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The accusation comes after Civil Emergency planners described Chris Grayling’s Department for Transport as “unhelpful” and decried it for omitting “key” information when planning for a no-deal Brexit.

Air pollution could shorten a child’s life by up to seven months, a study on one of the largest UK cities has suggested. An eight-year-old child born in 2011 may die between two to seven months early if exposed over their lifetime to projected future pollution concentrations, Kings College London researchers studying Birmingham have found. It is the first time new Government guidance on “mortality burdens” of air pollution has been applied in practice in a large city area. The...

A total of 17 Trusts will go to court to argue they should get the same discount as charities for rates bills on their hospitals More than a dozen NHS Trusts are taking the Government to court to argue that they should have an 80% reduction in business rates – the same discount given to private hospitals and fee-paying schools. The High Court will now decide whether to give the trusts a financial boost of around £2.4 billion, or allow...

The ambassador described Donald Trump's regime as "dysfunctional", "faction riven", "diplomatically clumsy"and "inept.”

The US state of Alaska’s largest city and two other state locations reached record high temperatures on Independence Day. The National Weather Service says Anchorage on Thursday afternoon reached 90F (32.22C). Meteorologist Bob Clay says the previous record for Anchorage was 85F (29.44C) on June 14 1969. Kenai and King Salmon also reached new high temperatures of 89F (31.67C). https://twitter.com/AlaskaWx/status/1146984891386494976 Palmer matched its record high at 88F. Mr Clay said a high pressure ridge over much of south-central Alaska is...

Migrants on a rescue boat that docked in the Italian island of Lampedusa against an explicit ban have disembarked after the vessel was impounded. Humanitarian group Mediterranea Saving Humans said in a tweet that over 40 migrants on board were “finally allowed to disembark to receive assistance”. It confirmed that the vessel has been seized by police and its captain put under investigation for aiding illegal immigration. Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has barred all private rescue ships from entering...

Five people have been hospitalised after the opening bull run of this year’s San Fermin festival in Pamplona, including two Americans and a Spaniard who were gored by bulls. Officials in the northern Spanish city said a 46-year-old man from San Francisco, California, had been gored in the neck in the city’s bullring, at the end of the 850-metre course. He was undergoing surgery, the regional government reported. A 23-year-old man from Florence, Kentucky, and a 40-year-old Spanish man were...

The mother of murdered Helen McCourt said she is “elated” laws are to finally change so killers are denied parole if they refuse to reveal where they hid their victim’s body. Marie McCourt has begged murderer Ian Simms to tell her the whereabouts of her daughter’s remains ever since the insurance clerk vanished on her way home from work in 1988. But the pub landlord, who was convicted by a jury on overwhelming DNA evidence of the 22-year-old’s abduction and...

One of the UK’s most senior female Asian police officers has accused the Metropolitan Police of discrimination. Temporary Chief Superintendent Parm Sandhu has reportedly brought an employment tribunal claim against the force alleging she was denied promotion and work opportunities on the basis of her race and gender. Scotland Yard said a claim had been made and that it would be “inappropriate” to comment further. The move comes after Ms Sandhu faced an investigation into allegations that she breached rules...