If hold music is playing, it’s almost certain no one is tuning in. But if there’s silence on the line, watch what you sayCustomers going to the toilet, eating, smoking a bong and, of course, cursing the company – these are among the notable sounds call centre workers say they’ve heard when callers thought no one could hear.After a breakfast TV host aired claims that staff at Air New Zealand’s call centre could hear customers who were on hold, the Guardian asked call centre expert Justin Tippett if that was indeed possible. Continue reading...

One in five respondents say they have been sexually harassed, with more than half of the incidents perpetrated by an MP

Rajapaksa allowed in on diplomatic passport for ‘temporary’ stay, say Thai authoritiesThe former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled overseas to escape protests against his government, arrived in Thailand on Thursday night on a flight from Singapore, where he had been staying since mid-July.Thai television stations showed Rajapaksa and a woman believed to be his wife outside the VIP hall at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport being led to a limousine, which drove off to an undisclosed destination. Continue reading...

Sean Turnell was arrested and charged with violating the official secrets act five days after Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was ousted in 2021An Australian academic who is being tried with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the country’s official secrets law testified in court for the first time on Thursday, a legal official has said.Sean Turnell, an economist at Sydney’s Macquarie University, had served as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested when her elected government was ousted by the army on 1 February 2021. Continue reading...

At a meeting of European defence ministers, Ben Wallace says Russia ‘unlikely to ever succeed in occupying Ukraine’. This live blog is now closedHeavy fighting raged around the eastern Ukrainian town of Pisky on Thursday as Russia pressed its campaign to seize all of the industrialised Donbas region.An official with the Russia-backed Donetsk People’s Republic said Pisky, on the frontlines just 10km (6 miles) northwest of provincial capital Donetsk, was under control of Russian and separatist forces. Continue reading...

Man, 30, arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accidentTwo people have died and a child has been seriously injured after a man crashed into pedestrians in Kent.Police said a man in his 80s and a woman in her 30s, who were members of the same family, died soon after the collision in Ramsgate on Wednesday night. A girl of primary school age was taken to a London hospital with serious injuries. Continue reading...

Manchester University launches inquiry into ethical standards after paper details masturbation sessionsA leading university has launched an inquiry after it emerged one of its PhD students had written a research paper about sexual attraction to young boys.Karl Andersson spent three months recording his thoughts and feelings while masturbating over images of young boys in Japanese comic books. Continue reading...

Chancellor denies influencing decision to waive tax bill for Warburg, Germany’s largest private bank, while mayor of HamburgOlaf Scholz faces fresh scrutiny over allegations that he was responsible for waiving a multimillion-euro tax bill for a private bank involved in a tax fraud scheme, as the German chancellor struggles to shake off links to alleged local government sleaze from his stint as mayor of Hamburg.On Tuesday it emerged that prosecutors investigating illegal so-called “cum-ex” trades have spent the last few months raking over Scholz’s emails from when he governed the prosperous northern city-state between 2011 and 2018. Continue reading...

Multiple aircraft at Saky base in Crimea blown up, with the new evidence suggesting possibility of targeted attack

PM attends round table with power firms but no new measures agreed to ease pressure on households

Disney+, Hulu and ESPN sees total of 221m customers at the end of the June quarter compared with Netflix’s 220.7m

Man accused of being fourth member of cell known as ‘the Beatles’ appears in London court after being deported from TurkeyA man accused of being the fourth member of an Islamic State terror cell known as “the Beatles” has been remanded in custody after appearing at court accused of terror offences.Aine Leslie Davis, 38, from Hammersmith, west London, spoke briefly to confirm his name and date of birth when he appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday. Continue reading...

‘Deviant’ works by artists including Picasso and Warhol return to display at exhibition in Iranian capitalSome of the world’s most prized works of contemporary western art have been unveiled for the first time in decades – in Tehran.The Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric, rails against the influence of the west. Authorities have condemned “deviant” artists for “attacking Iran’s revolutionary culture”. And the Islamic Republic has plunged further into confrontation with the US and Europe as it rapidly accelerates its nuclear programme and diplomatic efforts stall. Continue reading...

The annual Perseids meteor shower will peak on 13 August. Find out the best time to view

Sahara Salman died a month before her fifth birthday when house collapsed following blast in CroydonThe mother of a young girl who was killed in a gas explosion in London has told how her world has been “torn apart” as she accused a gas distribution company of failing to carry out repair work.Sahara Salman died on Monday, a month before her fifth birthday, while three people were seriously injured as a result of the collapse of a house after the blast in Croydon. Her mother, Sana Ahmad, said on Tuesday that she had contacted the supplier, Southern Gas Networks (SGN), about a suspected leak on 30 July. Continue reading...

Police are appealing for information from anyone who saw Owami Davies, who was last seen in West Croydon at 12.30pm on 7 JulyNew CCTV footage showing the last known images of a student nurse who went missing last month has been released by police.Owami Davies was last seen about 12.30pm on Derby Road in West Croydon, south London, on 7 July. Continue reading...

The claim by Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces comes after widely reported explosions at Russia’s Saki air base. This live blog is now closed

Be it a loft insulation drive or a lower price cap, there are many ways to help – but action must be swift and extensiveThe UK government has been urged to take further action to alleviate the impact of soaring energy prices, and there are a number of measures it could take.Any rescue package would need to be swift and extensive to prevent households being plunged into poverty this winter as home energy prices surge. Ministers will also need to dig deep to prevent more businesses hit by rising energy costs from defaulting on loans and declaring themselves bankrupt. Continue reading...

Nearly a quarter of doctors surveyed said they recently changed billing model, as peak body calls for higher rebates

Zelenskiy vows to ‘liberate’ Crimea as Kyiv denies responsibility for deadly attack on Russian airbase in the annexed peninsula

Kate Greville says former Manchester United footballer was regularly aggressive and exerted control over her social lifeThe ex-girlfriend of former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs has told a court she became “a slave to his every need” and that he was “regularly aggressive”.Giving evidence on the third day of Giggs’s assault trial, Kate Greville said he exerted control over her social life and the end of their six-year relationship was “pretty much relentlessly awful”. Continue reading...

Campaigners say Italian city’s remaining residents feel ‘suffocated’ by effects of tourismThe remaining inhabitants of Venice’s historic centre said they fear becoming like “relics in an open museum” now that the population is expected to drop below 50,000 for the first time.Once the heart of a powerful maritime republic, Venice’s main island has lost more than 120,000 residents since the early 1950s, driven away by myriad issues but mainly a focus on mass tourism that has caused the population to be dwarfed by the thousands of visitors who crowd its squares, bridges and narrow walkways each day. Continue reading...

Food delivery company also announces that Next boss Simon Wolfson has quit its boardLosses at Deliveroo soared by more than half to £147m in the first six months of the year, with the embattled company facing a dramatic slowdown in revenue growth as the cost of living crisis affects the demand for takeaways.The London-listed company also announced that Simon Wolfson, the chief executive of the clothing retailer Next, is to step down from the board with immediate effect. Continue reading...

Company has to sell power at prices below market rates as ministers try to tackle cost of living crisis and support householdsThe French nuclear company EDF is suing its own government for €8.3bn (£7bn) after it was forced to sell energy to consumers at a loss.The company, which is being nationalised by the French state, has filed a compensation claim over the extension of the country’s price cap in January. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak campaign attacks rival’s approach to cost of living as ‘laughable were it not so serious’

Travel company takes €75m hit after ‘significant challenges and interruptions’Flight disruption in the UK was the worst in Europe in recent months, according to Tui, while Manchester was the most-affected airport, as the travel operator reported a €75m (£63m) hit from air traffic chaos.“We had significant challenges and interruptions, especially on the UK side,” said Sebastian Ebel, Tui’s incoming chief executive, who will take over the top job at the start of October. Continue reading...

Church of England court ruling grants permission for removal of artwork at St Peter’s in MordenA London church is to remove a large mural depicting a city ablaze over its entrance that has “acquired unfortunate connotations” since the Grenfell Tower fire.The once-garish mural of the Last Judgment, commissioned in 1977 for St Peter’s, St Helier, in Morden, south London, was “never universally popular”, according to a Church of England court ruling that granted permission for its removal. Continue reading...

Launceston council urges person who entered enclosure to seek medical attention urgently as monkeys can carry herpes B virus

German firm’s revaluation represents 58% decline following ‘increased uncertainties’ after Ukraine invasionThe energy network operator E.ON has slashed the value of its investment in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline by about €700m (£592m), as a result of “increased uncertainties” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The German utility firm had said in March that its 15.5% stake – which E.ON holds indirectly via its pension fund – had a book value of €1.2bn, so its revaluation represents a 58% decline in value. Continue reading...

Explainer: A parliamentary committee has been accused of leaking confidential correspondence and compromising investigations

Newly released messages between border force and home affairs public servants shed light on ‘unprecedented’ haste to make asylum boat interception public

Tasmanian patient in her 70s died while ramped in an ambulance waiting to be admitted to emergency department

Independent calls for $100m debt to be wiped as part of negotiations over Labor’s $10bn housing policy, which also faces Greens resistance

Governing body’s letter says complainants and families must sign non-disclosure agreement for restorative justice process

Users offered an update of app that ‘removes functionality … so no information is stored or collected’

Show of force by China has eased off, but observers say it will strike ‘fear and a sense of inevitability in Taiwanese hearts and minds’China’s military drills targeting Taiwan have set a new normal, and are likely to “regularise” similar armed exercises off the coast or even more aggressive action much closer to the island, analysts have said.China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been conducting live-fire exercises and other drills in the seas around Taiwan’s main island for almost a week, in a purported response to the controversial visit to Taipei by the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Continue reading...

One person killed in Novofedorivka, 110 miles from frontline, after ‘aviation munitions detonated’ in storage areaA Russian airbase deep behind the frontline in Crimea has been damaged by several large explosions, killing at least one person, although it was not immediately clear whether it had been targeted by a long-range Ukrainian missile strike.Multiple social media videos showed explosions and clouds emerging from the Saky military base in Novofedorivka on the western coast of Crimea on Tuesday afternoon, prompting questions about how a location more than 100 miles (160km) from the frontline could have been attacked. Later a senior Ukrainian official appeared to claim responsibility, without giving details. Continue reading...

DfE says maximum rate will be fixed at 6.3% from September having previously reduced it to 7.3%Ministers have intervened to cut student loan interest rates for the second time this summer as inflation and the cost of living continue to soar.The Department for Education announced on Wednesday that the maximum rate will now be fixed at 6.3% from September. It was already due to be capped at 7.3%, after an intervention by ministers in June to bring it down from the 12% it would have reached by September, based on earlier inflation figures plus 3%. Continue reading...

Event chair Tom Newton Dunn criticised her accusations that journalists ‘framed’ questionsLiz Truss was rebuked for being “cheap” during the latest Tory leadership hustings after she had criticised the media several times.The foreign secretary had accused “some of the media” of trying to “talk our country down” during the event in Darlington and also accused journalists of framing questions in a “leftwing way”. Continue reading...

Fire destroyed 40% of island’s main fuel storage facility over five days and caused blackoutsFirefighters have finally overcame what officials described as the worst blaze in Cuba’s history that over five days destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island’s main fuel storage facility and caused blackouts.Raging flames that ravaged a four-tank segment of the Matanzas super tanker port had died down on Tuesday and the towering plumes of thick black smoke streaming from the area were diminished and now mostly gray. Continue reading...

High blood pressure contributes to around half of all heart attacks and strokes in the UKReplacing regular salt with a salt substitute lowers blood pressure and protects against life-threatening heart conditions, stroke and death from all causes, research suggests.High consumption of salt composed of sodium chloride is known to drive blood pressure up, leading to poor cardiovascular health and posing a major risk of early death. Continue reading...

Sascha, 29, and her six-month-old son, Clay, were noticed to have disappeared from Blackley on SaturdayPolice in Manchester have launched an urgent appeal for help to find a mother and her six-month-old son.Sascha and her child, Clay, were first noticed to be missing from their home in Blackley, a suburban area of the city, at about 4pm last Saturday, Greater Manchester police said. Continue reading...

Cost of living crisis dominates latest Tory hustings as foreign secretary rules out tax rise to fund government helpLiz Truss has said she rejects the “Gordon Brown economics” of helping people directly with bills as her rival, Rishi Sunak, warned the British people “will not forgive us” if vulnerable households do not get extra help this winter.At the latest Conservative hustings, the former chancellor said he would not be prepared to spend sums similar to the help offered earlier this year, and that support should be more targeted. He said: “I don’t think that will be necessary because what we are talking about now … is the extra increase on top of what we thought. Continue reading...

PM makes unexpected intervention as Rishi Sunak criticises Liz Truss for refusal to commit to more handoutsBoris Johnson has waded into the Tory leadership row over energy costs by declaring he is “absolutely certain” his successor will offer further help to households, as annual bills were forecast to top £4,200 by January.Johnson made an unexpected intervention on energy bills at a No 10 reception, as Liz Truss, the frontrunner to be the next prime minister, was accused by Rishi Sunak’s campaign of being “divorced from reality” over her refusal to commit to more handouts. Continue reading...

Singer had been sued by writers of 3LW’s 2000 song Playas Gon’ Play for alleged plagiarism, and the case is due to return to courtTaylor Swift has defended herself as the sole writer of her 2014 hit Shake It Off in response to a lawsuit claiming that she plagiarised lyrics from the 2000 song Playas Gon’ Play by girl group 3LW.“The lyrics to Shake It Off were written entirely by me,” Swift stated in a sworn declaration filed on Monday. “Until learning about Plaintiffs’ claim in 2017, I had never heard the song Playas Gon’ Play and had never heard of that song or the group 3LW.” Continue reading...

Analysis: as Boris Johnson’s immigration proposals face another setback, the home secretary’s position is also in doubtThe decision to halt plans to set up a processing centre for asylum seekers in a small Yorkshire village has raised key questions for the next prime minister.Should they stick with Boris Johnson’s struggling new plan for immigration? And should Priti Patel remain as the home secretary? Continue reading...

Band frontman Shane MacGowan pays tribute to ‘nice guy and great friend’ who died in London on MondayThe Pogues’ bass player Darryl Hunt has died aged 72.The punk group said on Twitter they were “saddened beyond words” to share that Hunt had died on Monday afternoon in London. Continue reading...

Head of region announces death after attack on base deep inside the occupied Crimean peninsula in what is being seen as a significant strike