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Unions critical of leader’s instruction to senior MPs to ‘show leadership’ by not publicly siding with workersLabour’s frontbenchers have been warned to stay away from picket lines on the eve of the biggest rail strike since 1989.As staff get ready to take part in the RMT strike on Tuesday, Keir Starmer’s office told shadow cabinet members that to “show leadership” frontbenchers “should not be on picket lines”. Continue reading...

New forecasts suggest household bills could rise more than £1,000 after another spike in wholesale pricesThe energy price cap could reach nearly £3,000 in the Britain at the beginning of October, with the planned increase possibly being more than £1,000 according to a new forecast.It is expected to rise to £2,980.63 for the next period, which runs between October and December, after another spike in wholesale demand prices last week. Continue reading...

Country faces fifth vote in three years after Naftali Bennett’s unruly anti-Netanyahu grouping gradually fell apartIsrael’s weakened coalition government has announced that it intends to dissolve the Knesset, setting the stage for the country’s fifth election in three years and a potential return to office for longtime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.A statement released by the office of the prime minister, Naftali Bennett, on Monday night said that “attempts to stabilise the coalition had been exhausted” and his fractious government, made up of eight ideologically disparate parties, will submit a bill next week to dissolve parliament. Continue reading...

General secretary Mick Lynch confirms strike action will proceed, as transport secretary Grant Shapps says rail unions to blame

Three men, who were tortured and had been at risk of being put on UK flight to Rwanda, say being locked up is worsening traumaThree Sudanese victims of torture and trafficking who were threatened with being deported to Rwanda on a controversial charter flight last week have had their pleas to be released from detention rejected by a high court judge.The three asylum seekers, who all arrived in the UK on small boats last month, were issued with notices of intent that the home secretary was considering deporting them to Rwanda. Continue reading...

EU concerned over Moscow’s comments as people panic-buy in Baltic Sea exclaveRussia has provoked concern in Brussels after threatening to retaliate over Lithuania’s ban on the transit of some goods across its territory to Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.The move by the government in Vilnius was described as “unprecedented” in Moscow, where the Russian foreign office said they reserved the right to respond to protect their national interest. Continue reading...

PC David Taylor accepts he added details to Dorset police’s logs after 19-year-old was found dead in 2017A police officer has admitted altering official logs relating to the search for the missing Dorset teenager Gaia Pope, whose body was found 11 days after she went missing.PC David Taylor accepted that he added additional details to Dorset police’s logs after the 19-year-old was found dead in 2017. Continue reading...

Pagans and party-goers head back to Salisbury Plain in their thousands as site reopens for annual festivitiesA druid in flowing robes played a waltz on the bagpipes in the dappled shade of a tree as a band of pilgrims rested on the grass making crowns of summer flowers.Three Buddhist monks strolled past while a group of men took off their T-shirts in the warm sunshine and drank lager, promising to carry on partying until the sun sets and rises again. Continue reading...

Move by 11 establishments prompted by problem of groups ‘only looking to get drunk in the streets’Eleven seaside restaurants on the Spanish island of Mallorca have introduced a dress code for patrons in an attempt to crack down on what they described as a recent wave of antisocial behaviour among drunk tourists.In these restaurants, most of which are in the Playa de Palma, shirtless, costumed or football-jersey-clad punters will no longer be allowed, said Juan Miguel Ferrer of Palma Beach, a seal of quality created by local businesses to which the restaurants belong. Continue reading...

Foreign Office diplomats secured their freedom but sources say nothing was given in return except an apologyFive British nationals held by the Taliban since last December including the former BBC cameraman and Afghanistan expert Peter Jouvenal were released on Monday after backroom diplomacy by the British Foreign Office (FCDO).It is understood that the five had been seized separately, and British sources said nothing was given in return for their release except an apology by them. However, the British government on Sunday had released a statement renouncing violence in Afghanistan and saying there was no alternative to pragmatic engagement with the current administration. Continue reading...

No 10 urges private sector firms against giving out pay rises as inflation feared to rise above 10%Most public sector workers should expect a real-terms pay cut this year, a minister has said ahead of the biggest rail strikes in 30 years, with Downing Street warning private employers against giving out pay rises.With inflation feared to potentially rise above 10% by the end of the year, No 10 urged private sector firms not to hike wages as it would make the issue worse. Continue reading...

Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov will sell 23-carat gold medal in US on Monday, donating proceeds to charityThe editor of the Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta is auctioning his Nobel peace prize medal, with the proceeds to go to helping children displaced by the war in Ukraine.Dmitry Muratov led one of the last major independent media outlets critical of Vladimir Putin’s government after others either closed or had their websites blocked after the invasion of Ukraine. In March, Novaya Gazeta announced it was suspending operations for the duration of the war after it became a crime to report anything on the conflict that veered from the government line. Continue reading...

Shadow foreign secretary faces allegations believed to centre on late registration of financial interestsThe shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, is being investigated over allegations believed to centre on the late registration of financial interests.The parliamentary standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, was looking at possible breaches to the MPs’ code of conduct under areas covering earnings, gifts and foreign travel. The Labour MP apologised for the error and said he had put “revised systems in place” to prevent late declarations in the future. Continue reading...

Liberal leader says refugee advocate’s May win in full federal court was a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and applies for special leave to appeal

Items include armour, banners, and two skulls taken from Omdurman battlefieldMuseum officials in Sudan are hoping for the return of priceless artefacts and body parts taken by British soldiers, colonial administrators and travellers, saying they could help bring peace to the unstable east African country.The items include valuable armour, weapons and clothing, and the banners of fighters who resisted the British force that invaded and colonised Sudan 124 years ago. Continue reading...

Regulator says shake-up is designed to cut risk of suppliers going bust and will change rules on credit balances in event of collapsesNew measures to better protect customers’ money and stop energy suppliers using some of their cash “like an interest-free company credit card” are to be announced on Monday by the industry regulator.Ofgem said its package of “tough” measures was aimed at reducing the risk of more energy suppliers going bust, and would also include changes designed to stop firms raising customers’ direct debit payments by more than necessary. Continue reading...

Disruption to start on Monday evening before RMT walkouts stop trains in much of northern and south-west England, Wales and Scotland

Health Canada confirms reviews into trials following complaint of ‘alleged investigator misconduct’All clinical trials into the psychoactive drug MDMA are being reviewed by Canadian regulators after complaints about abuse of study participants by a trailblazing American psychedelic research organization.The California-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (Maps) has led the way in conducting trials into the medicinal qualities of the drug. In May 2021, it released results from a phase-three trial in the journal Nature on the benefits of the drug – commonly sold illegally as a powder or within ecstasy tablets – as a breakthrough treatment for PTSD, for which there is currently no effective pharmaceutical treatment. Continue reading...

Chinese refiners cash in on heavily discounted Russian oil supplies, boosting imports by 55%

Queensland Council of Social Service says more needs to be done, with families living in cars, tents and motels

Zelenskiy says he expects Russia will intensify attacks on Ukraine and possibly strike other European countries this week

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereUkraine is losing territories and struggling to regain them since Russia began concentrating its military attacks on the country’s east, Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintzadze has said.Klympush-Tsintzadze told Sky News that she hopes the military situation in eastern Ukraine will change soon. “Unfortunately, at this particular moment, Russia has gathered all this military capacity in the in the east of the country. Continue reading...

Rightmove expects cost of living crisis to have impact on market in second half of yearHouse prices in Great Britain hit a record high in June but are likely to start falling during the next few months as five interest rate rises and a worsening cost of living crisis finally start to put the brakes on the property market’s record-breaking run, according to Rightmove.The property website said asking prices hit a record for a fifth consecutive month in June, rising by 0.3% – or £1,113 – to reach £368,614. However, this was the smallest monthly increase since January, with the site saying: “The exceptional pace of the market is easing a little.” Continue reading...

Win frees PP from relying on far-right Vox to govern, as leftwing parties take a drubbingSpain’s conservative People’s party has won a resounding majority in the regional elections in Andalucía, in an unprecedented win that frees it from relying on the far-right Vox party to govern in the country’s most populous region.With 99% of polling stations in the southern Spanish region reporting, the PP, in opposition nationally, had received 58 seats – three more than the 55 needed for a majority. It is the party’s best-ever result in the region. Continue reading...

Analysis: France’s new parliament likely to be less pliant as president tries to tackle a series of crises

Document published this year does not mention asylum seekers as priority group for ‘intrusive policy’The Home Office appears to have contradicted its own guidance on GPS tagging, which prioritised “very high harm offenders”, after it announced the devices would be used on asylum seekers arriving in the UK.An 86-page guidance document titled “Immigration Bail” was published on 31 January 2022. It includes a large section about the GPS tagging of migrants and does not mention asylum seekers who have not committed crimes as a priority group for GPS tagging. Continue reading...

Chris Nicholson was left stranded on platform at Milton Keynes station in 31C heatA wheelchair user was forced to drag himself up stairs at a railway station platform, saying staff refused to help him owing to health and safety policy.Chris Nicholson, an athlete and spokesperson for the Myprotein sports brand, was travelling to address an event in London on Friday when the incident took place at Milton Keynes station. Continue reading...

Labor was more popular with women, ANU study finds, but difference ‘mostly due to a higher vote for the Greens’

Energy Security Board says fossil fuel generators might need to be paid to stay in business to retain capacityCoal- and gas-fired power plants could be paid to stay in business to bolster the stability of the main electricity grid and attract enough investment to build the equivalent of 50 times the original Snowy Hydro scheme by 2050, according to a high-level design paper released by the Energy Security Board.The fossil fuel generators would be required even as Australia continues to decarbonise the electricity sector, the paper released on Monday said.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Chair of Finsbury Park mosque says Muslims won’t feel safe until problem is taken seriously by police and authoritiesThe chair of the Finsbury Park mosque in north London has warned that Islamophobia has intensified since the 2017 terror attack in the area, as dozens gathered to remember the man who was killed five years ago.Makram Ali, 51, was killed on 19 June 2017 when Darren Osborne drove a rented van into worshippers gathered outside the nearby Muslim Welfare House soon after evening Ramadan prayers. Twelve others were injured. Continue reading...

Oleksandr Goncharenko says unless the invaders are halted the eastern Ukrainian city will be razed and its people driven out

One blaze has burned 25,000 hectares of Sierra de la Culebra, home to one of Europe’s largest wolf populationsFlames licked roads and coloured the sky orange as firefighters in northern Spain scrambled to contain dozens of blazes fuelled by one of the earliest heatwaves on record.In the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range in the north-western province of Zamora, flames devoured more than 25,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents from 18 municipalities. Continue reading...

The Labour leader has not capitalised on Boris Johnson’s sinking ratings ahead of a crunch byelectionBarbara Hall was enjoying a quiet morning at her senior citizens’ group in Wakefield when word went round that a special guest would be attending. Hall, a retired saleswoman, watched Keir Starmer work the room. “I wasn’t convinced,” she said. “He’s an awkward person, isn’t he? He doesn’t fit in. Boris Johnson would fit in. He would have us screaming and laughing.”Rare is the Wakefield resident who hasn’t had to dodge a politician or a vox-popping reporter in recent weeks, as anticipation builds for Thursday’s ballot. If the polls are right, Labour should win back the seat they lost to the Tories in 2019 – the first byelection gain for the party since Corby in 2012. Continue reading...

Support Through Court’s small team of volunteers took over 13,000 calls in last financial year

Writing for the Observer, Labour MP calls on the leadership to ‘name’ problems, as frustration grows with its stance on EuropeA prominent Labour MP today condemns her party’s self-imposed silence on Brexit, saying it is playing into Boris Johnson’s hands and hampering attempts to tackle urgent issues such as the cost of living crisis and climate change.Writing for the Observer, Stella Creasy suggests Labour’s defensive approach amounts to a betrayal of those who voted to remain in the EU in 2016. Continue reading...

More than tripling of business customer base has raised questions about online lender’s ability to run proper checksThe online bank singled out by a former government minister over the effectiveness of its counter-fraud measures was “onboarding” an average of 15,000 new business customers a month during the Covid crisis, according to analysis by the Observer.Figures from Starling Bank’s last annual report show the eight-year-old lender has grown its business customer base from 87,000 before the pandemic to 330,000 business accounts as of last spring. Continue reading...

Tony Burke says it’s ‘too late’ to prevent rollout of new points-based jobseeker system; opposition leader takes aim at Labor and avoids voicing support for government’s renewable target; nation records 42 Covid deaths – This blog is now closed

State government to fund 40% of purchase for single parents, older singles, nurses, police and teachers

Government announces concessions to scheme as police arrest at least 260 people and hundreds of train services cancelled due to unrestProtesters in India’s eastern state of Bihar have damaged public property and ransacked offices in a railway station, expressing outrage at a new military recruitment plan and demanding the government reverse course.The government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has introduced a scheme called Agnipath, or “path of fire”, designed to bring more people into the military on four-year contracts to lower the average age of India’s 1.38 million-strong armed forces. Continue reading...

Liberal leader says Coalition made ‘huge investments’ in renewables when in power and blames states for locking up gas reserves

Pandemic-hit resorts in Victoria and NSW celebrate perfect conditions and more forecast snow

At least two people killed and seven wounded, officials say after attack in capital claimed by Islamic StateGunmen have stormed a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital, killing at least two people and wounding seven more, officials say.The interior ministry said the attacker used at least one grenade during the attack on Saturday, setting off a blaze in the complex. Minutes later, a car bomb was detonated in the area but caused no casualties, it added. Continue reading...

The exile who once led a military dictatorship is in hospital and a spokesperson has said his wish to come home should be grantedThe possible return to Pakistan of its former president Pervez Musharraf for the first time since he left the country in 2016 has reopened a bitter debate about the military dictatorship he led for more than a decade.Musharraf came to power in a coup in 1999 that toppled Nawaz Sharif’s government, and went on to hold the presidency from 2001 to 2008, when he resigned to avoid impeachment. Since then he has spent most of his time in self-imposed exile in the UK and the Middle East. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed – we will return in a few hours to bring you all the latest developments

More than 60 NSW firefighters dispatched to the scene at Yallah, near Wollongong, to contain the fire

‘Without a local government voice’ in national cabinet ‘our communities risk being left behind’, Linda Scott says