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Under-fire firm given performance and management fees despite being worst-performing rail operatorThe under-fire rail operator Avanti West Coast has been “rewarded for failure”, Labour said, after the company was paid more than £17m in taxpayers’ money by ministers for performance and management fees in just two years, despite being the worst-performing operator on the rail network.The figures from 2019-20 and 2020-21 include almost £4m in bonuses to Avanti for “operational performance”, “customer experience” and “acting as a good and efficient operator”. Continue reading...

MPs from Les Républicains party had called for controls on annual payments to low-income households to ‘combat fraud’Rightwing opposition MPs in France have been accused of stigmatising the poor by suggesting low-income families are fraudulently using an allowance for school supplies.The government spokesperson Olivier Véran said claims some families spent the money on televisions and alcohol were “discrimination” and “an old chestnut”. Continue reading...

Australia’s transport workers union says company’s move shows gig model of work ‘will pervade every aspect of our lives’

Health sector says many people could be forced to skip meals to afford to heat their homes as cap on energy costs set to riseHealth sector leaders have warned the UK faces a “humanitarian crisis” of worsening health outcomes unless the government does more to help with rising energy costs.Families are looking ahead to a grim winter as experts predict the cap on energy bills will hit close to £3,600 a year from October, before rising again next year. Continue reading...

Shortly after apologising to Karen Andrews for secretly shadowing her ministry, Scott Morrison takes to social media to share jokey posts

Park officials are investigating the discovery, spotted in Abyss Pool in the southern part of the national parkAn investigation is under way after a Yellowstone employee spotted part of a foot, in a shoe, floating in a hot spring in the national park.The discovery was made on Tuesday at Abyss Pool, in the southern part of Yellowstone, and led to the temporary closure of the West Thumb Geyser Basin and its parking lot. The area has since reopened. Continue reading...

Hadi Matar, 24, ordered held without bail in western New York on second-degree attempted murder and assault chargesThe man accused of stabbing novelist Salman Rushdie last week in western New York pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges on Thursday.Hadi Matar, 24, is accused of wounding Rushdie, 75, on Friday just before the author of The Satanic Verses was to deliver a lecture on stage at an educational retreat near Lake Erie. Rushdie was hospitalized with serious injuries in what writers and politicians around the world decried as an attack on the freedom of expression. Continue reading...

Girl, 13, among dead as violent storms strike after three days of intense rain in regionViolent thunderstorms with winds of up to 139mph (224km/h) have struck the Mediterranean island of Corsica and parts of Italy, killing seven people and leaving at least a dozen more injured.On Corsica, a 13-year-old girl died after a tree fell on a campsite where she was staying and a 72-year-old woman was killed when the roof of a beach hut was blown off and struck her car. A 46-year-old man also died on the island in a campsite in the town of Calvi. Continue reading...

Council on the Ageing says doctors who charge consultation fee for prescription for older people should be called out

Exclusive: President José Ramos-Horta says his country’s leadership ‘has to make decisions … if necessary a trip to China’

Government will also support mass vaccination events for at-risk communities and offer more antiviral treatment for those infectedThe Biden administration will accelerate the distribution of monkeypox vaccines by providing an additional 1.8m doses, as well as taking other steps to address the rapidly spreading disease amid criticism of the government’s slow response.The new doses will accelerate the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) previous timeline, and HHS also announced a new program to coordinate additional doses for states and local health departments organizing mass events for at-risk communities, said the White House monkeypox response coordinator, Bob Fenton, during a morning briefing on Thursday. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say former SNP politician made several journeys after being told to self-isolate in September 2020The MP Margaret Ferrier has pleaded guilty at Glasgow sheriff court to breaching Covid rules by travelling on a train between Scotland and London after being told to self-isolate in September 2020.The former Scottish National party politician, who now sits as an independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, was suspended from her party after the rule-breaking came to light in October 2020. Continue reading...

People locked in at Lake District stop after 100 minute-delay on one of UK’s worst performing rail servicesOne of the UK’s worst performing train operators has launched an investigation after passengers had to climb over a 7ft (2.1 metre) spiked fence to leave a station when staff locked up early.The Avanti West Coast train from London was 100 minutes late arriving into Oxenholme on Tuesday night, by which time staff had locked the station and left for the night, passengers said. Some resorted to climbing the fence in scenes described by the local MP, Tim Farron, as “an unacceptable farce”. Continue reading...

Brazen strikes by organised crime leaders have left bystanders killed as many question the president’s security policiesFor Carlos Holguín it was supposed to be just another day of toil.After leaving the factory where he works morning shifts in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, the 24-year-old began his nightly routine last Thursday as a food app delivery driver. Continue reading...

Inquiry hears Katarina Carroll was asked if a summons was needed for her to appear

Warrnambool-based independent will challenge Liberal MP Roma Britnell in the seat of South-West Coast

Straight Talk participants say ‘empowering’ summit at Parliament House will help build community leadership

Former Manchester United player tearful in court as he talks of arrest for allegedly head-butting ex-girlfriend Kate GrevilleRyan Giggs broke down in tears in court on Wednesday as he said that spending a night in the police cells was “the worst experience of [his] life”.The former Manchester United and Wales player became emotional as he was asked to describe the evening he was arrested for allegedly head-butting his then girlfriend Kate Greville on 1 November 2020. Continue reading...

Treasurer’s report describes last year as ‘difficult and demanding’ but says return to normal operations is expectedLabour lost more than 91,000 members last year and recorded a £4.8m deficit, caused by staff redundancies, a drop in membership subscriptions and ongoing legal battles with former staff members.But the party also raised significantly more than the Conservatives over the course of last year, bringing in more £45m compared with about £31m by the Tories. Continue reading...

Firefighters attending blaze in Southwark as buildings evacuated and locals told to keep windows shutTrain services have been disrupted and buildings evacuated due to a large fire causing “bursts of black smoke” under railway arches in central London.Ten fire engines and about 70 firefighters were called to the blaze in Union Street, Southwark, on Wednesday morning, where the railway arch was completely alight, according to London fire brigade. Continue reading...

Analysis: Northern Ireland has few Tory party members but they have plenty of difficult questions to trip up the leadership hopefulsThe mere fact that a Tory leadership hustings is taking place in Northern Ireland at all is enough to raise eyebrows among Conservative party members elsewhere, looking across the Irish Sea at a local party believed to number just a few hundred.But few are likely to begrudge a moment in the sun for the Northern Irish Conservatives, who have long faced an uphill struggle. A Stormont candidate in 2017 got just 27 first preference votes, languishing last behind a Christian activist who wanted to criminalise adultery. Continue reading...

Ministers accepted urgency of need of those infected in 1970s and 1980s, who are dying at the rate of one every four days

College of Policing for England and Wales is planning policies to deal with harassment and racism in forces after string of scandalsPolice leaders have admitted officers were kept on duty who should be sacked as they launched a promised crackdown on those who attack, abuse or harass women.A series of scandals have rocked confidence in policing, with its leaders under pressure to do more to eliminate what one police chief called “toxic behaviour and [a] damaging culture”. Continue reading...

Leftwing frontrunner counters far-right president’s efforts to demonize him with evangelical voters in bitterly divided countryBrazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has formally launched his campaign to reclaim the presidency with a ferocious broadside against his rival, Jair Bolsonaro, who he claimed was “possessed by the devil”.Lula’s rebuke came on the first official day of campaigning before Brazil’s October election when 156.5 million citizens will choose the next leader of a bitterly divided nation. Continue reading...

Explosions rock an ammunition depot in Crimea, as the Russian defence minister says the country has no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Exclusive: Investment NSW official asked if all documents relating to Stephen Cartwright could be easily found by a future review

Russia’s defence ministry said it considered the action a ‘deliberate provocation’, with the air force given orders to prevent a violation of the country’s borderRussia’s defense ministry has warned Britain against a planned spy plane flight over Russian territory, saying the country’s air force has been given orders to prevent an intrusion.The tough statement comes amid tensions between Russia and the west over Moscow’s action in Ukraine. Continue reading...

PoliNations urban oasis will focus on city’s stories of migration using vibrancy of plants as a metaphorBirmingham city centre will be transformed into a “garden of magical proportions” next month as part of a celebration of cultural diversity in the UK through horticulture.Eleven-metre architectural trees will take over Victoria Square, which will also be filled with thousands of plants grown by more than 1,000 local people. Continue reading...

Raila Odinga’s comments on poll he was declared to have lost come after some officials disown final tallyThe Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, rejected as “null and void” the result of a presidential election he was declared to have lost, adding that Kenya’s democracy faced a long legal crisis.His first comments on the result came minutes after four of the seven election commissioners said on Tuesday they stood by their decision a day earlier to disown the result of the presidential poll, saying the final tallying process had been “opaque”. Continue reading...

Presenter was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease last year and has hosted the show for 28 yearsJeremy Paxman is stepping down as the presenter of University Challenge after 28 years.He has presented the quizshow since 1994 and will film his last series this autumn, with viewers seeing the final episodes next summer. Continue reading...

Monument taken down in city of Narva, while Finland says it will cuts tourist visas for Russians by 90%

Watchdog considering whether to investigate after receiving 150 complaints over Hannah and Dave adWhat was meant to be a lighthearted TV advert for paint has become mired in a misogyny and sexism row with 150 complaints made to the advertising watchdog.The Crown Paints advert tells the story of Hannah and Dave who met at an illegal rave four years ago, have settled down and are expecting a baby. It features them painting the spare room with a chorus of two dozen imaginary singers on their paint roller telling the couple’s story. Continue reading...

Aam Aadmi party’s decision to scrap plan to privatise sale of alcohol comes after pressure from rival BJPAll over the Indian capital, the sound of metal shutters being pulled down at off-licences has left drinkers high and dry.The dry spell, expected to last until 1 September, is the result of Delhi’s government scrapping a new alcohol policy that would have allowed private companies to operate off-licences. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says former prime minister oversaw ‘unprecedented trashing of our democracy’ as Morrison’s colleagues Ken Wyatt and Karen Andrews call for him to be held accountable

Father of Little Red died in June but mother, Tilly, gave birth last month after four-year breeding projectWhen the protagonist of Pixar’s animated movie Turning Red morphs into a giant red panda, her chaotic transformation is anything but welcome.But at Paradise wildlife park in Hertfordshire, the birth of a real-life endangered red panda cub has been celebrated as a “symbol of hope”. Continue reading...

Police allegedly questioned her for hours after accusations of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’A Chinese woman said she was detained by police for hours and accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for wearing a Japanese kimono and taking photos in a city street.The woman was wearing the kimono and a wig while cosplaying as a popular character from the manga series Summer Time Rendering. She was taking photos in Suzhou when she and her photographer were approached by a police officer, according to video filmed and shared to social media. Continue reading...

Conner Shirley carried Luke Pascoe on his back across rocks for 2km before driving him to hospital in Albany

Vote on bill to guarantee access to abortions at publicly funded hospitals could happen Wednesday

Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is trailing in the polls and has hinted he will not cede power if defeatedCampaigning in Brazil’s most important election for years formally gets under way this week amid fears of political violence on the campaign trail and possible turmoil before and after the October ballots.Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is trailing in the polls and has hinted he will not give up power if defeated by the leftist frontrunner and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Continue reading...

A single dolphin thought to have injured at least six people at beaches in Fukui prefecture, with one person requiring 14 stitchesBeachgoers in Japan are being urged to stay away from dolphins following a spate of attacks thought to involve a single animal that have left at least six people with minor injuries.The cetacean – believed to be an adult Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin – has bitten several swimmers at three beaches in Fukui prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast since the end of July. Continue reading...

In their first statement since legal issues began, non-binary actor says they have begun treatment for ‘complex mental health issues’Actor Ezra Miller has broken their silence amid a growing list of legal issues and allegations of erratic behaviour, saying they are seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues”.In a statement provided by a representative of the actor to Variety on Tuesday, the 29-year-old non-binary actor apologised for any alarm they may have caused. Continue reading...

Transport secretary urged to press for restoration of full timetable or strip operator of contract after 12 cancellations on MondayLabour has written to Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, urging him to take immediate action to ensure Avanti West Coast restores more frequent services on its busy intercity rail route, or else strip the train operator of its contract.The rail firm, which runs trains between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, cancelled another 12 services on Monday morning, on the first full day of an already drastically reduced emergency timetable. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Unions warn proposal to reduce payouts by a quarter as headcount shrinks could lead to industrial actionMinisters are planning to reduce redundancy pay for civil servants while cutting 91,000 Whitehall jobs, setting up a bitter confrontation that unions warned may lead to legal and industrial action.The proposals could result in average packages being cut by a quarter at a time when the minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, is aiming to shrink the civil service by a fifth. Continue reading...

Rentals in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and ACT dropped below 18C more than 80% of the time, report findsAustralian rental homes are colder and more damp than is considered safe by the World Health Organization, with homes in New South Wales so humid as to promote mould growth, a new report has found.Tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting recruited 75 renters around Australia to install tracking devices in their homes that recorded temperature and humidity levels at one-minute intervals from 13 June to 31 July this year.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

‘Tariff deficit fund’ proposed by ScottishPower and Eon would involve banks putting cash into state-backed fundTwo of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers have thrown their weight behind a plan being debated in the industry to devise a fund that could freeze customer bills for two years.The British Gas owner Centrica and Octopus Energy are understood to support a scheme that would create a multibillion-pound facility to spread the cost of an emergency funding package over a decade, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...

The pay of the top 1% of earners is rising fast, while many in the Cities of London and Westminster are struggling“You have got to be kidding me,” says Louis Margeite. “If that’s the average salary, some people must be earning millions, because no one we know earns anything remotely close to that.”The 52-year-old postal worker has just learned he lives in the parliamentary seat with the highest average salary: the Cities of London and Westminster, where the mean average for full-time workers is almost £80,000, according to HMRC statistics, and rising fast. Continue reading...

Ucas, Ofqual and DfE hope to steady nerves as this year’s university admissions set to be among the most competitive in living memoryThe head of the universities admissions service has said this year’s A-level results were “never going to be pain-free”, as students are told to prepare themselves for lower grades and increased competition for university places.With results published on Thursday, the Ucas chief executive, Clare Marchant, said the government’s policy of reining in grade inflation in order to bring results gradually back to a pre-pandemic level, had been necessary but it was “not easy”. Continue reading...

Singer tells of devastation and vows to ‘nail’ the rescheduled dates that will take place later this yearAdele has said the decision to cancel her Las Vegas residency was the “worst moment in my career” and vowed to “nail” the rescheduled shows later this year.Speaking seven months after the dates were cancelled, the British singer-songwriter explained why she pulled out just 24 hours before she was due on stage. Continue reading...