‘The sorest my legs have ever been’: hordes to descend on Hackney for litter-picking world cup

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The public-spirited sport of spogomi is catching on across Britain, which boasts its world champion team

Armed with gloves, metal tongs and plastic rubbish sacks, hordes of determined litter-pickers will descend on Hackney Marshes in east London this weekend.

Spogomi, a Japanese litter-picking sport, has come to the UK. Invented in 2008, it was intended as a competition to encourage people to clean up public spaces. It is now played in schools across the country as people gamify collecting rubbish.

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The Ukrainian Police Agency at the Center of Protests Against Zelensky – The Wall Street Journal

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  1. The Ukrainian Police Agency at the Center of Protests Against Zelensky  The Wall Street Journal
  2. Why Anticorruption Watchdogs Are at the Heart of Ukraine’s Unrest  The New York Times
  3. Ukraine's Zelenskyy undoes anti-corruption curbs but fear remains  NBC News
  4. Ukraine anti-corruption chief says his agency faces 'dirty information campaign'  Reuters
  5. Ukraine’s Zelenskyy introduces bill after anticorruption protests  Al Jazeera
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‘It’s time for us to be louder’: Germany’s Pride parades face up to rise in attacks

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Christopher Street Day event organisers urge vigilance amid increase in abuse from rightwing extremists

The organisers of the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin have urged participants to be vigilant amid a rise in attacks on LGBTQ+ events across Germany.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the German capital this weekend for a loud and colourful celebration held in memory of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, Christopher Street being the location of the Stonewall Inn. But behind the party atmosphere there is a more sombre mood than usual as LGBTQ+ organisations warn that attacks have become more frequent.

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Hong Kong police offer rewards for tips leading to the arrest of 19 overseas activists – AP News

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  1. Hong Kong police offer rewards for tips leading to the arrest of 19 overseas activists  AP News
  2. UK condemns Hong Kong cash offer for help in arresting activists  BBC
  3. Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas  The Guardian
  4. Hong Kong authorities slap bounty on Australian citizen  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  5. UK blasts Hong Kong rewards for help to catch activists overseas  Al Jazeera
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Democrats request copy of Epstein ‘birthday book’ that reportedly contains Trump poem

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Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia seek ‘complete and unredacted copy’ of book from Epstein estate lawyers

House Democrats on Friday sent a letter to the attorneys representing the estate of Jeffrey Epstein requesting a copy of the so-called “birthday book” that reportedly contains a crude poem and doodle from Donald Trump in celebration of the late sex offender’s 50th birthday.

In the letter, California congressmen Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia say the contents of the book may be “essential” to congressional oversight of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein controversy. In the letter, they ask for a “complete and unredacted” copy of the book by 10 August.

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Family sues after funeral home sends son’s brain in unmarked leaking box

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Remains of Timothy Garlington shipped from Georgia funeral home to another in Pennsylvania

Two funeral homes allegedly gave grieving parents their deceased son’s brain in a box, which began to smell, leaked into their car and got on the father’s hands when he moved it, according to an updated lawsuit filed this week.

The father, Lawrence Butler, said the discovery was overwhelming at a news conference on Thursday, leaving a horrific memory that mars the other memories of a “good young man”, their son, Timothy Garlington.

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