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A good pair of wellies will keep your feet warm and dry, and give you a decent grip underfoot. They’ll also offer all-day comfort and support, alongside reliable waterproofing, so it’s worth investing in the very best wellies to see you through season after season.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.But sizing, tread patterns, cushioning, warmth levels and even the materials they’re made from all vary, depending on the brand and style. I’ve put 15 of the best wellies from well-known names through their paces.At a glanceMen’s, £54.99…

Ten people accused of facilitating a sex trafficking operation that targeted about 51 underage girls and women have been arrested as California authorities conducted their latest operation to curb trafficking along the Figueroa Corridor in Los Angeles, according to a Wednesday news release.Prosecutors said on Wednesday that members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based gang, the Hoovers, acted as pimps, recruiting minors and women, some of whom were runaways or foster kids, with the “false promise” of a better life or with violence into sex work between February 2021 and June 2026.One of the individuals facing charges, 23-year-old Cameron…

Government makes concession on controversial aged care assessment toolThe government has done a partial U-turn on its controversial aged care integrated assessment tool that critics said had no human override capability, and was being reviewed.The IAT involves an assessor asking an older person questions about their physical, social and personal circumstances to determine how much government-funded home support they are eligible to receive.Ahead of the IAT’s launch, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing quietly added an algorithm to classify IAT responses and determine a funding classification. The department’s user manual states that assessors must accept the IAT’s classification outcome…

Concerned woman looks at smartphone screen. One sign that may indicate that your phone has been hacked is a fast-draining battery.GettyThese days, how to tell if your phone is hacked can be a crucial piece of knowledge. Most people are highly reliant on their phone; three quarters of phone users worldwide use them to chat or send messages, six in ten for banking and nearly half for navigation, according to Statista. Indeed, according to Pew Research, 16% of U.S. adults are “smartphone-only” internet users who depend on their phone as they don’t have a home broadband service. All this means…

WhatsApp this week started rolling out username reservations ahead of the broader launch planned later this year. The feature — which lets people find and message each other by handle instead of phone number — is already raising impersonation concerns, drawing scrutiny from security experts and regulators in India, the app’s largest market, with more than 500 million users. The rollout marks a shift in how people identify one another on WhatsApp. Instead of relying on phone numbers as the primary identifier, users will increasingly interact through platform-managed usernames, a change that Meta says improves privacy but that critics argue…

Carroll’s lawyers have asked for an expedited resolution to the payment question, after the US Supreme Court declined Trump’s appeal.Published On 1 Jul 20261 Jul 2026Writer E Jean Carroll is demanding that United States President Donald Trump pay the $5m a civil court awarded her in damages, after the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal.On Wednesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed that Carroll could pursue the payment on an expedited basis. He called on Trump’s legal team to respond no later than July 7.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listA day earlier, Carroll’s lawyers urged the court to act.…

People with strong chest and back muscles are less likely to have a heart attack or die prematurely, analysis using artificial intelligence suggests.Researchers led by the University of Edinburgh used AI to examine hospital scans of 1,722 patients, aged mostly in their 50s, who had chest pain.Those with greater muscle density in their chests and backs were less likely to have a heart attack or die in the decade after the scan, the study found.Researchers suspect people with this type of “good-quality skeletal” muscle are those who exercise more and have greater strength in their torsos. The findings, published in…

Harry Kane scored twice as England came from behind to defeat DR Congo 2-1 on Tuesday, securing their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The victory extended England’s unbeaten run under manager Thomas Tuchel to 11 competitive matches and preserved the Three Lions’ perfect record against African opposition in World Cup knockout fixtures. DR Congo made a dream start when Brian Cipenga finished brilliantly in the seventh minute, latching onto Chancel Mbemba’s long cross-field pass to stun the European side. England struggled to respond immediately but gradually seized control following the first-half cooling break.…

Full details of the proposed deal have not been made public. The BBC has been in discussions with the council about using a large-scale studio space within the Belfast Stories project once it is built.It is understood the plan would allow the broadcaster use of the space for 140 days a year for at least 10 years.It would not have exclusive access to the space and it would not be branded as a BBC studio, as other organisations could use it, for exhibitions, film-screenings or other cultural events.The Belfast Stories centre will be based at the site of the former…

Funmi Ogundare  With their project innovation on rapid alert system for community security, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Adamawa, Tuesday, emerged winner of the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), aimed at advancing engineering innovation in Nigeria. For their efforts, the school represented by team Mavericks, received a cheque of N50 million and a trophy, while their school will also get a Centre of Excellence building. University of Ibadan represented by team Aurora, came second with their ‘Aurora Birth’ innovation.  They received a cheque of N30 million and N75 million worth of equipment for their school’s engineering faculty. University of Jos and…