Pressure still on foreign secretary in leadership race as she gains just seven new backers in latest round

Five Years Next Sunday, about an ostracised girl who ‘holds the fate of her community in her hair’, wins £10,000 award for African writing in EnglishKenyan writer Idza Luhumyo has won the 2022 AKO Caine prize for African writing, with a short story judges described as “incandescent”.Five Years Next Sunday, first published in the book Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa, is about a young woman with the unique power to call the rain in her hair. Feared by her family and community, a chance encounter with a foreigner changes her fortunes, but there are duplicitous designs upon her most prized and vulnerable possession. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson regales Farnborough airshow with tales of Typhoon jet in speech brimming with metaphorsBoris Johnson has joked about sending critical Conservative MPs into space and recalled doing a “fantastic loop the loop” in an RAF Typhoon as he reflected on his premiership in a valedictory speech.While the race to replace him as prime minister narrowed in Westminster, Johnson told attendees at the Farnborough airshow that after “three happy years in the cockpit and after performing some pretty difficult if not astonishing feats”, he was “going to hand over the controls seamlessly to someone else”, but he added: “I don’t know who.” Continue reading...

Train services were cut and schools closed, with water firms experiencing ‘unprecedented demanded’ as Britain tried to stay cool

State-owned British Business Bank makes decision after investigation of lending practicesThe government has dropped guarantees made on £400m of loans from Greensill Capital to companies linked to the embattled metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.The state-owned British Business Bank (BBB) said on Monday that it had “terminated” guarantees backing Greensill’s loans to large businesses after investigating its lending practices. Continue reading...

Analysis: Vladimir Putin claims time is on his side but he will have only one shot at making a gas cutoff count

Graffiti crew spent five weeks taking turns to dangle down 82-metre tower to paint mural celebrating cityThe Leicester street artist Wing Lo says he never had a problem with heights, but swinging from the side of a building in a cradle more than 80 metres in the air to create one of the world’s tallest artworks pushed him to the limits.“When I was on the cradle, at times I just wanted to get off it because it’s really scary. But looking back now, I’m sad it has finished,” he said. “We just wanted to make the people of Leicester proud, and I think so far we’ve done that.” Continue reading...

The Swedish-born artist, who turned objects such as baseball bats, saws and clothespins into giant sculptures, died in Manhattan

‘Ferocious’ temperatures loom while the Conservative leadership debate is wrung out on the UK front pages of Monday 18 July 2022“Red alert: ‘ferocious’ heatwave set to send temperatures beyond 40C” – the Guardian leads with the weather and a picture of firefighters on duty in France. The Conservative party’s TV bloodletting is wrapped up as well: “Tory leadership debate exposes deep divisions”. The intro says it was a “bad-tempered” show.“Blowtorch Britain” says the Mirror, as “42C record heat is on”. The “revellers” shown jumping into the sea at Brighton look happy enough to brave the conditions. Continue reading...

The rapper was released on $75,000 bond on Saturday after being booked into jail in Fort LauderdaleRapper Kodak Black has been arrested in south Florida on charges of trafficking in oxycodone and possession of a controlled substance.The rapper, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was previously pardoned by Donald Trump on the last day of his presidency for a previous conviction on a weapons charge. He was booked into jail in Fort Lauderdale on Friday and released on Saturday after a $75,000 bond was negotiated at a bail hearing, his lawyer Bradford Cohen told Rolling Stone. Continue reading...

Pain for households as consumers price index for June quarter exceeds forecasts and more interest rate rises loomInflation in New Zealand has hit a steeper-than-forecast 7.3%, its highest level in three decades, with households facing hefty jumps in food, petrol and housing costs.Stats NZ has released its quarterly consumers price index for the three months leading up to June. Inflation rose from 6.9% in March to 7.3%, with food up 1.3% and 2.3% rises in transport as well as housing and household utilities. Continue reading...

Family say they are ‘heartbroken and angry’ and claim the previous government knew about their son’s detention for more than three years

Queensland jobs and bank branches to be protected for at least three years under terms of the takeover

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereToday is the anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Donetsk in 2014, which killed 298 people onboard, including 196 Dutch nationals and 38 Australians.With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, this year’s anniversary has hit the international community even harder. Russia denied involvement in the downing of MH17, despite the findings of an international investigation that found multiple witnesses who saw an anti-aircraft missile launcher that had secretly crossed into Ukraine from Russia in the hours before it shot down the commercial flight. Continue reading...

Lopez and Affleck, affectionately nicknamed Bennifer, married in a small ceremony on weekend, culminating a relationship that has stretched over two decades and two engagementsJennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck got married in a Las Vegas drive-through chapel late on Saturday night, culminating a relationship that stretched over two decades in two separate romances and headlined countless tabloid covers.Lopez announced their marriage on Sunday in her newsletter for her fans, On the J Lo, with the heading “We did it”. Lopez initially made their engagement public in April on the same newsletter. Continue reading...

Research also reveals EU remains ‘overwhelmingly dominant’ destination for UK manufacturing exportsBrexit-supporting regions in the UK are becoming increasingly dependent on the EU for their manufacturing exports, research by the trade body Make UK has found.The report, based on quarterly manufacturing outlook data measuring performance in output, orders, employment and investment intentions, also found the EU remains the “overwhelmingly dominant” destination for UK manufacturing exports. Continue reading...

Shadow minister to say PM hopefuls are vying ‘for the mantle of Margaret Thatcher, promising tax cuts for the wealthy’

Under the proposal all households would pay for the BBC through their local authority billThe TV licence fee could be abolished and replaced with a new levy on council tax bills, according to a House of Lords committee that looked at the best way to fund the BBC in the future.Under the proposal, all households would pay for the BBC through their local authority bill, with low-earning families paying less for the broadcaster’s services. This would end the traditional link to owning a television set and ensure that people who only use the BBC’s online or radio services also have to pay to use them. Continue reading...

Design Museum show to look at how movement revolutionised arts from furniture to fashionSurrealism often brings to mind the melted clocks of Salvador Dalí or René Magritte’s image of a pipe, placed aptly above the words “this is not a pipe”.However, despite the success of displays at top galleries in New York and London, the movement’s heydays were between the 1920s and the 1960s. Continue reading...

Gap in education outcomes between poor children and others is far too wide, says policy thinktankPoorer pupils in England and Wales are “significantly” behind their peers, according to a report.The Education Policy Institute (EPI) study found that in 2019, prior to the pandemic, the gap between poorer pupils and their peers was 22-23 months in Wales and about 18 months in England. Continue reading...

Network Rail says to avoid trains unless absolutely necessary, with much of country covered by extreme heat alertThe UK’s first ever red warning for exceptional heat came into force at midnight, with temperatures expected to climb up to 41C (105.8F) over the next two days, breaking the country’s heat records.Passengers have been urged not to travel by train from Monday as a record-breaking heatwave hits the UK, while the deputy prime minister said schools should not close and people should be resilient enough to “enjoy the sunshine”. Continue reading...

Truss says Sunak will choke economic growth by raising taxes while he accuses her of not being conservativeRishi Sunak accused his rival Conservative leadership candidates of promoting “socialism” by promising unfunded tax cuts, as the deep divisions in the party over economic policy were exposed in a bad-tempered televised debate.As the contenders clashed repeatedly over tax and spending in the ITV debate, Liz Truss confronted her former cabinet colleague, saying: “Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth. Continue reading...

Fighting between the Hausa and Birta ethnic groups broke out last week over the killing of a farmerThe death toll from days of tribal clashes in the southern Sudanese state of Blue Nile has climbed to at least 65 people, according to a senior health official.Around 150 people have been injured in the fighting between the Hausa and Birta ethnic groups, the state’s health minister, Gamal Nasser al-Sayed, said. Continue reading...

John Harding, who says in video he could be executed, implores the PM to use influence with Putin and Zelenskiy to help him

Albie Speakman’s mother describes him as ‘little sunshine boy’ after he died of critical injuries on farmlandThe mother of a three-year-old boy killed in a collision with a tractor on a farm said she is “broken beyond repair”.Albie Speakman suffered fatal injuries on farmland off Bentley Hall Road in the Tottington area of Bury, Greater Manchester, at about 12.45pm on Saturday 16 July. Continue reading...

After a decade of finals but no flags under coach Chris Scott, the 2022 Cats are the best placed since 2011 to win Geelong a long-awaited premiershipAt the end of the 2018 season, following yet another cutthroat final that had gone belly-up in less than ten minutes, another final where the Cats had looked old, slow and ripe for a rebuild, Chris Scott addressed the players, staff, and sponsors. “We’re not giving up,” he told them. “We’re not playing it safe. No rebuild. No managing expectations. No acquiescence to equalisation.”For many, it was typical Chris Scott – stubbornly trying to beat the handicapper. Every year, the Cats would lug their weight, and race on the speed. Every year, they would be mown down by some emerging lightweight. Many Geelong fans resented the coach for his prickly ways, for his game-plan, for the manner in which he’d moved on several legends of the club, for the fact that he wasn’t Bomber Thompson. Continue reading...

Grattan Institute report calls for fundamental reform after finding 21% of federal board positions were politically connected• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastOne in five lucrative and powerful federal government board positions have been handed to politically connected individuals, according to a new report warning Australia has developed an “insidious jobs-for-mates culture”.The Grattan Institute has released a report revealing a shocking level of politicisation in government appointments to public boards, tribunals, advisory councils and agencies. Continue reading...

US citizen Asim Ghafoor detained in Dubai and convicted two days later of money laundering and tax evasionThe United Arab Emirates has sentenced the former lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi – the dissident Saudi journalist who was killed at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018 – to three years in prison on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.The Abu Dhabi money laundering court also ordered Asim Ghafoor, a US citizen, to pay a fine of more than $800,000 (£675,000) stemming from his in absentia conviction, the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency reported. Continue reading...

Rockets and missiles continue to pound Ukrainian towns amid fears of renewed Russian offensive

Study challenges idea poor outcomes are due to Muslims’ so-called ‘sociocultural attitudes’Poor outcomes for Muslims in the British labour market cannot be explained by sociocultural attitudes, such as commitment to traditionalism, a study has found.The research, published in the peer-reviewed Ethnic and Racial Studies journal, confirmed the existence of a “Muslim penalty” in the employment market but rejected previous suggestions that it was due to cultural and religious practices. Continue reading...

Remedies used by healer Susanna Hall and her doctor husband will be planted at Stratford homeIn Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia offers rosemary to boost memory, while in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Puck pours the juice of “love-in-idleness” on to the sleeping eyelids of Titania, making her “madly dote” on Bottom wearing an ass’s head.The magical power of herbs and flowers that Shakespeare recognised is now inspiring the recreation of a 17th-century herbal garden in the historic 1613 house that his daughter Susanna shared with her husband, John Hall, a physician who is believed to have advised his father-in-law on medical ailments. Continue reading...

Deputy PM launches broadside against foreign secretary as Conservative MPs prepare to vote to decide final two

Families face stressful holidays with fewer providers, higher prices or deciding to keep their children at home while they workThe cost of childcare over the holidays is likely to be the highest on record this summer as providers of activity camps and other paid-for care are forced to put up prices, while others have gone out of business altogether.A leading national charity concerned with childcare and family issues said that a cocktail of rising costs, including higher utility bills, food prices and national insurance contributions is contributing to pressures on holiday care providers. Continue reading...

Learner drivers are overpaying to book driving tests and struggling to find teachers as the Covid crisis disrupted lessons for some half a million pupilsLearners are struggling to sit driving tests due to a chronic backlog of pupils due to the pandemic.Here, a driving instructor and three learners share how they have been affected. Continue reading...

Backlogs caused by the Covid crisis have meant disruption for about 500,000 pupilsDesperate learner drivers are paying double the going rate for tests on the secondary market, while others are struggling to find an instructor, as the industry grapples with a huge backlog of pupils owing to Covid.Nino Shankischvili, a London-based learner, told the Guardian she paid an instructor £530 for three tests because she was unable to get an appointment at her local test centre. A practical exam booked through the official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website costs just £62. Continue reading...

Telegraph (backs Mordaunt) and Mail (prefers Truss) hold most sway with Conservative party membersBritain’s Conservative-leaning newspapers have been handed a moment of decisive influence in the election of the next prime minister. The political analysis they project – the headlines they choose – could effectively anoint the next resident of No 10. But while these Tory titles continue to quarrel over the merits of rival candidates, the impact on voters in the Conservative party is unsure.According to Chris Blackhurst, a former editor of the Independent, the limited electoral constituency, estimated at just over 150,000 party members, is looking for guidance in a confusing battle. “This leadership election represents the high-water mark, in terms of power, for the right-wing press barons,” he said. “The entire electorate in this race is composed of their readers. Their ability to influence the outcome far exceeds any sway they might possess in a general election.” Continue reading...

Veto on Met interviews into child abuse allegations ‘overreached powers’A family court judge overreached his powers in making an order blocking the Metropolitan police from interviewing two children who reported allegations of abuse by their father, the court of appeal has found.An application to review the “highly exceptional order” came before judges at a hearing on 28 June and the appeal was upheld after it was deemed Mr Justice Keehan should not have restricted the actions of the police. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Premier, Daniel Andrews, announces a $162m package to fund specialist staff across 12 hospitals as Covid-related absentee rates climb

Chancellor’s £58m property firm used loans to buy commercial and retail premises across the UKThe chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is under pressure to explain the source of £26m of unsecured loans reported by his family property firm in 2018 as he faces questions over his tax affairs.The millions of pounds of loans helped Zahawi and his wife buy properties across Britain, including commercial and retail premises in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Walton-on-Thames in Surrey. Continue reading...

The $750 payment for those who need to isolate due to Covid has been extended through September, following pressure on the government

Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Budapest since parliament approved law change in first protests since PM won fourth termThousands of people protested in Budapest on Saturday for a fifth day against Viktor Orbán’s government as anger deepens over tax changes that critics say will hurt small businesses.Hungarians have taken to the streets since the parliament approved a law change on Tuesday that will affect hundreds of thousands of small-sized business owners. Continue reading...

Campaigners accuse the government of creating an alternative reality to suit its ‘cruel’ deportation agendaThe Home Office is claiming that asylum seekers are “fine” with being sent to Rwanda, even after they have threatened to kill themselves in detention as they wait to be removed to Africa, according to internal documents seen by the Observer.They reveal that Home Office officials described how an individual being held in immigration detention “was fine with going there [Rwanda]” days after he had threatened to commit suicide amid anxiety he would never see his children again. Continue reading...

Senior Conservatives in northern seats warn leadership contenders that they must stand by the government’s investment promisesSenior Tories in “red wall” seats have warned Conservative leadership candidates that the party will lose the next general election unless they re-commit to level up the country and boost investment in the UK’s deprived regions.The warnings come as economists and business figures who are pushing the levelling up agenda in the north of England say the entire project – which was at the heart of the 2019 Conservative manifesto – risks being downgraded as candidates to succeed Boris Johnson compete to offer more generous tax cuts, and money to ease the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Observer investigation finds Chinese-owned brand Elf Bar is fuelling the boom in e-cigarettes among young people as social media influencers on TikTok promote its goods in an apparent breach of advertising rulesA leading e-cigarette brand is flouting rules to promote its products to young people in Britain, an Observer investigation has found, as experts warn that brightly coloured, sweet-flavoured vapes are being used by children as young as seven.Elf Bar, a Chinese-owned vaping giant that has seen the use of its products by under-18s soar in the past year, is being promoted by social influencers, who in some cases claim to be paid for the promotions and benefit from free products. Continue reading...

Board expresses ‘profound dismay’ at exhibits German government and Jewish groups say went too farThe director general of Documenta, one of the world’s biggest art fairs, has been forced to resign following outrage over anti-Semitic exhibits upon opening in Germany last month.Documenta, which every five years turns the sleepy German city of Kassel into the centre of the art world, features more than 1,500 participants and – for the first time since its launch in 1955 – had been curated by a collective, Indonesia’s Ruangrupa. Continue reading...

Victorian environment officials said images of the dead humpback proved it was not well-known humpback• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastA white whale that washed up on a Victorian beach is not the well-known albino humpback Migaloo, according to the state’s environment department.The carcass of an albino whale was found at a beach in Mallacoota in the state’s far east this week, sparking concern it could be the beloved Migaloo, who was first spotted off Byron Bay in 1991. Continue reading...