Cutting language courses puts social mobility at risk, say UK experts 05. July 2026 (16:00) Exclusive: University moves and falling exam entries fuel concerns about opportunities for working-class pupilsCutting language courses at universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, former education secretaries and experts in the UK have warned.More than 70 languages academics were among 500 staff at the University of Exeter to be told last week they were at risk of redundancy as it seeks to cut 150 full-time posts, predominantly in the humanities. The announcement followed the proposal by the University of Nottingham to become the first Russell Group university to offer no language degrees. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nancy Pelosi’s husband could face charge after hitting parked car in California 05. July 2026 (15:11) Paul Pelosi could face misdemeanor charges over crash that left car with ‘major’ damage, authorities sayThe husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was involved in a hit-and-run car crash in California that left a parked vehicle with “major” damage, authorities said on Saturday – and he could face misdemeanor charges.Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible on Friday in Yountville, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa county sheriff’s office said in a statement. No injuries were reported.Guardian staff contributed reporting Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gaza protests against two Democrats spark outcry and debate on tactics 05. July 2026 (15:00) Incidents involving California state senator Scott Wiener and New York congressman Dan Goldman underscore Israel-Palestine conflict’s role in US electionsTwo recent incidents involving US congressional candidates on opposite coasts have blown up into major controversies, underscoring how the Israel-Palestine conflict has transformed US elections – and illustrating how aggressive protest tactics can spark backlash that overshadows the issues activists meant to highlight.Scott Wiener, a gay Jewish state senator and trans rights advocate who is currently the frontrunner in the race to replace the longtime representative Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th district, said he felt forced to leave last week’s annual trans pride march in San Francisco after a group of people ran up to him at a local park where the event was taking place, surrounded him and screamed at him over his positions on Israel’s war on Gaza. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Empty reservoirs, ladybirds and sunstroke: remembering the UK heatwave of 1976 05. July 2026 (15:00) As Britain reached its hottest June temperature on record, readers recall the summer when temperatures hit 36CThe recent heatwave in the UK broke the previous June record of 35.6C, recorded during the 1976 heatwave.In Lingwood, Norfolk, a provisional temperature of 37.7C was recorded on Friday 26 June, breaking the previous record reached on 28 June 1976 and on 29 June 1957. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man claiming world’s smallest penis says he’s booked enhancement surgery after public’s help 05. July 2026 (13:00) Michael Phillips says he suffers from micropenis – but he’s now fundraised enough to increase his member’s girthA US man who has staked the uncontested claim of having the smallest penis in the world says he has booked a procedure to enhance his member at least somewhat after soliciting the online public’s financial support for that purpose.In a brief interview on Saturday, 38-year-old Michael Phillips described himself as “really thankful and surprised” over the GoFundMe platform users who supported his campaign for help to pay for the procedure in question. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
British swallowtail split from European cousins much earlier than thought, study finds 05. July 2026 (13:00) Finding that Norfolk butterfly has been distinct subspecies for 200,000 years could transform conservation approachThe endangered swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon britannicus, which is only regularly found breeding in Britain on the Norfolk Broads, has been a distinct subspecies for at least 200,000 years, according to a study.Smaller, darker in colour and much rarer than the continental swallowtail, britannicus was previously considered to have developed its distinctive form during its confinement in the wetlands of eastern England over the last 8,000 years, after the flooding of Doggerland. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least eight shot, including four children, in New York’s Coney Island 05. July 2026 (11:54) Incident took place late in the evening on Independence Day with one victim said to be in a critical conditionAt least eight people, including four children, were shot and injured during the US Independence Day holiday in New York City’s Coney Island neighbourhood, ABC News said on Sunday, citing the New York City police department (NYPD).Police officers responded to reports of a shooting at about 10:37pm on the Brooklyn neighbourhood’s West 31st Street, the NYPD said in a statement to ABC News. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nigel Farage did not declare gifts from crypto entrepreneur convicted of fraud 05. July 2026 (11:40) Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick says Farage accepted staff, security and accommodation from George Cottrell before becoming an MPNigel Farage did not declare gifts and benefits provided by a crypto entrepreneur who has previously been convicted of fraud, Reform’s economic spokesperson has admitted.Robert Jenrick said on Sunday that the Reform leader had accepted staff, security and accommodation from George Cottrell, but claimed they were personal gifts provided before he became an MP and so did not need to be declared. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran’s supreme leader absent from funeral of father Ali Khamenei 05. July 2026 (10:46) Three sons of killed ayatollah were seen beside coffin during ceremonies drawing huge crowds in TehranThree sons of the former Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, but Mojtaba, the son who has succeeded him as Iran’s supreme leader, did not make an appearance.State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex. In a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal, the country is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shia religious sites in neighbouring Iraq. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Baptism record at Manchester Cathedral offers insight into Black Mancunian life in Georgian-era England 05. July 2026 (10:00) A parish entry reveals an argument that proved pivotal to the abolitionist cause, at a time when an estimated 20,000 Black people were living in the countryWhen the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson gave a sermon in 1787 at Manchester Cathedral – during the city’s first mass meeting against the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans – he saw a “great crowd of black people standing round the pulpit”.However, little is known about Black Mancunians in the Georgian era, which makes one recently rediscovered entry in parish records at Manchester Cathedral particularly significant. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
