Staffing crisis drives nurses to strike ballot amid warnings of cancelled operations and surge in admissionsThe cost of living crisis will add further strain to an already imperilled NHS this autumn, experts have warned, amid concerns the healthcare crisis could deepen if urgent action is not taken.Healthcare professionals say the NHS is at risk of a surge in hospital admissions, operations being cancelled en masse, and increasing difficulties over discharging patients if such pressures, potentially combined with a further wave of Covid and a bad flu season, are not tackled. Continue reading...

Sunak says Truss’s plan to reverse the increase in national insurance ‘won’t touch the sides’ but neither will hisBritain is facing a cost of living crisis this winter more brutal than any in living memory. Annual energy bills for the average household are set to hit £300 a month from October, almost double the current level. Spending power will be sucked out of the economy as millions of households struggle – and fail – to make ends meet. The courts will be clogged up with people prosecuted for falling behind with their payments.That’s the situation facing the two hopefuls slugging it out to be the country’s next prime minister, yet neither Liz Truss nor Rishi Sunak yet seems to have grasped the magnitude of the problem, in public at least. Continue reading...

Whistleblower says he was instructed to tell customers the products were safe to consume, despite lack of testing evidence

Lawyers confirm both parties have settled differences on a no fault or damages basis in relation to alleged racist claimThe Conservative peer Michelle Mone has paid a settlement understood to be more than £50,000 to settle a libel claim from a former friend of Indian heritage who had previously accused her of sending him a racist message, calling him “a waste of a man’s white skin”.Richard Lynton-Jones sued Lady Mone for libel over comments she made in the media in January after the Guardian first reported the racist and abusive messages she had allegedly sent him in June 2019. Mone’s lawyers confirmed that she and Lynton-Jones had reached a settlement, although they declined to confirm that she had paid him, or how much the settlement was. Continue reading...

Water levels in southern Norway so low domestic consumers may be prioritised over international customersBritish consumers could face even higher bills and potential energy shortages this winter after Norway threatened to ration electricity exports.The UK receives hydroelectric power from Norway through a subsea interconnector cable running beneath the North Sea. Continue reading...

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said eavesdropping on the Pasok party chief, Nikos Androulakis, was wrongThe Greek prime minister has attempted to douse a wiretapping scandal engulfing his government, claiming he had no idea the country’s socialist party leader was being monitored by intelligence services reporting directly to him.In an address to the nation on Monday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the phone tapping of the Pasok party chief, Nikos Androulakis, as a mistake that should never have occurred. Continue reading...

Former Manchester United and Wales football star has pleaded not guilty to all charges as trial beginsRyan Giggs head-butted his former partner after subjecting her to a “litany” of physical and psychological abuse over three years, a court has heard.The former Manchester United and Wales footballer, 48, “entirely lost his self-control” and attacked his then partner, Kate Greville, and elbowed her sister in the jaw during an argument about his alleged infidelity, jurors were told. Continue reading...

Train driver’s union speaks out as London to Manchester service scaled back to one an hourThe train drivers’ union Aslef has called Avanti West Coast “lying cheapskates” after the rail operator slashed its intercity timetables, blaming “unofficial strike action”.Avanti, which runs services on the west coast mainline between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, has suspended ticket sales and said it would run as few as four trains an hour from Sunday to try to cut the growing number of short-notice cancellations experienced in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Japanese technology and investment group is seeking to float UK-based chip maker ArmSoftbank has reported a record quarterly loss of 3.1tn yen (£19bn)after the global sell-off of tech stocks, prompting the embattled Japanese conglomerate to embark on a big cost-cutting drive.Masayoshi Son, the chief executive of Softbank, said the company was to launch a “dramatic” group-wide cost-cutting drive after a 7tn yen gain in investments made by its Vision Funds were almost completely wiped out over the past six months. Continue reading...

Water shortages across the continent, from France through Italy, Spain and beyond, are creating a critical situationEurope’s most severe drought in decades is hitting homes, factories, farmers and freight across the continent, as experts warn drier winters and searing summers fuelled by global heating mean water shortages will become “the new normal”.The EU European Drought Observatory has calculated that 45% of the bloc’s territory was under drought warning by mid-July, with 13% already on red alert, prompting the European Commission to warn of a “critical” situation in multiple regions. Continue reading...

Stephen House, Helen Ball and Nick Ephgrave were key lieutenants of ex-commissioner Dame Cressida DickThree of the most senior officers at the scandal-hit Metropolitan police have announced their departures five weeks before a new commissioner is due to take over tasked with making sweeping changes.All three were key lieutenants of the former commissioner Dame Cressida Dick who was forced to stand down in February after London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, accused her of failing to deal with a culture of misogyny and racism. Continue reading...

Estate agent Savills says increase of luxury rents in centre of capital show it is ‘bouncing back’ after pandemicThe super-rich are paying 13.5% more to rent luxurious central London properties than last summer, research has found, in the latest sign that overseas millionaires and billionaires are flocking back to the capital.The estate agent Savills calculated that over the year to June 2022 the average price of “prime central London” rentals rose by that figure, the highest annual increase in more than 20 years. Continue reading...

Finley Downer, eight, bitten on both legs by nurse sharks at Compass Cay before being pulled to safetyAn eight-year-old British boy has been attacked by sharks while on holiday in the Bahamas.Finley Downer was surrounded by three nurse sharks while swimming in a lagoon last week, his family said, before he was pulled to safety after suffering bites on both legs. Continue reading...

Atomic watchdog seeking access to Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest atomic energy plant, after shelling damages radiation sensors and injures worker

No 10 says there are no plans to address crisis as it would be for future PM to work out plan

Campaigners ‘reluctantly accept’ need to reduce height of Stonebridge Mills chimney by six metresA Victorian chimney in Leeds – seen as a significant local landmark by campaigners – is to be shortened due to safety fears.The 33-metre structure, which is more than 150 years old, is part of the Grade II-listed Stonebridge Mills in Farnley, which is being turned into homes as part of a £25m redevelopment. Continue reading...

Evidence comes as John Barilaro tells NSW inquiry ‘I wish I’d never applied’ for New York trade role

Favouring tax cuts above support payments will leave those most in need out in cold, says ex-chancellor

UN warns of possible ‘nuclear disaster’ after plant hit by shelling; ships carrying foodstuffs sail from Ukrainian ports

French utility group agrees sale to Australian private equity group to resolve CMA’s competition concernsThe French utility group Veolia has agreed to sell the UK waste business of Suez to the Australian private equity group Macquarie for €2.4bn (£2bn) to resolve competition concerns.Veolia, which agreed a €13bn deal to buy its smaller French rival last year after a bitter takeover battle, has been disposing of parts of Suez in a number of international markets to clear anti-trust concerns. Continue reading...

Analysis shows almost 15% of deaths in mid-July were due to Covid, with that figure likely to be an undercountCovid-19 became the equal leading cause of death in New Zealand for the first time in July, overtaking stroke and drawing even with ischaemic heart disease as the country’s No 1 killer.Michael Baker, an epidemiologist and public health professor, said that for a period in July-August Covid appeared to be causing at least as many deaths as heart disease. Continue reading...

NSW Aboriginal Land Council says no formal agreement to ensure survival social enterprise hub has been confirmed

The virus trails only heart disease and dementia after an estimated 7,100 fatalities from January to July, researchers say

Viktor Orbán has sent a top official to Brussels in effort to obtain Covid recovery funds worth billions of euros as deadline nearsHungary hopes to strike a deal with Brussels on blocked EU funds by the end of the year, as it races against the clock to unlock billions that have been frozen over concerns about state-captured institutions and corruption.If Budapest fails to reach an agreement with the European commission by the end of 2022, it stands to lose €4.64bn (£3.91bn) in Covid recovery funds, while questions remain over a potential €24.3bn six-year funding programme to upgrade its national infrastructure. Continue reading...

After meeting with Penny Wong, foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs says he will call on European Union to also support sanction

Raila Odinga is leading William Ruto in the polls but the latter hopes his ‘hustler’ image will win him votes among the poorKenyans are heading to the ballot box on Tuesday after a campaign season marked by a shift in ethnic alliances and two big-ticket issues: the cost of living crisis and high unemployment.The race pits presidential frontrunners Raila Odinga, the former prime minister, and deputy president William Ruto against each other in a hotly contested race. Polls place Odinga in the lead. Continue reading...

At least 100 managers needed for frontline airport roles as post-lockdown problems plague airline

Joe Biden welcomes ceasefire agreed after three days of conflict triggered by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza StripA truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has taken effect in the Gaza Strip after three days of cross-border fighting triggered by surprise Israeli airstrikes.US president Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire, and called on all parties to “fully implement the ceasefire, and to ensure fuel and humanitarian supplies are flowing into Gaza as the fighting subsides”. Continue reading...

Darryl Valroy Young, 59, has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder over incident near Bogie

CPS move comes after it was found most women don’t think some forms of harassment are serious enough to report themVictims of street harassment such as cyberflashing and upskirting are being encouraged to report offences to police, amid concerns there is a lack of awareness that such behaviour can amount to criminality.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for England and Wales has published new legal guidance on public sexual abuse, which also includes exposure of genitals, to clarify the law and “send a clear message that this intimidating behaviour can be a criminal offence”. Continue reading...

Birmingham crime drama to be celebrated at Monday’s ceremony, which will feature Jorja Smith, Laura Mvula and UB40Jorja Smith, Laura Mvula and UB40 will be among the acts performing at Monday’s Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, which will also include a nod to the hit TV show Peaky Blinders.The ceremony in Birmingham, celebrating the musical heritage of the West Midlands, marks the end of 11 days of sporting action in which 4,500 Commonwealth athletes competed across 19 sports and eight para sports. Continue reading...

Follow all the latest developments in Ukraine as Russia reportedly shells dozens of towns in east and southUK defence secretary Ben Wallace today welcomed a decision by Sweden to join countries contributing to the UK-led programme to train Ukrainian personnel in the UK.More details about the training programme can be found in this report from last month. Continue reading...

UN watchdog raises concerns as Russia and Ukraine trade blame for attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power station

Lifeguards and the public entered lake to hunt for 11-year-old who got into difficulties at Liquid LeisureWitnesses have described how staff and members of the public desperately searched for an 11-year-old girl who died after going missing at a Windsor waterpark.Customers at Liquid Leisure near Datchet were told to shout the girl’s name after she got into difficulty on Saturday, one witness said. Continue reading...

Australia Institute report makes a case for fuel standards as a means to cut emissions and decrease reliance on foreign oil

Leader of Azione withdraws support from coalition led by Democratic party less than week after joining forcesAn Italian centre-left alliance has broken down less than a week after coming together, potentially handing victory to a coalition that includes two far-right parties as the country prepares for general elections in September.Carlo Calenda, the leader of Azione, a small centrist force that was seen as crucial to giving clout to an alliance led by the centre-left Democratic party (PD), withdrew his support on Sunday after the leader of the PD, Enrico Letta, signed a separate electoral agreement with parties including the radical leftwing group Sinistra Italiana, and Europa Verde, a green party launched last year. Continue reading...

Don’t Pay group reportedly has 80,000 pledges to refuse payments from 1 October when price cap risesUK charities are warning people of the severe consequences of not paying their energy bills, as a campaign to stop payments from October gains momentum.The Don’t Pay UK group, which is demanding a reduction of bills to an affordable level, has reportedly gathered support from 80,000 people who intend to cancel their direct debit payments from 1 October, when the regulator raises the energy price cap, the maximum amount suppliers are allowed to charge. Continue reading...

The tiny island, once famed for its welcoming approach to those risking their lives in the Mediterranean, is centre stage as elections approachA few days after the downfall of Italy’s government, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, began preparing his electoral campaign for upcoming national elections the only way he knows: by targeting refugees.First he started a series of posts on Twitter featuring news of crimes and rapes allegedly attributed to what he described as “fake refugees”. Then, last week, Salvini, a former interior minister who made high-profile moves to block the arrival of asylum seekers at Italian ports, arrived in Lampedusa. Continue reading...

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro is expected to appear at the parliamentary inquiry on Monday to answer questions about his appointment to a US trade job. This blog is now closed

Barnett spearheaded the first official Canberra bureau of Australian Associated Press more than 50 years ago

Researchers fear spread of invasive disease could be disastrous for Australia’s diverse plant life and are calling for urgent national responseAn invasive fungus attacking some of Australia’s most ecologically important tree species has spread to Western Australia while also flourishing in damp conditions along the country’s east, driving a “silent extinction” and prompting urgent calls for a national response.Experts warn if the myrtle rust fungus detected in the east Kimberley reaches the state’s biodiversity-rich south-west, the consequences could be disastrous for those ecosystems.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Suspect already in custody is likely leader of illegal fishing mafia based in Amazon region, police sayBrazilian police arrested another five people in connection with the murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira on Saturday, and said one of the suspects already in custody was likely the leader of an illegal fishing mafia based in the Amazon region.Although they gave few details, police said three of those detained in operations near Brazil’s borders with Peru and Colombia were wanted for helping bury the bodies of Phillips and Pereira. Continue reading...

Former PM has warned of a financial timebomb awaiting families as Labour plans a major intervention to address crisisBoris Johnson and the Tory leadership candidates should agree an immediate emergency budget tackling the spiralling cost of living, Gordon Brown has said, or risk “condemning millions of vulnerable and blameless children and pensioners to a winter of dire poverty”.The intervention by the former prime minister comes as new figures seen by the Observer show that more than 4 million households are on course to spend a quarter of their net income on energy. Continue reading...

ONS estimates suggest 2,585,400 people in the UK were infected in the week to 26 JulyThe UK’s latest wave of Covid continued to subside at the end of last month, with infections falling by more than half a million for the second week running, according to the Office for National Statistics.Estimates from the ONS, based on swabs collected from households around the country, suggest that 2,585,400 people in the UK were infected in the week to 26 July, down 588,400 on the week before. Continue reading...

Changing public attitudes have made issues of repatriation and decolonisation harder to ignore“Stolen goods”; “Looted by the Brits”; “Did you steal this like the Parthenon marbles?”A glance at the social media channels of the British Museum underlines why, when it comes to the long-disputed Acropolis sculptures, it is so eager to “change the temperature of the debate”. Continue reading...

Sculpture will stay in city centre until September as search begins for permanent homeThe 10-metre high raging bull from the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony will remain in Birmingham city centre until the end of September, the city council has announced, as the public campaigns for it to be found a permanent home.Since being put on display in Centenary Square last week, people have flocked to see it, and more than 8,000 have signed a petition calling for it to stay after its creators said it was expected to be dismantled after the Games. Continue reading...

Quarterly statement on monetary policy suggests RBA may need to hoist interest rates higher for longer