Twitch faces backlash over Amazon using content to train AI
Users of the popular streaming platform criticised allowing Amazon to use their data by dafault.
Indian actor’s video with endangered gibbon sparks investigation
A deleted video of Tamil star Vikram cuddling an endangered gibbon has triggered an inquiry into how the animal entered India.
Japan protests against Putin visit to disputed islands
It was the first time the Russian leader had visited the Kuril islands, according to state media.
UK economic growth slows as Iran war pushes up energy prices
GDP expanded by 0.4% in three months to June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter, says ONS
Economic growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, as the disruption unleashed by the Iran war began to take its toll, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP expanded by 0.4% in the three months to June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter, in line with City economists’ expectations.
Continue reading...Yvette Cooper says Labour ‘did not do government very well’ under Starmer
Health secretary praises more collegiate style under Andy Burnham and says previous No 10 sidelined her from key policy launch
Yvette Cooper admits Labour has “not done government very well” in the last couple of years, and accused Keir Starmer’s No 10 of sidelining her during the launch of a key immigration policy when she was home secretary.
Speaking on the Political Currency podcast with the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne, Cooper highlighted some of the difficulties ministers faced with Starmer’s leadership, which she summarised as “bring me solutions, not problems”.
Continue reading...Thursday briefing: What happens after an asylum hotel closes?
In today’s newsletter: With more sites closed and more lives upended, a look at the rhetoric and reality of where asylum seekers should be housed
Good morning. This week, immigration minister Anna Turley announced, with minor fanfare, the government will stop using a further 13 hotels to house asylum seekers across the country.
It brings the total shut this year to 44, in pursuit of Labour’s manifesto pledge, now reiterated by Andy Burnham, to cease hotel use completely by the end of this parliament. Doing so would remove what have become highly visible symbols of an increasingly toxic debate about migration. Less than 160 to go, according to the Home Office.
Solar eclipse | Wednesday’s eclipse began in Russia’s remote Arctic north, going on to trace an arc over much of western Europe. From the UK to northern Italy, tens of millions of people turned to the sky as the light of the setting sun was almost completely blocked out.
UK news | Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with “the bigger questions” of climate adaptation.
US politics | Karoline Leavitt will step down as White House press secretary at the end of August, Donald Trump announced.
Science | Astronomers claim to have discovered a new kind of cosmic object, a black hole “star”, which is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light.
Middle East | Israeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror.
Continue reading...Alan Jones’ lawyers accused by defence of ‘intimidating’ witness in indecent assault case
Judge rejects intimidation claim as high profile trial continues with complainant J’s ex-girlfriend cross-examined by shock jock’s defence team
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The prosecutor in the Alan Jones trial has accused the defence team in court of “intimidating” an alleged victim’s former girlfriend after she asserted she wasn’t financially motivated to provide evidence supporting her ex’s allegations.
On Thursday, complainant J’s ex-girlfriend was cross-examined by Jones’s defence team, during which she maintained she had a conversation with J more than 20 years ago in which he alleged Jones touched him.
Continue reading...Category C and women’s prisons could be upgraded to ease overcrowding
Exclusive: Ministers explore diverting male prisoners serving short terms or on remand away from tougher jails
Ministers are examining a possible upgrade of security at men’s category C and women’s prisons to deal with an overcrowding crisis across the England and Wales estate, the Guardian understands.
Officials have explored diverting prisoners on remand or serving short sentences away from category B “reception” prisons such as HMPs Liverpool, Manchester and Pentonville in north London.
Continue reading...Australia’s largest aluminium smelter to run on renewables by 2033 after Rio Tinto strikes $2.5bn taxpayer bailout deal
Rio Tinto makes power supply deal with federal and NSW government to cut emissions and decarbonise, preventing potential closure
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Resources giant Rio Tinto says Australia’s largest aluminium smelter will run entirely on renewable energy by 2033 after it struck a $2.5bn subsidy deal with the federal and New South Wales governments to prevent a potential closure.
The deal – announced by Anthony Albanese and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, at the Tomago smelter near Newcastle on Thursday – is for a 10-year below-market power supply guarantee that begins after the facility’s existing coal-focused electricity contract with AGL ends in December 2028.
Continue reading...Putin can no longer claim victory in Ukraine, Nobel Peace Prize winner tells BBC
In an exclusive interview with the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg, Dmitry Muratov says the Kremlin leader can only "destroy Ukraine, not conquer it", with the war now in its fifth year.
Students shun calls to stay in school as anti-Hanson protesters gather across Australia
High schoolers join university walkouts in major cities and several smaller locations amid urge to ‘stand up against the far right’
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Calls for striking students to stay in school are unlikely to deter thousands across the country preparing to take part in a major walkout in protest against Pauline Hanson.
High schoolers have begun joining the coordinated university union protests taking place in every major city and several smaller locations across the country on Thursday afternoon.
Continue reading...BTS star V reveals hearing loss battle during livestream
The K-pop star says he has suffered hearing issues for over two years before revealing it publicly this week.
Zambia elections haunted by ghost of incumbent president’s arch-rival
Hakainde Hichilema is bidding for second term, but feud between him and family of Edgar Lungu, who died in 2025, continues
As Zambians go to the polls, the ghost of the current president’s predecessor hangs over the elections.
Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is bidding for a second term leading the southern African country after defeating his arch-rival Edgar Lungu by a landslide in 2021.
Continue reading...Major Russian grain export terminals hit in Ukraine Black Sea port attack
Grain exports from both Russia and Ukraine are falling as both countries attack each other's shipping facilities and ports.
Australian army whistleblower released on parole after more than two years in jail
David McBride was jailed after pleading guilty to leaking military secrets about Afghanistan.
Colombia earthquake deaths climb to 239; hundreds remain missing – The Washington Post
- Colombia earthquake deaths climb to 239; hundreds remain missing The Washington Post
- A big earthquake reveals two very different Colombias The Economist
- Colombia limits foreign rescue teams as earthquake survival window narrows CNN
- A Bright Spot in Colombia as Rescuers Free Quake Victim The New York Times
- King Charles 'dreadfully saddened' as he shares emotional message with Queen Camilla about 'most difficult of times' Currently.com
Ebola outbreak on track to be deadliest ever, WHO chief says
The outbreak, declared on 15 May, has caused more than 2,000 deaths, with thousands more reported cases.
Travis Kelce shares first details from his wedding to Taylor Swift – ‘Best night of my life’
In the comments, Kelce called Swift his "wife" for first time and said it was a "childhood dream" to wed at Madison Square Garden.
Europeans, Braced for 5th Heat Wave of 2026, Have Had Enough – The New York Times
Travis Kelce says wedding to Taylor Swift was ‘the best night of my life’ in first official comments
Kelce’s remarks on his marriage to Swift at Madison Square Garden comes weeks after the event, which remains shrouded in mystery
American football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as “the best night of my life.”
“I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us,” the Kansas City Chiefs player told a briefing.
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