BMW to cut ‘as many as 8,000 jobs’ under pressure from Chinese rivals 29. July 2026 (14:02) Layoffs will come in admin and development divisions in Germany, with production operations unaffectedBMW is planning to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in Germany, according to reports, in the latest sign of Europe’s largest carmakers reducing costs under pressure from Chinese rivals.The Munich-headquartered company has started a voluntary redundancy programme agreed with employee representatives, a BMW spokesperson said on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
French music producer Kavinsky, known for Drive soundtrack hit Nightcall, dies aged 50 29. July 2026 (13:55) French authorities investigate death of musician who performed at Paris Olympics, but say ‘no suspicious elements’ at playThe French electronic musician Kavinsky, known for the song Nightcall which achieved iconic status after its inclusion in the Ryan Gosling film Drive, has died aged 50.A police source speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro indicated that the suspected cause of death was a stroke. Kavinsky, real name Vincent Belorgey, had reportedly been complaining of headaches in recent days, and he was discovered at home after a concerned neighbour alerted emergency services. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US schools are struggling to keep the yellow bus running amid shortages and cuts 29. July 2026 (13:00) Districts are reducing routes and exploring new ways to get students to class as transportation costs climbEducation officials across the United States are increasingly facing a fundamental challenge: how do they ensure that school students can actually get to their classrooms?The bright yellow school bus might be a visual icon of US education famous around the world, but in reality it is becoming harder for districts to steer. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burnham says it’s ’shameful’ politicians have failed to fix social care, as he fast-tracks Louise Casey’s review – UK politics live 29. July 2026 (11:45) ‘There’s only one group really to blame, and that’s my generation of politicians,’ the prime minister says, as he reveals final recommendations will be out by summer 2027 Andy Burnham is speaking now.In a reference to how he started campaing for social care reform almost two decades ago, he says it is good to see faces in the room “who’ve been on this journey with me for a long, a long time”.When someone in your family is receiving care, you look at everything through new eyes, don’t you? You notice things that maybe you didn’t notice before because you watch it so closely and so carefully.And I’ve just been really overwhelmed by their care, the skill in what they do, the professionalism.Can I just remind everybody that nobody thought we could get everybody in off the streets?So we can do difficult in this country and we can do it well. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
France and Spain brace for fresh heatwave as warnings issued over risk of new wildfires – Europe live 29. July 2026 (11:41) Authorities fear progress in containing the fires in the Gironde and Madrid regions may be set back by temperatures expected to hit the low 40sSpanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has been speaking in the last ten minutes on his visit to a command post in Navalcarnero.He said the current situation remains “favourable,” but the next 12 hours will be “decisive” in consolidating and securing the progress made by the firefighters as temperatures rise and create new risks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rescue teams face ‘race against time’ in search for trapped survivors as death toll in Japan rises to at least 13 – live updates 29. July 2026 (11:32) Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake ‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missingJapan’s Mainichi newspaper has reported some remarks from Akio Yoshida, the president of retail company Aeon which operated a shopping centre that partially collapsed after yesterday’s earthquake and a subsequent explosion.Yoshida told a press briefing that three workers at the shopping centre in Kumamuto are still missing. He confirmed three people were killed, all of whom were employees. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Heathrow passengers face higher fares as airport can recover early expansion plan costs 29. July 2026 (11:09) CAA says airport can recoup £320m through higher airline charges, which are usually passed on to travellersHeathrow passengers face decades of higher fares after the airport was given permission to recover early costs from developing its expansion plan.The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced it had permitted Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) to recoup £320m spent on its proposal to build a third runway since the start of last year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘The shaking was terrifying’: stories of survival and loss emerge after Japan earthquake 29. July 2026 (11:08) Rescuers pulling people from the wreckage in southern Japan in a haunting repeat of disaster that struck 10 years agoJapan earthquake – latest updates‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missing“There was a voice coming from the collapsed house, and I could see a hand,” Tomohide Nagata, a volunteer firefighter, told the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun. “One of our senior members crawled in and pulled him out. He was bleeding from the head, but I’m so glad he survived.”Nagata had heard a noise coming from one completely flattened home in the rural town of Hikawa, close to the epicentre of Tuesday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Japan. The town was one of the areas hardest hit, with numerous older houses collapsing. Terrified of the ongoing aftershocks, many residents spent Tuesday night in their cars outside Hikawa’s town hall, where staff distributed food and drinks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why US military prosecutes alleged rapes of women in UK as ‘sexual assaults’ 29. July 2026 (11:00) Experts say lower-severity charges for American service personnel are deepening traumatic impact on survivorsAmerican service personnel accused of rape on British soil are being charged with lesser offences by their military courts, a discrepancy that experts say is deepening the traumatic impact on survivors long after verdicts are passed.There are more than 12,000 personnel stationed in US military bases across the UK, most of them in England. Although UK law enforcement has primary jurisdiction over crimes that occur when personnel are off duty, local police often choose to cede authority to the American military. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anthony Fauci to face grilling from Senate Republicans on Covid pandemic 29. July 2026 (11:00) Hearing is part of a longtime Republican investigation into pandemic’s origins, led by Senator Rand PaulAnthony Fauci, the former veteran director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) who served as a key adviser to Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the Covid-19 pandemic, is due to testify on Wednesday at a high-profile US Senate hearing.Senators are expected to question Fauci about whether the Covid-19 virus began as a “lab leak”, a claim virologists have argued is unlikely. The testimony is part of a longtime Republican investigation into the origins of the pandemic, led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
