World news | The Guardian

Attorney general reportedly tells lawyers to stop rejecting unlawful policies without assessing chance of successThe attorney general is to order government lawyers to provide “solutions-based advice” when assessing the legal risk of policies in updated guidance.Suella Braverman’s office said the new recommendations, which come amid a row over the government’s highly controversial policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, will mean that when “a substantial legal challenge to a policy is likely, it does not automatically mean the policy cannot be pursued”. Continue reading...

Health ministry says 4,298 cases confirmed in Spain, as it records what is thought to be Europe’s second death in outbreakSpain reported its second monkeypox-related death on Saturday, in what is thought to be Europe’s second death from the disease in the current outbreak.Spain reported its first death on Friday, shortly after Brazil reported the first monkeypox-related death outside the African continent in the current wave of the disease. Continue reading...

Stars including Stephen Fry and Joe Lycett join forces to help campaigners fundraise for UK’s first community-run queer venueComedians Stephen Fry and Joe Lycett and actor Mawaan Rizwan have joined in a race to raise tens of thousands of pounds to open the UK’s first community-run queer venue.Campaigners need to raise nearly £30,000 in the next four days to hit their £100,000 target and keep alive hopes of reviving the Joiners Arms, a famous east London gay institution. Continue reading...

Lawyer says client ‘glad it’s over’ as Rebekah Vardy faces considerable bill after high court judgmentColeen Rooney does not want any compensation or retribution following the “Wagatha Christie” libel trial, according to her lawyer, who said she is “just glad that it’s over and that she can get on with her life”.On Friday, Rebekah Vardy lost her libel case against Rooney after a scathing high court judgment described her as an “untrustworthy witness” who was likely to have purposely destroyed potentially vital evidence. Continue reading...

Johnson under pressure from former health secretaries to pay interim amounts to victims and familiesPressure is growing for government to compensate victims of the contaminated blood scandal immediately.The chair of the contaminated blood inquiry on Friday called for the victims and their families to be paid “without delay” after he recommended the level of interim compensation payments. Sir Brian Langstaff said infected people and bereaved partners should be given “payments of no less than £100,000”. Continue reading...

Tony Danker says thousands of companies are ‘rethinking their supply chains’ in shift that could exacerbate cost of living crisisBritish businesses are scrambling to sever economic ties with China in the wake of increased political and security tensions between Beijing and the west, an industry leader has said.The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director general, Tony Danker, warned that the sudden restructuring of supply chains from China could also exacerbate the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Police officers came across the boy’s unresponsive body during an early morning welfare check at the home in RockhamptonA woman has been charged with murder after an eight-year-old boy was found dead in a central Queensland home.Police officers came across the boy’s unresponsive body during an early morning welfare check at the home in Rockhampton on Saturday. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese announces draft wording of referendum question in Garma festival speech. This blog is now closed

Uluru Statement from the Heart advocates praise Anthony Albanese’s Garma festival speech but Coalition wants more details

Relatives of 12-year-old boy in comatose state allowed more time after judge ruled life support treatment should endAn NHS trust boss says staff are giving relatives of a 12-year-old boy left in a comatose state after suffering brain damage time to “come to terms” with a judge’s ruling that life support treatment should end.But Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer for Barts Health NHS trust, said on Friday that “further delay” in starting to provide “palliative care” to Archie Battersbee would “not be appropriate” without a court order. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s president says Black Sea ports ready to export grain; Kyiv calls on world leaders to condemn Russia over attack that led to death of 40 PoWs

Retail bonanza predicted as England’s Lionesses take on Germany at Wembley on SundayFootball fans are expected to spend more than £138m on beer, snacks and other sustenance as the Lionesses take on Germany in the Euro 2022 final on Sunday.The game, likely to be the most-watched broadcast of the year so far, is forecast to draw 4.6 million fans to pubs, bars and restaurants where they will down about 8.7m pints, according to research by GlobalData for VoucherCodes. Continue reading...

Footage shows soldier with knife and surgical gloves mutilating prisoner as he lies down with hands bound

California city’s mayor warns ‘We are at a very scary place’, while New York accounts for a quarter of US casesSan Francisco officials announced a state of emergency on Thursday in response to an escalating number of monkeypox cases in the city and a national shortage of vaccines.“We are at a very scary place. And we don’t want to be ignored by the federal government in our need. So many leaders of the LGBT community have also, weeks ago, asked for additional help and support and assistance,” said San Francisco’s mayor, London Breed, who added that the city was in “desperate need of vaccines”. Continue reading...

Loser in case will never be in more demand while ‘villified girl next door’ Coleen Rooney can expect ‘many offers’The “Wagatha Christie” trial saw the profiles of Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney rocket, with both able to capitalise going forward – although in very different ways and for markedly different reasons, reputation experts have claimed.Vardy’s spectacular own goal in suing Rooney may have seen her openly mocked, her reputation trashed and facing a potential £3m legal bill – but she will never be in more demand and could bounce back against the odds, they said. Continue reading...

Actor releases video answering questions about the incident at this year’s Oscars where he slapped Chris Rock onstageWill Smith has posted an emotional video to his social channels expressing remorse over the Oscars slap.The 53-year-old actor caused controversy at this year’s ceremony after he slapped Chris Rock onstage after a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her appearance. Smith released a statement on Instagram to apologise but has been silent since. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Gordon Brown warns plans to flood upper chamber with dozens of Tory peers proves urgent need for reform

Sheffield, Glasgow and others tell why they should play host after decision not to hold event in UkraineIn 1956 Sheffield became, it is believed, the first UK city to officially twin with one behind the iron curtain, partnering with a similar steel and mining-rich place then called Stalino, but later Donetsk.It is the reason that there is a Shefield Square on the banks of the River Kalmius. In Sheffield there’s a long, busy road called Donetsk Way. And it those links that are one reason the Yorkshire city is now bidding to host next year’s Eurovision song contest, which is coming to the UK but, everyone agrees, should really be in Ukraine. Continue reading...

ONS data shows rates nevertheless ‘still remain among the highest seen during the course of the pandemic’The UK’s latest wave of Covid appears to have passed its peak, with infections falling by more than half a million in a week, according to the Office for National Statistics.The ONS estimates, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, suggest the number of people infected in the UK fell by 586,400 in the week ending 20 July. Covid rates remain close to an all-time high, however, with an estimated 3,173,800 people, about 1 in 19, testing positive across the country in the most recent week surveyed. Continue reading...

BBC in talks to revive the show, which sees contestants battle professionals, three decades after it first airedLycra, perms and pugil sticks could once again become a mainstay of Saturday night television as Gladiators is set to return to screens.The BBC is hoping to revive the show, which was a massive hit in the 90s, as early as next year. Continue reading...

Sam Tarry again joins picket line after being removed from Labour frontbench earlier in week

Ex PC joked about raping a female colleague, court hears, but says ‘nothing in the training gives you a specific word that is offensive’A former police officer who shared what are alleged to be “grossly offensive” messages in a WhatsApp group that included Wayne Couzens has told a court that his training failed to account for diversity and educate him in what words are offensive.“It seems like almost every week there is a word that is offensive. How are you supposed to know what is offensive?” said Joel Borders, who had joked with other officers about raping and beating a colleague and using Tasers on people with Down’s syndrome, who he referred to as “downys”. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s 74-person ensemble, most of whom have spent war at home, begin European tour to rousing reception in WarsawWith a stirring rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem, the first concert of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra came to an end in Warsaw late on Thursday evening amid thunderous applause from a packed house at the Polish National Opera. It was hard to believe that two weeks ago this orchestra did not exist and that these musicians had never played together.The 74 musicians, all Ukrainian, come from many different orchestras inside the country and elsewhere across the world. They assembled in Warsaw 10 days before the concert for intensive rehearsals. More than half have spent the war in Ukraine, and only left to join the tour. Continue reading...

Weekend trip was discussed in 2013 at Moscow dinner with London mayor’s chief of staff and Lebedev’s ex-KGB agent fatherThe Evening Standard owner, Evgeny Lebedev, sought to organise a private weekend trip in Russia in June 2014 for Boris Johnson when he was London mayor, according to emails newly disclosed under freedom of information laws.The unusual excursion, at one point discussed over dinner in Moscow by Johnson’s then chief of staff Edward Lister and Evgeny’s father, Alexander, would have been tacked on to the end of an official visit to Moscow and St Petersburg. Continue reading...

Announcement of 16 bridge-layer tanks adds to news of howitzer sale authorisation

Analysis: The way Coleen Rooney controlled her public persona made Rebekah Vardy’s approach seem dated

Bank to hand dividend to shareholders despite dip in second quarter profits and economic ‘uncertainty’The UK government is in line for a £1bn payout from its near-50% stake in NatWest Group, despite a dip in the bank’s second quarter profits and “uncertainty” over the UK’s economic outlook.NatWest revealed on Friday it was poised to issue dividends worth 20.3p a share, after reporting “strong growth” in lending and deposits across the business, thanks in part to rising interest rates that meant it could charge borrowers more for loans and mortgages. Continue reading...

Other neighbouring Schengen zone countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have already restricted visasFinland is debating whether to stop issuing tourist visas to regular Russian citizens, a move that would bring it into line with its Baltic neighbours but has already prompted Moscow to threaten a “very negative reaction”.Russians have long crossed their country’s 1,340km- (830-mile) border with Finland to holiday, shop in border stores and travel onwards to other European destinations – and Helsinki remains the only EU member to routinely grant tourist visas. Continue reading...

Dawoodi Bohra leader Mufaddal Saifuddin, who is in the UK to preach, is an advocate of the abusive practice whose visa should be revoked, say activistsCampaigners have criticised the UK government for granting a visa to a religious leader who has advocated for female genital mutilation (FGM).Mufaddal Saifuddin who is the syedna, or leader, of the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect of Shia Islam with 1.2 million followers worldwide, will give sermons in front of tens of thousands of people at Northolt mosque in London between 29 July and 7 August. Continue reading...

Court of appeal dismisses Guardian challenge over private court hearing in which Philip’s will was sealedA judge acted correctly when he decided to hold a secret court hearing in which he banned the public from inspecting Prince Philip’s will, the court of appeal has ruled.Three appeal court judges ruled that the media did not have the right to attend the hearing or to be notified about it, adding that publicity would have compromised the need to preserve the dignity of the Queen and her family’s privacy. Continue reading...

Ghost-written book, with interviews conducted mostly during ‘peak rage’, expected to be published by end of yearThe manuscript is, reportedly, written; the ink now dry. Publication is said to be on course to capitalise on the lucrative Christmas market.Few crumbs, if any, of the contents of the Duke of Sussex’s much-anticipated memoirs have so far emerged. “It’s juicy, that’s for sure,” one source told the US Page Six website, with another adding: “There is some content in there that should make his family nervous.” Continue reading...

Cleo Watson also says ex-PM had to be ‘house-trained’ and that he compared her to an ‘ugly old lamp’Boris Johnson’s reluctance to leave Downing Street in the face of opposition from ministers and Tory MPs seemed a bit “let’s storm the Capitol, chaps,” according to a former senior No 10 aide, likening it to the January 6 insurrection in Washington DC.The comparison was made by Cleo Watson, a former special adviser to Johnson’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, in an article for Tatler magazine. Continue reading...

Woman who claimed she was abused by Dylan aged 12 withdraws suit after being accused of destroying evidenceThe woman who accused Bob Dylan of grooming and sexually abusing her in 1965, when she was 12 years old, has dropped her case, Billboard reports.The woman, identified as JC, had been accused by Dylan’s lawyers of destroying evidence after she failed to hand over emails and text messages by a deadline set by the court. She had also recently discharged her own legal representatives. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese is first prime minister to visit Arnhem Land festival since Malcolm Turnbull in 2017

This blog is now closed

Former police officer expected to die in prison after rape and murder of Sarah EverardWayne Couzens is still expected to die in prison after he lost his bid to reduce his sentence at the court of appeal.In May, senior judges heard challenges or appeals to the prison sentences of five convicted killers, including the whole-life terms of the former police officer Couzens and the double murderer Ian Stewart. Continue reading...

Organisation says fees for treatment of injuries, MRIs and STI testing for people without medicare would be reassessed

Amayah and Safhira Rowe say hair requirement of Highview College in Maryborough causes them pain

Defence secretary says public would never have forgiven Tories if financial markets had crashedThe British public would never have forgiven the Conservatives if the financial markets had crashed after Rishi Sunak quit as chancellor, Ben Wallace ha said as he stepped up attacks on the Tory leadership candidate after endorsing his rival Liz Truss.Wallace, the defence secretary, also suggested he was throwing his weight behind Truss because she recognised that the “threats we face every day” needed to be “funded properly”. Continue reading...

Major parties vote against allowing ‘stranger’ into Senate, while government offers screens to display interpreter as compromise

Support for households to be issued in instalments over six months, but there are fears the most vulnerable could miss outCharities have warned that some of the most vulnerable households could miss out the £400 to help with soaring energy bills this autumn, after details were revealed of how all homes in Great Britain would receive the support.The money, part of the already announced energy bill support scheme, will be paid in six monthly instalments of £66 or £67 to about 29m households. Continue reading...

Firm that played key role in lockdown is grappling with pay row, strategic uncertainty and the cost of living crisisBT’s first national strikes in 35 years, which kick off on Friday morning, are just the latest in a series of headaches to have beset the telecoms company.Amid a backlash over accusations that it set up a “food bank” for cash-strapped staff and the growing threat from a stake-building corporate raider, Philip Jansen’s mission to recreate BT’s glory days as a “national champion” seems to slipping away. Continue reading...

Analysis: recent cases strengthen protections for debate, but questions remain around workplace conflictsThe decision, on Wednesday, that LGB Alliance founder and barrister Allison Bailey had suffered direct discrimination and victimisation was the second highly anticipated ruling in less than a month – after the Maya Forstater case – concerning gender-critical women in the workplace.With both women being allies of JK Rowling, and both of their cases turning on their tweets criticising beliefs of supporters of transgender rights, they attracted an unusual amount of attention for employment tribunals and experts say they have important implications. Continue reading...

Gathering likely to descend into acrimony over polarised views on same-sex relationshipsMore than 650 Anglican bishops are meeting in Canterbury for almost two weeks of prayer and discussion that will highlight divisions within the church, broadly between the global north and south.The 15th Lambeth conference – postponed twice before finally convening this week, and formally opening on Friday – is likely to descend into acrimony over polarised views on same-sex marriage and relationships. Even before the conference began, a furious row over a draft declaration forced Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and conference president, into a U-turn. Continue reading...

Analysis: in this massive hybrid war, Europe is preparing its defences before winter and hoping sanctions biteWith little appetite in Europe for a further wave of sanctions on Russia, and Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, raising the prospect of a popular uprising in Germany this autumn over gas prices, Ukraine and its allies are focused on tightening the existing panoply of sanctions rather than putting forward more radical proposals. As many as 20 countries may be involved in bypassing the current sanctions, Ukraine reckons.Ukraine cannot but be nervous that the popular revolt of which Baerbock warned – before quickly regretting her choice of words – will mean support for the war erodes before a Ukrainian military counteroffensive can bolster it. “In Ukraine Putin fights with missiles and tanks, in Europe he fights with gas prices,” says the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba. Continue reading...

Moira Deeming’s 2020 comments on Safe Schools and gender identity not made by ‘a candidate’, Guy says

Samuel Alito, who authored the argument overturning the landmark case, dismisses complaints by foreign leaders at conference in RomeUS supreme court justice Samuel Alito has mocked prominent figures around the world who have criticised last month’s ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision.In his first public remarks since the decision, which has led to various conservative US states imposing abortion bans, Alito dismissed criticism of the ruling, which has come from the likes of British prime minister Boris Johnson, French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. Continue reading...

Russia’s media watchdog demands registration be declared invalid as independent newspaper vows legal fight

The two men were at the end of a three-day trip in The Remarkables above Queenstown when they triggered an avalancheTwo climbers who were buried by an avalanche and then caught in a blizzard atop one of New Zealand’s most famous mountain ranges survived their ordeal by digging themselves out of the snow, building a cave and living off muesli bars.The two men in their 20s were on a three-day ice climbing adventure in The Remarkables – a 2,300-metre high range above Queenstown – when they triggered an avalanche and were carried about 20 metres downhill. Continue reading...

Two dancers injured as suspended LED screen crashes down on to stage during show by Cantopop band MirrorTwo dancers have been injured at a Cantopop concert in Hong Kong after a massive video screen suspended above the stage fell on to performers below.The concert on Thursday, by Cantopop boyband Mirror, was the fourth of a series of 12 scheduled concerts by the band held at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Continue reading...