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PM spent weekend before Tiverton and Honiton byelection in south-west and flew back on government planeBoris Johnson used a government private jet to fly home from a weekend with his family in Cornwall, prompting questions about use of taxpayer-funded resources.The prime minister was in Cornwall and Devon on the weekend before the Tiverton and Honiton byelection, in which his party lost to the Liberal Democrats. Continue reading...

EU approval of slogan deepens rift between rival Nato members as Greeks claim their culture is being usurpedA Turkish effort to lure tourists with a “TurkAegean” promotional campaign – against a backdrop of historic Greek sites and the sound of the bouzouki – has elicited anger and embarrassment in Athens.With its western shores that straddle the Aegean, Turkey says the time has come to stop associating the region exclusively with Greece. Last December, it lodged a request with the EU’s intellectual property office to trademark the term TurkAegean. Continue reading...

Dozen fire engines attend 17-storey tower in Bromley where a flat and part of roof are on fireAbout 80 firefighters are tackling a fire at a 17-storey block of flats in south-east London.A dozen fire engines were at the scene of the fire in St Mark’s Square, Bromley, London fire brigade (LFB) said. Continue reading...

Tripoli sees biggest rallies in years on weekend of demonstrations over political deadlock and living conditionsThe UN secretary general, António Guterres, has appealed for calm as street demonstrations spread across Libya in protest over power cuts and the failure to hold national elections.Talks between the Libyan factions in Geneva convened by the UN special adviser Stephanie Williams made progress last week but without agreement on a constitution for the elections. Continue reading...

Gas Safe Register finds almost one in three not booking annual gas safety checks due to cost of living crisis

Dispute threatens to derail apparent breakthrough in standoff over investigation into Al Jazeera reporter’s deathIsrael has said it will conduct forensic tests on the bullet that killed the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, a day after Palestinian officials handed over the evidence to a US security coordinator for examination on what they said was the condition that Israel would not be involved.The testing will be carried out by Israeli investigators in the presence of US observers, the Israeli military spokesperson Brig-Gen Ran Kochav told Army Radio on Sunday. Continue reading...

FCDO continues to rebut claims by Maria Bamieh, who says she was told to ignore evidence of EU corruptionA prosecutor dismissed from a Foreign Office job after blowing the whistle on suspected corruption in the EU’s biggest foreign mission has agreed a settlement with the UK government of more than £400,000.Maria Bamieh, a barrister, has claimed for the past eight years that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) failed to provide support after she attempted to expose possible collusion between EU officials and suspected criminals in Kosovo. Continue reading...

Psychologists are struggling to help stricken locals cope with PTSD while facing their own grief after intense bombing

Unvaccinated two-year-old and six-year-old from northern NSW diagnosed with potentially deadly bacterial infection

Pyongyang accuses US of seeking ‘military supremacy’ over Asia-Pacific amid reports North ready for first nuclear test in five yearsNorth Korea has denounced the United States, South Korea and Japan for pushing to boost their trilateral military cooperation targeting the North, warning that Pyongyang may need to consider reinforcing its own military capability.

Party denies ‘gender-critical’ group’s claims that refusal of a conference stand was a ‘political judgment’A Labour frontbencher is among a group of MPs and peers calling on the party to reconsider its decision not to hand a presence at its conference to a group campaigning for sex-based rights.A debate continues to rage within Labour over what approach the party should take on gender issues. Boris Johnson also sought to inflame the issue by suggesting that Labour leader Keir Starmer “struggled to define what a woman was”. Continue reading...

Authorities say total of four men in custody after Kanhaiya Lal Teli was killed amid Hindu-Muslim tensionsIndian police have made fresh arrests over the murder of a Hindu tailor in Rajasthan, which sparked tensions between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority and a clampdown on protests and the internet to prevent them from escalating.Three senior police officials said on Saturday that two Muslim men based in Rajasthan were being held for planning Teli’s murder in his shop in Udaipur, a popular tourist destination. Two other Muslim men were already under arrest. Continue reading...

Communications minister Michelle Rowland says Coalition ‘completely lied’ about 2013 funding cut which harmed broadcaster

Palestinian Authority hands over bullet in move to end standoff with Israel over investigationThe Palestinian Authority on Saturday said it has given the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh to American forensic experts, taking a step toward resolving a standoff with Israel over the investigation into her death.Abu Aqleh, a veteran correspondent who was well known throughout the Arab world, was fatally shot while covering an Israeli military raid on 11 May in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Continue reading...

Tory party and PM face mounting pressure over scandal as former deputy chief whip says he respects decision to suspend himChris Pincher has said he is seeking professional help following claims that he drunkenly groped two men.The former deputy chief whip, who resigned following the allegations, said he respected the prime minister’s decision to suspend the whip and would “cooperate fully” with an inquiry into his behaviour. Continue reading...

The 35-year-old law graduate was killed in the early hours of 26 June as she walked home from a night outHundreds of people dressed in white gathered for a silent vigil for Zara Aleena, the 35-year-old law graduate who was killed as she walked home from a night out.A deep solidarity and loss was palpable among the tearful crowd in Ilford, east London, on Saturday – a community still gripped in shock and fear by Aleena’s death, and the growing insecurity women face in public spaces. Continue reading...

Falling passenger numbers, rising costs and the forthcoming end of emergency government funding blamed for services being reduced or terminatedAt least 135 bus routes across England have been lined up for cutbacks or closures this summer as councils and bus operators grapple with falling passenger numbers, staff shortages and funding constraints.Changes to services include reduced frequency, fewer stops and some routes being cancelled. Among the proposed cuts, some of which have already been implemented, are 16 routes in London, 25 in Liverpool and about 40 across the north-east. Continue reading...

Dozens of investigations have been launched by police in the past 10 years into suspected breaches of 1861 lawWomen in England and Wales who have suffered miscarriages or stillbirths are being investigated by police on suspicion of having illegal abortions, with some forced to hand over their phones and laptops for invasive “digital strip searches”.In one case in 2021, a 15-year-old girl who had an unexplained early stillbirth was subjected to a year-long criminal investigation that saw her text messages and search history examined. Police dropped the case after a coroner concluded the pregnancy ended because of natural causes. Continue reading...

Channel apologises to Mind after claiming charity funded legal fees of asylum seekersRupert Murdoch’s talkTV has apologised to Mind after claiming on-air that the mental health charity funded the legal fees of asylum seekers.Presenter Mike Graham claimed on his show, The Independent Republic of Mike Graham, last month that the charity was claiming to fund mental health support while actually paying migrants’ legal fees. Continue reading...

This year’s event, including a parade starting at Hyde Park Corner, marks 50 years since first Pride in the UKMore than a million people are expected to congregate for the first Pride in London since before the pandemic.Saturday’s event also marks the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Pride parade, which was attended by about 2,000 people. Continue reading...

Dramatic reduction in services likely to affect people travelling to Guns N’ Roses and Adele concertsGreater Anglia train company is advising people not to travel on its services on Saturday because of a strike by drivers in a dispute over pay.The company said more than 90% of its services would not run because of the 24-hour action by members of train drivers’ union Aslef. Continue reading...

SES warns of flooding across saturated NSW; airport chaos spreads from Sydney to Melbourne; Anthony Albanese meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris. This blog is now closed

Bas Smets’ project, featuring trees and a cooling system, aims to create a more pedestrian-friendly space around Paris landmarkFor most of the last year, the Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets could be found walking purposefully around the Île de la Cité in central Paris staring at and thinking about Notre Dame Cathedral.On a blazing hot day in the French capital he is back there, pointing at the landmark, still shrouded in scaffolding after it was ravaged by a devastating fire in April 2019. Continue reading...

One worker says management have been ‘firing people left, right and centre’ because event is overstaffedWimbledon has been accused of sacking temporary staff for “bizarre” reasons after overestimating the number needed.It is believed that several people working on a temporary basis in hospitality and housekeeping abruptly lost their jobs for reasons such as going to the toilet without asking. Continue reading...

NHS chief says James’s last message to public to ‘check your poo’ is life-savingThere was a tenfold increase in people checking bowel cancer symptoms online immediately after the death of Dame Deborah James, the NHS has said.More than 23,000 visits were paid to NHS websites for bowel cancer on Wednesday, compared with 2,000 the previous day. Continue reading...

UN body adds Ukrainian borscht-making to list of intangible cultural heritage that includes Neapolitan pizza-slingingMore than four months after Russian tanks rolled into their country, Ukraine has proclaimed a victory of sorts – albeit one steeped in beetroot and backed by Unesco.On Friday the UN cultural body said it had added the culture of Ukrainian borscht-making to its list of intangible culture heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. Continue reading...

Four friends convicted of conspiracy offences were found ‘guilty by association’, say their supportersA teenager considered such an inspirational youth leader he was invited to address MPs in parliament is among 10 young black men to have been jailed after being convicted of criminal offences at Preston crown court.But the convictions have caused huge controversy, with race justice campaigners saying the 10 were found “guilty by association”. Continue reading...

Presenter says he ‘can’t hog the slot for ever’ as he prepares to make way for Radio 1’s Scott Mills in the autumnSteve Wright is to leave his BBC Radio 2 weekday show after almost 24 years, after the station’s boss told him she wants to do “something different” with the mid-afternoon slot.The show will come to an end in the autumn, the BBC confirmed, with Radio 1’s Scott Mills taking over. Continue reading...

Two countries sign restitution agreement covering more than 1,000 items in German handsGermany has physically handed over two Benin bronzes and put more than 1,000 other items from its museums’ collections into Nigeria’s ownership, more than a century after they were looted by British soldiers from the once powerful kingdom in west Africa.The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, and the culture minister, Claudia Roth, signed a restitution agreement with their respective Nigerian counterparts, Zubairu Dada and Lai Mohammed, in Berlin on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

Thirty-eight injured after two missiles hit block of flats and holiday campsite, officials say

Forest fire broke out Tuesday and destroyed around 100 acres of land – the equivalent of about 50 football pitchesPeruvian authorities say firefighters have managed to control a forest fire near the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu after three days battling the flames.The blaze near one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites broke out on Tuesday, destroying around 100 acres of land – the equivalent of about 50 football pitches. Continue reading...

Campaigners say grants would help underpin commercial and social investment in regeneration projectsCampaigners are calling on the government to back a £350m high street buyout fund that would bring communities, business and councils together to revive 200 neglected properties across the country.The Platform Places initiative, backed by the government’s own high street taskforce, is calling on ministers to provide £100m in grants. Continue reading...

Bob set off for north-east England from Channel Islands three weeks ago, and has been found about 4,000 miles awayHoming pigeons have been known for centuries for their ability to find their way home after travelling hundreds of miles. But one little bird, named Bob, might need to work on his internal compass.The four-year-old pigeon, from Gateshead, turned up about 4,000 miles away in the US after getting lost on a fairly routine journey from the Channel Islands to his home in north-east England. Continue reading...

Residents’ group denounces plan to cut into weekly respite as airport launches consultation on expansionLondon City airport is seeking to overturn its Saturday flight ban and raise by 40% the limit on its passenger numbers.A local residents’ group has denounced the proposals to cut into the nearly 24-hour respite from aircraft noise from 1pm on Saturdays to 12.30pm on Sundays, granted when the airport was licensed. Continue reading...

Move comes after concerns about homophobia raised by Peter Tatchell and other LGBTQ+ campaignersThe Metropolitan police have said its officers will not march in uniform at Pride in London after LGBTQ+ campaigners voiced concern about “institutional homophobia” within the force.Scotland Yard said on Friday that officers who wish to join the celebrations should do so in civilian clothes rather than police uniform after listening to the “legitimate concerns” of activists. Continue reading...

Educators in Russian-controlled territories stand to lose jobs and risk other retaliation if they do not declare willingness to comply

Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after reports he drunkenly groped two men at a private club

Phuc, pictured in 1972 running from napalm attack during Vietnam war, has final laser treatment in MiamiPhan Thi Kim Phuc, whose photograph became a symbol of the horrors of the Vietnam war, has had her final skin treatment with a burn specialist, 50 years after her village was struck by napalm.Phuc was photographed aged nine as she ran, unclothed and screaming in agony, after napalm was dropped by a South Vietnamese Skyraider attack aircraft. Nick Ut, the photographer who captured the image in June 1972, drove her away to find medical treatment. Continue reading...

Ireland’s deputy PM accuses No 10 of making ‘shocking’ blunders with protocol billLeo Varadkar, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, has accused the British government of risking the break-up of the United Kingdom and making “shocking” blunders over Northern Ireland.Varadkar said Boris Johnson’s administration had been undemocratic and disrespectful and tacitly accused it of being dishonest and dishonourable. Continue reading...

Kremlin sets up new firm to own Sakhalin-2 plant with investors signing up to the holding within a month or forfeit stakeShell could be forced to abandon a £3bn investment in a huge Russian gas plant after Vladimir Putin threatened to seize the rights to the project.The Kremlin has said it plans to transfer the rights to the Sakhalin-2 plant in the far east of Russia to a new Russian company, citing economic security and national interests. Continue reading...

Security correspondent, who uses a wheelchair, says UK airports are consistently bad at getting disabled people off planesThe BBC journalist Frank Gardner has called out “consistently crap” UK airports after he was left stranded on a plane that had landed at Gatwick.The security correspondent, who uses a wheelchair, had flown back to the UK with Iberia Express on Thursday night after covering the Nato summit in Madrid for the BBC. Continue reading...

Rise in online gambling in pandemic offset temporary closure of firm’s 1,470 high street bookmakersThe billionaire Conservative party donors behind the gambling firm Betfred paid themselves and their family a £50m dividend, as an increase in online gambling in the coronavirus pandemic offset the temporary closure of its 1,470 high street bookmakers.Betfred’s customers wagered £6.9bn in the year to the end of September 2021, up from £6.4bn, providing winnings of £526m for the Manchester-based company, a marginal increase on the previous year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Party leader to rule out talks with nationalists in attempt to spike Tory ‘coalition of chaos’ attacks

Former Tory prime minister tells government ‘the matter must not be allowed to slide’Theresa May has urged Boris Johnson to ban transgender conversion practices as a part of proposed legislation.Writing in the i paper on the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Pride, the former Conservative prime minister said: “Few people, reading of accounts from trans people, would disagree that they still face indignities and prejudice, when they deserve understanding and respect. Continue reading...

Some clinics have resumed services while courts weigh the legality of state abortion bans – and they’re trying to provide as much care as they can

Strike action expected on Wednesday and Friday next week after agreement to modify fleet left unsigned

Regulator says it may change ad rules in light of growing competition from online streaming platformsOfcom has said it may extend the time and frequency allowed for advertising breaks on UK television as part of a review of broadcasting rules.The regulator said it would consider changing advertising regulations amid market developments including the increasing influence of online streaming services. Continue reading...

Rising prices have created greater demand for sanctuary and made it more difficult for people to leaveRefuges providing sanctuary to victims of domestic violence are facing severe strains as a result of the cost of living crisis, a charity has warned.Rising prices are creating a greater demand for refuge spaces, as increased financial pressure acts as a trigger for abusive partners, while making it more costly for those already in refuge to leave, according to Hestia, a charity providing support to those fleeing domestic abuse in London and south-east England. Continue reading...