SUV buyers undeterred by warnings of risk to pedestrians, UK study finds

Exclusive: Research suggests financial penalties necessary if number of large vehicles on roads is to be reduced

Drivers who are told about the safety risks posed by SUVs to cyclists and pedestrians are very unlikely to be deterred from buying one, a new study has found.

The findings indicate that if governments want to reduce the number of large, dangerous vehicles on the roads, it is likely to require financial penalties, according to the psychologists at Swansea University who led the research.

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Push for electrification finally takes centre stage in pre-Cop31 climate talks

Apart from effort to electrify, there were geopolitical tensions around climate science and the 1.5C goal

Electrifying the world – with electric vehicles, electric heating and cooling, and modernised heavy industry – could be the next biggest step towards phasing out fossil fuels, replacing the 80% of global energy that still comes from hydrocarbons. As using electrical energy is much more efficient than combustion, the move would save billions of dollars for consumers and businesses – global energy demand could be halved, according to one estimate.

For decades, electrification has been a nerdish backwater of global climate action. But in the last two weeks, at preparatory talks in Bonn before the forthcoming UN Cop31 climate summit, the subject finally took centre stage.

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Fears doctors criticising Israel may be silenced as health watchdog adopts contested antisemitism definition

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to use International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition for ‘regulatory work’

Australia’s health watchdog has adopted a contested definition of antisemitism to guide its regulatory work.

The move has been welcomed by the nation’s peak Jewish body while the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan) has warned it could silence health professionals from criticising Israel’s human rights record.

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Anthony Albanese says Australia’s first mainland case of deadly H5N1 bird flu ‘concerning’

Tests taken in Western Australia suggest a second bird was also infected, but there is no evidence poultry or agriculture systems are affected

The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has arrived on the Australian mainland with test results confirming a migratory seabird found on the Western Australian coast was positive for the disease.

The agriculture minister, Julie Collins, confirmed a brown skua – found unwell last Sunday at Cape Le Grand national park near Esperance in southern WA had died from H5N1.

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Trump unveils new Air Force One, a converted Qatari 747

New craft, called VC-25B Bridge, had provoked protest since $400m jet wildly exceeds limit on unsolicited gifts

Donald Trump unveiled the new, temporary Air Force One at a hangar at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday, a day after White House officials bid farewell to one of two Boeing 747s used to transport presidents for more than 30 years.

The new jet, designated VC-25B and decked out in a punchy red, white, dark blue and gold livery, was gifted to Trump by the Gulf emirate of Qatar, provoking howls of political protest since the $400m jet wildly exceeds the limit on unsolicited gifts of $50 in value in a single calendar year from the same source.

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Injuries reported after two trains collide near Bedford

Lines closed between Luton and Bedford as emergency services attend scene

Two trains have collided in the Bedford area, authorities have said, with police and other emergency services at the scene.

The collision, which is reported to have caused injuries, has also caused major delays to the evening commute, with lines closed between Luton and Bedford, Thameslink said.

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Israel and Hezbollah renew ceasefire after deadly flareup disrupts opening of Iran talks

JD Vance pulls out of US-Iran meeting in Switzerland on implementation of peace deal after clashes in southern Lebanon

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to renew a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after 24 hours of intense violence that posed an early challenge to the new agreement between the US and Iran to end their conflict.

A meeting that was scheduled to take place on Friday between Washington and Tehran in Switzerland to discuss implementation of the new deal was cancelled when Hezbollah killed four Israeli soldiers and Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley that killed at least 47 people.

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Man released on bail after boy, three, critically injured in zoo crocodile enclosure

Cambridgeshire police say 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder is not fit to be interviewed

A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure has been released because he is not fit to be interviewed, police have said.

The 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been bailed while detectives from the major crimes unit conduct further inquiries, Cambridgeshire police said.

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First pelicans in 360 years hatch in St James’s Park London

Birds have been in the park since the Russian ambassador gave King Charles II two in 1664 – but none ever bred there

They arrived in the royal park shortly before the Great Fire of London, when the Russian ambassador presented a pair to King Charles II as a gift.

But although pelicans have been living in St James’s Park since 1664, none ever learned the art of courtship – until now, when for the first time in more than 360 years, chicks have been born.

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Revolt in small Georgia town appears to ward off ICE detention center

Social Circle announces homeland security has canceled plans to convert warehouse to detain up to 10,000 people

The small town of Social Circle in rural Georgia has announced that the Department of Homeland Security has cancelled plans to turn a warehouse into what would have been one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country.

The cancellation appears to be one of seven around the country, according to reporting elsewhere, and part of a reversal under new homeland security director Markwayne Mullin in the Trump administration’s plans to buy up warehouses and boost detention capacity – after spending $1bn on the effort in recent months.

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U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say – The Washington Post

  1. U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say  The Washington Post
  2. How the Iran war united, and then divided Trump and Israel's Netanyahu  CBS News
  3. ‘Destruction is the goal’: Israel steers between the US, Iran, and Lebanon  Al Jazeera
  4. Why Trump’s proposal for Syria to fight Hezbollah will send shudders across Lebanon  CNN
  5. Trump: ‘We expect a complete ceasefire’ between Hezbollah and Israel  The Times of Israel
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Comparison to Hitler, Mao, Stalin? Trump says: ‘Sounds good to me!’

‘Historian’ claims ‘overwhelming difference’ between him and rogues’ gallery of autocrats is that Trump is more powerful

Donald Trump has enthusiastically agreed with a public assessment by a man he met while golfing that the “overwhelming difference” between the current US president and historical figures who incited fear – such as Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Mao and Hitler – is that Trump is more powerful.

The US president reposted a short text in the early hours of Friday morning, in which the author writes:

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US push to get Iran talks started hits an early bump. Vance stays at home, for now – AP News

  1. US push to get Iran talks started hits an early bump. Vance stays at home, for now  AP News
  2. Live updates: Vance no longer traveling to Switzerland for Iran talks as Lebanon clashes strain agreement  CNN
  3. US-Iran talks in Switzerland are postponed as Israel, Hezbollah enter ceasefire  Fox News
  4. Iran Delays Nuclear Talks With US as Lebanon Clashes Worsen  Bloomberg.com
  5. Israel and Hezbollah agree to halt fighting as talks between the US and Iran hang in the balance  AP News
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How Quickly Could Andy Burnham Become U.K. Prime Minister? – The New York Times

  1. How Quickly Could Andy Burnham Become U.K. Prime Minister?  The New York Times
  2. Burnham’s Stunning Victory in Makerfield Election May Trigger Starmer’s Last Stand  The New York Times
  3. Britain’s Next Leader Has Emerged  The Atlantic
  4. Andy Burnham wins U.K. Parliament seat, key step in bid to oust prime minister  The Washington Post
  5. Farage blames Makerfield defeat on anti-Starmer votes  BBC
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