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Politics
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Ann Widdecombe death: counter-terrorism police take over investigation
Officers say decision made after ‘new information and evidence has come to light’ Counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the death of the the former MP and Reform spokesperson Ann Widdecombe after “new information and evidence has come to light”, counter-terrorism policing south east said. Widdecombe’s body was found with “serious injuries” by the ambulance service at her home in Haytor, Devon, at 11.40am on Thursday, Devon and Cornwall police said. Continue reading...
UK to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organisation
Home Office announces ban on support for Iranian military group in escalation of diplomatic tensions with Tehran The UK will list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, ministers have announced, in a major escalation of the diplomatic tensions between London and Tehran. The Home Office said on Monday it would ban support for the IRGC, a central branch of the Iranian military, after years of political division over the issue. The move is equivalent to proscription, though not legally identical. Continue reading...
US and Iran exchange fire and disagree on whether strait of Hormuz is open | First Thing
Tehran says latest US attacks have ‘rendered futile’ diplomatic efforts of last few months. Plus, hit song in Australia prompts speculation about use of AI Good morning. The US military has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Iran amid the escalating standoff over the strait of Hormuz. What has Iran said about the latest hostilities? Iran condemned the latest wave of attacks, its foreign ministry saying they had “rendered futile all efforts of the past few months to reduce tension and establish peace in the west Asian region”. The ministry added: “The US regime has also caused the return of insecurity in the strait of Hormuz and disruption of international commercial shipping.” Is the strait open? Iran said on Sunday that passage through the waterway was not possible because of what it called recent illegal US military movements in the region. The US said its forces were positioned to safeguard freedom of navigation, and reiterated guidance that, despite a severe security threat, an “expanded” southern route near Oman coastline was available for two-way traffic. How will Graham be replaced in the senate? South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, will appoint a new senator to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends on 3 January. Whoever is appointed will likely have a leg up in a special primary election on August 11 to get on the November ballot. The candidate would still run against the Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who gained significant support in the red state, but who still faces an uphill challenge. Continue reading...
Plan to restore nature in England by 2030 criticised as ‘completely insufficient’
Critics accuse ministers of failing to take control of nature crisis and leaving it to private landowners to act voluntarily The government’s plan to protect and restore nature in England by 2030 has been condemned as “pathetic” and “completely insufficient” in the face of the spiralling environmental crisis. The long-awaited plan published on Monday calls for landowners to voluntarily opt to protect and enhance nature, rather than creating legal protections for nature across more of the country’s land, critics say. Continue reading...
‘You come out feeling high’: I sang with strangers in a one-day choir – and it was surprisingly spiritual
As people yearn for connection, these events are popping up around the world - and spreading ‘collective effervescence’ We met in a former synagogue, a vast room with hardwood floors where the sound could echo freely. All were strangers, many former choir nerds, united by a love for group singing. Our goal was to learn and perform, in a single day, a classic of our time: a song from the Hannah Montana movie. The event, near downtown Los Angeles, was a one-day choir hosted by the Gaia Music Collective – a three-hour gathering where more than 100 people rehearsed a choral arrangement of the song and sang it three times, with ourselves as the only audience. Continue reading...
Chatsworth House joins free entry scheme to improve access to Britain’s country houses
Initiative run through local libraries aims to boost access to cultural experiences amid cost of living crisis When Kate, a 47-year-old contract worker came face to face with Charlotte Brontë’s handwriting while visiting Chatsworth House, the avid reader, who counts Jane Eyre as her favourite book, struggled to contain her excitement. “I had a little bit of a moment,” she said. “I just thought: ‘Wow, that was actually Charlotte Brontë’s writing there on that page.’ That was pretty special.” Continue reading...
Lindsey Graham’s death triggers scramble to replace him as Congress returns – US politics live
Lawmakers face obstacles, including demands from Trump, Mitch McConnell’s absence and Graham’s sudden death Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Republican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week after the unexpected death in office of Lindsey Graham, as the party seeks to appoint a new senator to see out his term. The Senate judiciary committee has scheduled two days of confirmation hearings for Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general Trump has nominated to the post, though it was unclear if the death of Graham, who served on the committee, will affect the schedule. The intelligence committee has separately announced that the confirmation of Clayton is back on. Republicans in both chambers remain confounded by Trump’s renewed fixation on the Save America Act, which would ban mail-in ballots and impose new rules on voting nationwide. The measure, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year almost entirely with Republican votes, has no path through the Senate, where it faces opposition from Democrats and some in the GOP. Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed “ethnic cleansing campaign”. Continue reading...
Weather tracker: Unusually warm rivers affect French nuclear power plants
High temperatures and below average rainfall put pressure on waterways used to cool reactors Above average temperatures combined with below average rainfall across much of western and central Europe during June and the first half of July have placed increasing pressure on rivers, ecosystems and energy infrastructure. Persistent high pressure brought prolonged sunshine, suppressed rainfall and enhanced evaporation, causing river levels to fall and water temperatures to increase. These unusually warm rivers are affecting electricity generation in France, as several nuclear power stations rely on river water for cooling. Under French environmental regulations, operators must limit the amount of heat discharged back into rivers, meaning electricity output may need to be reduced when water temperatures become too high. Continue reading...
Olly Robbins launches legal challenge to dismissal as Foreign Office chief by Keir Starmer
Ex-FCDO top civil servant says he was given ‘irrational’ reasons for firing amid Peter Mandelson vetting scandal UK politics live – latest updates Olly Robbins, the former Foreign Office chief sacked by Keir Starmer over the Peter Mandelson security vetting scandal, has submitted a legal challenge over his dismissal. Robbins was requesting a judicial review after he was removed as the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, the FDA Union representing him said in a statement. Continue reading...
Conwy villagers flee homes as wildfires burn in Wales and England
Major incidents declared in north Wales and Derbyshire as Natural England warns of ‘exceptional fire risk’ Villagers were evacuated from their homes as a wildfire swept across a mountainside in north Wales, prompting firefighters to declare a major incident. People described hearing the crackling fire advancing down Conwy Mountain towards homes as ash fell from a sky turned dark by thick smoke. Continue reading...
Did the media fall short in its reporting on Graham Platner?
The twisting road to the candidate’s exit left a lot to be desired. But ultimately, reporters ferreted out the truth After the New York Times published an article in early June about the Senate candidate Graham Platner’s treatment of the women he dated, the story’s main source reacted with disappointment and anger. It was a “gift to the Platner campaign”, charged Lyndsey Fifield , who had dated the Democratic combat veteran years ago and who spoke candidly to the Times about that experience. Continue reading...
Graham Platner was an unforced error – the left has lessons to learn | Osita Nwanevu
Many imagined his buff, gruff and tattooed traits would help him connect with working-class men. But this logic was flawed The left would do well to revisit New York ’s Democratic primaries two weeks ago – it was a sunnier news cycle, yes, but those races were also an object lesson in progressive realpolitik. Zohran Mamdani , busy as he already was, devoted a remarkable amount of time, resources, and political capital to selecting and backing the eventual victors in three different races – in one case reversing a promise to support an incumbent, Adriano Espaillat, in favor of activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, and in another case supporting Claire Valdez, a relatively unknown assemblywoman, even as the Working Families party, major unions and other progressives backed the Brooklyn borough president, Antonio Reynoso. Continue reading...
Beloved or not, Lindsey Graham was a critical dealmaker in Congress
Senator played major role in critical negotiations with Democrats and members of his own party on key issues When Democrats and Republicans were earlier this year locked in a standoff that had plunged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the longest partial government shutdown in US history, news of a path forward emerged in the form of a statement from Republican senator Lindsey Graham. By announcing that the budget committee he chairs would set to work on a measure to fund the agencies leading Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign for the remainder of his presidency, Graham played a major role in rallying the GOP behind a plan that reopened DHS . Continue reading...
Republicans return to Capitol Hill with agenda complicated by Graham death
Lawmakers face obstacles, including demands from Trump, Mitch McConnell’s absence and Graham’s sudden death Republican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week facing a lengthy to-do list and Donald Trump’s demands for new voting restrictions, as Democrats jockey for an advantage ahead of the November midterm elections. Lawmakers from both parties are eager to highlight before voters legislative victories ahead of the midterms, where control of Congress is at stake. But for Senate Republicans, who are already navigating an array of demands from Trump, their agenda grew further complicated over the weekend with the death of Lindsey Graham , the budget committee chair who is a key player in negotiating a party line bill to fund additional defense spending and other priorities outlined by the president. Continue reading...
Zaghari-Ratcliffe condemns Iran’s ‘cruel’ rearrest of wildlife activist couple
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in prison with Sepideh Kashani, who worked with husband Houman Jokar to save Asiatic cheetah Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has described the rearrest of two Iranian environmentalists, one of whom she met at Evin prison, as “unimaginably cruel and alarming”. Husband and wife Houman Jokar and Sepideh Kashani were arrested by the ministry of intelligence at their home on 1 July. No reason has been given and their whereabouts are unknown. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham has body of work that speaks volumes about how he gets football | Rob Draper
Prime-minister-in-waiting has been a key figure in overhauls behind the scenes of the game, as well helping to create the Hillsborough Independent Panel Picking up the country when it is in a slump of self-doubt is perhaps within Andy Burnham’s reach. And football, close to Burnham’s heart, may provide the template. There have been several occasions in the past 20 years when English football has been in a state of anguish, but a nadir came in 2007, when Burnham made one of his most significant interventions to the national game. If England win the World Cup , expect the prime-minister-in-waiting to take at least a slice of the credit. England had just lost 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley and failed to qualify for Euro 2008, the game where Steve McClaren was dubbed “the wally with the brolly” , the pouring rain adding to the sense of despair. At Wembley that night Burnham was with James Purnell, now poised to become his chief of staff in No 10, as guests of the Premier League’s then chief executive, Richard Scudamore. Burnham was the minister for culture, media and sport, having succeeded Purnell, who had been moved to the Department for Work and Pensions, this being the early days of Gordon Brown’s Labour premiership. Continue reading...
North Carolina woman, 82, survives nine days trapped in her bathtub after fall
Joan Rivet drank water she managed to splash up to her face by turning faucet on with her foot An 82-year-old North Carolina woman says she survived falling in her bathtub and being trapped there for nine days by turning the faucet on with her foot and drinking water that she managed to splash up to her face – all while drifting in and out of consciousness. Joan Rivet recently shared her remarkable survival story with North Carolina’s The Mountaineer newspaper, providing an extreme example of the kinds of emergencies that can face the millions of older Americans who fall by accident annually, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates . Continue reading...
First the £10 pint, now the £6.50 flat white: coffee industry faces inflationary pressures
From harvests dampened by El Niño to wage and tax rises, getting coffee beans from crop to cup costs more than ever Drinkers across the UK were shocked when a pint in some London bars hit £10, and now a cup of coffee is facing a similar inflationary rate. Some baristas are now charging £6.50 for a flat white. Higher energy bills, inflated by the war in the Middle East , as well as government policies which have increased tax and wages, are filtering through into coffee prices, experts said. Continue reading...
Queensland unlawfully detained children in adult watch house without private toilet access, tribunal finds
State ordered to apologise after ruling finds it breached law when detaining teenagers in a Cairns watch house Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Queensland government broke the law and violated the human rights of three children by detaining them in an adult-only watch house without private toilet access or clean clothes, according to a tribunal judgment. The case was brought by three teenagers separately detained in the Cairns watch house between June 2021 and 2022. They were then aged between 13 and 17. Continue reading...
Minister suggests Shabana Mahmood will use visa threats to deport Rochdale grooming gang leader to Pakistan – UK politics live
Cather Atkinson hinted that the Home Office may threaten to stop issuing visas to Pakistan unless it agrees to accept Shabir Ahmed Good morning. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will be in the Commons for much of the afternoon and she is involved in several of the main news stories in the mix today. MPs are debating the second reading of the immigration and asylum bill, meaning that those Labour MPs opposed to her plans may speak out at some point. (Her most controversial proposal is about extending the amount of time migrant workers have to wait until they can apply for indefinite leave to remain [ILR], and that is not actually part of the bill , but it would be surprising if ILR does not come up.) We are also expecting a Home Office statement about security, in the light of the murder of Ann Widdecombe. As Aletha Adu reports, the police, who have arrested a man on suspicion of murder, have said at this point there is no evidence to suggest the killing was politically motivated. But that has not stopped Nigel Farage , the Reform UK leader, doing exactly that. And Mahmood is also due to give MPs details of how she plans to amend the law so that the Rochdale grooming gang leader, Shabir Ahmed, can be deported. I understand that the home secretary will be having more to announce on this later today. She has been absolutely clear that this government will take action to see Shabir Ahmed removed, and we’ve seen the success that she has had when it comes to removals in previous cases. There were previous negotiations where countries refused to take back foreign national offenders. And Shabana was able to secure those returns. I can’t get ahead of what the home secretary will be announcing today, but she has a strong track record on being able to see progress where people previously have said things weren’t possible. Continue reading...
Iran launches attacks on American military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait after fresh US strikes – Middle East crisis live
US military says it hit dozens of Iranian sites in strikes on Monday while UN chief warns that a return to full-scale fighting would be ‘catastrophic’ US launches new attack wave on Iran as Tehran says diplomacy has proven ‘futile’ A US-Iranian memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 17 June extended a ceasefire in the war by 60 days to allow the restoration of trade through the strait of Hormuz and create breathing space for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief, the main points of contention between Iran and the west. Apart from some indirect technical talks, those negotiations have failed to materialise, and fighting has continued between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which was supposed to be covered by the agreement. Continue reading...
Macron hosts Zelenskyy, Starmer and Merz for Ukraine talks – Europe live
French president hosts ‘coalition of the willing’ in Paris amid hopes that Ukraine’s recent advances could force Putin towards negotiations French president Emmanuel Macron is going to host the Coalition of the Willing in Paris later today amid hopes that Ukraine’s recent advances in strikes on Russia could force Vladimir Putin to a negotiating table. The meeting at the Hôtel des Invalides – hosted just before Bastille Day – will b ring together over 20 European leaders for further talks on how to help Kyiv and put more pressure on Moscow. Continue reading...
‘We should be dead’: Perth’s Indigenous community felt ignored after alleged Invasion Day bombing attempt, inquiry told
Police were told of unspecified threats before the 26 January rally but did not meet with organisers until after, parliamentary inquiry into racism told Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Indigenous community members who witnessed the alleged attempted terror attack at the Invasion Day rally in Perth have told a federal inquiry into racism and hate directed at First Nations people that they felt dismissed and ignored by authorities. Western Australia police declared the incident was being investigated as a terror attack nine days after an alleged homemade bomb, filled with ball bearings, screws and other projectiles, was thrown into the crowd of 2,000 people at Forrest Place on 26 January. Perth man Liam Alexander Hall has been charged with terrorism offences and is in custody, and his lawyers have indicated he intends to plead not guilty by way of insanity . Continue reading...
‘A true gentleman’: actors, directors and leaders pay tribute to Sam Neill
The star of more than 100 films is remembered as a champion of New Zealand’s arts, culture and environment, and a generous collaborator and friend Sam Neill, star of Jurassic Park films and The Piano, dies aged 78 Sam Neill’s 20 best roles Sam Neill’s friends, peers and admirers have rushed to pay tribute to the actor, after his sudden death on Monday at the age of 78. Australian director Phillip Noyce, who directed Neill in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm alongside Nicole Kidman, told the Guardian: “Sam was perhaps the most gentlemanly actor I ever encountered. Level-headed and sincere in a show business world of crazy egos. His word was his contract.” Continue reading...