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Revolutionary Guard claims attack on oil tanker and two other ships; Houthis in Yemen say they are imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea

People gather at cafes and outdoor screenings to support team after Spain's backing for Palestinian rightsThe Spanish football team's World Cup win has been celebrated in the streets of Gaza, where Spain's support for Palestinian rights and Israel's backing for the Argentinian team turned the competition into more than a football showdown.Gathered at cafes and outdoor screenings, Palestinians defied the risk of Israeli attacks to cheer on a team they had taken to their hearts. Continue reading...

Vertical Aerospace says government has given 10m backing, taking its total investment in the project to 48mBritish flying taxi startup Vertical Aerospace has said the UK government has expressed interest in buying a military variant of its aircraft as it races to gain approval for flights with paying passengers.Vertical also welcomed another 10m grant from the government, taking its total UK state funding to 48m. Continue reading...

George Foster tells royal commission Australia's democratic institutions fundamentally different, but I can't ignore certain disturbing parallels in the social atmosphere'

In today's newsletter: As the new prime minister enters No 10, our journalists take you through what it was like covering his first hours in powerGood morning, and let's abandon all conditional tenses because finally Andy Burnham is UK prime minister and, on a day of ceremony and celebration, he pledged his government would be a circuit breaker for Britain".A defining characteristic of Team Burnham thus far has been the concentrated silence at its heart - a vacuum filled by increasingly frenzied speculation in recent days about his cabinet picks and policy priorities. As the black box finally cracked open on Monday, with his first instruction as prime minister - to end rough sleeping - and his surprise choice of chancellor, I was at the Guardian's head office in London, speaking to editors and correspondents covering the early hours of Burnham's premiership about what they might reveal for the country.UK news | A 28-year-old man from Rotherham has been charged with the murder of the former MP and Reform UK party spokesperson Ann Widdecombe.Technology | Cases of predators coercing children into harming themselves or producing sexual photos and videos of themselves have surged globally in the past year, child safety experts and law enforcement officials warn.Iran | Nearly 100 US service members have been injured over the last two weeks of escalating strikes on Iran, the Pentagon has said, as Tehran launched a wave of reprisals to the tenth consecutive night of attacks.Ryanair | The airline has reassured travellers that its planes are safe after a passenger was almost sucked out of a window mid-flight this month, and have reported strong summer bookings after a profits slump.UK politics | Reform UK MP, Sarah Pochin, has complained that the standards system investigating Nigel Farage over undeclared gifts is a kangaroo court" and that the media, the British state and the old parties have mounted a vicious and desperate campaign to stop Reform UK". Continue reading...

Research during Hungary election shows AI recommended parties not running and gave highly volatile answers to identical promptsAI chatbots provide inaccurate, inconsistent and unreliable guidance to voters asking which party they should back, a study suggests, often recommending the wrong party, not mentioning the right one, or listing parties not even running.The results raise serious concerns about the reliability of general-purpose AI systems in electoral contexts," the study, published by the civil liberties group Liberties and based on research during this year's Hungarian parliamentary elections, concluded. Continue reading...

Revamped Ripon attraction reopens as a more immersive experience telling national story' of poverty and welfareVisitors to one of Britain's most complete surviving Victorian workhouses won't have to strip and bathe in someone else's bath water. But they might get some gruel, they can sweep the yard and there are schoolmaster" volunteers happy to tell children how to behave.You are literally going to walk in the footsteps of people who have experienced this place," said the director of the Ripon Museums Trust, Alexa Vernon. Continue reading...

New prime minister urged to introduce 2% minimum charge on households with more than 100m in wealthA wealth tax on the UK's super-rich households could raise 10bn a year, according to academics who urged Andy Burnham to include the measure in his plans to make tax fairer" and pay for better public services.The sum could be raised through a 2% minimum charge on households with more than 100m in wealth and would affect fewer than 1,000 of the richest UK households, according to the study by Gabriel Zucman, a professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics, and Ben Tippet, a lecturer in economics and wealth inequality at King's College London. Continue reading...

Albanese government's approval ofNorth West Shelf gas extension being challenged by the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Australian Rock ArtThe Albanese government's decision to approve one of the world's largest gas projects in Western Australia is being challenged in the federal court, setting up a significant test of how Australia's environment law deals with the climate crisis.The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Friends of Australian Rock Art (Fara) are this week running concurrent court challenges against the approval of the extension of Woodside's major North West Shelf gas export project. Continue reading...

Iran has attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, after the US launched a tenth consecutive night of strikes

One Nation leader posts network's proposal to travel to UK to explore what Australia faces if we don't take back control of who comes to our country'

New prime minister says government must do better' to deliver change but promises prudent approach to economyAndy Burnham has said his arrival in power will bring back hope" to Britain as he launched his premiership with the surprise appointment of John Healey as chancellor and a promise to repair the long-term damage caused to communities during the Thatcher era.The new UK prime minister acknowledged people were fed up" with politics as he addressed the country after taking over from Keir Starmer in Downing Street, saying the government needed to do better" to deliver real change. Continue reading...

From the Treasury to the Home Office, we look at who is heading up key departments in new PM's government

New report denounces Havana and claims campaign of subversion' has infiltrated highest levels of US governmentAs part of the Trump administration's continuing attack on left-leaning groups, the US state department has listed several activists and organizations as front groups and fellow travelers" for Cuba, including Hasan Piker and Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls.In a 100-page report released on Monday, the state department denounces Cuba as the capital of 21st-century communism", accusing the Cuban government of carrying out a campaign of subversion" that has infiltrated the highest reaches of the US government, recruited and cultivated generations of American activists [and] backed an unprecedented wave of leftwing terrorism on American soil". Continue reading...

Rayner is back as housing secretary, while Mahmood and McFadden remain in their existing posts

Daniel Ortega, the 80-year-old authoritarian leader, says move will build a wall' against the oppositionNicaragua's long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has said the country will hold no further elections to prevent the opposition from coming to power.The 80-year-old authoritarian leader, who has been in office since 2007, also said he would work with the congress he controls to pass new laws that would build a wall" against the opposition. Continue reading...

Three people reported injured after incendiary device allegedly thrown at building also housing ICE field officeAuthorities in New York City are investigating an explosion on Monday morning outside an FBI building in lower Manhattan that reportedly injured three people.Investigators said a person who allegedly threw an incendiary device at the scene was taken into custody. The FBI later released the name in a press conference, identifying the suspect as Andrew Arrabaca. Continue reading...

Chancellor pick and early policies avoid market meltdown but next week remains moment of real peril'

The 18-year-old was found dead after a 4 July boat trip with his friends to an island in the Gulf coastFamily and supporters of Nolan Xavier Wells gathered in a Mississippi church on Monday to mourn and celebrate the 18-year-old, whose death following a 4 July boat trip with friends has captured national attention and prompted calls for an independent investigation.The ceremony began with tearful remarks from Wells's parents, who described their son as a warm and gentle presence, a gifted athlete and a role model to his younger siblings. Continue reading...

Defense department says 1Lt Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii and Pvt Isabella Gonzales of Texas were killedThe US military on Monday identified two soldiers killed in action recently as part of the war with Iran.The defense department said in a statement that 1Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan, where they were supporting a US mission against the Islamic State group. It is unclear how they were killed. Continue reading...

New prime minister says his political and economic model will bring biggest changes in 40 years'

Joshua Kerry from Rotherham charged over killing of politician whose body was found at her Devon homeA 28-year-old man from Rotherham has been charged with the murder of the former MP and Reform party spokesperson Ann Widdecombe.Joshua Kerry has been charged with Widdecombe's murder and will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service said. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff hints government may be about to sack Oleksandr SyrskyiUkraine's commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi is widely expected to lose his job amid signs that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has bowed to pressure from protesters and will reshuffle the army's top leadership.Over the past five days, thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside the presidential office in Kyiv, chanting: Syrskyi out". Some have waved cheese graters - a pun on the commander's name, which sounds like cheese in Ukrainian. Continue reading...

Residents of Deir Jarir say raids late on Sunday, also involving security forces, are part of pattern of violenceEven by the brutal standards of militant settler violence in the West Bank, the raid on Deir Jarir late on Sunday night that killed two Palestinians and left another in hospital with a gunshot wound was extreme.Palestinians in the town said settlers from a nearby outpost arrived after 9pm on Sunday claiming that they were searching for stolen livestock. Israeli soldiers and police soon joined them, protecting them as they sought to take several villagers' sheep by force. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research spanning 82 countries finds antibiotic resistance increased in every region between 2004 and 2022Harry Booth has had a rough run through Australia's coldest months. The 13-year-old has been in and out of hospital with a range of common chest and urinary tract infections that his doctors find challenging to treat.Harry was born with kidney failure and began dialysis at six months old, before receiving a kidney transplant from his father at age four. The surgery saved his life but comes with a trade-off: he now needs to take medications that suppress his immune system to prevent his body from rejecting the kidney. Continue reading...

Additional 340m over three years allocated to get people off the streets at the earliest opportunity'

Officials say smoke from US fires has crossed border days after US president accused Canada of improper fire managementAfter days of acrid smoke from northern wildfires choking major US cities and inspiring Donald Trump to threaten Canada with tariffs, officials now say the reverse is also happening as parts of Canada issue air quality warnings caused by American fires to the south.Officials in the Canadian province of British Columbia warned in an alert on Saturday evening that smoke from US fires, spurred on by thousands of lightning strikes in the north-east, was creating smoky conditions as polluted air drifted north. Continue reading...

Moscow targets southern city after the Russian capital was hit by 400 drones in response to one of the war's biggest attacks on Kyiv at the weekendThere is also a bit more from Reuters on the context - and the significance - of these continued strikes on ships:Both Russia and Ukraine are major grain exporters, and the renewed violence on this route has raised concerns about supply.Ukraine, which in recent seasons accounted for about 6% of global wheat exports and about 11% of global corn exports, has lost about a third of its capacity to export grain via its Black Sea ports due to Russian missile and drone attacks, traders and analysts have said.Upon prime minister @KoretskyiUA's instructions, @MFA_Ukraine is already informing the International Maritime Organization and our international partners about Russia's latest attacks on civilian shipping, as well as the governments of the states whose citizens were killed or injured.During president @ZelenskyyUas recent visit to London, I discussed this issue with the IMO leadership and called for the deployment of an international monitoring mission to Ukraine's ports. We expect this mission to begin its work as planned in the fall and help document every act of Russia's maritime terror, paving the way for accountability." Continue reading...

James Desborough was convicted in March of murdering Steven Kempster, Winchester crown court jurors hearA fan of a TV show about serial killers strangled a cellmate in prison while awaiting trial for allegedly murdering two men and hiding their remains in Cornish woodland, a jury has heard.James Desborough, 40, is accused of killing Claudio Aquilino and Daniel Coleman and concealing parts of their bodies in the dense undergrowth close to his cabin near St Austell. Continue reading...

The first full look at the big-budget December tentpole features returning heroes such as Chris Hemsworth, Patrick Stewart, Florence Pugh and Chris EvansThe first full trailer for Avengers: Doomsday has been released online offering a look at Marvel's big-budget big hope.Something's coming, something we may not be able to deter," is the first line heard in the new preview which proceeds to bring back multiple characters from various Marvel movies and universes. Continue reading...

Judit Polgar to discuss role with prime minister, who says the country needs someone everybody is proud ofHungary's prime minister, Peter Magyar, has announced plans to ask Judit Polgar, widely considered the greatest female chess player of all time, to take on the largely ceremonial role of president.Magyar said he would meet Polgar on Monday to discuss the matter. Our country needs unity, peace and a president that all Hungarians can be proud of," he wrote on social media. Judit Polgar's name has been synonymous with talent and perseverance for decades." Continue reading...

Youth-led movement calls on education minister to quit in one of India's largest anti-government rallies in yearsTens of thousands of protesters have defied police orders and descended on Delhi to demand the resignation of India's education minister in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.A huge crowd, largely made up of students and gen Z-ers, filled the streets in the heart of India's capital from early Monday morning shouting anti-government slogans, while hundreds had already camped out overnight. Continue reading...

Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin says parliament mounting vicious and desperate campaign to stop Reform UK'A Reform UK MP has complained that the standards system investigating Nigel Farage over undeclared gifts is a kangaroo court".Sarah Pochin, the Runcorn MP, said Farage had called a byelection in his Clacton seat so that voters could decide whether they back him or not, and argued that the media, the British state and the old parties have mounted a vicious and desperate campaign to stop Reform UK." Continue reading...

Man charged with murder after Kirandeep Kaur was allegedly stabbed while in bed with husband and babyThe family of a woman who was killed as she slept in bed with her husband and three-month-old baby have said they want justice, and for her body to be returned to India.A man has been charged with murder over the attack on Kirandeep Kaur at her home in Hayes, west London, on the morning of 12 July. Kaur, who had reportedly been living in the UK since 2024 on a student visa, allegedly suffered a stab wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at 8.26am. Continue reading...

Statement by Israeli embassy in Canberra challenges proposed positions on settler violence and annexation of Palestinian territory

Corporation pays tribute to outstanding' journalist who presented shows including Today and One O'Clock NewsThe journalist Edward Stourton has died aged 68, it has been announced.The BBC Radio 4 presenter was best known for fronting current affairs programmes including Today, World at One and its religious and ethical current affairs series Sunday. Continue reading...

Jules Von Hep and Mark Beverlo, who have been trying to become parents since 2020, are now seeking help abroad

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Catholic order with a record of child abuse could be subject to hundreds of redress claims worth up to $65m

Lee Hanson claims her mother's comments on Tommy Robinson podcast were misinterpreted'

Rapper pleads not guilty to six counts of sexually penetrating a 20-year-old woman without consent after a gig in PerthA British YouTuber and musician bit and slapped a young female fan while he was raping her after a gig in Western Australia, a court has been told.Yung Filly, 30, has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexually penetrating a 20-year-old woman without consent in a Perth hotel room in September 2024. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Maternity staffing shortages worsen as more and more under-35s quit because of burnoutMore and more midwives are leaving the NHS before they reach 35 because of burnout, worsening the staffing problems that are affecting maternity units.The growing trend of early career quitting has sparked fears it poses a threat to the quality and safety of care that mothers and babies receive from already-understaffed childbirth services. Continue reading...

Is the machinery of state jammed, or is the reason for the slow pace of change more personal than institutional?Eighteen months into the 24 it turned out he would last in No 10, Keir Starmer was a man in a hurry. The biggest frustration with the job, he told MPs, concerned speed and the ability to get things done". The underlying problem, he thought, was that every time something had gone wrong in the past, successive governments have put in place another procedure or another body or another consultation to try to stop ourselves ever making a mistake again".In airing his impatience, if little else, Starmer is in tune with the country he has become too unpopular to lead. Julian Gallie, a pollster at Merlin Strategy, says voters have been crying out for change for a decade", even if they have sent inconsistent signs about what sort of change it should be. The Brexit vote, the Corbyn surge of 2017, the Johnson majority of 2019 and the Tory rout of 2024 can all be seen as a desperate roll of the dice against a status quo" that somehow feels impossible to shift. Continue reading...

Chaos of Capita-run scheme has left some people waiting up to a year for payments and in financial hardshipRetired civil servants have been failed by the decision to outsource their pension scheme, the government has admitted, and the maladministration meant some were left waiting up to a year for payments.Multiple members of the civil service pension scheme, run by the private company Capita since December, have come forward to say they are unable to afford rent and have been forced to use food banks after being left without an income. Continue reading...

The Guardian goes on the ground with Brazilian forces fighting to eradicate mining that has destroyed protected areas of Indigenous landThe jerry-built bordello at the foot of Vila Cururu, an illegal gold-mining settlement at the heart of Brazil's most desecrated Indigenous territory, was a hive of depravity until just a few weeks ago.Inebriated prospectors huddled around wooden tables, swigging beer and Scotch whisky, and ogling pole-dancing sex workers before going with them to shacks behind the brothel. Continue reading...

Former attorney general also describes receiving antisemitic abuse, saying he was labelled a genocidal Zionist'

Many of the more than 100 people awaiting processing on the tiny Pacific island are skipping meals to make ends meet, a new survey has found

Authorities launch criminal investigation after passenger list - showing more than 100 passengers - was found to be inaccurate, complicating rescue effortsA massive search-and-rescue operation is under way after a ferry sank off the coast of Guyana in South America late on Saturday, in what has been described by officials as one of the country's worst maritime disasters.Authorities launched a criminal investigation after a government official said the captain and a crew member of the ferry allegedly tested positive for marijuana and the vessel's passenger manifest was found to be inaccurate. Continue reading...