80 m. ago Tech firms suggested placing trackers under offenders’ skin at meeting with justice secretary

Exclusive: Shabana Mahmood told companies she wanted ‘deeper collaboration’ to tackle prisons crisisAnalysis: Whitehall’s ambition to cut costs using AI is fraught with riskTracking devices inserted under offenders’ skin, robots assigned to contain prisoners and driverless vehicles used to transport them were among the measures proposed by technology companies to ministers who are gathering ideas to tackle the crisis in the UK justice system.The proposals were made at a meeting of more than two dozen tech companies in London last month, chaired by the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, minutes seen by the Guardian show. Amid an acute shortage of prison places and probation officers under severe strain, ministers told the companies they wanted ideas for using wearable technologies, behaviour monitoring and geolocation to create a “prison outside of prison”. Continue reading...

Society

80 m. ago To all who think capitalism can drive progressive change, it won’t – and here’s the shocking proof | Polly Toynbee

Asset manager Aberdeen’s surprise cut to funding research into inequality has left those that used its grants for good works reelingThe axe fell with shocking suddenness. On Thursday Aberdeen Group plc terminated its Financial Fairness Trust without notice and sacked the CEO, Mubin Haq, the chair and all the trustees, leaving eight staff dangling. The company tells me it plans to move in a different direction. That dreaded phrase marks the end of 16 remarkable years, during which the trust sponsored some of the most influential research into inequality and its financial causes.Aberdeen is a wealth management and investment company. I admired its willingness to fund research not in its own immediate interest, but for the sake of social improvement, as a sign that decent capitalism was possible. Now that’s over. The mood has changed. Wildfires started by President Trump are engulfing global companies as his administration attempts to bar asset and retirement plan managers from conside...

Events

80 m. ago ‘I have a deep sense of survivor’s guilt’: Four people on 7/7, the day that changed the nation

Netflix’s documentary marks 20 years since the suicide bombings on the capital’s transport network that killed 52 and injured almost 800. Four of those caught up in the atrocity talk to Gabriel Tate about their experiences and their enduring legacy

Events

1 hour ago Nissan to cut 250 jobs at major UK car plant as electric vehicle sales flop

Nissan is cutting around 250 jobs at its Sunderland car plant as part of a major cost-cutting drive after the Japanese carmaker reported its worst financial result in a quarter of a century

Economics

2 h. ago Transform your tiny garden into a lush haven with these creative tips

Space, or the lack of it, doesn't have to stand between you and a fruitful garden

Politics

2 h. ago Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers review – finally, Netflix makes a great, serious documentary

Twenty years on, this heart-racing four-part series reconstructs the terror attacks and the vast investigation that followed, without losing sight of the survivors. The detail about the bathtub is astonishingNetflix is not always known for its restraint in the documentary genre, but with its outstanding recent film Grenfell: Uncovered, and now Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers, it appears to be finding a new maturity and seriousness in the field. There have been plenty of recent documentaries on the subject of the attacks and the sprawling investigation that followed – no surprise, given that it is the 20th anniversary this week – but there is still real depth to be found here.Over four parts, this thorough series unravels the initial attacks on the London transport system, which killed 52 people and injured more than 700, then follows that febrile month into the failed bombings of 21 July, and then the police shooting of the innocent Jean Charles de Menezes, a day later. Th...

Events

2 h. ago ‘Even if we stop drinking we will be exposed’: A French region has banned tap water. Is it a warning for the rest of Europe?

Forever chemicals have polluted the water supply of 60,000 people, threatening human health, wildlife and the wider ecosystem. But activists say this is just the tip of the Pfas icebergOne quiet Saturday night, Sandra Wiedemann was curled up on the sofa when a story broke on TV news: the water coming from her tap could be poisoning her. The 36-year-old, who is breastfeeding her six-month-old son Côme, lives in the quiet French commune of Buschwiller in Saint-Louis, near the Swiss city of Basel. Perched on a hill not far from the Swiss and German borders, it feels like a safe place to raise a child – spacious houses are surrounded by manicured gardens, framed by the wild Jura mountains.But as she watched the news, this safety felt threatened: Wiedemann and her family use tap water every day, for drinking, brushing her teeth, showering, cooking and washing vegetables. Now, she learned that chemicals she had never heard of were lurking in her body, on her skin, potentially harming her ...

Events

2 h. ago Gardeners urged to plant 5 flowers to keep butterflies returning all summer

Gardening experts are urging households to plant these five plants to keep butterflies around during the summer time, and it only takes a couple of minutes from your day.

Politics

2 h. ago Molotov terror attack on Israel solidarity walkers leaves Holocaust survivor, 82, dead

Karen Diamond, 82, has died from injuries suffered in a Molotov cocktail attack on Israeli hostage solidarity walkers in Boulder, Colorado, according to prosecutors

Events

3 h. ago 'Secret weapon' to eliminate snails and slugs from your garden is simple drink

Snails and slugs can wreak havoc in your garden, leaving behind unsightly holes and damaging leaves, stems and roots - but a simple solution is at hand in the form of a popular drink

Events

3 h. ago Liverpool owners released statement about new signing before transfer swap deal fell apart

Fulham's Clint Dempsey and Liverpool's Jordan Henderson were set to switch places in the 2012 summer transfer window, with FSG even going as far as accidentally saying that a deal was done

Economics

3 h. ago Gardeners urged to act now to get rid of destructive pest living under soil

Watch out for this highly destructive garden pest which likes to hide in plant pots and destroy your plants - luckily, experts say there are several ways to banish them

Politics

3 h. ago Yes, Anna Wintour could be brutal. But like me she'll surely feel a deep sense of loss to walk away from the cashmere nest that is the editor's chair at Vogue: ALEXANDRA SHULMAN

Is Anna leaving Vogue? Or is it Vogue leaving Anna? Is this finally the end of the power of fashion magazines? Who will take over from her?

Society

4 h. ago Gardeners with bird baths urged to make one immediate change in July

If you want to keep your garden birds hydrated this summer, then garden-owners have been urged to make one adjustment - and it needs to be done immediately

Politics

4 h. ago Tiny UK village that could be anywhere in Europe is ranked one of Britain's best

Feel the sand under your feet and gaze upon acres of beautifully planted gardens in this tiny village that nobody actually lives in

Politics

5 h. ago Common gardening mistakes Brits make that can ruin your veg garden

With searches for 'plant spacing tips' and 'soil testing' on the rise, experts at Yell have shared some of the most common gardening mistakes we all need to avoid

Politics

6 h. ago More than 14 MILLION could die as a result of Trump's foreign aid cuts, study finds

Research revealed that 4.5 million children under the age of five could die by 2030 as a result of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) being dismantled by the Trump administration.

Politics

6 h. ago Survivors open up about ‘scary’ times they were spiked as new data reveals more than one in 10 adults have been victims

Victim opens up about ‘really scary’ ordeal for his children who had to run to get help

Events

6 h. ago My young comrade died in my arms. It would be immoral if those soldiers who survived were now betrayed

Britain's Government is on the brink of a decision that defies explanation. It is choosing to side with former terrorists against veterans of the Armed Forces.

Events

7 h. ago Labour benefits cuts latest: Rebels urge Starmer to ‘think again’ as PM tries to quell party mutiny

More than 130 Labour backbenchers had signed an amendment that would have effectively killed the legislation

Politics