Burnham says it’s ’shameful’ politicians have failed to fix social care, as he fast-tracks Louise Casey’s review – UK politics live 29. July 2026 (11:45) ‘There’s only one group really to blame, and that’s my generation of politicians,’ the prime minister says, as he reveals final recommendations will be out by summer 2027 Andy Burnham is speaking now.In a reference to how he started campaing for social care reform almost two decades ago, he says it is good to see faces in the room “who’ve been on this journey with me for a long, a long time”.When someone in your family is receiving care, you look at everything through new eyes, don’t you? You notice things that maybe you didn’t notice before because you watch it so closely and so carefully.And I’ve just been really overwhelmed by their care, the skill in what they do, the professionalism.Can I just remind everybody that nobody thought we could get everybody in off the streets?So we can do difficult in this country and we can do it well. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
France and Spain brace for fresh heatwave as warnings issued over risk of new wildfires – Europe live 29. July 2026 (11:41) Authorities fear progress in containing the fires in the Gironde and Madrid regions may be set back by temperatures expected to hit the low 40sSpanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has been speaking in the last ten minutes on his visit to a command post in Navalcarnero.He said the current situation remains “favourable,” but the next 12 hours will be “decisive” in consolidating and securing the progress made by the firefighters as temperatures rise and create new risks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rescue teams face ‘race against time’ in search for trapped survivors as death toll in Japan rises to at least 13 – live updates 29. July 2026 (11:32) Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake ‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missingJapan’s Mainichi newspaper has reported some remarks from Akio Yoshida, the president of retail company Aeon which operated a shopping centre that partially collapsed after yesterday’s earthquake and a subsequent explosion.Yoshida told a press briefing that three workers at the shopping centre in Kumamuto are still missing. He confirmed three people were killed, all of whom were employees. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Heathrow passengers face higher fares as airport can recover early expansion plan costs 29. July 2026 (11:09) CAA says airport can recoup £320m through higher airline charges, which are usually passed on to travellersHeathrow passengers face decades of higher fares after the airport was given permission to recover early costs from developing its expansion plan.The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced it had permitted Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) to recoup £320m spent on its proposal to build a third runway since the start of last year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘The shaking was terrifying’: stories of survival and loss emerge after Japan earthquake 29. July 2026 (11:08) Rescuers pulling people from the wreckage in southern Japan in a haunting repeat of disaster that struck 10 years agoJapan earthquake – latest updates‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missing“There was a voice coming from the collapsed house, and I could see a hand,” Tomohide Nagata, a volunteer firefighter, told the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun. “One of our senior members crawled in and pulled him out. He was bleeding from the head, but I’m so glad he survived.”Nagata had heard a noise coming from one completely flattened home in the rural town of Hikawa, close to the epicentre of Tuesday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Japan. The town was one of the areas hardest hit, with numerous older houses collapsing. Terrified of the ongoing aftershocks, many residents spent Tuesday night in their cars outside Hikawa’s town hall, where staff distributed food and drinks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why US military prosecutes alleged rapes of women in UK as ‘sexual assaults’ 29. July 2026 (11:00) Experts say lower-severity charges for American service personnel are deepening traumatic impact on survivorsAmerican service personnel accused of rape on British soil are being charged with lesser offences by their military courts, a discrepancy that experts say is deepening the traumatic impact on survivors long after verdicts are passed.There are more than 12,000 personnel stationed in US military bases across the UK, most of them in England. Although UK law enforcement has primary jurisdiction over crimes that occur when personnel are off duty, local police often choose to cede authority to the American military. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anthony Fauci to face grilling from Senate Republicans on Covid pandemic 29. July 2026 (11:00) Hearing is part of a longtime Republican investigation into pandemic’s origins, led by Senator Rand PaulAnthony Fauci, the former veteran director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) who served as a key adviser to Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the Covid-19 pandemic, is due to testify on Wednesday at a high-profile US Senate hearing.Senators are expected to question Fauci about whether the Covid-19 virus began as a “lab leak”, a claim virologists have argued is unlikely. The testimony is part of a longtime Republican investigation into the origins of the pandemic, led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Shares in Asian chip firms plunge further as AI sell-off continues 29. July 2026 (10:50) Drop comes after South Korean company SK Hynix’s results undershoot investors’ expectationsBusiness live – latest updatesShares in companies linked to AI have plunged further after disappointing results from the South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, which sent the country’s stock market tumbling for a second day in a row.Seoul’s Kospi index, which is dominated by semiconductor manufacturers, slid by as much as 12.6% at one point on Wednesday, following on from a near 11% slump the previous day, reaching its lowest level since early April. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mother went to South Australia police station day before suspected murder-suicide 29. July 2026 (10:27) Police say chance of finding missing baby alive ‘zero’ after bodies of mother Helena Wright and toddler found in ocean near Port MacdonnellGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA mother who died in a suspected murder-suicide went to the police station a day before the incident, South Australia police have confirmed.The bodies of Helena Wright, 36, and her 23-month-old daughter were found in the ocean west of Port Macdonnell on Monday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Victorian cults inquiry accidentally shares email address of anonymous survivors with group members 29. July 2026 (10:09) Committee apologises for not concealing email addresses when alerting witnesses to final reportGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Victorian parliamentary committee investigating the harmful impact of cults accidentally sent the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of such groups and to journalists.The committee, which had its report into “cults and organised fringe groups” tabled in parliament on Wednesday, emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after midday to inform them it had been published, but erroneously left their addresses visible. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
