After 48 hours of acrimony, Ben Carroll’s U-turn for the ages needs to set Victoria on a new course 28. July 2026 (11:01) The newly minted premier must convince voters that he doesn’t represent more of the sameWill a new premier save Victorian Labor? - Full Story podcastWho is Ben Carroll?Ben Carroll had hoped to quietly rise to the top job. Instead, he became Victoria’s 50th premier after 48 hours of heated confrontations and shouting matches, all as the public watched on.It was his first confrontation against the premier, and he emerged from it relatively unscathed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Security firm linked to ICE crackdown in US reports UK revenue slump after asylum centre contract ends 28. July 2026 (11:00) MTC provided security at heavily criticised Manston centre in Kent and could now make £500m managing the siteA private security company linked to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown reported a slump in UK revenues after losing an asylum centre contract but could make £500m managing the same facility until 2036.Management & Training Corporation (MTC) said sales fell from £28.4m to £17.6m in 2025 after its contract to provide “security and care” at the heavily criticised Manston site in Kent ended in September. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burnham urged to increase tax on banks as Barclays’ profits soar 28. July 2026 (10:40) TUC says lender ‘can easily afford to pay more tax’ as it increases half-year bonus pool by nearly 30%Business live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has been urged to launch a tax raid on UK banks, as Barclays revealed a 30% increase in its half-year bonus pool after a rise in profits.Fresh corporate filings released on Tuesday showed the bank put £1.3bn towards its bonus pool for the first half of the year. That figure, which includes annual and deferred bonuses, was up from £1bn last year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Top Gear’s Richard Hammond fined for speeding in Bentley and Porsche 28. July 2026 (10:27) Former co-presenter of BBC motoring show given penalty after being caught twice in three weeksThe former Top Gear host Richard Hammond has been fined £999 by a court after being caught speeding twice in three weeks while driving his luxury cars.The 56-year-old was in a Porsche when he broke the speed limit on 2 December last year, and was caught out again 20 days later while driving a Bentley. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
India’s Cockroach movement threatens to restart protests after mass student arrests 28. July 2026 (09:23) Cockroach Janta party says government has broken promise, with detentions in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and BiharIndia’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, has accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protesters and has threatened to restart demonstrations.The Cockroach Janta party (CJP), which organised mass protests over exam paper leaks and other irregularities, said it had received reports of hundreds of students being detained or “harassed” by police. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
About 900,000 Origin Energy customers affected by hack as company admits it was warned weeks before public told 28. July 2026 (07:41) Chief executive, Frank Calabria, apologises and advises customers to look out for suspicious activity amid heightened scam risk Origin Energy has admitted it was warned of the hack that accessed 900,000 current and former customers’ personal data three weeks before it first made the data breach public.Australia’s largest energy retailer said a “significant” proportion of the 900,000 had been former customers, with those affected to be notified in the coming days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Blow to NHS as Royal Mail raises prices for bulk users by a third 28. July 2026 (07:00) Average 25% increase for letters such as marketing, bills and medical appointment notices from 5 OctoberRoyal Mail will increase the price of its wholesale postal service by as much as a third, in a multimillion-pound blow to the NHS and other large organisations.The postal company has warned customers who use its wholesale postal service for mail including marketing letters, household bills and medical appointment notices that it is raising prices by an average of 25% from 5 October. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
World-class Jodrell Bank is under threat and UK risks a physics brain drain 28. July 2026 (07:00) Funding crisis could lead to an exodus that would be a blow for British science and national growthOn a chilly day in December 1945, Bernard Lovell, a physicist at the University of Manchester, struck out for the Cheshire countryside to study cosmic rays, the streams of high-energy particles that crisscross the universe. Peering at the signals from his army surplus radar, he made an unexpected discovery: radio reflections from the ionised trails of shooting stars.The work marked the birth of radio astronomy at Jodrell Bank. A year later, engineers at the site mounted a radar on the base of a searchlight, providing sweeping access to speeding meteors. When Sputnik launched in 1957, they had just completed the Lovell telescope, the largest radio telescope in the world, the only one capable of tracking the Soviet satellite. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US airman accused of ‘spree’ of rapes on sleeping women avoided UK courts 28. July 2026 (07:00) Suffolk police ceded investigation into James Loubeau to the US military, leading to court martial acquittalA US airman accused of a “spree” of rapes and sexual assaults in England, drugging some women and breaking into the homes of others, was able to avoid British justice after local police handed over part of the case to the American military.Two British women went to Suffolk police in August 2019 to allege that James Loubeau and another US airman had drugged and raped them after they met in a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds, a local market town. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cottage pie and glass of red, anyone? Britons shun salad despite heat in ‘reverse comfort eating’ 28. July 2026 (07:00) Nostalgic foods like toad-in-the-hole also in demand at Waitrose as people pivot towards familiarity amid climatic and political upheavalForget a crisp salad and glass of chilled rosé. Enervated Britons are seemingly more likely to crave a rich cottage pie and a robust red in heatwaves.In a trend termed “reverse comfort eating”, Waitrose’s cottage pie sales have soared 110% in the last month and South African red wine is up 68% compared with the same period last year. The surprise spike in demand for winter comfort foods also includes retro chicken, bacon and leek pie (up 41%), chicken korma (up 67%) and chicken and ham gratin (68%). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
