Tuesday briefing: The story behind the Edinburgh University ‘skull room’ – and a reckoning over its history

In today’s newsletter: What a landmark inquiry into the university’s slavery connections found – and what the institution is going to do about itGood morning. I’m Phoebe Weston, and I’ll be bringing you First Edition alongside Aamna this summer. If there is anything you would like to see covered over the coming weeks, please hit reply and send us your suggestions.Today’s newsletter takes you behind a series of locked doors at the University of Edinburgh’s Anatomical museum. The “skull room” is at the end of a long corridor, rarely visited by anyone outside the university – and inside it are mahogany-framed glass cabinets containing appropriately 1,500 human skulls, some with peeling labels and catalogue numbers, others bare.Israel | Two leading human rights organisations based in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and Israel’s western allies have a legal and moral duty to stop it. Donald Trump has told Israel to allow “every ounce of food” into Gaza as he acknowledged for the first time that there is “real starvation” in the region.Politics | The US president heaped praise on Keir Starmer as the two met in Scotland, but in a domestic intervention that will not have been appreciated by the British PM, Trump urged him to cut taxes and tackle illegal immigration to win the next election.Economy | The French prime minister, François Bayrou, said the EU had capitulated to Donald Trump’s threats of ever-increasing tariffs, as he labelled the framework deal struck in Scotland on Sunday as a “dark day, when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission”.Labour | Angela Rayner has hit back at anonymous No 10 officials who have briefed against senior cabinet ministers in recent months, warning them they are committing “self-harm”.Cost of living | Food prices rose by 4% in July from a year earlier, up from 3.7% in June and above the three-month average of 3.5% according to the latest snapshot from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The rising cost of staples like meat and butter – which have both increased by over 15% – has been blamed for large retailers struggling to entice shoppers back to the high street. Continue reading...

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