Armed group appears to reach agreement with Trump administration over safety of Red Sea shipping

Officials from the US met Houthi leaders over the weekend at the country’s embassy in Muscat, Oman, it has been confirmed, leading to the US decision not to intervene to help Saudi Arabia drive back a Houthi advance inside Yemen.

The Houthis reassured the US that the ceasefire agreement between the two sides struck in 2025 still held and the movement had no intention of attacking US shipping in the Red Sea. Only Saudi-linked shipping was regarded as a target owing to its blockade of Yemen, the Houthis confirmed.

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National Education Union welcomes news that schools will not have to partly fund increase from their own budgets

The UK’s biggest education union is claiming a significant victory after the government bowed to pressure and agreed to fully fund a forthcoming pay increase for teachers in England in a sudden U-turn.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) were due to vote in a ballot for strike action next month over the government’s recent pay offer which provided for a 3.5% increase from this month, with an additional 3% from next September.

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Politicians from Solihull, Gateshead and Kent were in online group linked to balaclava-clad far-right agitators

At least five Reform UK councillors have been members of a Facebook group linked to the far-right group involved in the blockades of Dover and Portsmouth by masked men, according to anti-fascist campaigners.

Nigel Farage’s party has been wrestling with internal divisions over its position on the Patriot Platform group, whose activities have been condemned by Farage and across the political spectrum.

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Anxious to sample some traditional Spanish culture while taking in a La Liga match years ago, Football Daily and some friends decamped to Gran Alicant. As we prepared to leave a quaint bodega (the Dick Turpin), where we’d been sampling the local hooch (Guinness), to travel to the nearby stadium, an elderly local resident with an unmistakable mackem accent informed us that the Elche home game to which we were heading was not being played until the following evening. It had fallen victim to Spanish TV’s infuriating habit of rescheduling random top-flight matches with little or no notice or consideration for Johnny-come-latelys who might have travelled from afar to watch them. We never did get to see Elche play in the flesh but did get to watch the current La Liga basement-dwellers give José Mourinho an almighty fright on TV on Tuesday night, as they went this close to snatching a point from Real Madrid.

I almost wish I was a West Ham fan. As an eternally suffering Spurs supporter, I find myself looking enviously towards the London Stadium these days. The Hammers are top of the table, banging in goal after goal (already 20 more than Spurs’ tally in the league). They score even when they lose and seem to have bought a proper No 9. My Spurs, meanwhile, continue the tradition of the last two years in style, sitting comfortably in 17th with 1,047 wingers on contract, and getting knocked out of one of the competitions they could ‘conceivably’ have won, the only competition they seem to be able to score goals in as well. In hindsight, West Ham made the right choice to go down. Hammers fans, you are welcome!” – Yannick Woudstra (and no others).

Hugh Fordham’s idea [Tuesday’s Football Daily letters] has some merit. But it reminded me of a pithy comment by Bill Nicholson. ‘Do you think he was interfering with play?’, he was asked. Nicholson responded: “If he’s not interfering with play, what’s he doing on the pitch?!’” – Harry McDonald.

In support of Hugh Fordham’s suggestion, I remember discussing the idea of interfering with play while on a training course for referees back in the 1960s. We were told that unless someone was ‘lying injured near the corner flag’ any player should be treated as being involved in play. Not a lot of room for subjectivity in those days. And obviously no thought of stopping play for the hypothetical injured player!” – Trevor Field.

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Ursula von der Leyen announces draft law to stop apps ‘depriving children of their childhood’

The EU will move forward with plans for an under 13s social media ban, the head of the European Commission has confirmed.

Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that social media apps were “depriving children of their childhood” and big tech platforms needed to prove the safety of their products.

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With tear gas, grenades and a new law, French authorities are targeting unlicensed music gatherings. Those in the rave scene explore the parallels with the UK in the 90s

When Spiral Tribe fled England in 1992, they left behind an indelible mark on rave history. The itinerant sound system collective are best known for their involvement with Castlemorton Common festival, an unlicensed free party drawing more than 30,000 people and lasting nearly a week. After a drawn-out and notoriously expensive trial for public order offences, Spiral Tribe were acquitted of all charges. They decided to drive their repurposed military caravans out of the UK and never look back.

Their documented history often stops there. But little known is the fact that they then kicked off “the biggest illegal underground movement that Europe had ever seen”, says Spiral Tribe associate Sebastian Vaughan, AKA electronic musician 69db.

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Van Kooten en De Bie

De jaarlijkse bosbranden op het Indonesische Kalimantan zijn dit keer bijzonder omvangrijk. Het vuur, gesticht voor mijnbouw en plantages en aangewakkerd door de droogte, zou al 60 procent van het leefgebied van de ernstig bedreigde orang-oetan hebben verwoest. Veel bewoners, die last hebben van de giftige rook, belanden in het ziekenhuis en krijgen zuurstof toegediend.

Gidi Markuszower vraagt aan Brekelmans of hij de VVD-slogan „rust in de portemonnee” nog wel hard kan maken als het kabinet óók de inkomstenbelasting verhoogt: werknemers in…

Wijzen naar het gevaar en zeggen dat het goed komt zolang iedereen blijft geloven in de Europese gedachte, volstaat niet. Op tal van terreinen moet de EU serieus een been bijtrekken.

Dat de affaire van Lena en Lukas slecht afloopt, vermoed je algauw. Maar om de plot draait het niet bij schrijver Jannie Regnerus: zij bouwt aan een oeuvre van indringende kleine romans, die scherp inzoomen op kantelmomenten en rijk zijn aan betekenisvolle associaties.

PVV-leider Geert Wilders slaagde er weer in een stap verder te gaan in zijn retoriek over vreemdelingen in Nederland.

Goede chef-dirigenten liggen niet voor het oprapen, daar ben je al lang achter als je er eentje zoekt. Hoe vind je desondanks je ideale chef? De twee grote Nederlandse orkesten (Rotterdams en Nederlands Philharmonisch) die nu zelf zoeken geven advies: ‘Staar je niet blind op één kandidaat, maar test er meerdere tegelijk uit.’

In 1917 werd er in Kinderdijk een luxe villa aan de Lek opgeleverd. Honderd jaar lang was het enorme huis in de handen van één ondernemersfamilie. Tot nu: de woning staat sinds deze week in de verkoop: “De prijs kan zomaar oplopen tot zeven miljoen euro.“

In een appartementencomplex aan de Bevelandsestraat in Rotterdam-Charlois is woensdagmiddag brand uitgebroken. Zowel sociale huurwoningen als zorgwoningen zitten in het pand. Het gebouw is tijdelijk ontruimd geweest, maar niemand is gewond geraakt.

“Was the beauty of the end of one’s life nothing more than an illusion?” (Kusama – Song of a Manhattan Suicide Addict) Afgelopen weekend opende de blockbuster ‘Yayoi Kusama’ in het Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, [Meer...]

A NATO fighter jet intercepted the unmanned aircraft, identified as a Gerbera, over central Lithuania early Tuesday.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Minister van Financiën Eelco Heinen heeft de tabellen van een eerdere conceptbegroting alsnog gepubliceerd. Dit nadat de Tweede Kamer er in meerderheid nogmaals om had gevraagd. Eerder wilde de VVD-bewindsman de stukken niet delen. "Gelet op het brede verzoek van de Kamer," doet hij dat nu wel.

In de brief bij de stukken herhaalt Heinen dat het stuk normaal gesproken niet openbaar wordt, vanwege "de noodzaak om met elkaar in vertrouwen van gedachten te kunnen wisselen over zowel wensen van partijen alsook de ruimte tot compromis die zij bereid zijn te bieden. Alleen op die manier kunnen we tot samenwerking komen."

Dagblad NRC schreef maandag al over het concept, dat volgens de krant vooral door Heinen zelf was gemaakt en tot grote onvrede leidde bij coalitiepartners CDA en D66.

Volledige vermogenswinstbelasting

In het concept had de minister het plan opgenomen om in 2030 over te gaan op een volledige vermogenswinstbelasting. In 2028 zou dit al gelden voor vermogenden die hun geld in aandelen hebben zitten. Die invulling zou de overheid in het eerste jaar ruim 4 miljard kosten. Tot 2031 kost het 11 miljard euro aan belastingderving.

Die misgelopen inkomsten zouden deels betaald worden door vanaf 2029 jaarlijks 1,2 miljard euro meer binnen te halen aan inkomstenbelasting. Dat zou vooral bij de hogere inkomens vandaan komen, door het moment waarop mensen het hoogste tarief van 49,5 procent te laten betalen, twee jaar lang niet mee te laten stijgen met de inflatie. Die grens ligt nu op ruim 78.000 euro per jaar.

ELCAN KE-7A has added a photo to the pool:

2026年8月1日に開催された第21回古河花火大会花火大会より、野村花火工業による第9章 音楽付き超特大ワイドスターマイン 「銀河形成」。The 9th chapter, super extra large and wide starmines to the music, “Galaxy Formation" by Nomura hanabi kogyo from the 21st Koga Fireworks Festival on August 1, 2026.