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Talks in Cuba between Gustavo Petro and rebel leader Antonio García aimed at ending decades of conflict and follows Farc dealColombia’s government and its largest remaining guerrilla group have agreed to a six-month ceasefire at talks in Cuba, in the latest attempt to resolve a conflict dating back to the 1960s.The government and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, announced the accord at a ceremony in Havana on Friday attended by Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, top guerrilla commander Antonio García and Cuban officials. The ceasefire takes effect in phases, goes fully into effect in August and then lasts for six months. Continue reading...

Committee found former prime minister had misled the House of Commons and recommended lengthy suspension

The ex-prime minister’s surprise resignation as an MP followed a collapse in his popularity that is likely to be terminal

PM gives green light to list that also includes knighthood for Jacob Rees-Mogg and damehood for Priti Patel

Ex-PM has also awarded knighthoods and peerages to Jacob Rees-Mogg and head of parliament’s hair salon

Russian president says beginning of offensive ‘is evidenced by the use of strategic reserves’. This live blog is closed

Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) near Naples is now in ‘extremely dangerous’ state, say academic expertsHalf a million people live on a sprawling volcano in Italy – and the risk of an eruption has never been greater, according to a study.The Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) volcano may be less well-known than Vesuvius, but is “extremely dangerous”, study co-author Stefano Carlino told AFP. Continue reading...

Newspaper retains considerable influence among those who will shape the direction of ConservativesWhoever buys the Daily Telegraph is not just purchasing a historic and profitable newspaper – they are acquiring direct access to Tory party members who will control the future direction of the Conservatives.Paul Goodman, the editor of ConservativeHome, said the newspaper retained “considerable” influence among the approximately 160,000 card-carrying members of the party’s rank and file who vote in leadership elections and MP selections. Continue reading...

Northern Tory MPs call on prime minister to offer a better vision by cutting taxes, building more homes and extending devolutionRishi Sunak has been warned he risks losing Tory “red wall” voters en masse, as northern MPs called on him to cut taxes, build more homes and extend devolution.Pressure is mounting on the prime minister to move on from his initial phase of leadership, which was designed to steady the party, and press ahead with offering a more inspiring vision to voters before the next election. Continue reading...

Eighty-six-year-old readmitted to Milan hospital weeks after long stay linked to chronic leukaemiaThe former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been readmitted to a hospital in Milan for scheduled medical checks, weeks after being discharged after a long stay.The media tycoon, 86, had left San Raffaele last month after six weeks of treatment for a lung infection linked to a chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia, a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. Continue reading...

Kremlin commander claimed the mercenaries had kidnapped and tortured his soldiers during battle for BakhmutThe Wagner group has been accused of stoking “anarchy” on Russia’s frontlines after one of the Kremlin’s military commanders claimed Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenaries had kidnapped and tortured his soldiers during the battle for Bakhmut.In a video posted online, Lt Col Roman Venevitin also accused Wagner soldiers of stealing arms, forcing mobilised soldiers to sign contracts with Wagner, and attempting to extort weapons from the Russian defence ministry in exchange for releasing kidnapped soldiers. Continue reading...

There is no requirement to give the former PM this privilege and the fallout is likely to linger

At least 36 deaths to get inquest, after Paterson’s sentencing in 2017 for damaging and needless surgery in West Midlands hospitalsInquests will be held into the deaths of at least 36 patients treated by the jailed former breast surgeon Ian Paterson, with dozens more likely.As the fallout of one of the most horrific medical scandals in the history of the NHS continues, a pre-inquest review hearing held at Birmingham and Solihull coroner’s court on Friday heard that 417 of Paterson’s cases where breast cancer was listed as the immediate cause of death had been examined. Continue reading...

Poor box office performance reflects broader challenge for Hollywood as it vies with domestic productionsThe poor performance of Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Chinese box office has reopened questions on Hollywood’s increasing difficulties in the world’s second-largest economy and the role racism has played in the film’s reception.The live action remake has grossed just $3.6m (£2.9m) since its release in Chinese cinemas on 26 May, according to Box Office Mojo. Continue reading...

Schroders and Canada Life cut ties after 13 women accuse Odey of abuse or harassment over decades, which he deniesInvestor pressure is mounting on Crispin Odey after two more influential financial institutions cut ties with his hedge fund following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by him against junior female members of staff.The money managers Schroders and Canada Life said on Friday that they were cutting ties with Odey Asset Management (OAM) after 13 women accused the multimillionaire Conservative donor of abuse or harassment over decades, in a detailed investigation by the Financial Times and Tortoise Media. Odey denies the allegations. Continue reading...

Signals point to explosion early on Tuesday, as Ukraine says intercepted call proves Russia was responsible

BBC’s Today programme host ‘fearful’ of new era of US-style mixing of news and viewsNick Robinson has said the reputation for impartiality built over decades by the UK’s broadcasters faces an existential threat from the growing influence of partisan political figures on newer channels.The presenter of Radio 4’s flagship Today programme and former BBC political editor said he feared a new era of US-style mixing of news and views if the UK continued down its current path. Continue reading...

Boy, 16, arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after incident at Blundell’s school in Tiverton

Nurse also rejects accusation she deliberately misled jury in her trial for alleged murder of babiesLucy Letby has denied she is a “very calculating” serial killer who has deliberately misled the jury in her trial over the alleged murder of babies.On a tense final day of cross-examination, the nurse admitted she was “drinking fizz and going to the races” and was very active socially at a time she claimed her life had been devastated. Continue reading...

Parents say Hamdan Aslam found to have pre-existing heart condition and call for online speculation to endA 14-year-old boy who collapsed at a school in Blackburn, West Lothian, on Tuesday died from natural causes, police have confirmed.Hamdan Aslam’s family revealed he had an undiagnosed heart condition, and emphasised there was “no one to blame for his loss”. Continue reading...

Henri d’Anselme, who was seen on video trying to disarm man with bag before chasing him, says: ‘I didn’t even think about it’He has been hailed in France as the “backpack hero”, a young man who challenged the knife-wielding attacker who stabbed four young children and two adults in a playground in Annecy.Videos that circulated on social media before being removed as too distressing showed Henri d’Anselme, 24, chasing the man out of the park as parents screamed, and using his bag to try to disarm the knifeman before pursuing him. Continue reading...

John Finucane, North Belfast MP, due to speak at event honouring members of deadly South Armagh brigadePolitical leaders and victims’ groups have accused Sinn Féin of glorifying murder at a planned commemoration in Northern Ireland for one of the IRA’s deadliest units.John Finucane, the party’s North Belfast MP, is to address an event on Sunday honouring members of the IRA’s South Armagh brigade, which carried out attacks targeting civilians and security forces during the Troubles. Continue reading...

Exclusive: MP for Enfield Southgate and shadow Foreign Office minister is under investigation after complaintOne of Keir Starmer’s shadow ministers has had the Labour party whip suspended after a complaint about his conduct.Bambos Charalambous, a shadow Foreign Office minister and MP for Enfield Southgate, is under investigation after a complaint was made against him. Continue reading...

The question is not whether UK house prices will continue to fall but how big the drop will be

Move follows protest by refugees who had been told they would be sharing small London hotel rooms

Anneliese Dodds questions why it took so long for one of the Conservative senior treasurer’s firms to sever its Russia links

After years of infighting, 27-state bloc sets out new policies including charge of €20,000 a head for members that refuse to take refugeesThe EU has agreed radical reforms of its migration and asylum laws including charges of €20,000 (£17,200) per head for member countries that refuse to host refugees.After almost 12 hours of intense negotiations in Luxembourg, and years of fighting, interior ministers struck a deal on Thursday on what they described as a “historical” new approach to what one politician described as an often “toxic topic”. Continue reading...

Esther Ghey says she felt overwhelmed by support after her trans daughter’s death and has found comfort in outdoor swimmingThe mother of the transgender teenager Brianna Ghey says she has found solace in cold water swimming as she tries to come to terms with her daughter’s brutal death.Esther Ghey is taking part in Saturday’s Great North Swim in Windermere, in the Lake District, raising money for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP). Continue reading...

Mural by Rogue One found to be not in keeping with historic area, after complaints about portrayal of women accused of witchcraftA “gaudy and inaccurate” mural by a renowned street artist will be removed from a historic fishing village after objections exposed deep sensitivities about how women persecuted for witchcraft are portrayed in modern times.The mural of the menacing witch reaching her spindly fingers towards passersby covers the gable end wall of the Larachmhor Tavern, a 19th-century Category C listed building that sits within the conservation area of Pittenweem, Fife. Continue reading...

Appointment expected despite strong calls for a woman to lead party after its misogyny scandal

Organisers add e-cigarettes to official ‘do not bring’ list, which also includes gazebos and knivesPeople heading to Glastonbury festival this month have been urged by organisers not to bring disposable vapes to the event.The electronic devices simulate tobacco smoking, run on lithium batteries and are not rechargeable, meaning they are single-use products. Some estimates suggest about 1.3m are thrown away each week in the UK. Continue reading...

French president and his wife will travel to Alpine town as one adult is also still in a critical conditionThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte, are to visit victims of a knife attack in the French Alps in which four preschool children and two adults were injured, three critically, the Elysée Palace has said.“Following yesterday’s attack, the president of the republic and his spouse will today visit the victims and their families as well as everyone in Annecy who has contributed in helping and supporting them,” the palace said on Friday. Continue reading...

Saul Cookson, 15, collided with parked ambulance shortly after being followed by police vehicleThe family of a Salford teenager who died when the e-bike he was riding crashed after being followed by police, who has been named locally as Saul Cookson, have paid tribute to “the nicest lad about”.The 15-year-old boy’s e-bike collided with a parked ambulance at about 2pm on Thursday, Greater Manchester police said. It had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, “in line with normal proceedings” when someone has died after contact with police, it added. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.

Sutton says the pressure of the public role through the worst of the pandemic took a toll on his family

Experts warn heat poses threat to wider population, while thunderstorms also forecastUK temperatures could peak at 30C (86F) this weekend as public health experts warn the heat poses a threat to the wellbeing of the wider population.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Thursday upgraded an alert for hot weather in five regions of England as warnings were also issued for thunderstorms. Continue reading...

Broadcaster says she has had double mastectomy and was told news on same day as her OBE announcedThe broadcaster Anne Diamond has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.The GB News presenter said she received the diagnosis the same day as finding out she was to be made OBE. Continue reading...

Archbishop of Canterbury expresses dismay over church’s support for Ugandan law enacted last monthThe archbishop of Canterbury has urged the Anglican church in Uganda to reconsider its vociferous support for the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law, which imposes the death penalty for certain homosexual acts.Justin Welby said there was no justification for supporting the legislation, in a move that highlights deep divisions within the global Anglican church on LGBTQ+ issues. Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt hopes suspending tax on oil profits if Brent crude falls below $71.40 a barrel will aid investmentJeremy Hunt has offered the North Sea oil and gas industry a ‘get-out’ clause from the windfall tax on fossil fuel profits if wholesale energy market prices fall back to normal levels.The chancellor hopes to boost investment in the North Sea by agreeing to suspend the windfall tax on oil profits if the market price for Brent crude falls below $71.40 a barrel, and gas prices fall below 54 pence a therm, for a period of six months. The global oil price is currently about $75 a barrel, and the UK’s gas price is about 64 p/th. Continue reading...

Nine Entertainment paper says it ‘essentially campaigned’ for 11 stockmen accused of killing at least 28 Aboriginal people to escape prosecution

Writer of Empireland, which examined Britain’s imperial past, says culture war-fuelled online trolling and heckling ‘gets to you’The writer Sathnam Sanghera has said he barely ever does public events in the UK because of a fear of being attacked amid a culture war-fuelled backlash over his views on Britain’s imperial past, saying he feared a Florida-style push towards the banning of books.Sanghera, a journalist and author whose bestselling book Empireland assessed how the UK’s colonial territories still infect contemporary politics and discourse, said he had begun to dread holding book events here. Continue reading...

Playful takes on cautionary Ministry of Works signs encourage visitors to have a sensory experienceFifty years ago, heritage sites in England were covered in signs saying don’t do this, don’t do that, beware coming closer, danger here, keep your children under control and the dreaded we will prosecute you.Those doom-laden Ministry of Works signs are making a comeback. Or a sort of comeback, as English Heritage announces plans for new signs that will have a more mindful spin. Continue reading...

Exclusive: US embassy says review ended with a decision that no training restrictions needed ‘at this time’

Coalition presses finance minister over her comment to Senate estimates that ‘no one had any knowledge’ before rape allegation was made public

North-west Syria regains access to radiotherapy for first time since Earthquake devastated the region but backlog means many remain in limboCross-border treatment for cancer patients from north-west Syria resumed this week after February’s earthquake had left people without access to radiotherapy.But medical organisations in the area are warning that the backlog means many cancer patients remain in limbo and some could die as a result. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research reveals only a quarter of primaries will have vital school-based support by end of 2024Ministers have been accused of failing to grasp the “tidal wave” of mental ill health blighting children’s lives, after research found that only a quarter of English primaries will be able to offer vital school-based support by the end of next year.With almost one in five pupils aged seven to 16 now thought to have a mental health disorder, specialist support teams were set up to work with children in schools, addressing early symptoms and reducing pressure on overstretched NHS services. Continue reading...

Police say emergency services found woman, 39, and girl, 11, with a number of wounds at home in Rosewood, west of Brisbane

Children’s commissioner points to research showing some are so addicted to nicotine they can’t concentrate in schoolThe children’s commissioner for England has urged ministers to crack down on the “insidious” marketing of vapes to young people, which is leaving them so addicted to nicotine they can’t concentrate on lessons.Rachel de Souza said the government would be “failing a generation” if these “highly addictive and sometimes dangerous products” were allowed to become mainstream. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president’s remarks echo previous remarks about international bodies’ failure to intervene more decisivelyVolodymyr Zelenskiy – well schooled in chiding the west for being slow in providing help – has shifted his line of criticism from the pace at which arms has been reaching his country to the slow international response to the humanitarian and ecological disaster caused by the breach of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.Before visiting the flood-affected areas on Thursday, he used his nightly address to say: “Large-scale efforts are needed. We need international organisations, such as the International Committee on Red Cross, to immediately join the rescue operation and help the people in the occupied part of Kherson region. Each person that dies there is a verdict on the existing international architecture and international organisations that have forgotten how to save lives. If there is no international organisation in the area of this disaster now, it means it does not exist at all and that it is incapable of functioning.” Continue reading...

The public broadcaster’s five-year-plan, released on Friday, stops short of the BBC’s plan to shut down its TV and radio broadcasts to be digital first