The Guardian

Plan to move part of Whitehall to Manchester wins praise but would involve major logistical challenges and costs

• ‘It’s a stellar idea’: readers on Andy Burnham’s No 10 North plans

It first found fame as the centre of Manchester’s textile industry and later as the home of celebrated nightclub Sankeys. But now Ancoats, on the northern edge of Manchester city centre, could become the somewhat unexpected heart of British government.

The site of a disused retail park, which was once home to Toys R Us, Argos and JD Sports, has been earmarked to host the new No 10 North that prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has pledged to set up.

New study on fluazinam’s neurotoxicity comes up with different findings from earlier report based on manufacturer’s data

Researchers who re-ran a crucial fungicide study on neurotoxicity have come up with significantly different findings, and campaigners argue that the substance should now be withdrawn from the market.

In 2005, a study conducted by Huntingdon Life Sciences on behalf of ISK, the manufacturer of fluazinam, on the development of neurotoxicity of fluazinam in pregnant rats concluded there were no statistically significant effects in relation to brain development in the rats’ offspring.

This shadowy treaty on medicine imports will cost the NHS billions and take funding away from doctors, nurses, cancer scans and the rest

For all the crowd noise and heavy-breathing match analysis, British democracy is a simple sport. We elect politicians to serve our interests. They direct the vital services that look after our families and communities, such as our healthcare and our schools. The entire political system rests on one basic premise: they work for us.

Believe that, as I do, and this week is one of vast democratic failure. Rather than working for us, Keir Starmer and his ministers are acting against us. They have rammed through parliament a sweeping law that will, independent experts agree, harm the public; and they have done so without even coming clean on the costs or the consequences. What’s worse, MPs and the press have failed to put this under scrutiny.

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

Sweltering heatwaves do nothing to deter the Thursday quiz. Well, OK, maybe a bit. The laptop is too hot to touch. The local animals are screeching and barking in a frenzy. People are playing their music too loud. But still, the quiz persists. Fifteen questions await you on topical news, general knowledge, popular culture and for some reason maths with goths, who are inevitably having a really hard time during such a hot summer. Anyway, let us know how you get on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 254

Consortium led by Michał Sołowow planning enough SMRs to power equivalent of 8m homes for more than 60 years

A consortium led by the billionaire industrialist Michał Sołowow has announced plans to build 14 small modular nuclear reactors on three sites across the UK, including the location of a former nuclear plant in Gloucestershire.

The Polish entrepreneur and rally driver plans to use £35bn of private capital to roll out enough small modular reactors (SMRs) to power the equivalent of 8m UK homes for more than 60 years, or even power datacentre investments alongside Google.

Exclusive: Burnham-aligned thinktank calls for devolution of public services including social care, childcare and skills

Mayors should be given power over a wide range of public services, including social care, childcare and skills, according to a paper written by one of the people helping shape Andy Burnham’s devolution plans.

JP Spencer, the head of devolution policy at the thinktank ThinkLabour, calls for mayors to take control over large parts of service provision in a paper that gives an indication of how the probable next prime minister could seek to shift power out of Whitehall.

Reasons for increase not clear but experts say it could be welcome sign marine ecosystem is becoming healthier

The Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast have long drawn fans of the natural world keen to catch sight of the resident guillemots and puffins.

But as recently as last week, another much bigger black-and-white animal has been delighting wildlife spotters. Orcas have been appearing more regularly than ever before.

Security checks due to new digital entry and exit system have caused delays and missed flights for holidaymakers

Travellers to the EU have faced additional border security checks since the launch of the digital entry and exit system (EES) last October.

The new system means that most non-EU citizens, including those from the UK, have to register their biometric information at the border. The checks are causing huge delays and airlines and airports are calling for it to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, saying some flights are leaving half full and passengers are facing queues of up to five hours.

Wildlife at risk as demand for cropland and water grows to feed 50% rise in farmed animals, campaign alliance says

The number of mammals and poultry farmed worldwide has increased by half in the last two decades, research shows, and the amount of cropland used for feeding livestock has increased by about a quarter.

These increases are putting rising pressure on natural systems, threatening wildlife and plant species and adding to the climate crisis.

More jaguars are killed in Bolivia each year by poachers than in any other country, driving the population to critical levels. But a recent successful release from captivity could radically increase the jaguar’s chances of survival

A tentative paw emerged from a steel cage on to the sandy riverbed deep in the Bolivian rainforest. Then, another. Slowly, the female jaguar looked right, left and right again, as if waiting to cross a busy road. Then, muscles stiff from the long journey, it strolled away and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Yaguara had been in captivity since August 2024, after being orphaned as an eight-month-old cub amid Bolivia’s worst recorded wildfire season. As the fires raged, burning more than 10% of the country’s surface area, authorities handed the cub over to a team of veterinarians from the Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY), a wild-animal rescue centre.