Four experts were sued for defamation ahead of a seminar where they planned to talk about research into the potential health risks on playgrounds and sports fields nationwide.

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A new report comes amid rising concern about how China will use new tools to power covert actions, as Western intelligence services also embrace the technology.

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A three-judge panel will determine whether National Guard troops can remain under President Trump’s command in Los Angeles as protests against immigration raids continue.

© Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times

The British prime minister scrambled at President Trump’s feet in a viral moment, but he may be happier than the other Group of 7 leaders with his moment in the sun.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

In an angry post on social media, President Trump suggested that President Emmanuel Macron of France was a publicity seeker with no clue about American plans in the Israel-Iran conflict.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

What makes successful (or unsuccessful) protests.

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We cannot escape the influence of the technological elite — and now, in tales like ‘Mountainhead” and “Careless People,” we imagine that they cannot escape us.

Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz are all in action on the show court today after Alex De Minaur crashes out

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Foundation warns USAID’s withdrawal could have wider ecological consequences

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The vote could result in a major change to how abortion law is policed in the UK

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Kraft Heinz said that 90 percent of its products, in terms of sales, already are without artificial dyes.

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The "White Lotus" star said the A-lister in question "did all the old tricks of doing a completely different performance off-camera than on."

• Live updates from the opening day at Royal Ascot

• Get in touch! Email Tony with your thoughts here

Queen’s Hat Stakes 2pm

Our regular reader will be well aware we always have the first betting heat, a fashion one, before the raccing gets underway. What colour will Camilla’s hat be?

William Hill are providing betting with the current odds as follows:

Blue 5/2, Pink 4/1, Yellow 5/1, Brown 7/1, White 7/1, Green 7/1, Grey 14/1, Purple 14/1, Black 16/1, Orange 16/1 Red 16/1

5pm ASCOT STAKES HANDICAP preview

Poniros and Reaching High have accounted for one quarter of all bets across Oddschecker today

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© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Kraft Heinz will be pulling certain artificial dyes from its U.S. products starting in 2027 and will no longer roll out new products with the dyes

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Retail sales fell sharply in May as consumers pulled back after a sharp increase in spending in March to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports

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With the international community distracted by the new Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran, ongoing bloodshed in Gaza is drawing less attention.

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Casey tells MPs she was surprised to be asked to re-engage with issue 10 years after her Rotherham report but says it was right decision

• Grooming gangs in UK ‘thrived in culture of ignorance’

Casey says in the past government has talked relentlessly about the need for better data sharing between departments.

But she says there is a need to consider making this mandatory.

I was there when the tragedy of Soham happened. We knew at that point that if we had had better data sharing there’s a possibility that we might have saved those girls’ lives. There’s certaintly an absolute clarity that intelligence would have been much faster in either avoiding it or or actually finding that dreadful human being earlier.

And we’ve known that forever onwards. And so I think there is also an issue that the Home Office can’t drag their feet on, looking at police intelligence systems, given we’ve living in the 21st century. Probably everbody in this room can connect within seconds. Yet we had Befordshire police finding a young boy that was being, in my mind trafficked to London. But the data intelligence system did not make it easy for them to find that he was in Deptford and being circled and dealt with by predators.

I feel very strongly on issues that are as searing as people’s race, when we know the prejudice and racism that people of colour experience in this country, to not get how you treat that data right is a different level of public irresponsibility.

Sorry, to put it so bluntly, I didn’t put it that bluntly yesterday, but I think it’s particularly important if you are collecting those sorts of issues to get them 100% right.

When we asked the good people of Greater Manchester Police to help us look at the data we also collected – I think it’s in the report – what was happening with child abuse more generally, and of course … if you look at the data on child sexual exploitation, suspects and offenders, it’s disproportionately Asian heritage. If you look at the data for child abuse, it is not disproportionate, and it is white men.

So again, just note to everybody, really outside here rather than in here. Let’s just keep calm here about how you interrogate data and what you draw from it.

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© Photograph: House of Commons/PA

© Photograph: House of Commons/PA

Pope Leo XIV will resume the papal tradition of taking a summer break outside Rome

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The big sale returns — with a spiffy new twist for 2025.

Everything you need to know about the best new gambling apps and recent launches in 2025

© iStock/The Independent

The mute button sure would have done wonders.

Although it's tempting to reach for a spray bottle when weeds pop up in your lawn, that shouldn't be your first impulse

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Despite rising costs, borrowers may be encouraged that providers have expanded their 0% purchase and balance transfer deals, Moneyfacts said.

© PA Archive

Actor said final edit made him look like a ‘crazy extra’

© Getty Images

Joe Tobin was dismissed without notice last year

© PA

President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One early Tuesday that he's seeking "better than a cease-fire" in the Israel-Iran conflict, hinting at something "bigger."

In a survey of 2,000 men, 49% of those who are married or in a committed relationship (60% of respondents) shared that they have kept money-related secrets.

The author of a damning report also hit out at Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, saying she was ‘disappointed’ by the Conservatives’ response to her review of the scandal

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Fortunately, urinary incontinence is not something that must simply be accepted with age – it can often be effectively managed or even reversed.

© Alamy/PA

Dr. Ron Taylor, a two-time World Series champion with the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals who later became the Toronto Blue Jays' team physician, has died. He was 87.

Prosecutors could wrap up case as early as Wednesday after hearing from more key witnesses

© Reuters

© PA

The director of Jodie Comer’s tour de force is now staging Inter Alia, another legal drama by Suzie Miller. He talks about steering Stranger Things: The First Shadow, resisting the classics and his double act with Stephen Daldry

Earlier this year, opposing theatres in Charing Cross Road displayed “sold out” signs for their shows. Both of them – Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Kyoto – were co-directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin. “It was surreal,” says Martin. “Someone sent me a photo and I thought: I’m keeping that. As a little Australian, I’m still surprised to make a living out of this crazy career.”

Kyoto had a limited run but Stranger Things has been going for 18 months and has “the noisiest audience I’ve ever heard”, Martin reports. “I think the stat is that 60% of [them] have never been to a play before. So they eat popcorn throughout and just respond in a really natural way. If it’s boring, they leave. If they’re frightened, they really scream and gasp. It’s very live but, if you’re used to traditional theatre, it’s weird.”

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© Photograph: Manuel Harlan

© Photograph: Manuel Harlan

The man accused of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses early Saturday also visited the homes of two other lawmakers, but one of them was away on vacation.

Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson star in the revamp of the classic slapstick comedy series

© Paramount

Will the Schwartz be with a Spaceballs sequel or will reverence kill the comedy?

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it believes Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s Natanz enrichment site have had “direct impacts” on the facility’s underground centrifuge halls

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Campaigners say the US government has been withholding funds for orphans and vulnerable children unlawfully – before a vote in Congress has backed Trump’s move

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