Calls to ban ‘toxic’ pet flea treatments that harm UK wildlife and environment

• The Dispatch reports on several geopolitical and political developments, including the possibility of Iran returning to diplomatic negotiations. • A cargo ship was recently struck in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting ongoing maritime tensions and security risks in the region.

Emergency services were seen outside Hilton’s home in Miami on Tuesday night after members of the public reported seeing Hilton harm himselfThe celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been hospitalised after livestreaming footage of himself self-harming on TikTok.Emergency services were seen outside Hilton’s home in Miami on Tuesday night after concerned members of the public reported seeing Hilton harm himself in a graphic video streamed live on TikTok. Hilton’s TikTok account was suspended minutes later. Continue reading...

Flurry of articles has raised eyebrows and drawn response from Kemi Badenoch defending stance on net zero“Nobody can deny that the UK is getting warmer and high temperatures are becoming a clear threat to homes, nature and food security,” read the lengthy news report, which explored the devastating effect of British wildfires on families in recent years.The article’s conclusions, written after the wildfires in Suffolk last week, were no surprise given the UK’s changing climate. However, the fact that the piece appeared in the Telegraph, the rightwing title that has been a leading critic of green policies, did raise eyebrows among some readers. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: The past week shows how quickly images, rumours and ​right-wing political opportunism can eclipse the facts on the groundGood morning. Last week, an estimated 72,000 migrants began crossing into a tiny Spanish enclave on the tip of Morocco. Within 24 hours, most of them had headed home. At least 88 people died after attempting the crossing, according to local officials. This isn’t the whole story of what happened over the last week, but the facts are worth remembering.At an emergency meeting yesterday, EU interior ministers sought to draw a line under Ceuta, insisting that the passport-free Schengen area had never been at risk from the arrival of migrants at this scale. Despite this, much of the media coverage has suggested that events in Ceuta represent a territorial threat to Europe, sparking calls for greater security across the region’s borders.Environment | Eight of the biggest oil companies amassed profits of more than $90bn (£67bn) in just three months as the Iran conflict sent energy prices soaring and the emissions-fuelled climate crisis caused deadly heatwaves.UK politics | Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.Middle East | Jordan is convening an emergency meeting over an “imminent” threat of an Israeli takeover of the most important Muslim site in Jerusalem, with the potential to “trigger a religious conflict”.Ukraine | Russian strikes in and around Kyiv killed at least 14 people, ⁠injured 27 and ⁠damaged warehouses, ​emergency service officials said. Some reports put the death toll at 15.Ceuta | Hundreds of people have gathered in the northern Moroccan town of Fnideq, near the border with Spain’s Ceuta, flashing photos of their missing loved ones to passersby in the hope of tracking them down. Continue reading...

Air raid alerts last for more than an hour as Moscow inflicts another heavy bombardment on Ukraine’s capitalRussian strikes in and around Kyiv killed at least 14 people, ⁠injured 27 and ⁠damaged warehouses, ​emergency service officials said. Some reports put the death toll at 15.Air raid alerts lasted for more than an hour as Moscow’s forces continued a series of deadly heavy attacks on the Ukrainian capital. The military administration said seven sites were hit in an assault that began on Wednesday after midnight. Continue reading...

Kellie Sloane says ‘leaking a report is never good’ as Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet tells inquiry group signed up members to ‘dodgy’ branchesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe younger brother of a former Liberal premier has told an anti-corruption watchdog that a group of young conservative power breakers, now under investigation for soliciting illegal donations, recruited members to “dodgy” branches controlled by rival factions.Jean-Claude Perrottet, the younger brother of ex-New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet, appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (Icac) on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New health secretary promises root-and-branch reform after damning maternity scandalsWomen should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.Cooper, who returns to the department 27 years after she was the minister for public health under Tony Blair, said maternity and child health would be a major focus in the role, where she will also be expected to implement significant reforms to social care. Continue reading...

Software group benefits from global systems and accounting practices ‘that enable tax to be shirked’, says union bossThe software group Palantir paid just £2m in corporation tax in the UK in 2024, despite holding public sector contracts worth hundreds of millions, thanks to tax breaks that are likely to reduce its contributions to governments around the world for years to come.The US-headquartered company, which has harnessed AI to secure lucrative work for the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, is growing exponentially. Continue reading...

Progressive ex-public health official in tight battle against Haley Stevens in state’s Democratic primaryThe marquee race for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan remained too close to call on Tuesday night, with Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official, holding a narrow lead over Congresswoman Haley Stevens.The battleground state is crucial to the party’s hopes of winning back control of the Senate in November‘s midterm elections. The winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary will face the Republican nominee, former Representative Mike Rogers, in November, to succeed retiring Democratic senator, Gary Peters. Continue reading...

Spin Time provides homes, food banks and after-school clubs but the authorities have locked out residentsHundreds of people have spent a week sleeping in tents in the Rome heat amid a standoff between Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government and local politicians over the future of Italy’s most high-profile centre for housing and social assistance.A minor fire last week forced the evacuation of the building, occupied by grassroots groups since 2013, and it has remained closed as the Meloni government attempts to crack down on such squatted properties. Continue reading...

People hope to see friends or relatives among those still returning as death toll from mass crossing nears 100Hundreds of people have gathered in the northern Moroccan town of Fnideq, near the border with Spain’s Ceuta, flashing photos of their missing loved ones to passersby in the hope of tracking them down.Their perch was the same small tranche of land that made headlines around the world last week as extraordinary scenes emerged of about 72,000 people making their way into Ceuta, a tiny Spanish territory in north Africa. Continue reading...