Category Archives: UK news

France braces for record temperatures as wildfires rage across Europe

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Thousands evacuated as above 40C forecast for some French regions on Monday and more lives lost in soaring heat in Spain

France was bracing on Monday for the peak of the heatwave gripping the country, with crushing temperatures expected from the Mediterranean, as wildfires continued to rage across Europe.

Forecasters have put 15 departments in France on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures, including Gironde in the south-west, where wildfires have already wrought havoc.

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‘Meltdown Monday’ and ‘Blowtorch Britain’: what the papers say about UK heatwave

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‘Ferocious’ temperatures loom while the Conservative leadership debate is wrung out on the UK front pages of Monday 18 July 2022

“Red alert: ‘ferocious’ heatwave set to send temperatures beyond 40C” – the Guardian leads with the weather and a picture of firefighters on duty in France. The Conservative party’s TV bloodletting is wrapped up as well: “Tory leadership debate exposes deep divisions”. The intro says it was a “bad-tempered” show.

“Blowtorch Britain” says the Mirror, as “42C record heat is on”. The “revellers” shown jumping into the sea at Brighton look happy enough to brave the conditions.

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Pro-Brexit UK regions more dependent on EU for exports, report finds

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Research also reveals EU remains ‘overwhelmingly dominant’ destination for UK manufacturing exports

Brexit-supporting regions in the UK are becoming increasingly dependent on the EU for their manufacturing exports, research by the trade body Make UK has found.

The report, based on quarterly manufacturing outlook data measuring performance in output, orders, employment and investment intentions, also found the EU remains the “overwhelmingly dominant” destination for UK manufacturing exports.

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Conservative leadership race live: Rishi Sunak says he will ‘scrap or reform all EU law, red tape and bureaucracy’

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Latest updates: Tory leadership candidates prepare for second TV debate as Monday’s round of voting looms

The expectation of record temperatures will be dominating headlines in the UK over the next couple of days. The chief executive of the College of Paramedics warned on Sky News this morning that the “ferocious heat” could result in people dying.

Tracy Nicholls said: “This isn’t like a lovely hot day where we can put a bit of sunscreen on, go out and enjoy a swim and a meal outside. This is serious heat that could actually, ultimately, end in people’s deaths because it is so ferocious. We’re just not set up for that sort of heat in this country.”

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UK heatwave: people urged not to use trains from Monday

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Network Rail says to avoid trains unless absolutely necessary, with much of country covered by extreme heat alert

Passengers have been urged not to travel by train from Monday as a record-breaking heatwave hits the UK, while the deputy prime minister said schools should not close and people should be resilient enough to “enjoy the sunshine”.

The country’s first ever red warning for exceptional heat comes into force at midnight on Sunday, with temperatures expected to climb up to 41C (105.8F) over the next two days, breaking the country’s heat records.

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Union calls on UK Uber users to join 24-hour strike over revelations

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Public asked to avoid using ride-hailing service on Wednesday in response to issues raised by Uber files

A trade union representing “gig economy” workers is calling on Uber customers to join a 24-hour strike in response to the Uber files, a series of revelations about the cab-hailing app published by the Guardian and its media partners.

The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) invited Uber users to avoid using the service for a day on Wednesday and instead join a demonstration at the company’s headquarters in London.

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M&S to remove ‘best before’ labels from 300 fruit and veg items to cut food waste

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The change, to be rolled out this week, will leave customers to judge whether goods are still fine to eat

Marks & Spencer is planning to remove “best before” labels from 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables in its stores to cut food waste.

The change, to be rolled out this week, will rely on customers using their judgment to determine whether goods are still fine to eat. The measure will affect 85% of the supermarket’s fresh produce offering.

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British man found dead in Florence hotel room named by local media

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Rugby league clubs and stars pay tribute to player Ricky Bibey, a two-time Challenge Cup winner

A former rugby league player has been named by Italian media as the man found dead in a hotel room in Florence.

Ricky Bibey, a two-time Challenge Cup winner with Wigan Warriors and St Helens, was found dead in the room at the Hotel Continentale on Saturday morning, alongside a 43-year-old woman who had suffered serious injuries.

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Muslims’ high unemployment rate ‘not due to cultural and religious practices’

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Study challenges idea poor outcomes are due to Muslims’ so-called ‘sociocultural attitudes’

Poor outcomes for Muslims in the British labour market cannot be explained by sociocultural attitudes, such as commitment to traditionalism, a study has found.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed Ethnic and Racial Studies journal, confirmed the existence of a “Muslim penalty” in the employment market but rejected previous suggestions that it was due to cultural and religious practices.

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Home Office in fresh row with UNHCR over Rwanda asylum policy

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Despite court hearing, Home Office continues to claim UNHCR is supportive of controversial scheme

The Home Office has been accused of misrepresenting the UN refugee agency’s stance on sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, in a new disagreement between the two organisations, the Guardian has learned.

The Home Office and UNHCR have clashed previously over the safety and suitability of the Home Office’s policy of forcibly removing some asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the UK on small boats or in the back of lorries to Rwanda to have their claims processed there.

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Tory contest shows government levelling up agenda is dead, Lisa Nandy to say

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Shadow minister to say PM hopefuls are vying ‘for the mantle of Margaret Thatcher, promising tax cuts for the wealthy’

The shadow communities secretary, Lisa Nandy, will claim the Conservative leadership contest has shown the government’s commitment to levelling up is dead, as she announces plans to give local communities the right to buy up assets such as empty shops.

Nandy will use a speech in Darlington to say Labour would press ahead with handing power to communities outside London and the south-east in an attempt to rebalance the UK’s economy.

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Forest fires rage across Europe as heatwave sends temperatures soaring

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Civil defence authorities battle blazes that have forced evacuation of thousands of people across continent

Firefighters in Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and Morocco are battling forest fires raging across tens of thousands of hectares as this week’s heatwave continues to bring extreme temperatures and cause hundreds of deaths across south-western Europe.

The second heatwave of the summer – with temperatures hitting 47C (116F) in Portugal and 45C in Spain – has triggered wildfires that have forced the evacuation of thousands of people.

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Camilla’s 75th birthday marked by official photograph

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Duchess of Cornwall poses with home-grown peaches in her Wiltshire garden after guest-editing Country Life magazine

An official picture has been released to mark the Duchess of Cornwall’s 75th birthday.

Camilla is pictured looking relaxed and smiling in the image released for her milestone anniversary she celebrates on Sunday, which follows a busy week for the royal.

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Climate chief Alok Sharma warns: I may quit if new PM dumps net zero pledge

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The cabinet minister and Cop26 president could resign if the new Tory leader fails to commit to a strong green agenda

The cabinet minister who led last year’s landmark Cop26 UN climate summit has made a dramatic intervention in the Tory leadership race, suggesting he could resign if the incoming prime minister fails to commit to a strong agenda on the climate crisis.

In an interview with the Observer, Alok Sharma said a total commitment to the net zero agenda from whoever is to lead the country would be essential to avoid “incredible damage” to Britain’s global standing, as well as irreversible harm to the UK and international economies.

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Johnson skips emergency Cobra meeting as experts warn thousands may die in UK heatwave

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Prime minister stays at Chequers as NHS, schools and transport providers issue warnings about fatally high temperatures

Boris Johnson was accused on Saturday of being “missing in action” after failing to attend a Cobra meeting to discuss the national heatwave emergency following predictions that thousands could die in the coming days.

As the threat to life from the impending heatwave continues to crystallise, the prime minister chose to skip the meeting on Saturday. He instead stayed at his Chequers country retreat, where he is due to hold a thank you party for supporters on Sunday.

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Police issue wildfires warning after blazes in Greater Manchester

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Force urges people not to start fires, including barbecues, and report incidents of arson

Police have issued a warning in advance of the potentially unprecedented heatwave coming to the UK after a series of wildfires on moorland near Manchester which they now believe were started deliberately.

The blaze began last weekend and swept across part of Saddleworth Moor near a car park close to the Dovestone reservoir.

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Tony Blair urges western powers to stand up to China

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Former prime minister warns era of political and economic dominance by west coming to an end

Tony Blair has issued a rallying call to western nations to come together to develop a coherent strategy to counter the rise of China as “the world’s second superpower”.

Delivering the annual Ditchley lecture on Saturday, the former prime minister called for a policy towards Beijing of “strength plus engagement” as he warned the era of western political and economic dominance was coming to an end.

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‘I could have been a Mo Farah’: trafficked boxer denied his shot at Olympic glory by Home Office

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Kelvin Bilal Fawaz reveals how Farah’s TV interview was a reminder of how his own boxing career was lost to life in immigration limbo

A prodigious talent with the drive and ambition to make it all the way to the top, when Kelvin Bilal Fawaz got the chance to represent Team GB as a boxer at the 2012 Olympics in London it was a dream come true.

Trafficked as a child from Nigeria to the UK and forced into domestic servitude, Fawaz had the opportunity for Olympic glory in the place he now called home.

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‘Travelling circus’: Starmer says Tory hopefuls have lost economic credibility

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Exclusive: Labour leader, speaking after meeting German chancellor, condemns candidates’ ‘fanciful’ spending plans

Keir Starmer has dismissed the acrimonious Conservative leadership race as a “travelling circus”, in which the candidates have demolished their party’s economic credibility by promising billions of pounds of unfunded tax cuts.

Speaking on a visit to Berlin where he held talks with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Labour leader highlighted the “fanciful” spending pledges made by the five contenders battling it out to succeed Boris Johnson.

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