Wrongly denied Windrush payments causing ‘further harm and injustice’

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Home Office has paid more than £430,000 extra compensation after watchdog investigations of complaints

The Home Office has wrongly denied compensation to numerous Windrush victims, a watchdog report has found, concluding that “further harm and injustice” has been caused as a result of systemic problems with the scheme.

More than £430,000 of extra compensation has been awarded to people affected by the scandal as a result of investigations by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman.

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American-Turkish woman shot dead at anti-settler protest in West Bank

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Witnesses say Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was fired at by Israel Defense Forces soldiers positioned in a nearby field

An American-Turkish dual national has been shot dead – reportedly by Israeli troops – while participating in a protest against settler expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old volunteer with the anti-occupation International Solidarity Movement, died in hospital on Friday after being shot in the head during a protest in Beita, near Nablus, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

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South Park creators to ignore Trump when show returns in 2025

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‘I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump,’ Matt Stone tells Vanity Fair in rare interview

The creators of the Emmy-winning series South Park intend to ignore Donald Trump when the irreverent animated show returns for a 27th season in 2025, they said in a rare interview.

“I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump,” Matt Stone told Vanity Fair in reference to the former US president whose life is seemingly consumed by unadulterated drama.

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Georgia teacher was trying to protect his students when he was killed, witnesses say

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Students say that Richard Aspinwall left his classroom after the shooting started to try protect them

Richard Aspinwall, the mathematics teacher and football coach who was one of two teachers killed in Wednesday’s high school shooting in Georgia, was trying to protect the children in his classroom when he was killed.

His attempt to protect the teens in his care was one of new details that have emerged about the four victims killed in the gun rampage by a fellow student at Apalachee high school, in the small city of Winder.

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Tony Blair told to ‘take responsibility’ after Grenfell criticism

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Campaigners call for apology after inquiry report makes several criticisms of decisions made during Blair’s tenure

Grenfell campaigners have called on Tony Blair to apologise and take responsibility for decisions made by his government that contributed to the fire that killed 72 people.

The former prime minister said on Thursday that tragedies such as the west London fire, which came after years of missed opportunities to regulate combustible cladding, were a result of unavoidable mistakes.

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Peacekeepers needed to end ‘harrowing’ abuses in Sudan, say UN experts

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Government and paramilitary forces responsible for rape, violence and torture, according to civilian interviews

Peacekeepers should be deployed to Sudan immediately and an existing international arms embargo should be expanded to protect civilians from “harrowing” rights abuses committed by the warring parties in the country’s civil war, UN experts said on Friday.

Sudan’s army (SAF) and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF], have raped and attacked civilians, used torture and made arbitrary arrests, according to a UN-mandated fact-finding mission based on 182 interviews with survivors, relatives and witnesses. The violations “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity”, its report said.

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Heatwave across US west breaks records for highest temperatures

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Hottest summer on record continues, with millions from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Seattle under heat alerts

An intense heatwave across the US west has brought unusually warm temperatures to the region – some of the highest of the season – and broken heat records.

Millions of Americans from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Seattle are under heat alerts. Even before this latest bout of extreme weather, which began on Wednesday and is expected to last through the weekend, summer 2024 was already considered the hottest summer on record.

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British pop art pioneer Derek Boshier dies aged 87

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Portsmouth-born, working-class artist was known for collaborations with David Bowie and the Clash

Derek Boshier, the working-class artist who was a key part of the pop art movement and a collaborator with the Clash and David Bowie, has died aged 87.

The Portsmouth-born artist studied at the Royal College of Art in London from 1959 to 1962 alongside David Hockney and was profiled with Pauline Boty and Peter Blake in Ken Russell’s 1962 film about the pop art movement, Pop Goes the Easel.

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Zelenskiy claims support waning for strikes against Russian occupiers

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Ukrainian president complains of reduced cooperation from US and UK over use of their missiles in Crimea

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has complained that it has become increasingly difficult to use Storm Shadow missiles against Russian targets in occupied Ukraine because of a lack of supplies and reduced cooperation from the US, UK and France.

The Ukrainian president flew to Germany to lobby western defence leaders amid growing concern in Kyiv that vital support from key allies for long-range missile strikes in Crimea had diminished as the war approaches a third winter.

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Backlash for JD Vance after calling school shooting a ‘fact of life’

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Republican vice-presidential candidate was criticized for tone-deafness after comments at campaign rally in Arizona

America’s ideological split over gun control has spilled over into the presidential campaign after JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, voiced regret that school shootings had “become a fact of life” in the US.

Vance’s comments – in the wake of the latest deadly shooting, at Apalachee high school in Georgia – ignited a political row after Democrats depicted them as evidence of a lack of empathy while Republicans claimed the remarks had been taken out of context.

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Cleared man’s claim to wife’s fortune blocked as judge rules he did kill her

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Family of Paula Leeson sued Donald McPherson after criminal prosecution over fatal drowning collapsed

A man who stood to claim a £4.4m estate from his wealthy wife has had his inheritance blocked by a judge who ruled he killed her.

The family of Paula Leeson, 47, who was found dead in a swimming pool in a Denmark holiday home in 2017, sued her husband, Donald McPherson, 51, for unlawful killing after a criminal prosecution collapsed when there was not enough evidence.

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Noel Edmonds to present TV series from his New Zealand country estate

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Former gameshow host reportedly signs £1m deal with ITV for show in same vein as global hit Clarkson’s Farm

It seems to be turning into a rite of passage for former Top Gear hosts who have been the subject of public opprobrium.

Noel Edmonds is set to follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson by presenting a new TV series from his country retreat. The presenter, 75, who began working as a DJ in the late 1960s, has reportedly signed a £1m deal to return to television after a six-year gap by presenting a series from his park and vineyard in New Zealand.

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Georgia school shooting suspect makes first court appearance

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Colt Gray, 14, faces murder charges and his father has been charged over his alleged involvement in supplying the gun

The 14-year-old charged with killing two fellow students and two teachers at his Georgia high school made his first court appearance on Friday – with his father, who was arrested late on Thursday, set to appear shortly afterwards.

Colt Gray appeared in person, dressed in green prison scrubs and hands and ankles shackled to his waist at the hearing in Barrow county courthouse, having previously been understood to be planning to attend by video link. He traveled from the youth detention facility in which he is being held. He is being detained there as a juvenile, even though he is expected to be tried as an adult.

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Campaigners press US to ban Israel arms sales after UK’s partial halt

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Activists say Britain’s decision bolsters case for Congress to follow suit and may embolden opposition to Biden policy

The UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel has bolstered the case for Congress to follow the example of its ally, US campaigners for a ban have said.

The campaigners are pressing the US Senate and the house to pass a joint resolution of disapproval blocking authorisation for an unprecedented $20bn (£15.2bn) weapons sale. The massive transfer was notified to Congress last month when it was in recess.

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