Cyclosporiasis cases show ‘vulnerabilities’ in US food safety system, experts say 28. July 2026 (15:00) US states and federal government tracking cases as outbreak comes amid cuts to public health fundingAn outbreak of cyclosporiasis highlights how US states and the federal government work together to track foodborne illnesses – and where they diverge.Experts said the enormous number of cases, potentially more than 11,000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) count, is symptomatic of “vulnerabilities” in food safety systems in the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Past fires suggest effects of Europe and North America wildfires may linger for years 28. July 2026 (15:00) Three years after Maui wildfires many still struggle with ‘biological, emotional and social consequences’, study saysA spate of ferocious wildfires across North America and Europe, worsened by the climate crisis, have incinerated homes and forests and forced thousands of people to flee. Previous fires suggest the effects of these blazes may linger for years to come.The current fires and their plumes of smoke can appear to be a temporary, if immediate, crisis. Nearly 1,000 fires have sprung into life in the boreal forests of Canada, causing the evacuation of towns and toxic smoke to waft into major Canadian and US cities, prompting threats of retribution from Donald Trump, who bizarrely accused Canada of “poisoning” his country’s air. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Previous winners Douglas Stuart and Marlon James lead a Brit-heavy Booker prize longlist 28. July 2026 (15:00) Chair of judges Mary Beard said each of the 13 books in contention for the £50,000 award ‘takes the reader to new places’• Comment: This Booker longlist may have two previous winners, but it’s keen to experimentDouglas Stuart and Marlon James, two previous winners of the Booker, have been named on this year’s longlist, alongside three-time nominee Elizabeth Strout, in a collection that “rewards risk”.The 13 novels selected for the 2026 prize, announced on Tuesday, feature authors of seven nationalities across three continents, with almost half from the UK. Ten of the writers are appearing on a Booker longlist for the first time, including three debut novelists: Kenan Orhan, Rebecca Perry and Djamel White. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Multiple people trapped inside shopping centre in Japan after earthquake – live updates 28. July 2026 (14:57) An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck the country’s Kumamoto prefectureKyushu Electric Power said 48,000 homes had lost power as a result of the latest quake, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had suspended services, including its high-speed bullet trains.Kumamoto airport also shut its runway, as airlines diverted and cancelled flights. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Home Office used ‘AI hallucinated’ information to refuse asylum claim, judge suggests 28. July 2026 (14:39) Upper tribunal unable to find document cited in case and claims it is ‘analogous to relying on bogus evidence’UK politics live – latest updatesA senior judge has accused the Home Office of relying on “AI hallucinated” information to refuse an asylum claim.The case relates to a Moroccan woman and her child who fled her country after experiencing forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape. The woman claimed asylum on the basis of fears that she would be killed by her husband: a powerful, previously convicted criminal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Conservative MP accuses French navy of firing shots near him in Channel 28. July 2026 (14:38) Chris Philp says patrol vessel may have been trying to stop him highlighting the small boats crisisUK politics live – latest updatesA Conservative MP has claimed a French warship fired warning shots near a boat he was on in the Channel in an attempt to stop him highlighting the small boats crisis.Chris Philp, who is his party’s home affairs spokesperson, was being interviewed by the BBC a couple of miles off Boulogne on Tuesday when the warship Flamant passed by. As it did so, a French navy officer standing at the stern fired 17 shots from a handgun, aiming away from Philp. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More rail services in England set to slow as heatwave shrinks soil 28. July 2026 (14:14) South Western Railway expected to join operators in east of England in reducing train speeds and changing timetablesBusiness live – latest updatesPersistent drought conditions caused by the climate crisis are expected to cause further disruption to trains across southern England, as the lack of rainfall affects the ground supporting railway embankments.South Western Railway is expected to become the latest large rail company to announce timetable changes and reduced speeds to cope with the effects of hot and dry weather, after operators in the east of England said they were going to take similar steps. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dawn raid targets ‘umbrella cheaters’ reserving beach spots in Naples 28. July 2026 (13:24) Umbrellas, deck chairs and loungers seized in Torre del Greco authorities’ crackdown on people reserving spots overnightAuthorities in a coastal suburb of Naples seized umbrellas, loungers and deck chairs during a dawn sweep of a beach aimed at cracking down on the growing trend of people attempting to reserve prime spots overnight.Torre del Greco’s port authority said coastguard staff and local police had together collected 40 items as part of a national beach and lake safety operation that targets people labelled by the Italian press as furbetti dell’ombrellone, or umbrella cheaters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration forced treatment on hunger striker in ICE detention, document reveals 28. July 2026 (13:00) ICE report reviewed by the Guardian discloses a patient was ‘subject to force feeding, hydration or urinary catheterization’, which experts have described as tortureThe Trump administration subjected at least one person undertaking a hunger strike in immigrant detention to forcible medical treatment – engaging in medical practice that healthcare associations and international human rights groups have described as torture.A document from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) health service agency, reviewed by the Guardian, confirms for the first time that the administration has used forced treatment on a hunger striker since Donald Trump began his second term. The document, published online in February by the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), discloses that an unnamed patient who began hunger strikes between October and December of last year and “was subject to force feeding, hydration, or forced urinary catheterization, or involuntary blood draws”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Prisoners at Iran’s largest jail sew lips shut in hunger strike as executions soar 28. July 2026 (12:26) At least 1,500 protest after six men on drug-related charges put in solitary confinement before possible executionPrisoners at Iran’s largest jail have sewn their lips shut as hundreds of them joined a mass hunger strike amid a surge in executions over drug offences and charges linked to anti-government protests.The hunger strike, involving at least 1,500 death row prisoners at Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, began two weeks ago after six men convicted on drug-related charges were transferred to solitary confinement before their possible execution, according to Iranian rights groups. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
