts of city may be linked to illegal mining, authorities say, as search continues for more casualitesAt least 16 people, including three children, died when toxic gas leaked from a cylinder near Johannesburg, South African police have said. Emergency services said the leak appeared to be linked to illegal mining activities.Emergency services initially announced that as many as 24 people might be dead in the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg. But police and Gauteng Province premier Panyaza Lesufi later said the number of deaths had been confirmed as 16 after a recount of the bodies. Police said the three children killed were aged one, six and 15. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment, police said. Continue reading...

Tabrez Ansari was tied to a pole in Jharkhand, tortured for 12 hours and made to chant Hindu slogans widely used by Hindu hardlinersAn Indian court has sentenced 10 men to 10 years each in jail for the lynching of a Muslim man, who died after being tortured and forced to chant Hindu slogans.Tabrez Ansari was tied to a pole and tortured for 12 hours in 2019, as he cried and pleaded with a mob that accused him of burglary in the eastern state of Jharkhand. Continue reading...

NSW Bar Council has resolved to reprimand barrister after finding she engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct' after complaint by Jo Dyer

Work to persuade Turkey to drop its objections continues, as president meets with Sweden's prime minister at White HouseUS President Joe Biden has told prime minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden that he is looking forward" to the country's stalled Nato membership bid winning final approval, amid doubts that Turkey will withdraw its opposition in time for a major summit next week.Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Biden said he wanted to reiterate that he fully, fully supports Sweden's membership in Nato" and was anxiously looking forward" to the bid being ratified. Continue reading...

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