‘Witch-hunt’ in Niger as military regime rounds up LGBTQ+ population 01. July 2026 (09:00) Fears of resurgence of HIV/Aids amid loss of access to PrEP drugs as at least 40 people arrested in ‘toxic’ climateA “witch-hunt” is under way in Niger, where dozens of people have been arrested for homosexuality in the west African state following the introduction of a new penal code earlier this year.Up to 40 people have been arrested and 16 men, including high-ranking military officials, have been imprisoned across the country, according to local media. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Friend of Thai teen allegedly murdered by Australian man went to his condo after reporting her missing 01. July 2026 (08:36) Security footage images show a friend went to Simon Peter Carman’s apartment in Pattaya, Thailand after reporting Thunchanok Donhomla missing The friend of the 17-year-old girl allegedly murdered in Thailand reported her missing to police and then visited the condo of the Australian man charged over her death.Security footage images obtained by the Guardian shows the friend at the apartment of Simon Peter Carman. The footage is time stamped 1.49pm on Friday 26 June, although it is not clear whether the time stamp was added manually. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Creatives sound alarm on copyright as Pocock calls $50bn datacentre proposal ‘ultimate dirty deal’ 01. July 2026 (08:22) Proposal has been put to cabinet to allow AI companies to mine content, in exchange for investment and $350m fund to compensate artists, sources say Creatives are demanding fresh assurances from the Albanese government that it won’t water down copyright laws under a potential deal with tech giants to attract more than $50bn worth of datacentre investment in exchange for a $350m-a-year fund for artists.Guardian Australia has been told an industry proposal has been presented to cabinet that would grant AI companies special exemptions to mine creative content. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Complicated and expensive’: Burnham is right about the risks of nationalisation | Nils Pratley 01. July 2026 (07:00) Track record of Welsh Water shows public ownership is not the answer to all the woes in the utilities sectorGood news for Andy Burnham: one of the original 10 water privatisations from the Thatcher-era has returned to public ownership already. Thanks to a complicated turn-of-the-century corporate saga, Welsh Water, serving 3 million people, converted to not-for-profit status in 2001. It has no shareholders. Financial surpluses go “straight back into keeping bills down and looking after your water and beautiful environment”, as the website blurb puts it.How’s it going? After a quarter of a century without dividend-hungry shareholders to feed, has the model proved its superiority? Not exactly. Welsh Water usually has high scores on customer trust metrics but its performance on bills and spills tends to be middle of the pack. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Energy price cap rise ‘will push millions in Great Britain into fuel poverty’ 01. July 2026 (07:00) Typical bill will surge by £220 a year from Wednesday, forcing 13.5m homes to spend over 10% of income on fuelMillions of households in Great Britain will be pushed into fuel poverty after months of volatility on the global gas markets as energy bills rise by more than £220 a year under the government’s price cap from Wednesday.As the cap on gas and electricity rates rises to the equivalent of £1,862 a year, the number of households forced to spend more than 10% of their income on energy bills will increase to 13.5m from almost 11.3m in April, according to fuel poverty campaigners. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Imagine this was your daughter’: how grieving mothers campaigned to close sentencing gap 01. July 2026 (07:00) David Lammy’s decision to increase minimum sentence for domestic murder victims follows years of tireless lobbyingDavid Lammy had gone quiet. Sitting in his ministerial office in the Palace of Westminster, the justice secretary had just been presented with pictures of women killed by their partners in their own homes, by their grieving mothers.As she put the photographs in front of him, Carole Gould explained that her 17-year-old daughter, Ellie, was killed by fellow sixth-former Thomas Griffiths the day after she ended their relationship in 2019. Julie Devey, who was joining the call remotely, showed a photograph of her daughter, Poppy Devey Waterhouse, who was 24 when she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Joe Atkinson, on 14 December 2018. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Academy school leaders in England face pay cap to curb ‘banker-style’ salaries 01. July 2026 (07:00) Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than £200,000 a year, and at least one more than £500,000The era of academy school leaders in England receiving “banker-style salaries” and hefty annual increases may soon be over, with the government to introduce limits on executive pay.Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than £200,000 a year, with pay in academy trusts equating to anything from less than £5 a pupil to more than £150. Only a quarter of the high-earners were women. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Specieswatch: How heatwaves play havoc with bees’ fertility 01. July 2026 (07:00) Study reveals extreme heat causes sharp drop with knock-on effect for pollination of food crops in following yearsWe know heatwaves have serious health consequences for humans, but what about other species? A study has shown they severely diminish bees’ fertility, with significant implications for the pollination of food crops in the following years.Prof James Gilbert of the University of Hull his and colleagues simulated a three-day UK heatwave in the lab and measured its effect on solitary red mason bees, compared with those kept under control conditions of an ordinary summer. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeats 15-term incumbent in Colorado House primary 01. July 2026 (06:32) Twenty-nine-year-old beat representative Diana DeGette in deep-blue Denver districtThe democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated long-serving US representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary elections held on Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile victories for the party’s insurgent left. The Associated Press reported that Kiros had defeated DeGette for the Democratic nomination in the deep-blue first congressional district centered on Denver. Kiros’s triumph came a week after New York voters unseated two Democratic congressional incumbents and replaced a third who was retiring with candidates who had campaigned on standing up to Israel amid accusations that it was carrying out a genocide in Gaza. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lily Allen defends length of West End Girl shows: ‘I don’t want anyone to feel ripped off’ 01. July 2026 (05:23) Singer has likened live show to theatre rather than a conventional concert but fans have criticised the performances and lack of crowd interactionLily Allen has defended the live tour of her latest album West End Girl, after fans complained about feeling short-changed by the 55-minute shows that have no crowd interaction.Allen is currently on the UK leg of the world tour for the album that was inspired by her divorce from the actor David Harbour. The show sees her perform the 45-minute album in its entirety, without speaking to the crowd or performing any of her back catalogue. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
