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Tory leadership candidate’s pledge follows favourite Liz Truss’s claim she would extend Rwanda schemeRishi Sunak, who is battling with Liz Truss to win the backing of the Conservative grassroots in his attempt to replace Boris Johnson, has announced plans for an annual cap on the number of refugees the UK accepts.The former chancellor, who trails Truss by 24%, according to a YouGov poll of Conservative members earlier this week, will on Sunday promise to tackle illegal migration and regain control of the UK’s borders if he becomes the next Conservative leader and prime minister. Continue reading...

Health leaders call for streamlining of complex registration process as overseas-trained doctors look elsewhere for work

Department’s incoming brief to Penny Wong warns of consular and passport issues as well as citizens detained in Syria

Australian Unemployed Workers Union survey reveals challenges for those seeking work, from lack of information to unreasonable demands

Champion prize at the British Podcast Awards given to series co-hosted by bowel cancer campaigner who died in JuneDame Deborah James’ podcast You, Me and the Big C, has been honoured at the British Podcast Awards winning the champion prize.James, who hosted the podcast alongside Rachael Bland and Lauren Mahon, died last month aged 40 after receiving end of life care for bowel cancer at home. Bland died in September 2018 aged 40, nearly two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Continue reading...

French transport minister hits back at Liz Truss’s suggestion that France needed to fix the ‘avoidable and unacceptable’ situationAuthorities in Kent have declared a “major incident” due to traffic jams in and around Dover, with officials saying the disruption could be worse than on Friday.

Anger over lack of cash for Dover upgrade as Tory candidates vie to blame France for delaysLong summer queues at the border risk becoming the “new normal” after Brexit, holidaymakers have been warned, as a fierce diplomatic row erupted with France over the lengthy tailbacks affecting Dover.Both Tory leadership candidates rushed to blame a shortage of French border staff for delays that saw some travellers waiting for hours. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak said the French “need to stop blaming Brexit and start getting the staff required to match demand”. Foreign secretary Liz Truss said she was in touch with her French counterparts, blaming a “lack of resources at the border”. Continue reading...

Sarah Becker’s judicial review win relating to financial help for grandchildren she raises will affect other councilsA woman who is a kinship carer for her two grandchildren has won a judicial review against Plymouth council, after a judge quashed the model used by the council to calculate the money it pays to bring them up on the grounds that it was irrational.Plymouth council will now have to recalculate and back pay the allowances not only to Sarah Becker, 56, but to all special guardians in the local authority area who took in young relatives when they were already responsible for their own dependent children. Continue reading...

Airstrikes raise doubts about viability of agreement as Russia also launches series of attacks across Ukraine

Travellers told to allow three to four hours to pass through security and French border checks at port

Dog Masters 2022 in Poole, Dorset features owners appearing as the Queen and Scooby Doo among othersPups and their owners have taken to the sea in the UK’s annual Dog Surfing Championships.Familiar faces such as the Queen and Scooby Doo made a splash alongside their canines as some competitors chose to dress up for the Dog Masters 2022 event. Continue reading...

The highly influential paper, first published in 2006, has helped guide billions of dollars in US federal research into the diseaseCritical elements of one of the most cited pieces of Alzheimer’s disease research in the last two decades may have been purposely manipulated, according to a report in Science.Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia globally, according to the World Health Organization. The highly influential paper, which was published in Nature in 2006, has helped guide billions of dollars in US federal government research into Alzheimer’s, according to Science. Continue reading...

Painters, playwrights and photographers have defied the threat of arrest in southern Ukrainian city to share their experiencesUnder the threat of imprisonment, interrogation and the constant pressure of searches by Russian soldiers, six artists secretly met in a basement studio in the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson.In the months after their homes were taken over by Putin’s forces, the artists formed a residency during which they created dozens of works, including drawings, paintings, video, photography, diary entries and stage plays. Continue reading...

After 119 years, Portsmouth’s Saturday evening Sports Mail has printed its last issue. A dedicated reader bids this singular British institution a fond farewellIt’s been the slowest of deaths, but yesterday the “Saturday final” edition of a singular British institution will be just that. While in the last 20 years beloved pink ’uns and green ’uns (and the occasional blue ’un and buff ’un) have disappeared from towns and cities across the country, Portsmouth’s Saturday evening Sports Mail, 119 years old, held out as the last remaining dedicated matchday newspaper. It was first closed down in 2012 but quickly resurrected at the impassioned demand of fans of Pompey, the island city’s club. This time, the obituary is to be believed.With it goes a century of a particular collective memory: that Saturday evening ritual of heading up to the local newsagent at 5.30 or 5.45 to await the mundane miracle of a stack of fat papers slung from the back of a van reporting from all across the city what had ended only an hour before, ink still smudgeable on banner headlines. Continue reading...

Wiegman has transformed the fortunes of the women’s football team and got them to the Euro semi-finals – with no fear of making tough calls along the wayFor any of the 7.6 million BBC One viewers who tuned in to watch England’s dramatic extra-time defeat of Spain in the quarter-finals of the Euros on Wednesday night, the sight of an animated blond Dutch woman on the touchline will not have gone unnoticed.Sarina Wiegman, England’s manager, is fast becoming a talking point. Less for her antics – although watching her being lifted aloft in a bear-hug from centre-back Millie Bright after the full-time whistle was a treat – and more for the 11-month transformation of the Lionesses from disjointed and confidence-drained to contenders on the biggest of stages. Continue reading...

The new grain deal should help the Black Sea port’s economy – but existence has been hollowed out by the pressure of warBarely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports, Russia targeted the country’s main port of Odesa – through which grain shipments would take place – with cruise missile strikes.The attack raised new doubts about the viability of the deal, which was intended to release about 20m tonnes of grain to ward off famine in parts of the developing world. Continue reading...

There are fears that the e-cigarette boom has the potential to create a generation of young people hooked on nicotine

Mayor says people moved from village of Vatera on Greek island as precautionary measureTourists and residents have been evacuated from a popular resort on the Greek island of Lesbos after a wildfire destroyed homes in the beachside village of Vatera.Firefighters deployed seven planes and a helicopter to tackle the blaze, with reinforcements expected to arrive from northern Greece. Continue reading...

Emergency services discover body in Jaywick following disappearance of 21-year-old on UK’s hottest ever dayThe body of a man has been found on the Essex coast two miles from where a 21-year-old went missing in the sea on Tuesday.Five people were pulled from the water near Clacton pier and taken to hospital on Britain’s hottest recorded day, but one man remained unaccounted for. The search was scaled down after more than 24 hours. Continue reading...

Under new rules, panels will rarely receive psychologists’ and probation officers’ recommendationsDominic Raab has been accused of a “catastrophic” decision that experts say profoundly undermines public safety by allowing prisoners to abscond and others to commit serious offences while on parole.In a strongly worded letter to the justice secretary, three unions castigate a “momentous and dangerous” move by Raab to ban psychologists, prison staff and probation officers from informing the Parole Board whether they believe prisoners should be released. Continue reading...

Sunny Beach and Marmaris are joint cheapest of 16 popular European resorts, according to a surveyBulgaria and Turkey are likely to be among the cheapest holiday destinations, according to a survey.Sunny Beach in Bulgaria and Marmaris in Turkey are the joint cheapest of 16 popular European resorts, according to Post Office Travel Money’s annual family holiday report. Continue reading...

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The Byron Bay event kicked off on Saturday after festival goers endured flooded campsites, long queues and the cancellation of the first day’s programming

Depp’s lawyers submit documents a day after Heard challenged outcome of multimillion-dollar caseJohnny Depp has filed a notice of appeal one day after his former partner Amber Heard filed her own against the outcome of a multimillion-dollar defamation case.Documents filed on Friday in Fairfax county, in the US state of Virginia, read: “Plaintiff and counterclaim-defendant John C Depp II, by counsel, hereby appeals to the court of appeals of Virginia from all adverse rulings and from the final judgment order of this circuit court entered on June 24, 2022.” Continue reading...

Analysis: Five months since Russia’s invasion started, Ukraine’s wealthiest have gone quiet – but for how long?Ukraine’s richest people, known in the country as oligarchs, are used to dominating political and economic life. But in the five months since Russia’s full-scale invasion started, they have gone quiet.Political analysts and experts attribute this loss of influence to the fact that oligarchs and their businesses – like all Ukrainian citizens – need protection in the form of the military and diplomacy, state functions they have no control over. Continue reading...

65.7% of remand prisoners in England and Wales who died by self-inflicted means were on suicide or self-harm watchTwo-thirds of prisoners who died by self-inflicted means while on remand in England and Wales in the past 10 years had been on suicide or self-harm watch at the time of their death, or at some point during their time in prison, the Guardian has learned.Between 2012 and 2021, 265 prisoners awaiting trial or sentencing took their own lives, 174 of whom had been placed on an ACCT, the support plan set up for prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm, according to an analysis of data from a freedom of information request. Continue reading...

Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil says former government’s pressuring of public servants to reveal boat arrival was ‘unprecedented’

Analysis: Some see him as a typical Tory, but community groups say his ascent to No 10 would be a British milestoneIf Rishi Sunak wins an uphill battle against Liz Truss in the weeks to come, he will join the small number of black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) leaders of majority-white countries in the west. They include Barack Obama in the US, Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, who is partly of Goan descent, and Leo Varadkar, the former Irish prime minister whose father is Indian.When Sadiq Khan became the first Muslim leader of any western capital city, it made headlines around the world. The ascent of Sunak, the son of Hindu Indian emigrants, would be an equal “milestone moment” reflecting Britain’s diversity, community groups have said. Continue reading...

Lithuania lifts rail ban on goods transport to Kaliningrad; three bodies recovered from Kramatorsk school attack

Readings above 40C expected on Saturday with some cities at highest alert level and warnings of dam failures due to melting glaciersChina is set for the return of more heatwaves over the next 10 days, with temperatures set to start spiking in parts of the country on Saturday.Some coastal cities are already on their highest alert level and inland regions warning of dam failure risks because of melting glaciers. Continue reading...

Vaccine inequity and emerging variants mean the future of the pandemic is increasingly uncertain, researchers say

Services report 279 ‘actively homeless’ people in SA as ministers meet to address national housing crisis

Residents of the New Zealand city have the world’s most extreme vocal changes when speaking to babies, a study has foundFrom small tribes in the remote Pacific islands to the teeming cities of China, humans share the common language of baby talk – but new research has discovered that Wellington, New Zealand, is the global capital of cooing.An international study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, collected 1615 recordings of 410 people from 21 societies speaking and singing to an adult and then a baby in more than a dozen languages. Continue reading...

Members of RMT union will strike next week after talks over pay, jobs and conditions broke downA planned strike of over 40,000 workers at Network Rail and more than a dozen train companies will go ahead next week, after the latest talks broke down.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at 14 train operating companies and Network Rail will go on strike on Wednesday 27 July in a dispute about pay, jobs and conditions. Continue reading...

Analysis: demand is desperate but ships, crew, insurance and shipping lanes all need preparingThe agreement to move Ukraine’s grain may have been signed, but the challenge of moving millions of tonnes from blockaded Black Sea ports is only just beginning.On Friday, Ukraine and Russia signed a UN-backed deal to allow Ukraine’s wheat, maize and oilseeds to be shipped amid fears over a global food crisis. Continue reading...

Kent port apologises for delays and blames French border control as summer getaway kicks offHolidaymakers have been warned chaos that triggered six-hour queues at Dover could spill into the weekend, after the port declared a “critical incident” that it blamed on “woefully inadequate” French border control staffing.The Kent port apologised to travellers facing long waits to cross the Channel on an extremely busy day for travel across the UK, as schools across England and Wales break up for the holidays. Continue reading...

‘Truss is mental and will be found out,’ says supporter of former chancellor as he launches fightback in GranthamRishi Sunak will launch his fightback in the Conservative leadership race from Margaret Thatcher’s birthplace this weekend, with his supporters urging party members to delay voting until they have seen him take on Liz Truss in more debates.Sunak’s campaign team is drawing up plans to try to reverse what one called a “worrying trend” after Truss pulled ahead by 24 percentage points in polling of party members. About 160,000 members will have the chance to decide the next prime minister when they receive ballots from 1-5 August. They can cast their votes immediately or wait until closer to the 1 September deadline. Continue reading...

A couple are under house arrest after a 30-year-old man died during a private party at a house in Karmi YosefPolice in Israel have placed a couple under house arrest, a day after a man attending a party at their villa died after being sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of their swimming pool.The man and woman, both in their sixties, are suspected of causing death by negligence, police said. They were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them Friday under “restrictive conditions of house arrest” for five days. Continue reading...

Russia edges closer to de facto capital of Donetsk as Ukraine claims at least 1,888 schools and nurseries destroyed in warRussian forces have shelled a school building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, leaving three dead, according to Ukraine’s authorities.The school was destroyed in the attack, video footage shows, and 85 residential buildings were damaged, said Ukraine’s presidential office. Continue reading...

Sebastian Kalinowski died after weeks of abuse by Agnieszka Kalinowska and Andrzej Latoszewski, Leeds jury toldA woman and her partner have been found guilty of murdering her 15-year-old son following a campaign of “utterly horrific and prolonged” torture.Sebastian Kalinowski died in hospital on 13 August 2021 of an infection caused by “untreated complications of multiple rib fractures”, following weeks of abuse and assaults by his mother, Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and her long-term partner, Andrzej Latoszewski, 38. Continue reading...

Holidaymakers and people travelling to visit family have found themselves stuck in six-hour queues to board ferriesBarbara and Zeger Degroot picked the Isle of Wight over the Alps for their summer holiday this year as they wanted a shorter drive from their home in the Netherlands. With one child in the back, one in the front and two – including a newborn baby – in the middle, it had seemed like a wise option – until they encountered six-hour queues at Dover port on their way back.“It’s not ideal,” said Barbara, adding that they had been on the road since 6.30am on Friday and did not expect to arrive home until late at night after missing their noon ferry, and were still stuck in queues outside the main port area at nearly 2pm. Continue reading...

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Russia and Ukraine sign deal to resume Black Sea grain exports; Google banned in occupied Donetsk for allegedly promoting ‘terrorism’

Activists demand help for vulnerable as cost of living and public health emergency put more people on streetsA homeless charity has called on activists and supporters to march through Belfast on Saturday to protest against a sharp increase in the number of people dying on the streets of Northern Ireland’s capital.The mayor, Tina Black, council party group leaders and statutory agencies met on Friday to discuss a crisis in which an estimated 14 people have died in recent months. Approximately nine were found dead on the street, the rest in homeless accommodation. Continue reading...

Scholarships and bursaries on offer as universities gear up for ‘clearing campaign like no other’Universities in Scotland are racing to attract students from the rest of the UK in what promises to be “a clearing campaign like no other”, offering a range of financial incentives to lure them to study over the border.Tens of thousands of pounds in bursaries and scholarships are being offered to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to entice them to take up places to study in Scotland this September. Continue reading...

As temperatures across the UK rose, so did the heat among candidates to become the next party leaderAt first the candidates kept coming. A few hours after Boris Johnson resigned, Tom Tugendhat became the earliest contender to declare, promising, for the first of many times, “a clean start”. But the ensuing battle, in the soaring summer heat, was anything but.Eleven people declared at first, including bafflingly Rehman Chishti, who had been a junior foreign office minister for less than a week. He pulled out because he had no supporters as nominations closed. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, and former health secretary Sajid Javid also crashed out at the first hurdle, as neither could get 20 MPs to nominate them. Continue reading...

Solution to overcrowded asylum centres angers NGOs, though three ships have already been commissionedPlans to house refugees arriving in the Netherlands on cruise ships have been described as “absurd” and illegal, as the Dutch government laid out its solution to overcrowded asylum centres.Three large ships have already been commissioned and one is due to be anchored in Velsen, near IJmuiden in North Holland, although ministers are struggling to find further willing ports. Continue reading...

Analysis: concerns of leadership vacuum unaided by senior ministers cancelling parliamentary committee appearances

Slow-driving convoy caused long delays to those heading to Devon and Cornwall on the first day of the school holidaysProtesters campaigning against high fuel prices have disrupted holiday getaways to the south-west of England by driving in convoy slowly up and down a motorway before blockading a petrol station.The convoy drove at 30mph on three lanes of the M5 north and south in Somerset and the Bristol area on Friday morning as tens of thousands of people headed to Devon and Cornwall to begin summer breaks. Continue reading...

The festival defends decision not to cancel Teodor Currentzis’s appearance despite links to ‘Putin’s private bank’The official opening of one of the world’s leading classical music festivals is being overshadowed by the appearance of a conductor whose orchestra and choir are funded by a bank controlled by the Russian government.Cultural commentators have described Austria’s Salzburg festival, which is also receiving sponsorship money from a foundation with close ties to the Kremlin, of being in the grip of Vladimir Putin’s influence. Along with other classical music events in the region, they argue it has turned itself into a paradise for dubious and often intransparent cultural-corporate partnerships, referred to as “toxic sponsorship”. Continue reading...