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Vodafone settles legal claim brought by 62 former franchisees

Agreement, without admission of liability, ends 19-month high court dispute that small-business owners said left them with large debts Vodafone has settled a long-running legal claim filed by 62 of its former franchisees who alleged the mobile phone group “unjustly enriched” itself at their expense by up to £85m. The small-business owners – some of whom said they had suffered suicidal thoughts because of the pressure exerted by the telecoms group – launched the high court claim in 2024 after running up large personal debts they said had been caused by their deals with the company. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/zcTHDX2
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Kylian Mbappé feels sands of time shifting as France suffer fresh World Cup angst

France’s captain has played with a sense of unfinished business but he will be 31 when the next World Cup begins It was only last month that Kylian Mbappé suggested all roads may lead to Florida. He was in sufficiently mischievous mood to reveal David Beckham had been chewing his ear off about a move to Major League Soccer, dangling the prospect of a reunion with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. “We will see, I don’t know,” he said. “The American culture is different. There are no limits to ambitions, I like it.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2kQsrVO

Germany warns US against election interference after it announces grants scheme

State department says plan will provide funding to ‘address national sovereignty, migration, censorship and lawfare’ Friedrich Merz has warned Donald Trump’s administration against interfering in German elections after the US state department announced a scheme to fund Maga-aligned causes in Europe. The German chancellor was responding to a new US initiative offering grants of up to $3m (£2.2m) for European charities, thinktanks and individuals. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/7tmzYUM

Book publishers sue Google for copyright infringement over Gemini AI training

Group of major publishers accuses the tech giant of ‘one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history’ A group of major publishers have filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of illegally using millions of copyrighted books to help build its Gemini artificial intelligence models, in “one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history”. The case, filed in federal court in New York, has been brought by three publishers – Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier – and bestselling American author Scott Turow. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5o9fvY8

US outbreak of parasite causing ‘watery diarrhea’ rises to more than 2,800 cases

Cyclosporiasis outbreak comes a year after Trump officials cut funding for state and local health departments What is cyclosporiasis, the parasitic illness causing ‘explosive’ diarrhea? State health officials in Michigan and Ohio are reporting thousands of cases of cyclosporiasis, a – a parasitic infection that causes “watery diarrhea”, loss of appetite and weight loss. The outbreak of more than 2,800 cases comes a year after the Trump administration cut funding to state and local health departments and reduced the remit of a program dedicated to coordinating information on food borne illness, including of cyclospora. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5aObuN0

Two men die after going into sea to rescue children at County Durham beach

Youngsters confirmed safe but men pronounced dead after being brought out of water at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool Two men have died after going into the water at a beach in County Durham to try to help two children who had gotten into difficulty, police said. Officers were called at about 3.45pm on Sunday after concerns were raised about two youngsters in the water at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Qt1fiCa

Martha Lillard, last known US polio survivor using iron lung, dies aged 78

Lillard, of Oklahoma, contracted polio when she was five and slept inside cylindrical metal device to help her breathe The last known US person living with polio and relying on an iron lung has died aged 78. Martha Lillard, who contracted polio at age five and spent most of her life dependent on an iron lung machine that helped her breathe, died on 26 June in Oklahoma, according to an online obituary . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/o9wZOcj