General news

• M6 traffic RECAP: Drivers hit by 'severe' 2 hour delays after 'significant spillage'

  23-07-2026 22:34 via express.co.uk
  Motorway camera footage shows traffic at a complete standstill.
  
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• Ed Miliband's first week as Foreign Secretary hit by civil servant strikes

  23-07-2026 21:35 via express.co.uk
  Ed Miliband's first week as Foreign Secretary has been mired in trouble as thousands of civil servants stage strikes over job cuts at the foreign office.
  
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• Southport killer Axel Rudakubana transferred to Broadmoor secure hospital

  23-07-2026 20:31 via express.co.uk
  The move has been confirmed by the Ministry of Justice.
  
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• Falkland Islands bowler criticises ‘disappointing’ Argentina World Cup banner

  23-07-2026 19:30 via theguardian.com
  Cecil Alexander is competing at Commonwealth GamesJohnson-Thompson and Asher-Smith pull out of athleticsThe Falkland Islands bowler Cecil Alexander called Argentina’s World Cup banner “disappointing” after his opening men’s singles match at the Commonwealth Games.Alexander, 45, made the comments after a straight sets 10-3, 7-4 defeat by the former world No 1 Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple of Malaysia. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on Europe’s demographic crisis: the young must not be left to deal with the consequences | Editorial

  23-07-2026 19:22 via theguardian.com
  A new Brussels study highlights the pace at which EU countries are ageing. A more informed public debate is overdueEurope is ageing at pace as birthrates fall and people live longer. A new report by the European Commission, published this month, notes that 2012 marked the first year in which fewer people were born in EU countries than people died in them. By the middle of this century, nearly one in three EU residents will be 65 or older. The numbers of those over 80 will almost triple from 6% t
  
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• Joanna Pettet obituary

  23-07-2026 19:22 via theguardian.com
  Actor best known for the 1960s box-office smash Casino RoyaleJoanna Pettet, who has died aged 83, was a British-born, Canadian-raised actor who found fame in the 1960s after just a handful of films, including the James Bond spoof Casino Royale.The 1967 film drew lukewarm reviews for its parody of the “official” 007 movies and suffered from a production history that included five directors, but it became a box-office smash with expectant audiences. In it Pettet played Mata Bond, the i
  
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• The Guardian view on Britain’s uninhabitable homes: as temperatures rise, a new approach is needed | Editorial

  23-07-2026 19:21 via theguardian.com
  Sadiq Khan’s heat-ready plan for London is a sensible strategy for adaptation that should provide a roadmap for other cities“Our ability to trust that our homes will keep us safe from the outside is under threat,” the geographer Sam Johnson-Schlee writes in Hot House, his recent book on how heat has transformed domestic life. This summer, high temperatures have become inescapable. People have coped with makeshift solutions: keeping curtains drawn, placing foil over windows or &
  
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• Ben Jennings on Elon Musk and The Odyssey – cartoon

  23-07-2026 18:56 via theguardian.com
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• Raymond Briggs’s library goes on sale at his local Oxfam shop

  23-07-2026 18:52 via theguardian.com
  Books belonging to the beloved creator of The Snowman and When the Wind Blows were donated by his estate after his deathThe book collection of the creator of The Snowman and Fungus the Bogeyman has gone on sale at Oxfam’s Hove bookshop in East Sussex and online.More than 1,000 books from the collection of Raymond Briggs, the beloved British author and cartoonist, were donated by his estate after his death aged 88 in 2022. Continue reading...
  
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• The hidden health risk when you get in a car this summer

  23-07-2026 18:47 via express.co.uk
  A quick drive in the heat looks harmless enough...
  
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• Mission to ‘eradicate scourge of drowning’ after deaths surge across England

  23-07-2026 18:23 via theguardian.com
  Strategy will tackle ‘public health disaster’ that claims more lives than fire, flooding or knife crimeA national strategy to address the “public health disaster” of drowning has been launched in England – hours after two women died at an Essex beach, the latest in a surge of water-related tragedies.Among the measures being considered are: providing every child in England with water safety education and swimming lessons; establishing how climate change can increase
  
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• Before you throw out all the synthetic fabrics in your closet, read this

  23-07-2026 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Experts weigh in on wellness culture’s obsession with natural fibers and the growing trend of people shunning plastic-based clothingA few months ago, Lane Koch made a decision: she would purge her family’s closets of all plastic-based fabrics and replace them with natural fibers, such as cotton and linen.Koch, a longtime Republican political strategist who was a senior staffer on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s presidential campaign, has long avoided processed foods and rid her kitchen o
  
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• Iran crisis is not solely a product of Trump’s rule | Letters

  23-07-2026 17:26 via theguardian.com
  Focusing on Donald Trump’s defects risks making war appear as an aberration rather than as a recurring feature of American power, writes David Eaton. Plus letters from Blaine Stothard and Harvey GilbertSimon Tisdall’s article (Trump, not Iran, is the world’s greatest danger. He’s a one-man weapon of mass destruction, 18 July) is a forceful polemic, but it risks turning a structural problem into a personal one. If Donald Trump is uniquely reckless, that deserves criticism.
  
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• Regulation cannot eliminate surrogacy risks | Letter

  23-07-2026 17:25 via theguardian.com
  Lexi Ellingsworth of Stop Surrogacy Now UK responds to news that the rise in the use of surrogates abroad is leaving more babies at risk of becoming statelessYour article (Rise in overseas surrogates ‘increases risk of stateless babies, 19 July) suggests that the solution lies in better regulation to make surrogacy safe and ethical. But regulation cannot remove the central ethical problem: every surrogacy arrangement begins with the deliberate separation of a newborn baby from their mother
  
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• Aid cuts will harm lives and livelihoods in Somalia | Letter

  23-07-2026 17:25 via theguardian.com
  Humanitarian support keeps families buying food, shops trading and clinics open when crisis hits, says Abdullahi Nur OsmanForeign Office figures showing that the UK will almost halve bilateral aid to Somalia by 2029 (Report, 16 July) come as families across the country brace for yet another climate emergency.Forecasters are warning that rains in Somalia in October could bring catastrophic flooding, displacing thousands. The World Meteorological Organization has flagged a heightened risk of extre
  
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• No matter your age, you can always enjoy a rave | Letters

  23-07-2026 17:24 via theguardian.com
  Brian F Nattrass went to a festival to celebrate his 80th birthday, started dancing and suddenly felt ageless. Plus a letter from John ParryThanks for an inspiring and timely article (The rave secret: why middle-aged women are larging it – and seeing big health benefits, 20 July). My 37-year-old daughter recently invited me to a festival to celebrate my 80th birthday. There were raves each night for three nights in a row. I learned to dance in the late 50s and 60s, during the era of Elvis
  
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• My first relationship just ended. How can I expect to find someone else when it took 15 years to find her? | Leading questions

  23-07-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  To stay open-hearted and optimistic, you need hope, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. That’s not the same as expectationRead more Leading questionsI’m nearly 30 and my first serious relationship just ended a month ago. It lasted eight months, she was my first girlfriend and first kiss, etc. She broke up with me in a very kind and respectful way, and I have been … OK, I guess.The thing is, everyone has been saying to me, “But you must feel so much more confide
  
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• Risk of Parkinson’s disease may increase with prolonged exposure to road traffic noise

  23-07-2026 15:24 via theguardian.com
  Pioneering study linking noise pollution to Parkinson’s finds 3% increase in risk for every 11.5dB rise in noise levelsLong-term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, the biggest study of its kind has found.Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder in which parts of the brain become damaged over time, affecting movement and balance. Continue reading...
  
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• There Are No Ghosts at the Grand – stripping back the physical and metaphorical layers of a haunted hotel

  23-07-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Renovate rooms, investigate the supernatural and watch people burst into song in this surreal British ghost storyA young American man arrives in a dilapidated British seaside town to take on the renovations of an equally run-down hotel, inherited from a mysteriously absent father he never knew. His power tools talk to him in a Scottish accent, the local people speak in baffling slang, and occasionally people burst into song. Oh, and there are ghosts.There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a novel mi
  
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• Children’s literature festival criticised after requests that comments on diversity be deleted

  23-07-2026 14:58 via theguardian.com
  John McLay, one of the founders of the festival in Bath, contacted writers who had noted a lack of diversity in the programme to request they remove comments posted to social mediaBath children’s literature festival is facing criticism after its founder emailed authors asking them to delete social media posts about the festival’s lack of diversity in its 2026 programme.Authors said that their comments criticising the festival for its lack of representation under a post on its Instagr
  
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• Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley faces US congressional panel over Epstein ties

  23-07-2026 14:36 via theguardian.com
  Staley is latest high-profile figure to testify before House amid investigation into Epstein, convicted sex offenderFormer Barclays boss Jes Staley appeared before by US lawmakers on Thursday in a closed-door interview about his past ties to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Staley, who spent more than three decades at JPMorgan Chase before joining Barclays in 2015, is the latest in a series of high-profile figures to appear in front of the House committee on oversight and reform
  
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• Beyond the body: Wayne McGregor stretches the definition of dance at this year’s Venice Dance Biennale

  23-07-2026 14:18 via theguardian.com
  With the British dance legend at the helm, this year’s themes ranged from quantum gravity to slightly muted geopoliticsThe most memorable performance in the opening days of this year’s Venice Dance Biennale had barely any dance in it at all. Italian choreographer Andrea Salustri’s Invisible is built around movement, but it’s movement of light, air, water and sound waves, with Salustri and co-creator Alice Rende as shadowy figures conducting the elements. They brew up stor
  
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• Gold from Byzantium shipwreck and a pub-serving PM: photos of the day – Thursday

  23-07-2026 14:09 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the worldContinue reading...
  
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• ‘Why do I feel crappy?’: women are learning about their luteal phases - and Maha is weaponizing it

  23-07-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  People have found language for moodiest part of their menstrual cycles, and the right has seized on itEmily Rae Detrick, a health coach, wants women to be more in touch with their menstrual cycle in its entirety. This, she said on an October episode of Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark, a podcast popular among “Make America Healthy Again” (Maha) adherents, is “a way that you honor God and the way we were created”. It also serves her self-assigned mission to help “m
  
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• ‘Unbearably sexy in his rodenty way’: Benedict Cumberbatch’s 20 best films – ranked!

  23-07-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  To mark the two-time Oscar nominee’s recent 50th birthday, we rate his finest screen roles – from hyper-British patricians and seething serpents, to ghastly Yanks, tragic codebreakers and sci-fi scoundrelsBenedict Cumberbatch does his considerable best opposite the equally prestigious Olivia Colman in this souped-up marital-breakdown dramedy, essentially remade from the 1989 movie with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. This time, though, it’s all about the Britons – in
  
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• Cool your boots: icy cuppa substitutes for summer

  23-07-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Iced tea doesn’t have to be the super sweet, sugar-packed mainstream brands – there are plenty of offerings ready to convert even the staunchest tea puristAs a very prescriptive tea drinker – piping hot “Stephen Fry” everyday Twinings, thank you, brewed strong with a dash of milk and no sugar under any circumstances – iced tea has always been lost on me. But there’s nothing like an unprecedented heatwave to encourage this sleepless mother to review her p
  
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• A grief therapist told me I should live to honor my son. How would I do that?

  23-07-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  After my 22-month-old child died, music and poetry brought catharsis and comfortThe day Renzo had his aneurysm, in the afternoon before it happened, I distinctly remember telling him that it was going to be a pleasure to watch him grow up. It seems ridiculous to write that here, the foreshadowing so on the nose as to be unbelievable. But it’s true. To him and my wife Allegra, I said, “I love our little family.” After the struggles around his birth, job loss, the pandemic, it fe
  
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• EU fines Google €890m for competition breaches over search and apps

  23-07-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Firm told to treat third-party services that appear in its results in ‘fair and non-discriminatory manner’Google has been fined a total of €890m (£760m) by the EU for breaches of online competition laws by its search and app store services.The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Google had broken the Digital Markets Act by giving priority to its own services, such as shopping and hotel deals, in search results over those of its rivals. Continue reading.
  
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• Tell us: do you help clean up your local area?

  23-07-2026 11:48 via theguardian.com
  Whether you’re part of a volunteer group or go out on solo clean-ups in the UK, we’d like to hear from youAcross the UK, people are getting together to clean up their local environments. Whether it be maintaining parkland, beaches, waterways or roadsides, we want to hear from the volunteers who are getting involved in the maintenance and preservation of their local areas.Do you take part in weekly litter picking outings? Are you part of a group taking on the responsibility of keeping
  
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• The best cleansers in the UK for every skin type and budget – tested

  23-07-2026 11:41 via theguardian.com
  They’re the foundation of a good routine, but which face wash does our beauty expert rate for oily, dry, or normal skin?• How to build the perfect skincare routineChoosing a cleanser can feel like Goldilocks’ task of searching for the perfect bowl of porridge – finding one that’s just right is rarely straightforward. Add in that our skin is constantly changing, due to hormones, the seasons and environmental stressors, and it’s easy to see why finding the ideal
  
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• ‘He’d lie down in front of the moving ship’: a fresh look at Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition

  23-07-2026 11:20 via theguardian.com
  Shipwrecks, ice football and igloos for dogs … the digitisation of Frank Hurley’s photographs shows the heroic trek more clearly – and unlocks some remarkable new details Continue reading...
  
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• Meet the man whose groundbreaking book is being devoured by the left

  23-07-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Anton Jäger has been lauded for his exceptional ability to make sense of these strange political times – and he’s only 32. The writer and academic explains why we’re living in an age of hyperpolitics‘I am acutely conscious,” said Andy Burnham outside 10 Downing Street on Monday, “that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street.” It was good to hear him say it because, beneath all the cabinet gossip and rune-reading, there is a
  
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• No helicopters to fight wildfires as 'crisis management' plans activated in Wales

  23-07-2026 09:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One campsite owner in Trawsfynydd says she went to bed "seeing the mountain literally ablaze".
  
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• Airport drop-off fees up by a third - here are the priciest

  23-07-2026 09:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The cost of parking closest to the terminal has hit £10 at two of the UK's airports.
  
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• You be the judge: should my girlfriend stop insisting we queue for hours at concerts?

  23-07-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Fay likes to get a good spot and watch the support acts, but Odysseus would rather rock up for the main band. Who is hitting a false note? You decide• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a jurorFay likes to be on the front row but I think it’s overrated Continue reading...
  
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• How powerful is your passport? Explore the global rankings

  23-07-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A symbol of global inequalities and shifting geopolitical fortunes, some passports offer their holders far more freedom to travel than othersPassports can resemble abridged memoirs, their stamps telling romantic stories of wanderlust, freedom and belonging.But they are also a symbol of global inequalities and shifting geopolitical fortunes. Passports from some places allow their holders to travel abroad simply by booking a flight and packing a bag. Others, however, entail booking an appointment
  
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• Main ferry out of service for longer than planned

  23-07-2026 08:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Manx ferry operator says "essential" repairs were identified while the Manxman was in drydock.
  
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• Why Scotland’s cinematic Moray coast made it a perfect location to shoot The Odyssey

  23-07-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  ‘Legends cling like barnacles to these shores,’ says our local writer, who reveals how the lore of these craggy cliffs and beaches resonates with the Homeric classicThe incoming tide has made a labyrinth of the beach. As silvery rivulets spread across Culbin Sands to meet the mudflats, my walk becomes increasingly circuitous: weaving inland towards the pine forest, backtracking closer to the waves, skirting tidal pools and scaling dunes constantly resculpted by the North Sea breeze.I
  
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• Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle

  23-07-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A portal opens from our modern world of data centres and interior design into a medieval fantasy realm, in this playfully surreal tale from the author of EurotrashA reclusive interior designer named Paul travels from his home in Orkney to the Norwegian coastal city of Stavanger for a most unusual commission. A data­centre housing a vast internet server is located by a fjord on the outskirts of the city, and a prestigious arts magazine is paying him a large sum of money to give it a make
  
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• Ann Widdecombe public memorial to be held later this year, family says

  23-07-2026 07:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It will follow a private funeral for family and close friends, which will be held in the coming weeks.
  
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• Coastguard called to 'tragic' West Mersea incident

  23-07-2026 07:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Police are warning people to avoid Seaview Avenue and the beach area of West Mersea.
  
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• Is 2026 the Commonwealth Games' last dance or a future-proofing revamp?

  23-07-2026 07:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It's been going for 96 years - but many doubted the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which open in Glasgow on Thursday, would happen. So what could the future hold for the event?
  
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• Crystal Palace sports centre set for £130m revamp

  23-07-2026 07:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bromley Council is to meet to discuss plans for a major revamp of the world famous sport centre.
  
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• I became a nurse after my husband died from Covid - now I'm determined to get a job

  23-07-2026 07:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rachel Ohene-Adjei took her GCSEs after her husband died, and has now graduated with a nursing degree.
  
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• Jet pioneer celebrated with new Royal Mail stamps

  23-07-2026 07:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 30th anniversary of Sir Frank Whittle's death is marked with the special set of stamps.
  
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• River levels approach all-time low as drought announcement looms

  23-07-2026 07:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An announcement is expected from NRW as some river levels are reported to be nearing all-time lows.
  
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• Police officer was violent rapist who attacked women over 14 years

  23-07-2026 07:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC can reveal that detectives have so far uncovered nine victims of PC Alan Greer but many more are anticipated.
  
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• Fatboy Slim helps to save 'lifeblood' music venue

  23-07-2026 07:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The DJ is among investors including Andy Burnham helping to buy the Brighton home of The Pipeline.
  
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• What's behind the teenage mass gatherings known as link-ups?

  23-07-2026 07:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In March hundreds of teens running down Clapham High Street hit news headlines - but what actually happened?
  
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• Rachel Roddy’s ratatouille and potato gratin recipe

  23-07-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The classic Provencal stew, but with potato for ballast and topped with a cheesy herb crumbWe swapped the heatwave and melting pavements in Rome for a similar situation in London, which meant catching a train to Dorset felt something of a relief. Not that it wasn’t hot there too, but it was offset by the sea, a garden and a dark, cool house. The weather also meant that the always good July produce was superb and abundant: all the berries, cherries, peas, runner and french beans; but also p
  
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