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In today's newsletter: The shooting of the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, was the first attempt on the life of a European head of state since 2003 - and reflects a growing polarisation across the continent Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.After a government meeting in the small town of Handlova on Wednesday, the Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, went to meet local supporters who had gathered in the town centre. There was little separating him and the crowd - just a waist-high metal fence - as people reached out to shake his hand. During this meet-and-greet, a man fired five shots at the prime minister. Fico fell and was quickly bundled away in a black car and taken to hospital, where he spent five hours in surgery. Two days after the attack he remained in stable condition but officials have said that he is not out of the woods yet".Labour | The UK's oil and gas workers risk becoming the coal miners of our generation", Unite's general secretary, Sharon Graham, has warned, urging Labour not to ban new North Sea licences without a clear plan to safeguard jobs.Banking | The number of UK bank branches that have shut their doors for good over the last nine years will pass 6,000 on Friday, and by the end of the year the pace of closures may leave 33 parliamentary constituencies - including two in London - without a single branch.Protest | Activists have accused John Woodcock, the government's independent adviser on political violence, of a conflict of interest, after it emerged that he had lobbying links to arms manufacturers and fossil fuel firm that would benefit from curbs to protesting.UK news | The Lucy Letby inquiry should be broadcast to the public to prevent the spread of grossly offensive" conspiracy theories, lawyers for the families of her victims said. The inquiry, which will begin on 10 September at Liverpool town hall, will examine how the nurse was able to murder babies at the Countess of Chester hospital's neonatal unit in 2015 and 2016.Israel-Gaza war | South Africa has asked the international court of justice (ICJ) to urgently order Israel to end its assault on Rafah, halt its military campaign across Gaza, and let in international investigators and journalists. Continue reading...

National cyber security coordinator says scale of ransomware attack on electronic prescriptions provider remains unclear

Robert Ashlin says he advised Hill's wife Robyn to go to the police because something's not right'

Magistrate finds the former chief of staff to federal MP Craig Kelly deliberately manipulated' young women and took advantage of their vulnerability

NSW police allege Ulises Davila, Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis were involved in a scheme for yellow cards to occur during certain games' in late 2023

Exclusive: Study shows Penguin Island population in freefall, sources say, amid pressure from tourism, boat traffic and warming seas

It is the NHS's worst treatment disaster - with 30,000 patients infected. Two survivors, Ade Goodyear and Andy Evans, explain why it took so long for it to be brought to lightAde Goodyear was 15 when he was told he had contracted HIV. Like about 30,000 other NHS patients - including more than 300 children - who were given blood transfusions or commercial blood products before 2019, he was infected by contaminated blood. Some patients got HIV and hepatitis C from blood transfusions after childbirth or other medical procedures. Ade was infected with HIV at the medical centre of his school.Pupils at his Treloar's college, which had a specialist haemophilia unit, were among those given injections of a blood plasma product called factor VIII concentrate. Concerns had been raised a decade before by the World Health Organization because it was a commercial product that mixed plasma from tens of thousands of often high-risk donors. If one had an infection such as HIV, it could contaminate the whole batch. Continue reading...

Thirty-three constituencies, including two in London, will not have a single bank branch by the end of the year, says Which?The number of UK bank branches that have shut their doors for good over the last nine years will pass 6,000 on Friday, and by the end of the year the pace of closures may leave 33 parliamentary constituencies - including two in London - without a single branch.The tally is being published by the consumer group Which? as it seeks to make the avalanche" of closures and the disastrous" impact they can have on local communities an election battleground.Barnsley East (estimated population: 94,000)Bolton West (98,000)Bradford South (106,000)Bury South (103,000)Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (102,000)Chatham and Aylesford (103,000)Clwyd South (70,000)Colne Valley (112,000)Dagenham and Rainham (117,000)Denton and Reddish (88,000)Don Valley (99,000)East Worthing and Shoreham (99,000)Erith and Thamesmead (117,000)Glasgow North East (88,000)Liverpool, West Derby (94,000)Mid Bedfordshire (121,000)Mid Derbyshire (83,000)Newport East (84,000)North East Derbyshire (92,000)Nottingham East (98,000)Penistone and Stocksbridge (89,000)Plymouth Moor View (94,000)Reading West (112,000)Rhondda (68,000)Sedgefield (85,000)Sheffield Hallam (85,000)St Helens North (100,000)Stone (86,000)Swansea East (81,000)Warrington North (95,000)Wentworth and Dearne (100,000)Wirral West (68,000)York Outer (92,000) Continue reading...

American Museum of Natural History says Dr Lorenzo Prendini was working on research project and has arrived safely home'A curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York who was detained in Istanbul on Monday while allegedly attempting to smuggle spider and scorpion samples out of Turkey has been released.In statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for the museum said Dr Lorenzo Prendini, curator of arachnida and myriapoda, had arrived back in New York. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry says it will reject all such stopovers because the Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace'Spain has refused permission for a ship carrying arms to Israel to dock at a Spanish port, its foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said on Thursday.This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port," he told reporters in Brussels. Continue reading...

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Lawyers urge international court of justice to issue urgent measures over assault on Gaza's southernmost citySouth Africa has asked the international court of justice (ICJ) to urgently order Israel to end its assault on Rafah, halt its military campaign across Gaza, and allow international investigators and journalists into the territory.In a court hearing, lawyers for South Africa expanded a written request for judges to issue an emergency order to stop the offensive into Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. Continue reading...

Republican congressman travels to New York to support former president and says he is standing back, and standing by'Matt Gaetz echoed Donald Trump's infamous remarks about the far-right Proud Boys on Thursday, as the Florida Republican congressman and other rightwing supporters of the former US presidentattended his criminal trial in Manhattan.Standing back, and standing by, Mr President," Gaetz wrote on social media, with a photo of his group of supporters standing behind Trump outside the court where Trump is on trial on election subversion charges arising from hush-money payments to an adult film star during the 2016 campaign. Continue reading...

Rescue and reform manifesto from Early Education and Childcare Coalition calls for overhaul of modelA manifesto calling for an overhaul of childcare provision in England, including making early education accessible to all children regardless of whether their parents work or not, has been backed by dozens of leading employers and unions.Thirty-five national organisations have joined forces to call for the reform of the current childcare model, including the Federation of Small Businesses, the Early Years Alliance, the Fawcett Society, the Joseph Rowntree Trust, and National Children's Bureau. Continue reading...

European commission vice president, Maro efovi, cites progress on trade and economy for territory but not border checksTalks on a post-Brexit deal to govern the border between Gibraltar and Spain have broken up without an agreement, although both sides insisted a deal was getting closer".David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, met the European commission vice president, Maro efovi, in Brussels to discuss the British overseas territory on the Iberian peninsula, which has been in limbo since Britain left the EU. Continue reading...

Friends in town of Levice say 71-year-old showed no signs of planning attack, while Slovakian president says climate of hate is collective workMile L'udovit, like other residents of the unassuming grey apartment block on the outskirts of the sleepy central Slovakian town of Levice, considered Juraj Cintula a reliable neighbour and friend.Having lived side by side with him for more than 40 years, L'udovit could never have imagined the 71-year-old former security guard and amateur poet would be suspected of perpetrating the worst political attack in Slovakian modern history - shooting the prime minister multiple times at point-blank range. Continue reading...

Police launch inquiry into incident in church car park on Wednesday evening in village of BalmedieA one-year-old girl has been killed after being hit by a Land Rover in a church car park in Balmedie, north of Aberdeen.Police Scotland launched an investigation into the incident, which happened at 7.45pm on Wednesday in the grounds of Balmedie Congregational church, a Plymouth Brethren church. Continue reading...

Hazel Behan, who says main suspect in Madeleine McCann case raped her in Portugal in 2004, tells court she will never forget his eyesA woman who alleges she was raped at knifepoint by the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has told a court she would never forget the eyes of her attacker, which bored into my skull".Giving evidence in the trial of Christian Bruckner, who stands accused of five sexual assaults in Portugal of women aged between 10 and 80 between 2000 and 2017, Hazel Behan, 40, who was raped in June 2004, told the court: I believe that this man was my attacker." Continue reading...

Adrian Coghill ordered to leave in response to UK expelling Kremlin's attache to London for alleged spyingRussia is expelling Britain's defence attache to Moscow in the latest diplomatic tit for tat, after the UK accused it of sponsoring espionage and hacking attacks against top British officials in a years-long campaign of malign activity".The Russian foreign ministry said it had declared the British defence attache, Adrian Coghill, as persona non grata. He must leave the territory of the Russian Federation within a week." Continue reading...

State of emergency in place because of deadly unrest over bill that will let French people vote in provincial elections after 10 years of residenceHundreds of police reinforcements have arrived in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia as the government in Paris insisted talks would not happen until calm had been restored.As many as 1,000 extra police and gendarmes are being deployed to bolster the 1,700 strong force already in New Caledonia after three nights of violent riots that have killed five people, including two police officers. Continue reading...

Party leader says six election pledges revealed at launch event will take two terms of government to materialise

Broadcasting inquiry into nurse convicted of murdering babies at Countess of Chester hospital will help combat offensive conspiracy theories'The Lucy Letby inquiry should be broadcast to the public to prevent the spread of grossly offensive" conspiracy theories, lawyers for the families of her victims said.The inquiry, which will begin on 10 September and be held at Liverpool town hall, will examine how the nurse was able to murder babies at the Countess of Chester hospital's neonatal unit in 2015 and 2016. Continue reading...

Hospital director says Slovakia PM has stabilised but remains in a critical condition after he was shot several times on WednesdayHere are the latest images from Slovakia.The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev praised Robert Fico today, writing that there were few politicians like him in Europe and that he had reasonable" positions regarding Russia, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

Ukrainian military says its has forced Russia to reduce tempo of offensive; Russian president thanks Xi Jinping for trying to solve Ukraine crisis'

Ministers say it is too early to say outlook is positive and describe suspect as a lone wolf' as officials appeal for calm

Sisters of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges started enterprise to cover soaring electricity costsThe sisters of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in south-east France are prepared to move more than heaven and earth to save their mountain abbey and pay soaring electricity bills.A dozen Cistercian order nuns are making ends meet by selling cleaning products made from their own spring water and essential oils on the internet and in local shops. Continue reading...

Russian leader praises comradely' talks with Chinese president ahead of concert to mark 75 years of friendship' Russia, China and Ukraine - latest updatesRussia and China have announced they will deepen their already close military ties, as Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing on his first foreign trip since being inaugurated for a new term as Russia's president.It is the latest in a string of statements and signals that the warm relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has ever been. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our coverage of the war hereLebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group says it has launched more than 60" rockets at Israeli military positions in retaliation for overnight air strikes on the country's east, AFP reportsIsrael and Hamas ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire following the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, now in its eighth month. Continue reading...

CEO will be replaced by chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis, who like Lundgren joined from TuiEasyJet's chief executive, Johan Lundgren, will step down at the beginning of next year after seven years at the helm of the budget airline.The carrier is promoting its chief financial officer, Kenton Jarvis, to take his place, with Lundgren set to hand over the reins on 1 January 2025. The outgoing boss will then stay with the business until mid-May as part of the airline's orderly succession plan". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report says members are strongly against admitting women on an equal basis, but are open to having more lady guests'

Police allege that after murdering nine-year-old, Justin Stein drove to buy methamphetamine with her mother

Procedural moves outrage Coalition, independent MPs and senator David Pocock, who says government selling us out'

Billionaire wants painting of her removed from National Gallery of Australia but Archibald-winning artist says he hopes people think about what he is trying to say

During the Russian leader's two-day visit, the war in Ukraine, energy and trade will be on the agenda

Prosecutors successfully apply to withdraw the charge related to alleged stabbing at FootscrayA 12-year-old girl accused of killing a woman in Melbourne's inner west will no longer face a charge of murder.Prosecutors on Thursday applied to withdraw the charge against the girl but did not give a reason why. Continue reading...

Suspect in custody after shooting attack on populist prime minister that has raised fears across Europe of rising political violence

Researchers also find lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in schools and say portion sizes sometimes not enoughFree school meal allowances are not enough for students from lower-income backgrounds to buy healthy school lunches, research suggests.The study, presented at the European Congress of Obesity (ECO), involved 42 pupils aged between 11 and 15 at seven schools across the UK. Continue reading...

Lib Dems says Conservatives have serious questions to answer' about what appears to be clear conflict of interestA UK government trade summit in Saudi Arabia has been criticised for helping to promote businesses linked to a string of senior Conservatives, including peers and the former chair of the party, Ben Elliot.Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, has been in Riyadh this week launching the government-backed Great Futures campaign to promote British trade with Saudi Arabia, despite the Gulf country's controversial record on the repression of women and LGBT people. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer doesn't even prep for PMQs any more. Rish! is sunk but can't see he's in self-destruct modeThe end can't come too soon. Not just for the Tory backbenchers, but for cabinet ministers too. They sit in the Commons with resigned expressions, checking their phones for potentially lucrative job offers. No one can remember the last time Penny Mordaunt was seen with a smile on her face. Jeremy Hunt had his head down, letting his tenants know he was doubling their rent. Every penny counts.Relax everyone. There will be plenty of sinecures to go round. But you can't blame them for worrying. They know the game is up. Most are no longer even going through the motions of looking interested. Like a man on death row, they are just waiting for the date of their execution. Continue reading...

Emergency measures mean some suspects will be released on bail and not sent to a cell as trials postponedHundreds of court hearings have been postponed at the last minute after ministers introduced emergency measures to deal with overcrowded prisons.Operation Early Dawn, triggered on Wednesday, means some suspects will be released on bail, rather than sent to a cell, because their trial will be put off. Suspects' first appearances before magistrates after they have been charged with a crime are also likely to be affected. Continue reading...

David Davis says block on accessing New Yorker's 13,000-word article seems in defiance of open justice'The Tory MP David Davis has used parliamentary privilege to ask why UK readers were barred from viewing an article in a prominent US magazine about the case of the former nurse Lucy Letby.He told fellow MPs that the block on the story published in the New Yorker seemed in defiance of open justice". Continue reading...

Study finds 57% of Black women of reproductive age live in the 26 states with abortion bans or restrictionsMore than half of Black women in the US who are of reproductive age live in states with abortion bans or restrictions, according to a new report.The study, by the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and the non-profit In Our Own Voice, shows the stark impact of overturning Roe v Wade on Black women, NBC News reported. Continue reading...

Announcements are good steps' to reduce harms caused by employment services system but fall short of the overhaul required, advocates say

Treasurer says migration important' but needs to be well managed'

Exclusive: Bureaucratic process of clearing' book has dragged on for almost three years with historians arguing obstruction amounts to censorship'Australia's foreign affairs department (Dfat) is refusing to approve the publication of an official history of military operations in Timor-Leste until references are removed that could embarrass officials and diplomats, leading to accusations of censorship".The finished manuscript was presented for vetting 30 months ago and Dfat is the only agency of nine in the declassification process not yet largely or wholly satisfied it does not pose a risk to national security, defence or international relations.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Fabrice Moello, 52, and Arnaud Garcia, 34, died in brazen attack on prison convoy during which a dangerous inmate escaped

Shadow foreign and defence ministers go to Kyiv to ensure we take politics out of the UK's support for Ukraine'

One group called for book to be returned to Cumberland council library shelves while rivals argued it amounted to a moral sin

WA senator says from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' - a phrase Anthony Albanese argues is counter to two-state solution

Ure played role in ITV children's series of character who had superhuman strength and agilityGudrun Ure, the actor who played Super Gran in the popular 1980s ITV children's series, has died at the age of 98.According to her niece, Kate McNeill, she died at her home in London. Continue reading...