World news | The Guardian

Laura and Philip Borrell benefited from Frances Noble, 66, defrauding council of £624,000 by faking illnessA couple who enjoyed holidays abroad with money from a relative who faked being bedridden to scam a local authority out of more than £624,000 have been jailed.Earlier this year, Frances Noble, 66, was sentenced at St Albans crown court to four years and nine months in jail for defrauding Hertfordshire county council of £624,047.50 by pretending she was bedridden, unable to feed herself and needed round-the-clock care between 15 January 2007 and 26 November 2018. Continue reading...

Russian president makes comments in Tehran, where he had a meeting with leaders from Turkey and Iran

Confirmed cases no longer required to isolate at home if they do not have symptomsPublic health officials have ordered 100,000 more doses of vaccine to help curb the spread of monkeypox as the number of UK cases rose to more than 2,000 in the months-long outbreak.According to figures released by the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Tuesday, confirmed cases have risen to 2,137 in the UK, with 2,050 recorded in England. The majority of infections are in London and among men who have sex with men. Continue reading...

Rather than focusing on pay the dispute is more about working conditions and long hoursProduction of British television dramas could be disrupted as part of a union dispute, after crew members objected to long hours and having to undertake unpaid work on sets.The Bectu trade union says its members – who work behind the scenes on some of Britain’s biggest shows – are suffering burn out, low morale, and in many cases are unable to sustain a family life due to the industry’s expectation of long hours. Continue reading...

Drugs for diabetes, hormone replacement, depression, nausea and stroke among those listed by the TGA as in short supply

‘I don’t know how far they [politicians] can let the numbers go while still saying we don’t need mask mandates’, says Dr Omar Khorshid

Guardian analysis of ONS data shows public sector earnings have fallen in real terms by 4.3% since the financial crisisTeachers, doctors, nurses, police officers and civil servants are among the public sector workers set to receive below-inflation pay rises this year, with unions warning staff will quit as the cost of living crisis bites.Guardian analysis of ONS data shows that public sector earnings have fallen in real terms by 4.3% since the financial crisis, with some professions seeing falls of as much as 13%. Continue reading...

Judgment questioned over years spent as director of east London free school later criticised for ‘improper’ practicesRishi Sunak, the frontrunner for the Conservative leadership, was the director of a free school with close links to rightwing libertarian founders, which was found to have multiple financial and safeguarding failings years after his departure.Labour said there were questions to answer about Sunak’s time as a director of the The East London Science school (ELSS), where the former chancellor served from its founding in 2013 until he ran for office in 2015. Continue reading...

Blaze continues to ravage pine forest in France as heatwave breaks temperature records across Europe

Papers from 1970s and 1980s warn practice of sealing wills was ‘haphazard’ with ‘slender’ legal basisSenior government officials privately believed that the practice of keeping secret the wills of the royal family was legally questionable and even warned ministers not to discuss it in parliament, according to official documents.Over the past century, high court judges have issued secret legal orders allowing the wills of 33 members of the royal family to be kept confidential after hearings that were held behind closed doors. Continue reading...

Cause of death of 21 young people at Enyobeni tavern last month still yet to be determinedInvestigators have found traces of the toxic chemical methanol in the bodies of 21 teenagers who died in a nightclub in South Africa last month.The tragedy at the Enyobeni tavern in the poor Scenery Park township in the coastal city of East London on 26 June caused shock and grief in a nation used to seeing casualties from a widespread culture of heavy drinking. Continue reading...

Analysis: as heat records break across the UK, the north of England and Scotland are reassessing the effects of climate crisis thereNewspaper readers in the UK’s northern half were used to scowling at the front pages every time they declared a sizzling summer. “It may well be sizzling in the south but it’s chucking it down in Hull/freezing in Wrexham/blowing a hoolie in Aberdeen” they grumbled, as they put on another cardigan or rescued the washing from a downpour.Not this time. With a few exceptions (it’s still coat weather for those living in the Shetland islands) much of the UK really has been outrageously hot this week. Whether it is asphalt melting, schools shutting or allotments withering, all but the most hardcore of climate crisis deniers now accept people are experiencing the effects of global heating in their own communities. Continue reading...

Carabinieri allege dealers fraudulently exported €2m work by 17th-century baroque artist for auction in ViennaItalian police have prevented the potential illegal sale by a Viennese auction house of a 17th-century painting by the baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.The carabinieri art squad said dealers had allegedly described the work as being painted by a follower of Gentileschi, and not the artist herself, in order to fraudulently obtain export permission from Italian authorities. Continue reading...

Data says more than 11% of women who give birth behind bars do so before 37 weeks, compared with 6.5% in communityFemale prisoners are almost twice as likely to give birth prematurely as women in the general population, leaving them and their babies at risk, new research reveals.More than one in 10 (11%) women who have a child while behind bars do so before 37 weeks of their pregnancy, compared with 6.5% of mothers in the community, the Nuffield Trust found. Continue reading...

Man in 50s emerges from blaze with clothes burned to rags and flames flickering around him

Moves to question integrity of voting system comes amid poor polling results for far-right leader facing October electionElectoral officials and senior politicians have criticised the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, after the far-right leader called foreign diplomats to the presidential palace and made unfounded allegations about the integrity of the upcoming election.Bolsonaro told them the electronic voting system in Brazil, which has been used without controversy since 1996, was vulnerable. The remarks raised concerns that the populist politician – facing poor polling results – might attempt to discredit the democratic process if he loses in October. Continue reading...

Vladislav Buryak was kept for 90 days and describes people screaming and a room with bloodstains and soaked bandagesA 16-year-old Ukrainian boy has described how he was held hostage by Russian soldiers for 90 days as he heard other prisoners being tortured in a nearby cell.Vladislav Buryak, who was separated from his family on 8 April at a checkpoint while attempting to flee the city of Melitopol, was released after a months-long negotiation between his father, Oleg – a local Ukrainian official – and Russian soldiers, who wanted to exchange Vladislav for an individual of interest to the Russian military. Continue reading...

Fund says GDP in Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic would fall by up to 6%, with Italy, Germany and Austria also hit hardA total shutdown of Russian gas supply would reduce GDP in the most vulnerable EU countries by as much as 6% and send them plunging into recession, the International Monetary Fund has warned.Amid speculation that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will keep the Nord Stream 1 pipeline closed when routine annual maintenance ends later this week, the IMF said Europe lacked a comprehensive plan to cope with shortages, further increases in energy prices and the impact on growth. Continue reading...

Analysis: Tory leader contender was first woman to hold post and is hoping trade and equalities experience will also play in favour

Furniture retailer issues third profit warning, as Hotel Chocolat’s share price tumbles as it predicts lossMade.com has cut its revenue and profit forecasts and warned of job cuts as costs rise and customers reduce spending on “big ticket” home improvement purchases because of the cost of living crisis.Shares in the online furniture retailer, which have lost almost 90% of their value since the company floated at 200p last June, plunged 38% to 24p on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Outspoken critic of Boris Johnson sanctioned by PM for refusing to support government

Analysis: worsening meltdown in the country’s debt-laden property market is at the heart of a problem that comes at a precarious time for the Communist partyThe alarm bells are ringing louder. Last week, hundreds of depositors gathered in front of the Zhengzhou branch of the People’s Bank of China in the provincial capital of Henan, demanding their frozen life savings held in rural banks. A day later, tens of thousands of homeowners threatened to stop paying mortgages on scores of unfinished housing projects they had purchased. All of this happened in a week where the officials reported lacklustre second-quarter economic performance.China’s economy is facing a dangerous cocktail of stalling growth, high unemployment, spreading mortgage payment strikes and continued Covid shutdowns that threaten to explode with serious social and political consequences. Continue reading...

Revelation among number of stories thrown up by latest batch of released documents from Kew recordsA story involving an alleged coup attempt in 1968 against the then prime minister, Harold Wilson, is just one of the subjects covered by the latest release of classified files from the National Archives at Kew in London. Continue reading...

Senior figures expect increase of between 4% and 5% but fear they will have to cover costs of anything over the previously agreed 3%NHS staff look set to get a pay rise of barely half the rate of inflation, a move that will force the health service to make more than £1bn of cuts and could trigger a wave of strikes.Senior NHS figures expect ministers to award staff an increase of between 4% and 5% when they announce on Tuesday how much the public sector workers will receive in 2022-23. Continue reading...

Notes from late 1990s show UK government believed it was due contract in recognition of defence of KuwaitTony Blair urged Kuwait to buy the UK’s latest artillery as payback for supporting the country during the Gulf war, newly released papers reveal.Blair lobbied Crown Prince Sheikh Sa’ad between 1998 and 1999, including calling in on him during a brief stopover on a flight home from South Africa. Continue reading...

Average place at a holiday club now costs £148 a week, up 5%, and availability is patchy, survey findsFamilies will have to fork out almost £900 for six weeks of holiday childcare for each school-age child, according to a survey – a 5% increase on last year’s prices.The average place at a holiday club now costs £148 a week, which is more than double what parents pay for an after-school club during term time, according to the charity Coram Family and Childcare. Continue reading...

Chris Carr disputes parts of evidence of Jenny West, who says she was offered the role, NSW parliamentary inquiry hears

Temperatures also forecast to rise in the Netherlands and Belgium as wildfires continue to rage in southern parts of the continentFirefighters continued to battle blazes in southern Europe as searing temperatures moved north and Britain braced for what could be its hottest day on record.Expectations are now high that on Tuesday the British record of 38.7C could be broken and 40C breached for the first time, with experts blaming climate change and predicting more frequent extreme weather to come. Continue reading...

Moderna’s paediatric dose will become available only after Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation gives advice

Charges flow from 2014 corruption investigation into infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings

Archives reveal David Blunkett voiced concerns about overturning ban on ‘promotion’ of homosexualityTony Blair was warned about his government’s commitment to overturning a ban on the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools in the run-up to the 2001 general election, previously classified records show.David Blunkett, then the education secretary, twice wrote to the prime minister to voice his concerns regarding the furore over section 28. It followed months of debate over potential changes to same-sex education in schools. Continue reading...

Research suggests one in four children are on diets, including one in seven who are considered a healthy weightOne in four children in England are on diets, research suggests, with the proportion who are considered healthy but trying to lose weight almost tripling.Britain is engulfed in a child obesity crisis, with one in four 10- and 11-year-olds officially obese. Continue reading...

Graham Brady announces outcome of third round of race to replace PM, who faced Labour anger during vote of no confidence debate

Pressure still on foreign secretary in leadership race as she gains just seven new backers in latest round

Five Years Next Sunday, about an ostracised girl who ‘holds the fate of her community in her hair’, wins £10,000 award for African writing in EnglishKenyan writer Idza Luhumyo has won the 2022 AKO Caine prize for African writing, with a short story judges described as “incandescent”.Five Years Next Sunday, first published in the book Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa, is about a young woman with the unique power to call the rain in her hair. Feared by her family and community, a chance encounter with a foreigner changes her fortunes, but there are duplicitous designs upon her most prized and vulnerable possession. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson regales Farnborough airshow with tales of Typhoon jet in speech brimming with metaphorsBoris Johnson has joked about sending critical Conservative MPs into space and recalled doing a “fantastic loop the loop” in an RAF Typhoon as he reflected on his premiership in a valedictory speech.While the race to replace him as prime minister narrowed in Westminster, Johnson told attendees at the Farnborough airshow that after “three happy years in the cockpit and after performing some pretty difficult if not astonishing feats”, he was “going to hand over the controls seamlessly to someone else”, but he added: “I don’t know who.” Continue reading...

Train services were cut and schools closed, with water firms experiencing ‘unprecedented demanded’ as Britain tried to stay cool

State-owned British Business Bank makes decision after investigation of lending practicesThe government has dropped guarantees made on £400m of loans from Greensill Capital to companies linked to the embattled metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.The state-owned British Business Bank (BBB) said on Monday that it had “terminated” guarantees backing Greensill’s loans to large businesses after investigating its lending practices. Continue reading...

Analysis: Vladimir Putin claims time is on his side but he will have only one shot at making a gas cutoff count

Graffiti crew spent five weeks taking turns to dangle down 82-metre tower to paint mural celebrating cityThe Leicester street artist Wing Lo says he never had a problem with heights, but swinging from the side of a building in a cradle more than 80 metres in the air to create one of the world’s tallest artworks pushed him to the limits.“When I was on the cradle, at times I just wanted to get off it because it’s really scary. But looking back now, I’m sad it has finished,” he said. “We just wanted to make the people of Leicester proud, and I think so far we’ve done that.” Continue reading...

The Swedish-born artist, who turned objects such as baseball bats, saws and clothespins into giant sculptures, died in Manhattan

‘Ferocious’ temperatures loom while the Conservative leadership debate is wrung out on the UK front pages of Monday 18 July 2022“Red alert: ‘ferocious’ heatwave set to send temperatures beyond 40C” – the Guardian leads with the weather and a picture of firefighters on duty in France. The Conservative party’s TV bloodletting is wrapped up as well: “Tory leadership debate exposes deep divisions”. The intro says it was a “bad-tempered” show.“Blowtorch Britain” says the Mirror, as “42C record heat is on”. The “revellers” shown jumping into the sea at Brighton look happy enough to brave the conditions. Continue reading...

The rapper was released on $75,000 bond on Saturday after being booked into jail in Fort LauderdaleRapper Kodak Black has been arrested in south Florida on charges of trafficking in oxycodone and possession of a controlled substance.The rapper, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was previously pardoned by Donald Trump on the last day of his presidency for a previous conviction on a weapons charge. He was booked into jail in Fort Lauderdale on Friday and released on Saturday after a $75,000 bond was negotiated at a bail hearing, his lawyer Bradford Cohen told Rolling Stone. Continue reading...

Pain for households as consumers price index for June quarter exceeds forecasts and more interest rate rises loomInflation in New Zealand has hit a steeper-than-forecast 7.3%, its highest level in three decades, with households facing hefty jumps in food, petrol and housing costs.Stats NZ has released its quarterly consumers price index for the three months leading up to June. Inflation rose from 6.9% in March to 7.3%, with food up 1.3% and 2.3% rises in transport as well as housing and household utilities. Continue reading...

Family say they are ‘heartbroken and angry’ and claim the previous government knew about their son’s detention for more than three years

Queensland jobs and bank branches to be protected for at least three years under terms of the takeover

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereToday is the anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Donetsk in 2014, which killed 298 people onboard, including 196 Dutch nationals and 38 Australians.With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, this year’s anniversary has hit the international community even harder. Russia denied involvement in the downing of MH17, despite the findings of an international investigation that found multiple witnesses who saw an anti-aircraft missile launcher that had secretly crossed into Ukraine from Russia in the hours before it shot down the commercial flight. Continue reading...

Lopez and Affleck, affectionately nicknamed Bennifer, married in a small ceremony on weekend, culminating a relationship that has stretched over two decades and two engagementsJennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck got married in a Las Vegas drive-through chapel late on Saturday night, culminating a relationship that stretched over two decades in two separate romances and headlined countless tabloid covers.Lopez announced their marriage on Sunday in her newsletter for her fans, On the J Lo, with the heading “We did it”. Lopez initially made their engagement public in April on the same newsletter. Continue reading...

Research also reveals EU remains ‘overwhelmingly dominant’ destination for UK manufacturing exportsBrexit-supporting regions in the UK are becoming increasingly dependent on the EU for their manufacturing exports, research by the trade body Make UK has found.The report, based on quarterly manufacturing outlook data measuring performance in output, orders, employment and investment intentions, also found the EU remains the “overwhelmingly dominant” destination for UK manufacturing exports. Continue reading...