General news

• Colosseum review – a barnstorming spectacle of blood, guts and gladiators

  16-08-2023 23:35 via theguardian.com
  
  This rollicking journey through the history of the Roman empire’s epic amphitheatre is as fascinating and gory as it is educational. Are you not entertained? I certainly am Colosseum, the new BBC series on the ancient amphitheatre, really should have an exclamation mark after it. It’s just so – exclamationy! A rollicking journey through 300 years of Roman history, via the construction of the enormous monument and the bloody games within, it could not be a more appealing introdu
  
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• Manchester City secure Uefa Super Cup with shootout win over Sevilla

  16-08-2023 23:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Manchester City 1-1 Sevilla (City win 5-4 on penalties)Youssef En-Nesyri gives Sevilla lead before Cole Palmer’s headerManchester City’s tilt at a clean sweep of continental and world club trophies remains alive after Nemanja Gudelj suffered the heartbreak of a missed fifth penalty in the shootout to hand Pep Guardiola’s side a 5-4 triumph.The treble winners add the Uefa Super Cup to the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League and if the Club World Cup is collected in Decem
  
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• Joe Manchin vows ‘unrelenting fight’ against US climate law he helped pass

  16-08-2023 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Democratic West Virginia senator calls the Inflation Reduction Act, hailed as ‘biggest step on climate crisis’, a ‘radical agenda’The Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin marked the first anniversary of a major US climate crisis law he helped pass by saying he would mount an “unrelenting fight against the Biden administration’s efforts to implement the IRA as a radical climate agenda”.In response, one advocate for climate action accused Manchin,
  
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• Reece Prescod quits GB relay team before World Athletics Championships

  16-08-2023 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Sprinter still plans to take part in individual 100m in Budapest4x100 men’s squad have won medals at last two worldsReece Prescod has walked out on Britain’s 4x100m men’s relay team, leaving them in the lurch just days before the start of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.The Guardian understands that matters came to a head earlier this week after the 27-year-old had missed a number of practice sessions during the buildup. And while Britain can still draw on other a
  
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• At least 63 people feared dead after boat found off Cape Verde

  16-08-2023 22:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Fishing vessel with 100 asylum seekers was travelling from Senegal to Spain’s Canary IslandsMore than 60 people are believed to have died after the boat they were travelling on from Senegal was found off Cape Verde, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.At least 63 asylum seekers are thought to have died, while the 38 survivors include four children between the ages of 12 and 16, an IOM spokesperson told AFP. Continue reading...
  
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• US appeals court upholds restrictions on abortion pill access

  16-08-2023 22:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Ruling prevents mifepristone being prescribed by non-doctors or shipped by mail but does not order drug off marketA US appeals court ruled on Wednesday to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, returning to regulations that were in place in several years ago, but will not be taking the medication off the market.The US court of appeals for the fifth circuit decided that the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) previous regulations for mifepristone were unlawful, Reuters reported. T
  
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• Lionesses roar on to World Cup final showdown with Spain - Women’s Football Weekly

  16-08-2023 21:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey and Anita Asante wrap up the semi-final action as England and Spain set up a date in the final.On today’s pod: the Lionesses write more history into a book that’s already a bestseller by reaching a Women’s World Cup final for the first time in their history.In fact, it’s the first time since 1966 that any men’s or women’s senior team have reached this stage. Is football going to come home for a second summer in suc
  
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• ‘AI cannot taste the way a chef can’: are chatbots a threat to fine dining?

  16-08-2023 21:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Artificial intelligence could take personalized service a new, possibly sinister level – but can it really replace a chef?In the world of ultra-fine dining, service must run like clockwork. A team of specialists work together to create a seamless experience for customers from the point of booking reservations to the time the check is paid. Host, server, food runner, sommelier and dining room manager attend to – and even anticipate – guests’ needs with unflinching poise. W
  
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• British Museum sacks staff member after items vanish from collection

  16-08-2023 21:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Treasures including jewellery and gems kept in a storeroom were found to be missing, stolen or damaged, the London museum saidThe British Museum has sacked a member of staff and imposed “emergency measures” to increase security after it found items from its collection to be missing.It launched an independent review of security after items including gold jewellery and gems of semiprecious stones and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD were found to be missing,
  
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• Daniil Medvedev finds it ‘tough, tough, tough’ going in win over Musetti

  16-08-2023 21:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Third seed beats Italian 6-3, 6-2 in CincinnatiMedvedev complains at balls and conditionsA year after Iga Swiatek’s well-publicised complaints about female players competing with a different, lighter ball compared with their male counterparts during the North American hard-court swing, this time the men also have reason to be frustrated. Daniil Medvedev, the world No 3, expressed bemusement at the balls and difficult conditions in Cincinnati, even as he advanced to the third round on Wedne
  
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• Trump is undermining the entire US judicial system with another big lie | Robert Reich

  16-08-2023 21:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Trump’s second big lie is almost as dangerous to the future of American democracy as was his firstNot content with trying to destroy America’s trust in the US election system with his big lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, Donald Trump is now trying to destroy America’s trust in the US judicial system with another big lie.The second big lie is that judges, prosecutors, witnesses and juries are corruptly prosecuting Trump as a means of keeping him from
  
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• What Happened to Agnes review – beguiling song cycle tells of family’s loss

  16-08-2023 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  C Aurora, Edinburgh
  The long-ago disappearance of a great-aunt is explored in Nishla Smith’s captivating performance, enhanced by hand-painted animationsFor decades, Nishla Smith’s family have lived with a mystery. The story handed down across the generations was that Agnes, the girl who would have become Smith’s great-aunt, had disappeared at the age of nine, never to be seen again.You would expect such a scenario to prompt an investigation in the manner of Who Do You Think Yo
  
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• Lauren Hemp realises her England potential as partnership with Russo grows | Sophie Downey

  16-08-2023 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Sarina Wiegman’s new system suits both players and they could help decide the World Cup final against SpainIn the 86th minute in Sydney, with the game finely balanced, Lauren Hemp galloped up the pitch. Shrugging off a defender, a trademark burst of pace enabled her to maraud from one half to the other before producing the deftest of no-look passes to send Alessia Russo through to score. In 10 seconds flat, the player of the match had changed the course of the game, with her strike partner
  
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• ‘I hope to keep going as long as possible’: the older people returning to work

  16-08-2023 20:59 via theguardian.com
  
  As the pandemic subsides, people aged 50 to 64 are ‘unretiring’ – either through choice or necessity“I’m into my fifth week now: I’m a newbie!” says 60-year-old Andy Barnard, who was a regular customer at his local Co-op in Lincoln before the manager suggested he apply for a job.“It ranges from working on the tills, on the shop floor, stacking stuff and just generally doing everything,” he says of his new 16-hours-a-week role. Continue readin
  
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• Digging in: council rejects plan for allotments in green belt near Bristol

  16-08-2023 20:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Privately-run project calls decision ‘a real shame’ as local people object to ‘aggressively growing business’ and threat to wildlifeIt sounds a progressive, imaginative project. A beautiful hilltop allotment site that would serve the people of Bristol keen to get out in the fresh air and grow their own fruit and veg, but who cannot find plots in their city.However, members of a planning committee have dealt a severe blow to the scheme after people who live near the site i
  
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• Ben Jennings on the cost of living crisis – cartoon

  16-08-2023 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
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• US senator warns top Saudi over refusal to testify on PGA golf deal

  16-08-2023 20:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Richard Blumenthal to consider ‘other legal methods’ to compel Yasir al-Rumayyan to speak to Senate oversight committeeA senior US lawmaker has challenged a Saudi Arabian official’s refusal to voluntarily testify before a Senate committee investigating the kingdom’s controversial golf deal with the PGA Tour, saying officials should be prepared to be subject to American laws and oversight if they invest in the US.Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic senator from Connecticut wh
  
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• Man arrested after Northern Ireland police data leak

  16-08-2023 20:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Man, 39, held on suspicion of collection of information likely to be useful to terroristsDetectives investigating possible criminality linked to a major Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) data leak of officers’ details have arrested a man.The 39-year-old was arrested on suspicion of collection of information likely to be useful to terrorists after a search in Lurgan, County Armagh, and is being questioned by detectives at Musgrave serious crime suite in Belfast. Continue reading...
  
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• Sunak pledges to keep to pension triple lock despite signs of extra £10bn cost

  16-08-2023 20:17 via theguardian.com
  
  PM says he is comfortable with full uplift on state pensions, which cost the taxpayer £124bn this yearRishi Sunak has pledged to stick to the pension triple lock despite signs the guarantee to older people will cost the Treasury an extra £10bn next year – £2.5bn more than estimated in the spring budget.The prime minister insisted he was comfortable with pensioners receiving the full annual uplift. The state pension costs the taxpayer £124bn this year and is on cours
  
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• Renata Scotto, Italian opera singer, dies at 89

  16-08-2023 20:14 via theguardian.com
  
  The soprano, who made 314 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, was a ‘profound connoisseur of voice and repertoire’Renata Scotto, a soprano of uncommon intensity who became a successful director after her singing career, died on Wednesday in her hometown of Savona, Italy. She was 89.Scotto’s New York-based manager, Robert Lombardo, said he was called by her family and informed of her death. “I had spoken to her several weeks ago and I didn’t get any indication tha
  
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• ‘Am I in a fairytale?’ Wiegman stunned after guiding England to World Cup final

  16-08-2023 20:14 via theguardian.com
  
  England manager takes side to second successive major final‘We’re still growing and getting better,’ she says after 3-1 winThe England manager, Sarina Wiegman, was almost lost for words after she guided the Lionesses to their first World Cup final with a 3-1 win against Australia, asking: “Am I in a fairytale or something?” Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo scored in Sydney to set up a showdown with Spain on Sunday.“I don’t know”, the Dutch
  
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• The Guardian view on inflation: stop hitting homebuyers and squeeze the super-rich | Editorial

  16-08-2023 20:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Interest rates are too blunt an instrument for an economy so finely balanced. It’s time to use taxes“The plan is working,” is how Rishi Sunak greeted Wednesday’s news of a fall in the rate of inflation. “If we stick to the plan I’ve set out, we’ll get it done.”Up to a point, prime minister. Mr Sunak’s “plan” is really nothing of the sort. It is an aspiration to halve the rate by which prices are rising rather than, as is commonly
  
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• The Guardian view on protecting corals: what lies beneath matters too | Editorial

  16-08-2023 20:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Mass bleaching events go largely unseen, but a quarter of marine species and half a billion humans depend upon reefsWhen images of the climate emergency’s impact are so visceral and so widespread, it is easy to neglect what we cannot see. The shocking photographs and video footage of wildfires in Hawaii and Greece, and floods in China, along with the terrible loss of life and testimony from those who fled, are beginning to bring home the contribution of global heating to such disasters &nd
  
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• Graham Linehan mulls legal action against Edinburgh arts venue

  16-08-2023 19:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Leith Arches cancelled scriptwriter’s comedy show after complaints from customersThe scriptwriter Graham Linehan is considering legal action against the Edinburgh venue that cancelled his comedy show after complaints from customers.On Tuesday morning Leith Arches cancelled an event featuring Linehan and four other comedians booked to take place on Thursday after stating, in a deleted Instagram post, that “outraged members of our community” had protested at his appearance. Conti
  
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• Tory attacks on ‘lefty lawyers’ could fuel abuse, barristers warn

  16-08-2023 18:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Bar Council chair says Conservatives ‘crossed line’ with dossier that led to threats against immigration solicitor‘An activist blob’: Tory party attacks on lawyers – a timelinePolitical attacks on “lefty lawyers” risk coarsening political debate and could lead to the abuse of more legal professionals, the head of Britain’s barristers has said.Nick Vineall KC, the chair of the Bar Council, said the Conservative party had crossed a line by releasing
  
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• German press derides plane fault ‘disgrace’ after minister’s cancelled trip

  16-08-2023 18:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Two government Airbuses to be scrapped after Annalena Baerbock was unable to get to AustraliaThe cancellation of an official visit by Germany’s foreign minister to Oceania after her government plane twice developed a fault has drawn widespread scorn and derision and led to calls for change.The German tabloid Bild called Annalena Baerbock’s “50-hour odyssey” a “disgrace” and a “humiliation” for Germany and said it could result in the rest of the wor
  
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• Chief executive to decide Mason Greenwood’s future at Manchester United

  16-08-2023 18:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Richard Arnold and executive panel have handled investigationClub statement: ‘We are in the final stages of making a decision’Manchester United have said Richard Arnold, their chief executive, will take the final decision on Mason Greenwood’s future and have asked for patience regarding the announcement of the outcome.United have been consulting various stakeholders as part of a process that began in early February. The club have attracted criticism for the length of the invest
  
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• Steve Barclay wrong to say NHS consultants get tax-free pensions, admits UK government

  16-08-2023 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Health secretary made the false claim while trying to defend opposition to junior doctors’ pay demandsSteve Barclay, the health secretary, got it wrong when he claimed in an interview this week that NHS consultants received tax-free pensions, the Department of Health has admitted.Barclay had come under fire after trying to defend the government’s stance on junior doctors’ pay demands in England by claiming that consultants retiring at 65 would get a tax-free pension of more tha
  
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• There are no quick fixes to an unequal school exam system | Letters

  16-08-2023 17:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Readers respond to Fiona Miller’s article on how Labour could reform education in EnglandHaving worked as a teacher for 10 years in a grammar, an independent and now a community comprehensive school, the calls to tax independent schools, as echoed by Fiona Millar, ring with the ideological purity of those who are prepared to place motives above outcomes (Reform grammar schools and ditch the GCSE treadmill – here’s how Labour can fix education in England, 13 August).I wholeheart
  
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• Focus on prison places is a political ploy | Letter

  16-08-2023 17:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Britain’s current prison system neither rehabilitates nor delivers justice, write Deborah Coles, Joe Sim and Steve TombsRe your editorial on the state of prisons (11 August), the prison population in England and Wales, over 86,000, is at a near record high, more than any country in western Europe. The government states its intention to create 20,000 new prison places by the mid-2020s, a matter of seeming political consensus. At the same time, the length of sentences is increasing inexorabl
  
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• ‘It’s been a very surreal month’: Women’s World Cup parties grow fanbase

  16-08-2023 17:52 via theguardian.com
  
  The atmosphere at viewing parties has been joyful – and organisers hope the momentum can be maintainedEngland into World Cup final after Russo goal deflates Australia There was an uneasy tension as an excitable crowd clutched morning pints to watch the Women’s World Cup semi-final, erupting into joyful chanting as the first goal was scored. It did not take long before suspenseful silence returned.England conceded to Australia early in the second half – only for Lauren Hemp and
  
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• Swiss army knives and compromise: how to live well in a tiny home – by the people who do it

  16-08-2023 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  With house prices unaffordable for many, some would-be homeowners are turning to micro-dwellings. But from caravans to narrowboats, how do you make a small space suitable for family life?David Westwood moved into a tiny home because traditional housing was too expensive. He says he and his partner were “working full-time and the weeks, months, years were just going by. All of our money was going on bills and we were, like so many others, stuck in the same monotonous cycle of work, work, wo
  
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• Putin to discuss capital controls to help prop up rouble, report says

  16-08-2023 17:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Proposals said to include forcing large exporters to convert up to 80% of their foreign currency into roublesVladimir Putin is reportedly planning to hold a meeting with Russian policymakers on Wednesday in order to discuss reintroducing some capital controls to help prop up the struggling rouble.Citing a Russian finance ministry proposal, the Financial Times said large exporters could be forced to convert up to 80% of their foreign currency into roubles in order to raise demand for the currency
  
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• ‘A World Cup final. It’s been a while’: Kane, Lineker and king hail Lionesses

  16-08-2023 17:11 via theguardian.com
  
  King Charles III sends ‘warmest congratulations’Euros winner Ellen White feels proud and emotionalHarry Kane and King Charles III led the congratulations after England swept aside the co-hosts Australia 3-1 to reach their first World Cup final.“Massive congratulations to the Lionesses,” Kane, the England men’s captain, told Sky Sports. “It sounds like a heck of a game and massive congratulations. We’re all behind them and hopefully they can do it in the
  
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• Ötzi the iceman had receding hairline and dark skin tone, study reveals

  16-08-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Genome analysis reveals new physical details of mummified corpse found in ice of Italian AlpsDark eyes, receding black hair, few or no freckles and a darker skin tone. This is how Ötzi the iceman, the mummified corpse found trapped in the ice of the Italian Alps, would have looked while living.Researchers who conducted a higher-coverage analysis of the genome to learn more about Ötzi’s genetic history and the mummified man’s physical appearance have found genes associated
  
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• Commuter chaos and a royal couple – readers’ best photos

  16-08-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Click here to submit a picture for publication in these online galleries and/or on the Guardian letters page Continue reading...
  
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• Woman fumes at being 'buffet-shamed' for eating 10 plates of food a day at all-inclusive

  16-08-2023 16:39 via express.co.uk
  
  Lauren Saddington admitted she's been taking full advantage of her all-inclusive holiday, indulging on "10 plates of food a day".
  
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• The Lionesses have beaten the odds yet again. Could underestimating them be key to their success? | Jen Offord

  16-08-2023 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  England’s women’s team consistently rise to the occasion in big-ticket matches. Perhaps because they’re still viewed as the poor relationAnd so it is third time lucky for the Lionesses who have beaten Australia 3-1 to secure a spot in the World Cup final, at last putting their knockout round frustrations to bed. Since their first shot at a place in the final back in 2015, resulting in a third-place medal, the women’s game has grown beyond recognition. As investments flowe
  
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• Sick child rapist jailed as girl's harrowing statement read out in court

  16-08-2023 16:16 via express.co.uk
  
  Reynold's victim was praised for her courage in coming forward and being prepared to give evidence against him.
  
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• An honest depiction of elder sex: Marilyn Minter’s best photograph

  16-08-2023 16:05 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘These aren’t perfect bodies but this is everyone’s future, and I wanted to show that old age is not a dismal, barren place. Sex is a natural instinct that doesn’t go away’My book Elder Sex came out of an article about sex after the age of 70 which was published in the New York Times magazine in January 2022. It’s all the pictures that the Times couldn’t publish. For instance, they couldn’t show any vibrators. America is a puritan country, remember
  
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• Family brought to tears by stranger's act of kindness after son hit him with a balloon

  16-08-2023 15:48 via express.co.uk
  
  Lisa, a mum from Cardiff, told how she was brought to tears by a stranger's kind act after their son hit him in the head with a balloon.
  
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• Bradley Cooper in ‘Jewface’ storm after Leonard Bernstein trailer reveals prosthetic nose

  16-08-2023 15:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Criticism focuses on the change to the appearance of the actor who directs, co-writes and stars in Maestro, biopic of the conductor and composerBradley Cooper is facing criticism for performing in “Jewface” after the release of the trailer for his biopic of Leonard Bernstein, which revealed the facial prosthetics he employed for the role.Bernstein, the son of Jewish-Ukrainian immigrants to the US, was a hugely talented conductor and composer, best known for writing the music for West
  
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• CCTV shows teenage killer with kitchen knife moments before he murdered schoolboy

  16-08-2023 15:35 via express.co.uk
  
  Daniel Haig was caught on CCTV retrieving the blade a railway station before he stabbed to death 14-year-old Justin McLaughlin. Haig has been jailed for a minimum of 16 years.
  
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• RNLI forced to step in and rescue migrant children after dramatic Channel emergency

  16-08-2023 15:23 via express.co.uk
  
  The group pictured includes several young children who were seen being taken off the boat.
  
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• Motorhome fraudster keeps £347k after ripping off caravan owners

  16-08-2023 15:23 via express.co.uk
  
  Motorhome dealer Christine Galloway left several elderly customers devastated by selling off their vehicles and keeping the profits for herself.
  
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• Man accused of being Somerset Gimp banned from 'wriggling or writhing on ground'

  16-08-2023 15:03 via express.co.uk
  
  Joshua Hunt was subject to an order in July that demanded he must not "writhe" on the ground while wearing a full body covering or mask.
  
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• I’m a teacher: don’t be fooled by Tory scare stories on the ‘ghost children’ missing from school | Lola Okolosie

  16-08-2023 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Their focus on crime and the school attendance crisis is a shameful attempt to deflect the blame from austerityTeachers are well accustomed to calling out names on registers and finding the odd child absent. Since the pandemic, however, numbers of “ghost children” have ballooned to what is now widely acknowledged to be a national crisis.In England, more than 1.7 million “persistently absent” pupils missed 10% or more of their school time last autumn, according to governme
  
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• Young people: did you move from Britain to the EU after Brexit?

  16-08-2023 14:51 via theguardian.com
  
  We want to hear from people under 30 who have relocated after the UK left the bloc about their experiencesWe would like to speak to young British people who have moved to the European Union since the UK exited the bloc.Tell us about how you were able to move to the EU after Brexit – were you able to get a visa because of your job? Or did you manage to move in a different way? Continue reading...
  
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• Ukraine intelligence agency says sea drones carried out Kerch Bridge attack

  16-08-2023 14:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Spy chief says remotely controlled drones, developed internally, were behind 17 July attackRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesUkraine’s SBU intelligence service has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Russian-built Kerch strait Bridge connecting Crimea to the mainland last month, saying it had been conducted by remotely controlled sea drones.Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the agency, told CNN the drone, called “Sea Baby”, was developed internally and that two were
  
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• VAR controversy at Old Trafford and big spenders at Stamford Bridge - Football Weekly

  16-08-2023 14:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair and Will Unwin as Manchester United labour to a 1-0 win over Wolves.Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.On the agenda today; VAR controversy, amortisation and more Saudi spending - this is why we all got into the beautiful game isn’t it? Continue reading...
  
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