Richard Tice accused of ‘nasty tactics’ over legal threat to the Guardian

• Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are evolving their long-standing bilateral relations into a strategic geoeconomic alliance focused on trade, investment, and connectivity. • The partnership has strengthened significantly since the Arab Revolts of the early 2010s as both nations converged on their assessments of regional threats and international developments.

• Heightened insecurity caused by the shifting defense capabilities and regional ambitions of Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia has led to the formation of a new Islamic defense alliance. • This strategic pact involves Pakistan and Turkey, emerging as a response to regional instability and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to weaken Iran.

• Israeli PM Netanyahu has rejected a 15-point Gaza peace plan proposed by Donald Trump, while the NYT reports allegations of torture and abuse against Global Sumud Flotilla activists in Israeli detention. • In the Middle East, Iran is nearing a pact with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but tensions remain high as Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi Aramco refinery.

Justice department is asked to weigh new charges against David Hearn after US attorney dropped vandalism chargesThe White House has asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to weigh new charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, according to a person familiar with the matter, pushing to revive a case Donald Trump has fumed about ever since an ally dropped the case citing insufficient evidence.Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, dropped the charges against the man, David Hearn, on 31 July, blaming a contractor for a flawed installation. In a 20-page filing dismissing the charges, Pirro’s office said it had received evidence that damage to the pool occurred before Hearn visited it, and that “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” Hearn has maintained that he reached in the water to touch a piece of already detached lining while he was on bike ride in June. Continue reading...

Star, 53, says disease has metastasised to her bones and it is too late for chemotherapyLucy Davis, the actor best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in The Office, has said she has incurable stage four breast cancer.The 53-year-old said she was diagnosed a year and a half ago and the disease had metastasised to her bones including her spine, right hip and ribs. She said it was too late for chemotherapy. Continue reading...

Mike Heard used his paddle to strike gator that had latched on to swimmer in Silver River after hearing yells of ‘Gator!’A Florida paddleboarder rescued a woman from an alligator attack in Marion county over the weekend.On Saturday, an alligator bit the woman on the arm while she was swimming in the Silver River, according to local reports citing Marion county authorities. Continue reading...

Napo members overwhelmingly back action after union had criticised prisons proposals as rushedProbation staff have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike, in a potentially serious complication to Andy Burnham’s plans to tweak an early release scheme for prisoners to try to exclude more serious offenders, among them the killers of PC Andrew Harper.While the vote by members of Napo was not directly connected to the early release plans, the probation officers’ union has previously criticised the proposals as rushed. The union said the 91% vote in favour of a strike would come as a blow to ministers as they put together the plan. Continue reading...

Clifford Wilby, 63, started talking to Walthamstow MP about knife crime and her ‘failings as a member of parliament’A 63-year-old man has been found guilty of harassing the Labour MP Stella Creasy after he was “abusive and aggressive” on a tube train.Clifford Wilby, of east London, saw the MP for Walthamstow in July 2025 on a Victoria Line train, Westminster magistrates’ court heard. Continue reading...

The prime minister’s money-saving policies are popular but they are yet to convince voters he can take on the big thingsIt was last year that Martin Lewis, the money-saving guru, advised the government to find “100 small things that piss people off” and set about sorting them out.That approach has been adopted almost immediately by Andy Burnham since entering office, as he began his programme of “everyday fixes” to tackle problems that can be dealt with through minor policy tweaks. Continue reading...

School said it is pivoting away from letter-grading system to ‘curb the mental health crisis’ among college studentsThe University of Michigan will pivot to a pass-or-fail-style grading system, instead of letter grades, for first-semester students in an effort to “curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals”.The school said in a notice on Tuesday that its goal is “to help first-year students acclimate to the demands of college and allow intrinsic motivations to guide personally meaningful academic journeys” and foster “a culture of connection and collaboration – rather than competition”. Continue reading...

Robert Gilman had been deteriorating rapidly in prison and was said to be in a catatonic stateRussia has freed a former US marine who had been in jail since 2022, after Vladimir Putin granted the ailing American a pardon on humanitarian grounds.Robert Gilman, 32, an English teacher who briefly served in the US Marines, was travelling by train when he was arrested in the southern Russian city of Voronezh in January 2022 for allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk, according to Russian state media. He was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison, though his family has consistently denied the allegations against him. Continue reading...