UNITED KINGDOM

July data shows total public debt was £2.98tn, or 94% of GDP – up £96bn on a year earlierThe UK government ran a larger than expected £1.8bn deficit in July, underlining the challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey, as he draws up his first budget.City economists had expected a shortfall of zero for July, a month when Treasury receipts tend to be swollen by self-assessment income tax payments. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/21/uk-unexpected-deficit-john-healey-prepares-for-first-budget Author : Heather Stewart Publish date : 2026-08-21 06:34:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Chester zoo resident, 23, ‘back to her usual feisty self’ after electrochemotherapy for tumour in her jawA 15ft (4.5-metre) python is believed to be the first snake in the world to be given a pioneering, life-saving cancer treatment normally used on humans.The 50kg reticulated python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, has just turned 23 and lives at Chester zoo. Keepers first became concerned that she may be unwell when she began eating less and spending more time inactive in her habitat. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/21/python-jodie-foster-snake-cancer-electrochemotherapy Author : Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent Publish date :

Court finds ‘defects’ in investigation of two senior constables charged over 2024 incident at Mareeba watch house in far north QueenslandFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo police officers charged with criminal offences over the use of capsicum spray, Tasers and restraints on a “cognitively and emotionally vulnerable” First Nations man in police custody have had the case against them permanently stayed, after a court found “defects” in the subsequent investigation.Andrew David Couchman, 54, and Ulrich Weiss, 45, both senior constables, were both charged over the incident at

Move may signal attempt to improve relations between military-backed government and ex-leader’s partyPakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has been taken to a hospital in the country’s capital on supreme court orders after weeks of uproar about his deteriorating health.A spokesperson for Khan’s party, Zulfikar Bukhari, said: “Imran Khan has been shifted from Adiala jail to International Shifa hospital in Islamabad following the supreme court’s order.” Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/20/imran-khan-hospital-pakistan Author : Shah Meer Baloch and agencies Publish date : 2026-08-20 23:07:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.