The Guardian

Ribena owner invests in helping blackcurrants withstand extreme weather

The £200,000 move comes after harvests in Britain hit by wet winter, spring frost and hail, then heatwavesThe owner of Ribena is to invest £200,000 in helping blackcurrant bushes withstand stress after extreme weather put a squeeze on this year’s UK harvest.That harvest is now under way in the berry’s main growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent and Scotland. It is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes, as the climate crisis drives extrem

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Southern Water fined £7m after illegally dumping sewage off Kent coast

Firm pleaded guilty to 13 offences over discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stationsSouthern Water has been fined more than £7m after dumping sewage illegally off the Kent coast between 2019 and 2021.The company, described by the judge as having a “record of criminality” which is “an exceptionally serious aggravating factor”, pleaded guilty to 13 offences at Medway magistrates court last April over sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations betw

general  Jul 17, 2026

NY Times World

Cuban Dissident Is Missing A Week After Prison Release

A Cuban artist awaiting permission from the Trump administration to enter the United States is being held in an unknown location in Cuba.

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Iran proves it can still inflict damage despite waves of US attacks

Leaked US intelligence report concluded Iran retained 70% of missiles and launchers after 38-day spring campaignIran and the US have been trading blows for six consecutive nights and there are no shortage of signs that the renewed fighting will worsen further. Tehran and Washington remain far apart diplomatically, and though the US retains a significant military overmatch, Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage.Friday’s developments are a case in point. A wave of US attacks, with

general  Jul 17, 2026

WSJ World News

What We Know About Trump’s Pickaxe Iran Target

President Trump says he’s considering an attack on the site, but that could be more complex than last year’s strikes on Iran’s main nuclear sites.

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Brenda Fricker, Oscar winner for My Left Foot, dies aged 81

The acclaimed Irish actor started her career in Coronation Street and Casualty before a string of high-profile Hollywood rolesBrenda Fricker, who became the first female Irish Oscar winner for acting with My Left Foot, has died aged 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told the BBC in a statement: “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her … I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and T

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Trump speech lays groundwork for him to tamper with midterm results, critics warn

Democrats and advocates sound alarm at Trump rehashing false claims about 2020 election in his primetime addressDemocrats and voting rights groups say Donald Trump’s primetime speech making unverified claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election are the clearest sign yet that the president is laying the groundwork to tamper with the results of November’s midterms.The upcoming elections to decide the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures will be a major test of Trump’s a

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

What Andy Burnham’s first speech as Labour leader tells us

The incoming prime minister showed his oratorical skill and that he is prepared to borrow from populismUK politics live – latest updatesNearing the end of his speech accepting the Labour leadership, Andy Burnham paused. “I know what to do,” he said. “I have a plan.” Perhaps he does. But even after half an hour of dense rhetoric, it is still not especially clear what this is.Burnham, who will become prime minister on Monday after this formal party coronation, is a politician who runs largely on v

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Mother of Henry Nowak’s murderer jailed for removing knife from scene

Kiran Kaur, 53, sentenced to three years for assisting her son, Vickrum Digwa, after his fatal stabbing of student in SouthamptonThe mother of Vickrum Digwa, whose false claims of racism against the man he killed triggered riots in Southampton, has been jailed for removing a knife from the murder scene.Appearing at Southampton crown court, Kiran Kaur, 53, was jailed for three years for assisting an offender, her son, by removing the knife from where he had murdered the student Henry Nowak. Conti

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Burnham finally answers the burning question: how does he take his tea?

Incoming PM has deigned to answer some quickfire questions on TikTok – also revealing his stance on socks with sandalsUK politics live – latest updatesIt was Tony Blair who wrote that the “leader sets out for the people what they need and not simply what they want. Otherwise, the leader is just a follower”.The incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham, must have been channelling his predecessor when this week he started to set out his views on the big issues facing the UK: should milk go in the cup

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Fifa flies Portugal’s World Cup team on plane used for ICE deportations

Aircraft that transported team to match is same one used to deport dozens of Venezuelans to Cecot mega-prisonew en route to semifinal match is also one of ICE’s most used deportation planes A plane used by the Portugal men’s soccer team to fly to a World Cup match is the same one used daily for the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, and brought dozens of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran mega-prison last year against a judge’s orders.Video shows Portugal flying on a Global Crossing Air

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Biodiversity fears as human-bred hybrid fish integrate into Philippines lake

Escaped flowerhorn cichlids in Lake Sampaloc are causing concern for native species and farmed tilapiaEscaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, where scientists say they may be threatening biodiversity.Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon. Continue readin

general  Jul 17, 2026

NY Times World

Andy Burnham Becomes Labour Leader and Is Set to Be Britain’s Prime Minister

Mr. Burnham promised more public control of essential services, a shift of power toward local governments and a push for economic growth.

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

More Canadian wildfire smoke shrouds US midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east

109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the USSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Tens of millions of Americans face another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting around 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east.The pungent wildfire blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit, where residents on Friday

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Dismissal of Ukraine’s defence minister highlights wider issues for Zelenskyy

Mykhailo Fedorov, celebrated by many for innovative, tech-driven approach, was sidelined for military old guardThe abrupt dismissal of Ukraine’s youthful and innovative defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, by Volodomyr Zelenskyy at precisely the moment Kyiv appeared to be gaining advantages in several spheres of its war with Russia has exposed, not for the first time, a troubling flaw in the president’s leadership.The move, which has startled senior European officials and caused consternation in

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

What is cyclosporiasis, the parasitic illness causing ‘explosive’ diarrhea?

Illness surging in Michigan and other US states is rarely life-threatening, CDC says – but it can have severe effectsCDC investigates parasite that’s caused cases of ‘explosive’ diarrhea in 18 US statesCases of cyclosporiasis – a parasitic illness that can cause “explosive”, watery diarrhea – have surged across the United States in recent days, health officials have said, with an abnormally large outbreak of almost 1,000 cases reported in Michigan.Michigan typically reports about 50 cases a year

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Trump administration drastically limits length of foreign journalist visas

Visas will be shortened to 240 days, down from five years, and Chinese journalists will be limited to 90 daysThe Trump administration has said it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the US to 240 days, down from five years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days.The rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will do away with the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists to stay and work in the United States as long as the

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

South East Water warns over survival as funds dry up

Supplier to 2.4m customers says it doesn’t have enough money to last beyond July 2027 South East Water has warned that there is “material uncertainty” over its survival, after a disastrous year in which the lossmaking company paid millions of pounds in fines and its chief executive was forced out.The water supplier to 2.4 million customers said it had sufficient funds to make it through to July 2027. However, “shortly after” it will need “new loan facilities in order to continue as a going conce

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

Jackdaw gasfield would create only 27 full-time jobs, green campaigners say

Anti fossil-fuel groups are urging Andy Burnham to rule out new drilling, which they say will not shave a penny off billsMore people can fit on to the top deck of a standard London bus than will be directly employed on the new Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, industry documents show.Only 27 direct full-time jobs would be created by Jackdaw, one of the biggest gasfields remaining in the North Sea, according to an environmental impact assessment filed publicly by its owner, Adura, a joint ventur

general  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian

CDC and FDA link lettuce at Taco Bell in five states to cyclospora outbreak

FDA investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce, but federal warnings did not name the companyFederal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) late Thursday confirmed the source and warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michig

general  Jul 17, 2026