One of UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ parades returns to mark 30th anniversary after Covid cancellationsThousands of people were expected to fill the streets of Brighton on Saturday to celebrate the return of one of the UK’s biggest Pride events.The parade and concerts, headlined by Christina Aguilera to a sold-out audience on Saturday and Paloma Faith on Sunday, mark the return of the LGBTQ+ celebration for the first time in three years after the last two were cancelled due to Covid. Continue reading...
Pedigree livestock breeders in Britain could be forced to spend millions of pounds to build facilities in France for ‘red tape’ checks by vets so their animals are allowed to enter the single marketBritish farmers are trying to set up red tape and border checks in France costing millions of pounds – and may even pay for it themselves.Breeders in Britain are unable to export their pedigree cattle, sheep and pigs to the EU because no one has built any border control posts where vets can check the animals before they enter the single market. Continue reading...
Mother says 12-year-old ‘fought until the end’ following withdrawal of treatment at Royal London hospitalArchie Battersbee, the 12-year-old boy whose parents fought a long-running legal battle to prevent his life support treatment from being removed, has died, his mother has said.Speaking outside the Royal London hospital, Hollie Dance said he had “fought right until the very end”. Continue reading...
The explosion happened in a western district where the minority Shia Muslim community regularly meetA bomb exploded in a busy shopping street in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Saturday injuring at least 22 people, hospital officials and witnesses said.The blast occurred in a western district of the city where members of the minority Shia Muslim community regularly meet. Continue reading...
When Francia Márquez became the South American country’s VP elect, she chose the unknown Esteban Sinisterra Paz to create her outfitsEsteban Sinisterra Paz, a 23-year-old fashion designer from Colombia’s conflict-ridden and impoverished Pacific region, had not long started his career when he received a call from a history-making client.Francia Márquez – the renowned environmental activist and Colombia’s first black female vice-president-elect – was on the line, and she wanted two outfits made. Continue reading...
Incident at Parkdean Resorts in Camber Sands on Friday involved ‘a group of people’, police saySix people have been arrested after an altercation at a holiday park in Sussex in which a man died.The incident happened at Parkdean Resorts in Camber Sands, East Sussex, just before 11pm on Friday and involved “a group of people”, police said. Continue reading...
Leadership candidate sparked outrage in Tunbridge Wells saying he helped redirect money to more prosperous townsFormer minister Andrew Mitchell has defended Rishi Sunak, claiming his comments on taking money from deprived urban areas and redirecting it towards more prosperous towns such as Tunbridge Wells were “misunderstood”.The former chancellor sparked outrage after he made the admission while speaking to Conservative party members in the affluent Kent town on Friday. Continue reading...
Leading author accuses Tory leader of going ‘missing in action’ as his premiership winds downFor most prime ministers, the certain knowledge that their premiership is coming to an end sparks a frenetic final effort to complete as much of their policy agendas as possible and secure a legacy. Yet Boris Johnson’s decision to spend his last months thanking supporters at Chequers, holding a wedding party and taking a holiday weeks before his time in Downing St expires is an “enigmatic end for an enigmatic premiership”, according to one of the country’s best-known contemporary historians.Sir Anthony Seldon, who has written books on the Blair, Brown, Cameron and May premierships and studied the impossible job prime ministers face, said Johnson’s approach contrasted sharply with that of his predecessors who had the luxury of planning their final weeks. Continue reading...
Health Security Agency warns against complacency despite figures suggesting outbreak has slowedThe monkeypox outbreak in the UK is showing signs of plateauing, the UK Health Security Agency has said.The organisation said there had been 2,859 confirmed and highly probable cases of the viral disease as of 4 August, the majority of which are transmitted between men who have sex with men. Continue reading...
Eighteen of 30 people injured are in serious condition, say authorities, after vehicle veered off motorwayTwelve Polish nationals have died and 30 others were injured when a bus bound for Zagreb veered off a motorway in northern Croatia.The injured were taken to hospitals in the area and 18 were in a serious condition, said Maja Grba Bujević, head of Croatia’s emergency services. Continue reading...
Grant Shapps says the proposed law will be the ‘cycling equivalent of death by dangerous driving’ and aims to tackle a ‘selfish minority’Cyclists who kill pedestrians could be prosecuted in the same way as motorists under a proposed government crackdown.The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said the law is needed to “impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care”. Continue reading...
Death of Samira Islam, 20, follows deaths of Rafiqul, 51, and Mahiqul, 16, during holidayA woman has become the latest family member of a British family of five on holiday in Bangladesh to die from a suspected poisoning.Samira Islam, 20, died on Friday after she was discovered unconscious in a locked room by police officers on 26 July. Her father, Rafiqul Islam, 51, a taxi driver, and his 16-year-old son, Mahiqul, also died in the rented flat in the eastern city of Sylhet. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#627BR)
British nationals living in country are unable to access healthcare, change jobs or travel in and outBritish nationals living in Portugal are unable to access healthcare, change jobs, or travel in and out of the country as its ministers have not issued them with post-Brexit residency cards, it has emerged.The UK government has raised the issue at ministerial level and urged Portugal to implement fully the withdrawal agreement and protect the rights of the 34,500 Britons who made the country their home before Brexit. Continue reading...
Industrial action by Aslef members at nine companies is scheduled to take place on Saturday 13 AugustRail passengers are being warned of fresh disruption to services because of a planned strike by train drivers at nine companies in the long-running row over pay and conditions.Industry leaders said the 24-hour strike by members of the Aslef union next Saturday, 13 August, coincides with another busy weekend of football, with Premier League games in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Brighton likely to be affected. Continue reading...
Family were told treatment to be withdrawn after attempt to have 12-year-old moved to a hospice failsThe mother of Archie Battersbee has said she has done everything she promised her son she would do as the family prepares for his life support to be withdrawn on Saturday morning.Archie’s parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, made an unsuccessful last-ditch plea to the European court of human rights on Friday night to intervene after their attempt to appeal against a high court ruling that he must remain at the Royal London hospital was rejected by the court of appeal. Continue reading...
Win as One hopes to raise money to support candidates from progressive parties who are in favour of changeA grassroots campaign is hoping to raise £1m to bring more supporters of electoral reform to the Commons at the next general election.The group, called Win as One, will work with candidates from progressive parties who are well-placed to beat the Tories and are in support of proportional representation (PR). Continue reading...
Condemnation as Beijing pulls out of climate change co-operation with US, while military exercises in Taiwan Strait continueTaiwan has accused the Chinese army of simulating an attack on its main island, as Beijing continued retaliation for Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.Beijing on Saturday continued some of its largest-ever military drills around Taiwan – exercises seen as practice for a blockade and ultimate invasion of the island. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#627CJ)
Hourly bus serves local villages and brings staff – and sometimes customers – to Michelin-starred restaurantWith rural buses in long-term decline and a funding crisis putting more routes in peril, a surprising service has appeared on the English transport menu: the No 46 bus to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.Raymond Blanc’s celebrated restaurant and hotel in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside may not appear classic bus territory. The Michelin-starred establishment’s seven-course dinner with matching wines starts at £350 a head, rising to just over £1,000 if you want to drink the good stuff. Continue reading...
Increased number of people arriving in UK in more overcrowded vessels shows Rwanda plan not working, say campaignersPeople-smugglers have dropped their prices and are cramming more people than ever before into already overloaded, flimsy boats, the Guardian has learned.This week 696 asylum seekers crossed the Channel from France to the UK in one day, the Ministry of Defence said. Continue reading...
by Heather Stewart, Josh Halliday and Simon Goodley on (#627CM)
Tory leadership candidate is praised as an earnest workaholic, but critics say politically he has a glass jaw and is naive“Let me tell you a story,” Rishi Sunak says in his soft-voiced campaign launch video, highlighting his status as the grandson of hard-grafting Indian immigrants.If he wins the race for No 10, the 42-year-old would be the first person of colour to be the UK prime minister, and the first practising Hindu, in a historic break with the past. Yet, in other ways, his story is as establishment as it comes: private school, PPE at Oxford, the City, the Tory party. Continue reading...
Labour’s request is latest PM contender has faced with regards to management of family’s fortuneLabour is calling on Rishi Sunak to be more transparent about his finances after the prime ministerial candidate declined to answer questions about the source of hundreds of thousands of pounds he loaned to a company that he jointly owned with his wife.The move is the latest request for the former chancellor to explain details about how he has managed his family’s fortune, which is said to total £730m and has led to him being routinely referred to as the UK’s richest MP. Continue reading...
by Nicola Slawson, Hamish Mackay and Michael Coulter on (#6279X)
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of strikes at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Putin and Erdoğan meet; three ships carrying grain depart Ukrainian ports
Tory favourite for No 10 says taxes should be kept low as rival Sunak says his priority will be to tackle inflationLiz Truss has used her latest pitch to the Tory party membership to warn against talking the UK into a recession, a day after the Bank of England forecast the economy will soon suffer a five-quarter recession.Speaking at the Tory party leadership hustings in Eastbourne, Truss suggested her plans for immediate tax cuts if she becomes prime minister could avert recession. Continue reading...
by Nadeem Badshah, Léonie Chao-Fong and Miranda Brya on (#6269E)
Candidates face Tory members in Eastbourne; former chancellor, who was filmed saying he tried to divert funds from ‘deprived urban areas’, says it was sensibleThe former housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said the government’s “overwhelming priority” should be inflation.Jenrick, who is backing Rishi Sunak in the leadership race, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:The dashboard is flashing red on the British economy and we shouldn’t fool ourselves into believing that all is going to be fine.I think it’s very clear this morning that our overwhelming priority must be inflation. That’s what many people have been saying for a long time. It’s what Rishi Sunak has been saying throughout this leadership contest and tax cuts, unfunded tax cuts, in the immediate - always attractive though that might be to those of us who want to reduce the burden of taxation - seem less relevant in these circumstances.The reality is we’re facing a recession if we carry on with our business-as-usual policies. People are struggling – whether it’s to pay food bills or fuel bills – that’s why it’s very important we reverse the national insurance increase, we have a temporary moratorium on the green energy levy to help people with their fuel bills.The most important thing is getting the economy going so we avoid a recession and the business-as-usual policies aren’t working, we need to do more, and that’s why I am determined to reform the economy and keep taxes low.I know it’s going to be a tough winter, I want to do all I can to make sure we’re releasing the reserves in the North Sea of gas, I want to get on with things like fracking in areas that support it, and I also want to make sure that we’re moving ahead with nuclear power and more renewables.Of course, it will take time but the best time to start is today in moving that forward, as well as giving people all the help we can by keeping their taxes low and getting the economy going. Continue reading...
by Luke Henriques-Gomes Social affairs and inequality on (#62742)
As jobseekers face ‘humiliating’ tasks to maintain payments, vast network of job agencies rakes in hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollarsTwo words make the money go round in Australia’s multi-billion dollar welfare-to-work industry: mutual obligation.When someone loses their job and applies for the dole, they are sent to an outsourced job agency to get help looking for work. It triggers a payment to the provider – and the possibility of more to come. Continue reading...
The world heritage site still has some capacity for recovery but the window is closing fast as the climate continues to warm• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastThe Great Barrier Reef is one of the planet’s natural jewels, stretching for more than 2,300km along Australia’s north-east.But as well as being a bucket-list favourite and a heaving mass of biodiversity across 3,000 individual reefs, the world heritage-listed organism is at the coalface of the climate crisis.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...
Exclusive: asylum seekers in the offshore detention centre who had contact with Australian journalists, lawyers and advocates were closely watched, documents reveal
Russia bolsters troops in south; grain ship leaves port for first time since blockade; UN to investigate prison attack that killed dozensEvery week we wrap up the must-reads from our coverage of the Ukraine war, from news and features to analysis, visual guides and opinion. Continue reading...
by Andrew Roth in Moscow and Joanna Walters in New Yo on (#62704)
Biden ‘hopeful’ about Griner release after foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warns Russia will not tolerate ‘megaphone diplomacy’Russia is ready to discuss a prisoner swap for imprisoned Americans, said its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, but added that the Kremlin would resist public pressure to free US basketball star Brittney Griner and others being held in Russian prisons.Lavrov’s remarks came a day after Griner received a nine-year prison sentence on drug charges that were seen as a gambit to demand an exchange for high-profile Russians in prison in the US, including the arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Continue reading...
Ten life sentences handed out after 18-year-old fatally stabbed in Sunderland group attackThe mother of one of 10 boys sentenced for the joint-enterprise murder of Jack Woodley has said she is “devastated” as her son had “not murdered anyone”.A judge handed out 10 life sentences with minimum terms ranging from eight to 17 years at Newcastle crown court on Friday morning for the murder of 18-year-old Woodley, who died a day after an unprovoked attack by the group of boys in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland, last October. Continue reading...
by Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent on (#626Y0)
Palestinian officials say seven dead after Israel said it was preparing to ‘remove the threat from this region’Israeli warplanes struck numerous sites in the Gaza Strip on Friday in what Israel said was a preemptive strike against Palestinian factions allegedly planning rocket strikes at targets in Israel.Palestinian health officials reported that up to 10 people died in an initial barrage which killed the commander of Islamic Jihad, Tayseer Jabari, in the north of Gaza. Among the fatalities was an eight-year-old girl. Continue reading...
Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledges consensus is near-impossible after public criticism over declaration against gay sexThe archbishop of Canterbury has acknowledged the near-impossibility of a divided global Anglican church reaching a consensus on issues of sexuality, after he faced sharp criticism for affirming a 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin.Addressing more than 650 bishops from around the world at the once-a-decade Lambeth conference, Justin Welby said: “We are not at liberty to choose who are our brothers and sisters … We should seek with passion the visible unity of the church. But that is very difficult, for so often it will lead to criticism in our society.” Continue reading...
Workers in Coventry, Bristol and Rugeley also stage walkouts over level of proposed wage risesAmazon workers at Tilbury in Essex have stopped working for the second day in a row as fury over the online retailer’s “insulting” pay rise offer spread to three other UK warehouses.The GMB union said about 50 workers were gathered in the facility’s canteen on Friday in protest at the pay offer, which is an estimated 3% rise. Continue reading...
Fourteen structures burnt in Lind, in east of state, as forecasters in California warn ‘sleeping giant’ McKinney fire could grow furtherA small town in Washington state was evacuated due to a fast-moving fire that burned a half-dozen homes, as crews in California made progress against the state’s deadliest and largest wildfire of the year.In Washington, the Adams county sheriff’s office warned residents of Lind on Thursday afternoon to flee due to the encroaching flames. Continue reading...
Owners prioritise multimillion-pound shareholder dividends over paying decent wages, says unionDockers at Felixstowe are planning eight days of strike action over pay that could cause serious disruption to the UK’s largest container port.Nearly 1,900 workers plan to stop work for more than a week at the Hong Kong-owned port, starting on Sunday 21 August and ending on Monday 29 August, according to the union Unite. The workers voted 92% in favour of strike action last week. Continue reading...
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