The archbishop of Canterbury urged traditionalists not to abandon the church over the moveSpecial church services to bless same-sex couples have inched closer after the Church of England's ruling body backed a proposal by bishops that could see a three-year trial starting in 2025.The General Synod, meeting in York, voted by 216 to 191 to back the move, which is the latest incremental step in the C of E's long journey towards welcoming the civil marriages of same-sex couples. Continue reading...

Refuge raises concerns over measures to ease overcrowding in England and Wales after mistakes made under ToriesKeir Starmer's plan to ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons must not allow high-risk offenders to walk free again, a domestic abuse charity has warned.Labour's new government is expected to authorise emergency measures this week under which criminals could be automatically freed after serving between 40% and 45% of their sentence. Continue reading...

Doubt raised about election hopefuls who stood without providing photos, biographies or contact detailsReform UK are coming under pressure to provide evidence its candidates at the general election were all real people after doubts were raised about a series of hopefuls who stood without providing any photos, biographies or contact details.Reform insists every one of its 609 candidates on 4 July were real, while accepting that some were in effect paper candidates" who did no campaigning, and were there simply to help increase the party's vote share. Continue reading...

Oasis St Martin's Village will offer mentoring and other help for at-risk young people and is intended to be first of manyOne of the UK's first girls' schools is to reopen in September as the first of a series of youth hubs for young people at risk of falling out of education and into crime.St Martin-in-the-Fields high school for girls in Tulse Hill, south London, will be reinvented as Oasis St Martin's Village, offering mentoring and one-to-one therapeutic care for vulnerable young people who are in danger of being excluded. Continue reading...

Andreas Wuchner suffered traumatic brain injury after hurrying to his flight from Heathrow to Zurich in 2017A passenger who suffered a traumatic brain injury after slipping in a puddle of Baileys while heading for a flight could receive up to 4m in compensation.Andreas Wuchner, who was 35 at the time of the incident at Heathrow airport in November 2017, was due to fly home to Zurich after he and his business partner had to rebook flights as a result of missing a previous plane due to traffic. Continue reading...

Rescuers search through rubble of country's largest children's hospital, as Zelenskiy vows to retaliateWestern and UN leaders have condemned a daylight Russian missile barrage that hit Ukraine's largest children's hospital, leaving an unknown number trapped under the rubble, as strikes across the country killed 36 people in one of the deadliest attacks this year.Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed retaliation as he said Kyiv's Okhmatdyt hospital, the main treatment centre in the country for children with cancer, had taken a direct missile hit. The strike was part of one of the heaviest attacks on the capital since Russia's February 2022 invasion. Continue reading...

Surprise result restores hope' but politicians urged to heed warning after far-right National Rally falls shortAgainst the backdrop of Lyon's emblematic Bartholdi fountain, much of which was sculpted by the artist behind New York's Statue of Liberty, the same word was on seemingly everyone's lips on Monday after the French election result: soulagement, or relief.It's great that the far right didn't win," said Stephane, 47. But he, like everyone else the Guardian spoke to, was swift to add a caveat given the political uncertainty that now looms over the nation. It's going to be a mess. They're not going to agree on a lot of things." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Whitehall warns firm's deteriorating infrastructure and 15.6bn debt pose urgent problemThe prime minister and chancellor have been briefed by Whitehall officials that the poor state of Thames Water presents a critical risk" to the country, the Guardian understands.Fears about the company go beyond its precarious financial position and include the management of sites that provide drinking water and sewage treatment for millions of customers across the capital and the Thames valley. Continue reading...

This live blog is closed.

This live blog is closed.

Researchers say EV models with vehicle-to-grid capability will be a huge and flexible resource able to respond to emergencies

Exclusive: 3.2% of those surveyed say they were turned away at least once, with minority ethnic people worse-affected

Civil emergency service says dozens killed in strikes launched after Israeli military issued evacuation ordersPeople in Gaza City have reported one of the heaviest attacks by Israeli forces since 7 October, sending thousands of Palestinians fleeing from an area already ravaged in the early weeks of the nine-month-old war.The latest Israeli incursion into the eastern sector of Gaza City came as Israel's far-right coalition parties threatened again to stop ongoing negotiations in Qatar for a ceasefire, arguing that halting the fighting now would be a huge mistake. Continue reading...

With parliament roughly split into three blocs, it could take weeks for MPs in a typically conflictual system to build coalitions

With a radical manifesto and an uneasy alliance, the left and green alliance has a difficult task ahead

Scarlett Vickers, daughter of Simon Vickers and Sarah Hall, was killed by a single knife wound to the chest, court toldA mother and father have appeared in court accused of murdering their 14-year-old daughter who, the court heard, was fatally stabbed.Simon Vickers, 49, and Sarah Hall, 44, of Darlington, who have been charged with murder, appeared at Newton Aycliffe magistrates court in County Durham on Monday. Continue reading...

Former shadow attorney general says she is leaving cabinet but that nothing can detract from party's historic victory'

Downgraded hurricane strengthens, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and floodingAfter Tropical Storm Beryl broke records last week for being the earliest recorded category 5 Atlantic hurricane, the system has been barrelling towards the Texas coast where it made landfall on Monday.Beryl was downgraded to a tropical storm crossing the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico on Friday, but was forecast to restructure and intensify as it moved into favourable conditions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Letter sent to No 10 calls for laws to be repealed, safe routes to UK and end to perma-backlog' of applicants

Danish brewer acquires owner of Robinsons, Tango and R White's as it buys Marston's stake in joint venture

This blog is now closed.

Jackie Winn tells court she warned Haigh to stay away from Robert because of alleged previous incidents at his property

Doctors deplore decision and point to country's high neonatal mortality rate as bank, which opened in June, forced to close without taking a single depositWhen he heard a hospital in Karachi was setting up a milk bank for babies, the news was a huge relief" to Mohammad Munawwar.With his wife very sick and their premature son Ayan in hospital, the 52-year-old father had had to collect milk five or six times a day from different female relatives who were breastfeeding their own babies. Continue reading...

The Guardian's political editor in 1997 recalls the optimism then and what went wrong in Labour's last transition from opposition to powerVeterans of Labour's 1997 victory party at the Royal Festival Hall - by the end, the dancefloor looked like a war zone strewn with dozing bodies - will remember the sense of disbelief and excitement as the scale of the landslide started to materialise.David Hill, the less self-publicity-prone of the hugely effective Labour press team, gave out a deep-throated what?!" as he reeled away in disbelief at the sight of a startled Stephen Twigg defeating Michael Portillo in Enfield Southgate. That night, unexpected seat after unexpected seat fell into Labour hands. Continue reading...

Online protest claimed the work mocked the Christian religion and Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun called for it to be taken down

CCTV shows Renee in Warrenheip with her cat on 30 May, and then ringing doorbell of another home on 2 June

Labour has emphasised its commitment to national security and also its historical connection with NatoKeir Starmer flies out this week to a turbulent Washington DC for a Nato summit aiming to emphasise the UK's commitment to Ukraine at a time when the forthcoming US election puts the medium-term American position in question.It is the new prime minister's first international visit, four days after the election, and Starmer can expect to be feted by fellow leaders who are facing either, in the case of Joe Biden, an uncertain future or, in the case of France's Emmanuel Macron or Germany's Olaf Scholz, unpopularity at home. Continue reading...

Campaigners for electoral reform say outcome has renewed pressure for proportional representationThe push for electoral reform in the UK has received a shot in the arm after the most disproportionate election in history", according to campaigners and academics.Longstanding reform campaigners have become uneasy bedfellows with Reform UK's Nigel Farage in recent days after Labour secured a 174-seat majority with just 34% of the popular vote. Continue reading...

Top places go to smaller and independent parks, with Potters Resorts taking the no. 1 spotThe long-established Pontins has been rated the worst UK holiday park brand in a survey by the consumer organisation Which?, with smaller and independent resorts taking the top honours.Top of the table was Potters Resorts, which has a base in the Essex countryside and another on the Norfolk coast. Continue reading...

Exclusive: South Cambridgeshire experiment led to fewer refuse collectors quitting and faster planning decisionsIn the largest public sector trial of the four-day week in Britain, fewer refuse collectors quit and there were faster planning decisions, more rapid benefits processing and quicker call answering, independent research has found.South Cambridgeshire district council's controversial experiment with a shorter working week resulted in improvements in performance in 11 out of 24 areas, little or no change in 11 areas and worsening of performance in two areas, according to analysis of productivity before and during the 15-month trial by academics at the universities of Cambridge and Salford.Staff turnover fell by 39%, helping save 371,500 in a year, mostly on agency staff costs.Regular household planning applications were decided about a week and a half earlier.Approximately 15% more major planning application decisions were completed within the correct timescale, compared with before.The time taken to process changes to housing benefit and council tax benefit claims fell. Continue reading...

New offences, laws and reforms across policing and justice system will be among plans outlined in king's speech

Andrea Robin Skinner says her stepfather sexually assaulted her when she was nine, but her mother said she loved him too much' to leave himThe daughter of Nobel prize winner Alice Munro, Andrea Robin Skinner, has alleged that her stepfather sexually abused her as a child, and that her mother stayed with him even after he admitted to the abuse.Skinner revealed the allegations in an essay and a news article in Canada's Toronto Star on the weekend, writing about how her stepfather, Gerald Fremlin, began sexually assaulting her in 1976 when she was nine years old and he was in his 50s. Continue reading...

Contribution adds to $16m previously reported that was given to Live Nation or companies it owns by state and federal governments

Airport's chief executive Lorie Argus says it will adopt the state government's preferred above-ground station

This blog has now closed but you can read our full report on the French election results hereHello from Paris.I spent time this afternoon outside a polling station in the city's 16th district. Continue reading...

Napoleon said to have tried to use the guns after defeat of French campaign, but grand squire removed the gunpowder, so French ruler tried poison insteadTwo pistols that Napoleon Bonaparte once intended to use to kill himself were sold in France on Sunday for 1.69m (US$1.8m), the auction house said, with the government banning their export so that they stay in the country as national treasures.The identity of the buyer at the auction in Fontainebleau south of Paris of the finely adorned objects was not made public but the final sale price, with fees, was above the estimates of 1.2-1.5m. Continue reading...

Mossad chief gave mediators list of new demands and it was not clear whether Hamas would accede to them, reports sayThe Israeli government has been accused of attempting to sabotage a US-backed ceasefire proposal, according to Israeli media, by introducing new demands despite previously accepting the plan.Hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza had risen in recent days following reports that Hamas had given initial approval for a new proposal for a phased deal, after ninth months of war since the attack on 7 October. Continue reading...

Early election predictions of far-right majority were proved wrong but questions remain over futureA nervous energy rippled through the crowd gathered at Lyon's Place de la Republique. As the final polls closed in the most momentous election in recent memory, hundreds of people milled about, waiting to find out what would lie in store for France.Just after 8pm, Florent Martins came running through the plaza, mobile phone in hand. We won," the 23-year-old yelled out, his voice shaking with disbelief as those around him exploded into cheers and hearty applause. The left won!" Continue reading...

Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Kemi Badenoch, who have all ruled out deal with Reform, seen as more viable candidatesConservatives have suggested that the former home secretary Suella Braverman is losing support as a potential party leader, as some who lost votes across southern England privately urged colleagues to resist a lurch to the right.A number of MPs now see Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Kemi Badenoch, all of whom have ruled out a deal with the hard-right Reform leader Nigel Farage, as more viable candidates. Continue reading...

Marine Le Pen's National Rally falls into third place despite strong showing in first round of voting

John Healey announces fresh package as he visits southern port city of OdesaReynolds says he is not supposed to pre-empt what will be in the king's speech, but he says it is no secret that the government is going to prioritise its employment rights reforms.Jonathan Reynolds is being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg now.I do want things in exchange for money we'll co-invest with the private sector around jobs and technology.I think that's a reasonable way to make sure public money is being well spent and I believe there are things, capacities, the steel industry needs in future that could be part of that conversation and that's what I'll be having in the next few days ... Continue reading...

Labour's landslide victory gave hope to progressives worldwide but may be as much practical as ideologicalLabour's landslide victory was hailed as a beacon of hope for progressives worldwide after a surge in support for far-right parties in Europe, and with Donald Trump currently slight favourite to become the US president in January.But Britain's bulwark against the populist, extremist tide sweeping through European capitals may be as much practical as ideological. Nigel Farage's rightwing Reform party got a 14% share of votes nationwide, not far behind the 16% claimed by Germany's far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) in recent elections for the EU parliament. Continue reading...

Thousands of people gather to celebrate achievements of Leeds Rhinos star and MND campaignerChildren in full rugby kits play cheerfully in front of the Featherstone Lions rugby club in Pontefract as adults sporting bright jerseys drink, eat and chat joyfully. The atmosphere is more like a festival than a day of mourning. Then a hush falls over them as Rob Burrow's hearse appears in the distance, carrying the rugby legend on his final journey home. As the cortege nears, rapturous applause breaks out for a local man who was an inspiration for so many.Burrow, who died aged 41 in June after battling motor neurone disease (MND) for five years, was a rugby league hero. At the entrance to Mill Pond stadium, where he began his career, a sign reads: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Foreign secretary says deal would allow UK work more closely with bloc on issues such as defence and energyLabour is seeking an unprecedented joint declaration with the EU to usher in a wide-ranging security pact covering defence, energy, the climate crisis, pandemics and even illegal migration, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, has said.As part of the new government's plan to reset its relations with the EU and bring an end to the Brexit era", Lammy told the Guardian that a broadly defined security deal would not undermine Labour's commitment to remain outside the EU's single market and customs union. Continue reading...

Simon Vickers and Sarah Hall to appear at magistrates court on MondayA man and a woman have been charged with murder after the death of a 14-year-old girl in Darlington, police have said.Police and paramedics responded to a call at an address shortly after 11pm on Friday. A girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Let down by broken Tory promises of levelling up, some in Newton Aycliffe and across north-east turned to ReformHe kept on saying, My dad was a toolmaker and we were on the breadline,'" says Alan Webb, a retired toolmaker, laughing. I mean, come on. I was a toolmaker and I wasn't on the breadline." Webb, 75, is having fun at the expense of Keir Starmer, who told voters about growing up in a pebbledash semi, the family having its phone cut off and, surely a few too many times, that my dad was a toolmaker and my mum was a nurse".He kept on saying it as if he was poor," Webb says. I was a toolmaker and I actually earned some good money up here." Continue reading...

James Roddis, formerly a highly decorated major general, will appear at Bulford military court centre on 17 JulyA former senior officer will appear before military court later this month charged with sexual assault, an army spokesperson has said.Ex-Maj Gen James Roddis is scheduled to attend Bulford military court centre on 17 July charged under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Continue reading...

Climate Council analysis finds 7 million people living in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide face huge barriers to public transport

Policy demands three days' notice for demonstrations and approval for use of megaphones or putting up posters

The sect's OneSchool Global network has received generous support from Australian taxpayers while tightly controlling students and discouraging tertiary study