Charity campaigner’s death from microlight crash injuries was accidental, coroner rules

Prof Katya Rubia withdraws support for The Great ADHD Myth? as other leading figures voice criticismsA key contributor to a controversial Channel 4 documentary on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has withdrawn her support for the programme, saying it was biased and could lead to an increased suicide risk by encouraging parents to take their children off medication.Katya Rubia, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, also said The Great ADHD Myth? misrepresented her views. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Mitchell Palmer has also argued for privatising the NHS and immigration as way of cutting poverty Reform UK’s new economic adviser has previously called the pensions triple lock unsustainable, advocated privatising the NHS and welcomed migration as a poverty alleviation tool, the Guardian can reveal.Robert Jenrick, Reform’s economic spokesperson, has appointed Mitchell Palmer, a rightwing economist at the free-market Adam Smith Institute, as one of his key aides. Continue reading...

Meta chief executive paid roughly €20m for gothic-style mansion built in 1830 and its surroundingsIt stretches the definition of pied-à-terre but Mark Zuckerberg now has a pad in Ireland: Strancally castle.The Meta chief executive and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have bought the gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate in county Waterford to use as a base during visits to Ireland. Continue reading...

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to return to live in Britain, six years after leaving for the US: a decision that was subject to intense media scrutiny. The couple and their two children are expected to relocate later in August to a non-royal residence.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to senior national editor Aaron Sharp – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Pre-tax profits rose at high street opticians to £429.7m in the year to February while sales increased 7% to £4.3bnSpecsavers has paid £12m to its parent company controlled by founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins after the high street opticians’ profits soared by more than a quarter.The group operates nearly 3,000 optometry, audiology and ophthalmology businesses globally in at least eight countries, including more than 900 in the UK, through hundreds of independent partners. Continue reading...

Kyle Spitze of Tennessee faced federal charges for targeting girls online as part of ‘764 network’ investigated by FBIA 27-year-old Tennessee man described by the US justice department as a “nihilistic violent extremist” was sentenced to 77 years in prison on Wednesday for his targeting of girls online as part of the 764 network, an online group the FBI calls a form of “modern-day terrorism”.Kyle Spitze of Friendsville received the federal sentence on Wednesday for “production of child sexual abuse material, abetting the distribution of animal crushing videos, and possessing and accessing with the intent to view”, the justice department said in a statement. Continue reading...

Agreement is among largest third-country deportations driven by Trump administration’s immigration crackdown The United States sent 20 deportees to Liberia, who arrived on Thursday as part of 1,200 migrants that the African country will receive under a new deal.The deportees arrived at the Roberts international airport outside Monrovia. The Liberia-US agreement is among the largest third-country deportations driven by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. Continue reading...

The country risks ‘the collapse of the entire book ecosystem’ following destruction of warehouses in July and August, say Ukrainian publishersThe Ukrainian Book Institute has called on the international publishing community to support Ukrainian publishers after Russian attacks in July and early August destroyed about 10m books and a significant share of the country’s book production capacity.The institute said the attacks on publishing, printing and warehouse infrastructure had left some companies at risk of financial collapse. A major attack on 1 August hit warehouses belonging to the RNK-Ranok publishing group in Kharkiv, destroying approximately 8m books, following July attacks in Kyiv which led to the loss of more than 1.5m books. In all, the recent attacks have led to the destruction of approximately 30% of the volume of books produced annually in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Max Lederer, longtime head of the US military news outlet, says his ‘philosophy of leadership’ differs from defense’sThe long-serving publisher of the Stars and Stripes could face an early dismissal just days after the taxpayer-funded military news outlet’s reporting revealed deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, according to a news report.Pentagon officials have discussed firing Max Lederer ahead of his scheduled retirement next month, according to CBS News, which quoted anonymous sources. Lederer, the publisher of the military daily for 19 years, had previously cited fundamental differences with the Trump administration for his decision to retire soon. Continue reading...

The enormous US debt under Trump will hobble the next Democratic administration – just as the GOP plannedYou could pin the US’s staggering $40tn in government debt to Donald Trump’s Keystone Cops-style governance. Tariffs he sold as a new source of revenue were struck down by the supreme court, forcing the government to return tens of billions of dollars to importers. Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge), ostensibly created to stop wasteful government spending, decimated federal programs and likely killed millions of children, but did nothing to close the budget deficit. The burst of inflation following Trump’s misguided adventure in Iran sharply raised the cost of serving the government’s obligations.Yet as the federal debt hits an all-time high, up from about $35tn when Trump took office less than two years ago, it is worth noting that the US’s gargantuan indebtedness is in fact the product of a longstanding Republican strategy that took shape well before Trump could even dream about gold-plating the White House. It was called “starve the beast”. Continue reading...

Family relationships remain damaged and there is no clarity on how Sussexes’ security concerns have been resolvedJust as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure from the UK six years ago came as a complete surprise, so too is their shock announcement they now intend to return.Their unilateral decision could fairly be said to have blind-sided the royals. King Charles was only informed on Sunday and is said not to have been involved in the decision making. No mention was made when Harry, Meghan and their two children visited Charles at his private home at Highgrove last month. Continue reading...