Yellow weather warning for wind in Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and north of England from 6am
Storm Floris is forecast to bring unseasonably strong winds to the UK on Monday, the Met Office has said.
The strongest winds are expected during the afternoon and night across Scotland, with gusts of up to 85mph possible on exposed coasts and hills.
Continue reading...Minister says programme will help ensure Whitehall has ‘broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country’
A new civil service internship scheme will be open only to working-class students as part of a drive to make Whitehall better reflect the country, the government has said.
The programme will give students from lower-income backgrounds the chance to apply for paid government placements. The definition of working class will be based on what jobs were held by their parents when the applicant was 14 and replaces an existing programme open to all.
Continue reading...Bishop of Fulham says sorry for offence caused when he told singers to leave for making ‘terrible racket’
A bishop who went on stage in a dressing gown and shut down a choir for making a “terrible racket” has apologised for the “distress and offence” he caused.
Last Friday, Jonathan Baker, the bishop of Fulham, told a room of about 360 people, including the City Academy Voices choir, to leave St Andrew church in Holborn, central London, as they neared the end of their special summer concert.
Continue reading...Elon Musk’s social media platform says lawmakers made a ‘conscientious decision’ to increase censorship
Elon Musk’s X platform has said the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) is at risk of “seriously infringing” free speech as a row deepens over measures for protecting children from harmful content.
The social media company said the act’s “laudable” intentions were being overshadowed by its aggressive implementation by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.
Continue reading...Family say Ameiya Del Brocco and younger brother Ricardo Junior were ‘beautiful, bright, and deeply loved children’
A British brother and sister who drowned off a beach on the north-eastern coast of Spain have been named as Ameiya Del Brocco, 13, and 11-year-old Ricardo Junior.
Their father, Ricardo Senior, who had also entered the water, was rescued by local emergency services after the incident during a family holiday in the Catalan town of Salou on Tuesday.
Continue reading...The coalmine generated millions in revenue in its early days but recorded an operating loss – a pattern that would repeat at scale
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It was entirely foreseeable, and has resulted in billions of dollars in forgone revenue for Australia.
But just how did policymakers fail to extract a single cent in company tax from Adani’s Carmichael coalmine, even though it opened during the start of a commodity price boom?
Continue reading...Baltimore saw up to 4in of rain and the New York transportation system was flooded on Thursday; more rain is possible, weather service warns
A 13-year-old boy has died after he was trapped in a storm drain in Maryland during heavy rainfall and flooding on the east coast, officials said.
Kids were playing in the rain on Thursday in a common area between apartment buildings in Mount Airy, a town of about 10,000 people about 30 miles (48km) west of Baltimore, but flood waters rushed in and the boy was swept into the pipe, according to Mount Airy volunteer fire company spokesperson Doug Alexander.
Continue reading...US president called on top Fed officials to seize control from chair Jerome Powell if he fails to cut interest rates
Donald Trump called on top Federal Reserve officials to seize control from its chair, Jerome Powell, if he fails to cut interest rates, stepping up his extraordinary attacks on the central bank’s independence.
The US president called Powell “a stubborn MORON” in a series of critical social media posts on Friday, days after the Fed held rates steady for the fifth consecutive time.
Continue reading...IOPC also investigating Chris Noble over allegations he shared confidential information without policing purpose
A police chief has been suspended after serious concerns were raised about his behaviour outside of work.
The Staffordshire police chief constable, Chris Noble, who denies any wrongdoing, is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for the matters, which predate his employment with the force.
Continue reading...Russian president’s remarks come as Kyiv rescuers find more than a dozen dead in apartment block after strikes
Vladimir Putin has said he wants a “lasting and stable peace” in Ukraine but given no indication that he is willing to make any concessions to achieve it, after a week in which Russian missiles and drones again caused death and destruction across Ukraine.
“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” said Putin, speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by Donald Trump for hostilities to cease.
Continue reading...Donald Trump orders levies ranging from 10% to 41% but extends deadline to next week. Plus, how did Labubu dolls became a ‘social currency’?
Good morning.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from dozens of trade partners, in his latest attempt to reshape the global economy.
Which countries have higher rates? Rates were set at 25% for India’s US-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan and 30% for South Africa. Switzerland faces a rate of 39%. The deadline for a tariff deal with Mexico was extended by another 90 days.
What has Israel said? As Gaza has slid into famine this summer, Israeli officials have variously denied the existence of mass starvation, claimed without evidence that Hamas steals and hoards aid, or blamed hunger on UN distribution failures, sharing pictures of aid pallets awaiting collection inside the border.
Continue reading...Former vice-president talked to Colbert in first interview since election, after declining bid for California governor
Kamala Harris has said that she currently has no desire to re-enter “the system” of American politics because it is “broken”.
On Thursday night the defeated Democratic party’s presidential nominee, who replaced Joe Biden late in the 2024 campaign after he dropped his re-election bid, gave her first interview since losing the election to Donald Trump, talking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.
Continue reading...Legislation allows rightwing president Nayib Bukele to seek unlimited terms, sparking fears of dictatorship
Activists and opposition leaders have that warned El Salvador is following Venezuela’s path towards dictatorship after the Central American country’s congress scrapped presidential term limits, paving the way for Nayib Bukele to seek indefinite re-election.
“Democracy in El Salvador has died,” opposition congresswoman Marcela Villatoro declared late on Thursday as the legislature – in which Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party controls 90% of seats – approved the highly controversial constitutional reform, by 57 votes to three.
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