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Former leader shows support for new Victorian premier while paying tribute to Jacinta Allan

In today's newsletter: A recent government reshuffle has exposed deep fractures within Volodymyr Zelenskyy's wartime cabinetGood morning. Another week, another diplomatic success for Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On Monday, his first meeting with Andy Burnham as PM confirmed continuity in the UK's steadfast support for Ukraine. We've got your back," Burnham said as the pair spoke in Portsmouth. Yesterday, in Washington DC, after attending the funeral of Lindsey Graham - a once supportive Republican senator - Zelenskyy and Trump held a positive and productive" meeting, as per the White House. Overnight, the US Senate advanced a sweeping Russian sanctions bill.Save for that somewhat shaky start in the early days of Donald 2.0, these well-executed global stage set-pieces have come to define Zelenskyy's wartime leadership. The hundreds of billions he has secured in military, financial and humanitarian aid from the US, Europe, the UK and beyond during a period of global economic unease is remarkable.UK news | Young people will be expected to engage with new support to find work, Pat McFadden has said.World news | At least 13 people have been killed after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan, injuring hundreds and knocking out power and water to tens of thousands.Europe news | Nearly 4,000 people have been evacuated from tourist sites on France's Atlantic coast as the return of winds and extreme heat jeopardises firefighters' battles to contain wildfires raging in France and Spain.US news | Donald Trump hosted back-to-back White House meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, as Ukraine seeks more firepower for its air defences and the Israeli prime minister tries to repair his strained relationship with the US president.UK news | Led By Donkeys has received compensation after a giant banner it displayed in Parliament Square saying Yes It's A Genocide" was seized by officials and destroyed. Continue reading...

Opposition leader says he is not a party to proceedings' being investigated by NSW corruption watchdog as fellow Liberals close ranks

Police say search for three-month-old a retrieval effort' after bodies of mother Helena Wright and toddler found in the ocean near Port Macdonnell

ABS data shows inflation still too high but tracking lower than anticipated

Adopting organic free-range model in UK could lead to greenhouse emissions equivalent to 2,316,000 tonnes of CO2, study suggestsOrganic eggs are twice as bad for the climate as eggs from chickens living in cages, research suggests.According to the study, switching the UK's entire egg production to an organic free-range model would lead to greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 2,316,000 tonnes of CO2 (tCO2e), while production through a fully caged system would emit 1,184,000 tCO2e. Continue reading...

Handful of ticketholders will be selected at random for up-close visits to ancient site throughout AugustTrips to Stonehenge can be a little hectic. Tens of thousands of people turn up to celebrate summer and winter solstices and most other days the site is a place of bustle, excited conversation and selfie action.But throughout August, English Heritage is offering visitors the chance to win some guaranteed solitude within the hulking stones. Continue reading...

Federal-state stoush comes as rating agency warns that electricity bills could skyrocket

Shadow minister says there was no warning and it looked and sounded like deliberate intimidation'

Spanish prime minister also says the fires serve as a reminder to plan for the worsening' climate emergency

Exclusive: Work and pensions secretary echoes Andy Burnham as he announces funds to stop families in England losing benefits

Chris Philp says patrol vessel may have been trying to stop him highlighting the small boats crisis

South Western Railway joins operators in east of England in reducing train speeds and changing timetables

At least 1,500 protest after six men on drug-related charges put in solitary confinement before possible executionPrisoners at Iran's largest jail have sewn their lips shut as hundreds of them joined a mass hunger strike amid a surge in executions over drug offences and charges linked to anti-government protests.The hunger strike, involving at least 1,500 death row prisoners at Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, began two weeks ago after six men convicted on drug-related charges were transferred to solitary confinement before their possible execution, according to Iranian rights groups. Continue reading...

President also blames Brazil and Mexico and says online critics do not want the ideas of freedom to succeed'More than a week has passed since Ferran Torres scored the extra-time goal that gave Spain its second World Cup, but - at least for Argentina's president - the tournament is not over.Javier Milei has claimed that a coordinated anti-Argentina campaign" was behind criticism of the country's team, accusations of racism among its fans and conspiracy theories alleging that Lionel Messi's side was secretly being favoured by Fifa. Continue reading...

Jacinta Allan steps down from top job before expected spill, saying her deputy has her unqualified support'

Carroll, who was elected to parliament in 2012 and says he has always been ambitious, has been sworn in as premier after Jacinta Allan resigned

Working Dog team behind the 1997 film reuniting to write new, fully updated' version for the stage, which will premiere in Melbourne in 2027An announcement that deserves to go straight to the pool room: the beloved Australian comedy The Castle is set to become a play, written by the team behind the original film.Working Dog's Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro and Jane Kennedy will write and co-produce the new theatrical production, which will again tell the story of the Kerrigan family and their fight against the Australian government to save their home from being bulldozed to make way for an airport expansion. Continue reading...

The Houthi threat to Saudi oil exports comes as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are still reeling from the closure of the strait of HormuzGovernments in Asia are scrambling to avoid their second major energy crisis in six months, as another maritime chokepoint in the Middle East faces a violent blockade, leaving only the Suez canal completely open for the free movement of gulf oil.Countries like Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea - which rely on Middle East oil for up to 90% of their imports - are working to secure supplies after Yemen's Houthis launched a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait, which forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Continue reading...

Leading assemblage artist was known for reclaiming Jim Crow-era memorabilia as images of Black liberationArtist Betye Saar, the pioneering figure of the Black arts movement, died on Sunday morning in her home town of Los Angeles. She was 99.Saar, a famous practitioner of assemblage, an artistic style that builds sculpture from everyday objects, was best known for reclaiming Jim Crow era memorabilia such as dolls and washboards and recasting them as images of Black liberation. Saar also worked in genres including printmaking and film, exploring themes from family to spirituality. Continue reading...

Secretary and president of Australian Council of Trade Unions announced surprise departures on Monday evening

Man and woman pronounced dead at Fistral beach in Newquay after large emergency responseTwo people have died after being pulled from the sea off a popular surfing beach in the Cornish resort of Newquay.A man and a woman were pronounced dead at Fistral Beach after a large emergency response involving coastguards, a rescue helicopter, an RNLI lifeboat, paramedics and police. Continue reading...

Pop star is celebrated as one of the defining cultural figures of her generation' by gallery, which acquires Brat-era portrait by Harley WeirA portrait of Charli xcx has been added to the National Portrait Gallery's collection, in the week that she hopes for a No 1 chart position for her new album Music, Fashion, Film.The photograph by Harley Weir was taken in 2023 and became one of the key images associated with Charli's Brat era: the 2024 album that became a pop cultural phenomenon for its candour and debauchery. Continue reading...

Doctors and MPs urge more scrutiny of 300m deal for company behind system used by most GPs in England

Lawyers predict more suppression and no active investigations' but victims' groups determined to continue fightAs Donald Trump's former defense lawyer Todd Blanche appears poised for confirmation as attorney general, numerous Jeffrey Epstein survivors have sounded the alarm that a US justice department helmed by him would derail their pursuit of justice.In a letter urging Republican senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn to reject his nomination, these survivors said that Blanche's handling of the Epstein case as acting attorney general was characterized by misstep after misstep. Continue reading...

Mass hearings, removal orders in absentia' - judges are wrapping up immigration cases in unprecedented numbersThe second Trump administration recorded its highest number of immigration arrests so far last month. One significant and alarming reason that is far less noticeable than armored, masked agents swaggering in the streets with weapons may be a sudden change in America's immigration courts.Here, in recent months, accelerated mass hearings are giving people facing existential questions about their future little time to prepare for their cases, and judges are often ordering vulnerable immigrants deported without them even being in the courtroom. Continue reading...

Top House Democrat says US president failed to deliver' on campaign promises to lower costs and avoid overseas warsDonald Trump's Republican party has nothing to run on" for the congressional midterm elections after the president broke promises to lower costs and avoid starting war overseas, Hakeem Jeffries has said.The House minority leader, a New York congressman, made those comments on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, exactly 100 days from the 3 November midterms, when Jeffries and his fellow Democrats are aiming to take control of the US House and Senate from their Republican opponents. Continue reading...

Kumanjayi White died after being restrained by plain-clothes police in the lolly aisle of an Alice Springs supermarketWarning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Relaxed rules mean members only have to wear a top to meetings and activities after extensive feedbackGirlguiding has fully redesigned its uniform across all groups for the first time in more than 30 years, with a focus on self-expression, belonging and confidence".The new range, launched on Monday, has relaxed previous rules: Guides, Rainbows, Brownies and Rangers now only have to wear a top to meetings and activities to be considered in uniform" after feedback from thousands of girls who said they felt most comfortable" when allowed to wear what they wanted. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts say policy could also cause shortages of school teachers and drive some universities to bankruptcyReform UK's plan to make employers pay an annual levy for overseas staff would harm the NHS and social care, cause a shortage of schoolteachers, and could push some universities into bankruptcy, experts have warned.Nigel Farage's party has pledged a migrant worker surcharge", which would involve a higher rate of employer national insurance as well as a separate annual charge. It would apply to any employees without a UK passport, including EU nationals with settled status, with the exception of Irish passport holders. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president will be first overseas visitor for new British prime ministerVolodymyr Zelenskyy will become Andy Burnham's first overseas visitor as prime minister, in a visit that Burnham said underlined Britain's unwavering" backing for Ukraine.Less than two weeks after Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv for the final foreign visit of his prime ministership, the Ukrainian president will on Monday join Burnham at a naval base where Ukrainian forces have been receiving training. Continue reading...

From TikTok appearances to sugar rush' policies, new prime minister is taking different approach to predecessorSix weeks ago Andy Burnham was not even an MP; now the former mayor of Greater Manchester is the most important political figure in Britain. After orchestrating a bloodless coup against Keir Starmer, in which he was crowned as Labour leader unopposed, the new prime minister has started his tenure in Downing Street with some eye-catching policies and a radically different approach to communication. A week into the job, how do their leadership styles compare? Continue reading...

Union calls for museum to become accredited London living wage employer and let staff carry water during shiftsWorkers at one of the world's leading art and design museums are balloting for heatwave" strike action.The ballot at V&A is taking place because of concerns about soaring temperatures and access to drinking water, along with pay and conditions. Continue reading...

PM's team can be seen as backward step even though in some ways it is more diverse. Yet its makeup points to wider access to power

President harks back to red scare of his childhood to attack US left - but will such language resonate beyond Maga base?Perhaps above all else, Donald Trump is a child of the cold war.Three months before the US president was born, Winston Churchill delivered a historic speech in Fulton, Missouri, that ushered in a generations-long existential struggle between western capitalism and Soviet communism. Continue reading...

Court fillings show grants denied to states if they didn't back Trump's re-election, but administration claims it's a misrepresentation'

Wave of optimism' is sparked by prospect of new PM, England football team's progress and hot weatherConsumer confidence in the UK jumped this month by its biggest margin for nearly three years as the prospect of Andy Burnham becoming prime minister became almost certain.The data company GfK said a Burnham bounce" along with a strong run by the men's England football team at the World Cup and sunny weather had lifted the mood of consumers in its long-running monthly survey. Continue reading...

1974 book led to making of seminal documentary and introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger to the worldCharles Gaines, the author whose book and documentary Pumping Iron helped bring professional bodybuilding into the mainstream and introduce Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, has died. He was 84.Gaines died on Tuesday, according to Greta Gaines, the author's daughter. She did not reveal a cause. Continue reading...

Up to 25 tonnes of nurdles, the raw material for plastic manufacturing, have spread further than initially fearedApproximately a billion tiny plastic nurdles have entered the River Tyne after a devastating spill", with the pellets thought to have spread much further than first thought.Nurdles are tiny pellets, usually about 1-5mm in size, that act as the raw material to manufacture most plastic products. Continue reading...

Former PM's supporters question pledge to end factional infighting after more than half his cabinet removed or demotedAllies of Keir Starmer have questioned Andy Burnham's pledge to end factional infighting after he removed or demoted more than half of the outgoing prime minister's cabinet in his first reshuffle.This was a deeply factional cabinet reshuffle," one said. The idea it was anything else is ridiculous." Continue reading...

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

This blog is now closed - our live coverage of the Middle East crisis continues hereThe price of oil jumped in early Asian trade on Monday after the US carried out its latest wave of strikes on Iran and a vessel caught fire in the strait of Hormuz.Brent crude for September delivery rose 2.72% to $90.50 a barrel by around 0100 GMT, after briefly crossing $91 - its highest price since June.CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief's direction. Continue reading...

Experts urge ministers to update legislation to prevent intended parents resorting to riskier arrangements abroadSurrogates, parents and children are being failed by the UK's archaic laws, which are creaking at the seams" as demand for surrogacy grows rapidly, experts have said.Figures obtained by the Guardian show there were just under 1,000 children born to surrogates in 2025, double the number in 2015. The rise has been driven by a rise in the number of gay couples seeking to be parents, increasing infertility and shifting cultural attitudes. Continue reading...

As the climate crisis fuels more intense blazes, pushing them to new parts of the world, those tackling them are forced to ration resources and decide which to fightCesar Alcaraz had only just become a firefighter in the late 1990s when he found himself ambushed by a fast-moving blaze. Barely able to breathe and with no more water left in his truck, he and his colleagues fled an inferno ravaging Spain's Montgo mountain region, wishing their bosses had sent more support.But nearly three decades on, as an officer with Alicante's provincial firefighters, Alcaraz has more sympathy for the agonising choices that commanders have to make. When wildfires overwhelm an area, his job resembles that of a doctor in an emergency room with too few ventilators. Continue reading...

MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich cleared over incident at London members' club in 2023A Conservative MP has been cleared of sexually assaulting two women at the Groucho Club in London after claiming that he just wanted to give them a hug.Patrick Spencer was seen on camera coming up behind two women and putting his arms around them at the private members' club during a night out in August 2023, less than a year before he was elected to the seat of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Continue reading...

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The incoming prime minister showed his oratorical skill and that he is prepared to borrow from populism

Incoming PM has deigned to answer some quickfire TikTok questions - also revealing his stance on socks with sandals