Boxer secures Tuvalu’s first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a bout 01. August 2026 (12:07) Tarona Taafaki makes history in women’s 75kg categoryAll boxers eliminated in semis receive bronze medalsA boxer has made history for Tuvalu by winning the tiny Pacific island nation’s first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a single fight.Twenty-year-old Tarona Taafaki, one of five entrants in the women’s 75kg category, received a bye to the semi-finals where she lost on an unanimous points decision to India’s Lovlina Borgohain on Friday. At Commonwealth Games, all boxers eliminated in the semis receive bronze medals. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
DoJ appears to ignore New Mexico deadline for key Epstein ranch files 01. August 2026 (12:00) State attorney general set 31 July deadline for documents relating to abuse of girls at Epstein-owned Zorro ranchThe US Department of Justice (DoJ) appeared to ignore a Friday deadline set by Raúl Torrez, the attorney general of New Mexico, to share information about the abuse of girls at a remote ranch formerly owned by the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Torrez’s office asked the DoJ in February for unredacted files after he reopened a dormant criminal investigation into activities at Zorro ranch, a remote 10,000-acre property in desert scrub outside New Mexico. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sánchez condemns ‘selfish’ reaction of some EU countries to Ceuta border crisis as death toll rises – Europe live 01. August 2026 (11:34) In letter to Brussels, Spanish PM hits out at ‘polarising and illegal’ reaction after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco to Spanish enclaveThe Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has hit back at some EU countries for what he described as their “selfish, polarising and illegal reaction” to the mass border crossings at Ceuta, as he thanked Morocco for its help in dealing with the crisis.In a letter to Brussels, he said several European states have chosen to “attack” Spain and request its temporary exclusion from the Schengen area, driven by “prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interests” that is contrary to European law, humanitarian law and the principles of EU solidarity, the Spanish El Pais newspaper reported. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Knickers in a twist: why M&S selling crotchless panties isn’t as outrageous as it seems 01. August 2026 (10:00) Some have called it ‘S&M’, but partnership with Ann Summers is less a scandal than another step in a century of evolving underwear trends, experts sayThe news that Marks & Spencer is selling Ann Summers crotchless knickers on their website has been greeted – as might be expected – with outrage online, being described as everything from “tawdry” to “S & M”.But it could be this is just the latest evolution in what the UK’s biggest underwear retailer has available for the smalls drawer. In recent years, the store has sold vastly different options through its own products, ranging from full-brief knickers to thongs, period knickers and those that can be used by women who wear stomas. The introduction of other brands in clothing came five years ago, with underwear included. Ann Summers – which is selling bras and chemises as well as knickers on the M&S website – lines up alongside lingerie brands including Pour Moi and Calvin Klein. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘MPs have had their stomachs pumped’: concerns over ‘alcohol-soaked’ culture in Westminster 01. August 2026 (09:00) Alcohol is embedded in profession where long hours, loneliness and lobbying are the norm, report findsParliament is “Britain’s last alcohol-soaked workplace” where MPs are offered free drinks as early as midday despite alcohol-related scandals, a report has revealed.Drinking is commonplace and some MPs have had their stomachs pumped after consuming so much alcohol that they ended up in hospital, one disclosed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU relations, climate crisis and Gaza: why Ed Miliband is fired up by Foreign Office challenges 01. August 2026 (09:00) Labour veteran is said to relish role that requires careful negotiation of Trump and impending G20 leadershipExtraordinarily, given the importance of geopolitics, the office of foreign secretary has sometimes appeared a consolation prize in British politics, perhaps reflecting the transfer of responsibility to Downing Street or the Cabinet Office.That is not how Ed Miliband views the job. His allies say suggestions that he nurses resentment after he was deprived of the chance to be chancellor misunderstand his grasp of the policy challenges ahead. “Ed has an immense appetite to get things done and is relishing being in this job,” one says. “Ed will be a policy-driven foreign secretary.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
First Australian mass mortality event suspected as deadly bird flu virus rapidly escalates among native birds 01. August 2026 (08:12) Helicopter surveillance finds dead and dying greater crested terns off South Australian coast as H5 virus spreadsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 80 dead and sick birds seen on rocks off the South Australian coast are suspected to be the first mass mortality event from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, only six weeks after the disease arrived in Australia.Authorities reported on Saturday that helicopter surveillance had revealed 49 dead greater crested terns on Baudin Rocks, near Robe, as well as 35 more sick terns. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A symbol of resistance’: the fight to save treehouse built on no man’s land next to Berlin Wall 01. August 2026 (08:00) Supporters fear structure could be torn down as safety hazard and want it to become memorial to postwar foreign labourers in honour of its Turkish creatorSometimes the currents of history converge in a single spot. In Berlin, one of the most intriguing of those places is a small traffic island with a lovingly tended garden and a ramshackle two-storey structure called the Treehouse at the Wall.In 1983, Osman Kalin, a Turkish “guest worker”, was looking in his corner of the city cleaved by the Berlin Wall for a patch of earth in which to plant his onions, garlic and cucumbers. Virtually on his doorstep in the Kreuzberg district was a slice of no man’s land next to the concrete barrier and barbed wire. Although it sat in West Berlin, cold war logic meant the lot officially belonged to the communist East. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Turn failing water firms into not-for-profit cooperatives, MPs and mayors tell PM 01. August 2026 (08:00) Labour politicians say mutualised model puts public in control without adding debt to government’s balance sheetMPs and mayors close to Andy Burnham have told the prime minister there is a “third way” tlauo gain more control of failing companies, as the row over whether or not to nationalise Thames Water rumbles on.Burnham is said to be concerned about the increase in government debt that Treasury projections show could be a result of nationalising water companies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The tangled financial web at the heart of Reform UK 01. August 2026 (08:00) Nigel Farage’s £5m gift, the Cottrell family’s links and donations, and Richard Tice’s business dealings form part of an increasingly clear nexus of relationshipsIt has been three months since the Guardian revealed that Nigel Farage had accepted a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a billionaire donor to Reform UK.This was not the first story in our continuing investigation. But it has proved the most significant, and the consequences of the disclosure are still being played out. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
