The care sector needs migrant workers. Labour’s visa crackdown is a cynical move | Letter

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You are right to highlight, in your editorial, the folly of the government’s decision to make it harder for migrant workers to find work as carers in the UK (The Guardian view on Labour’s visa crackdown in social care: another problem for an overstretched system, 22 July).It’s a cynical political move aimed at spiking Reform UK’s guns on immigration, rather than alleviating pressure on the much-maligned care sector.Migrant workers are indispensable in filling roles that have been undervalued, underpaid and unwanted for too long.With thousands more care professionals needed to look after our ageing population, the government needs a joined-up approach if the crisis-ridden sector is to be transformed.While the government’s fair pay agreement is the first step in turning care around, ministers must think again on their approach to foreign help – and, closer to home, announce the funding to make the fair pay agreement a reality.

Decent wages and sufficient staff are essential elements of the promised national care service the country needs so desperately.Christina McAneaGeneral secretary, Unison Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
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Rolls-Royce hits turbo speed. Now keep going for a decade | Nils Prately

Turbo Tufan strikes again. It’s almost becoming predictable. Every time Tufan Erginbilgiç, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, sets “midterm” financial targets, the aero-engine maker beats them, or looks set to do so, in no time.Back in February, Erginbilgiç was able to declare that the 2027 targets for operating profits would be hit two years early, so he set new ambitions for 2028. Six months on, even the refreshed numbers look conservative

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Air traffic control failure an isolated incident, says UK minister after meeting

A radar-related technical failure that led to hundreds of flights being disrupted on Wednesday was an “isolated event” with “no evidence of malign activity”, the transport secretary has said, after summoning the head of the UK air traffic control service, Nats, to account for the disruption.Heidi Alexander said she met Martin Rolfe, the under-fire chief executive of Nats, to understand what happened and what could be done to prevent a reoccurrence in the future after more than 150 flights were cancelled and others delayed by the latest glitch.It is understood that Alexander did not press Rolfe to consider his position, despite fresh calls from Ryanair for him to quit.Most of the disruption from the brief stoppage came at Heathrow. A total of 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled by 10pm on Wednesday, and some inbound flights were diverted to European cities

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How will Australia’s under-16s social media ban be enforced, and which platforms will be exempt?

Australians using a range of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and X will need to have their age checked to ensure they are 16 or older when the social media ban comes into effect from early December.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailHow will it work? And what information will people need to hand over?From 10 December, new laws will apply to platforms that meet the government’s definition of an “age-restricted social media platform”, which has the sole or significant purpose of enabling social interaction with two or more users, and which allows users to post material on the service.The government has not specified by name any platforms that will be included in the ban, meaning any site that meets the above definition could be included except if they meet the exemptions released on Wednesday.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said that the covered platforms include – but are not limited to – Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, and YouTube.The communications minister, Anika Wells, said these platforms would be expected to take reasonable steps to deactivate accounts for users under 16, prevent children registering new accounts, check ages, and also prevent workarounds to bypass the restrictions

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Met police to more than double use of live facial recognition

Britain’s biggest police force is to more than double its use of live facial recognition to up to 10 deployments a week.The move by the Metropolitan police comes as it restructures to cover the loss of 1,400 officers and 300 staff amid budget shortages.Live facial recognition – which involves the matching of faces caught on surveillance camera footage against a police watchlist in real time – will now be used up to 10 times a week across five days, up from the current four times a week across two days.The tactic will be deployed at the Notting Hill carnival over the August bank holiday.An older form of the technology was trialled at the event in 2016 and 2017

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Hull KR’s ‘embarrassing’ 74-12 demolition of Salford raises big questions

This was anything but the kind of advert Super League clubs who voted to expand the competition to 14 teams in 2026 would have hoped for.This may well be the last time we see Salford versus Hull KR as a Super League fixture for some time. There is a growing feeling that, even with two more teams joining the elite next year, Salford’s position is increasingly untenable as they remain riddled by financial problems.Having been forced to request an advance on their central distribution on the eve of the season, a takeover in February was hoped to be the cure for their long-term ills. But 20 rounds into the season, Salford remain under salary-cap constraints, have had to sell players to make ends meet and are still in deep financial trouble

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LeBron James, Nikola Jokić reportedly meet over $5bn upstart to rival NBA

A high-profile meeting last week in France between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter and Nikola Jokić’s agent Miško Ražnatović was about plans for a new $5bn international basketball league, according to a report by Front Office Sports, which cited multiple sources familiar with the matter.The proposed league, spearheaded by Carter, would feature six men’s and six women’s teams that travel together to eight global cities in a touring format. Inspired by LIV Golf and Formula One, the league aims to offer players equity stakes, something NBA rules currently prohibit for active athletes.Ražnatović, a powerful figure in European basketball, posted a photo of the meeting on Instagram over the weekend. The caption, tagged in Saint-Tropez, teased: “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026