today's POLITICS story

Corbyn launches new political party

What happened?
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have officially unveiled their new and as-yet-unnamed political party. The left-wingers posted on X asking potential members of the party to sign up for a conference at which its direction will be decided.

Who said what?
The statement said the party would push for "a mass redistribution of wealth and power" and blamed the "rigged" system that "protects corporations and billionaires".

"This is a dangerous moment for Labour," said the New Statesman. The new party will offer a "counter to Reform", whose anti-migration focus has influenced Keir Starmer's move to the right.

Labour sources have been "dismissive of the threat from Corbyn", who lost two elections as its leader, said The Guardian, even though the prime minister's approval rating, at 21%, is a point lower than Corbyn's.

What next?
Sultana and Corbyn's statement closed with the promise that "real change is coming" – but Nigel Farage's Reform Party supporters might have most to gain from the arrival of a party that could splinter the left-wing vote.

Today's FARMING story

'Don't let people cuddle and kiss lambs', farmers told

What happened?
Visitors to petting farms are being warned not to hug lambs after an outbreak of a parasitic infection that can cause a serious gastrointestinal illness.

Last spring more than 200 people fell ill and 18 were hospitalised in Wales after catching the infection, which is common in young livestock, according to a Public Health Wales report.

The disease can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in humans, and while most people recover within a month, young children and the vulnerable can become seriously ill.

Who said what?
Dr Christopher Williams, a consultant epidemiologist for Public Health Wales, told the BBC that the illness was often contracted at petting events where children "cuddle, kiss or nuzzle" lambs. Children under 10 are four times more likely to be infected, the report said.

What next?
The advice is one of a range of recommendations following the outbreak. Others include prominent signs to encourage regular hand-washing and washing clothes as soon as possible after a farm visit.

It's not all bad

Forget 10,000 steps a day – it’s an arbitrary figure that dates from a 1960s pedometer marketing campaign in Japan, say doctors. Walking just 7,000 steps a day is enough to reduce the risk of serious health issues, including cancer, dementia and heart disease, according to new research published by The Lancet. The study shows that even 4,000 steps a day leads to better health compared to being very sedentary and that the benefits tend to level off after about 7,000 steps.

UNDER THE RADAR

Champagne-makers accused of exploitation

Three people have been jailed by a French court for the "human trafficking of undocumented migrants" who were working "like slaves" picking grapes for the champagne industry, said France24.

The court heard that more than 50 individuals were exploited. They were forced to work 13-hour shifts, left with "no food or water" and housed in "appalling" conditions in an abandoned building.

The victims, mainly from West Africa, ranged in age from 16 to 65 and were recruited through a WhatsApp group that "promised 'well-paid work' in the Champagne region", said the BBC. Instead, workers weren't given written contracts, were regularly underpaid, and some did not get paid at all.

In September 2023, labour inspectors following a tip-off found workers living in "cramped and unhygienic conditions" in the "heart of champagne country". State prosecutor Annick Browne said their living quarters constituted a "serious breach of the occupants' safety, health and dignity". One worker put it bluntly, telling the court that "even animals enjoyed better conditions", said The Times.

The case is only the latest in a "string of controversies" to hit the champagne industry, said The Guardian. Unions blame the owners of vineyards for "continuing to blindly accept cheap labour", with the justification that they are "helping African migrants" by giving them employment. Yet regulation is difficult because of chains of subcontracting throughout the industry.

Vineyard bosses have pointed the finger at these subcontractors, according to Henry Samuel in The Telegraph. Ahead of this year's harvest – set to begin next month – authorities have ramped up efforts to tackle exploitation, including the deployment of 22 labour inspectors and 84 police officers "to oversee the harvest on a daily basis".

on this day

25 July 1814

An American invasion of Canada during the War of 1812, called The Battle of Lundy's Lane, was thwarted by British and Canadian troops near Niagara Falls, Ontario. Earlier this year US President Donald Trump called for the annexation of Canada as America's "51st state".

Today's newspapers

'Catastrophe in Gaza'

"Britain must do more" to help Gaza, MPs tell Keir Starmer in The Mirror. As the "starvation and slaughter" continue, we in the UK "must not shrug our shoulders and say there is nothing we can do", they say.
There are tributes to the "incredible Hulk" in the Daily Star following the death of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan at the age of 71. "RIP Hulk", says The Sun.

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

Costume drama

A member of staff at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo role-played the part of pygmy hippo and internet star Moo Deng in an elaborate simulation of an animal escape. Wearing a cumbersome Moo Deng mascot costume, the impersonator of the pint-sized pachyderm pretended to attack a colleague before being shot with a tranquiliser gun. The real Moo Deng, whose name means “bouncy pork”, was relaxing by the pool after a four-day party to mark her first birthday this month.

Morning Report was written and edited by Holden Frith, Chas Newkey-Burden, Genevieve Bates and Martina Nacach Cowan Ros, with illustrations from Marian Femenias-Moratinos.