Most of the amendment tabled by Labour MP Marie Tidball to increase protections for Pip claimants in UK accepted

Ministers have made another concession to their flagship welfare bill, over an amendment tabled by the Labour MP Marie Tidball in an attempt to enshrine safeguards for disabled people.

Tidball’s amendment called for a series of protections, including that future changes to the personal independence payment (Pip) be co-produced with disabled people and experts; that the government commit to a clear summer consultation before new eligibility rules for Pip are applied to new claimants; and that measurable targets be set to close the disability employment gap.

Extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labour among accusations upheld by court in judgment

Russia has committed flagrant and unprecedented abuses of human rights since it invaded Ukraine in 2014, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labour, the European court of human rights has found.

The court’s grand chamber unanimously held that between 11 May 2014 and 16 September 2022, when Russia ceased to be a party to the European convention on human rights it had committed “manifestly unlawful conduct … on a massive scale”.

Indiscriminate military attacks.

Summary executions of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel.

Torture, including the use of rape as a weapon of war.

Unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians.

Unjustified displacement and transfer of civilians.

Intimidation, harassment and persecution of all religious groups other than adherents of the historically Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox church.

Intimidation and violence against journalists and new laws prohibiting and penalising the dissemination of information in support of Ukraine.

Forcible dispersal by the Russian military of peaceful protests in occupied towns and cities.

Destruction, looting and expropriation of property.

Suppression of the Ukrainian language in schools and indoctrination of Ukrainian schoolchildren.

Transfer to Russia, and in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children.

An independent review of the criminal courts lays bare the lack of good options when well-funded reform is not on the table

Only a tiny minority of criminal cases in England and Wales are decided by a jury – as few as 1%, once guilty pleas and judge-directed acquittals are taken into account. There are democracies where jury trial is rarer still. That is relevant context for the recommendation, published on Wednesday in an independent review of the criminal courts, that more cases be heard by magistrates. There are also good reasons why the right to be judged by one’s peers is deemed a foundational principle of justice and an insurance against prejudice and capricious power. This, too, is relevant context.

Sir Brian Leveson, a former judge, recognises the sensitivity around any restriction on jury trial. But he weighs it against “the real risk of total system collapse in the near future”. He argues that the backlog of unheard crown court cases – currently about 77,000 – betrays the victims of crime, leaves witnesses and defendants in limbo and corrodes faith in the whole apparatus of justice. To get the system back on track, Sir Brian makes 45 recommendations, covering a range of sentencing and divisions of labour between police, magistrates and crown courts.

Boy, 13, arrested after Rancho fire raced through dry brush in Laguna Beach and forced evacuation of about 100 homes

A 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks that sparked a wildfire this week in coastal southern California, forcing the evacuations of about 100 canyon homes, authorities said.

Crews with air support protected residences from the Rancho fire as flames raced through dry brush on Monday afternoon in Laguna Beach. It was held to 4 acres (1.6 hectares) with no damage to structures.

• Ghana attacker will sign six-year deal subject to medical

• West Ham want at least six signings and must raise funds

Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement to sign Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for £54.5m.

Kudus is due to undergo a medical on Thursday and will sign a six-year deal. The Ghana attacker will become the first player to leave West Ham for Spurs since Scott Parker in 2011.

Communities by the sea have been hit by economic decline and related social problems. Empowering a new generation can help turn the tide

Wish you were here? In recent years the fate of coastal towns has emerged as one of Britain’s most pressing social issues. Both the fishing and domestic tourism industries have been in decline for decades. Seaside communities routinely find themselves at the wrong end of national league tables when it comes to deprivation, job opportunities, educational attainment and mental and physical health.

As the Guardian’s new reporting project on young people in coastal towns makes clear, the result for many 16- to 25-year-olds is acute frustration combined with the pressure of unwanted dilemmas. Most remain fiercely loyal to places whose geographic isolation tends to generate a strong sense of belonging. But getting out to get on is, too often, perceived as the only option. The steady stream of departures in turn takes away skills and youthful dynamism, further diminishing the prospects of those left behind.