The former chancellor is campaigning in Teeside following last night’s Tory leadership debateLabour has criticised Boris Johnson after reports said he had failed to attend recent Cobra meetings.Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said:Boris Johnson has gone missing in action again. He’s back to his old tricks of skipping important Cobra meetings. Where’s the plan for the delivery of essential services and how people will be kept safe at work, on transport, in schools, hospitals and care homes?The public will have no confidence in this zombie Conservative government responding swiftly and decisively to this national emergency as this disgraced prime minister prepares to party while Britain boils. If he still can’t take the responsibility of the job, he should leave right now. Continue reading...

Portugal and Spain among countries affected as rescue forces from Greece help battle blazes in southern FranceFirefighters are working tirelessly to tackle wildfires raging in parts of southern Europe as a result of soaring temperatures linked to the climate crisis.France, Portugal and Spain are among the European countries particularly affected, with temperatures of more than 45C (113F) recorded during a heatwave that is also sweeping the UK. Continue reading...

Legislators set to choose within a week after former president flees to Singapore to escape anti-government protestsSri Lanka’s parliament began meeting on Saturday to begin the process of electing a new president, as a shipment of fuel arrived to provide some relief to the crisis-hit nation.The resignation of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was accepted by parliament on Friday, after he fled to Singapore via the Maldives to escape anti-government protesters who had occupied his official residence and offices. Continue reading...

Analysis: US president aiming to convince Jeddah to increase oil supply in order to calm global energy marketsJoe Biden landed in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah to a tepid welcome from the Saudi crown prince whose country he once pledged to make a “pariah” on the world stage.While Saudi Arabia announced it would open its airspace to flights from Israel, making Biden the first US president to fly directly from Tel Aviv to the kingdom, expectations of further gains during his visit remained low. The US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told journalists onboard Air Force One not to expect any bilateral announcements in response to American demands that Saudi Arabia pump more oil to calm global energy markets after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Privileges committee to visit Downing Street in investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled parliamentMPs on the Commons privileges committee will carry out a site visit in Downing Street, and are demanding No 10 hand over evidence, including WhatsApps, photos and diary entries, as they investigate whether Boris Johnson misled parliament over Partygate.The committee, chaired by Harriet Harman, the longstanding Labour MP, but with a majority of Conservative members, has written to Johnson with a list of evidence they would like to examine. Continue reading...

Insiders say outgoing prime minister unlikely to write about personal life but book deal possible this autumnBoris Johnson could be paid more than £1m for his memoir, according to publishing insiders. But anyone expecting a kiss-and-tell may be disappointed, as industry professionals have said he is unlikely to open up about his personal relationships.A publisher, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Guardian that while it was “way too early for anything concrete to happen or be submitted”, they would “be amazed if he doesn’t sign up somewhere for memoirs at some point in the autumn”. Continue reading...

British manufacturer has been unable to generate cash to invest in new models and electric technologyAston Martin Lagonda has received a large investment from Saudi Arabia as part of raising £650m of capital to pay down the luxury sportscar maker’s large debts.The British manufacturer has not been able to generate cash needed to invest in new models and electric technology, and has also struggled with delays to its Valkyrie hypercar and its newest DBX 707 sports utility vehicle. Continue reading...

Former Brexit minister also attacks Penny Mordaunt, accusing her of being ‘absent on parade’ in Brexit talksThe former Brexit minister David Frost has urged Kemi Badenoch to pull out of the Tory leadership contest to bolster Liz Truss’s position in the race.Lord Frost also stepped up his attacks on the second-placed candidate, Penny Mordaunt, saying she was “absent on parade” when he worked with her on post-Brexit negotiations last year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: £1bn scheme beset by problems, with councils struggling to find workable payment methodsVulnerable people are struggling to access food vouchers and cash grants introduced under a government scheme to help with the cost of living crisis.The £1bn household support fund (HSF) has been beset by problems, with councils stuck trying to figure out workable payment methods to help those in acute need of financial support. Continue reading...

Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and live state by state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT. We bring together the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.

Antony Butcher reaches San Francisco after pedalling 4,000 miles from New York and raising £25,000A British cyclist has completed a 4,000-mile ride across the US, raising more than £25,000 for charity, a sum that included a donation from Dame Judi Dench.Antony Butcher, 32, completed his three-month-long challenge on Wednesday to raise money for people living with multiple sclerosis. He received a £2,000 donation from Dench, 87, via a cheque posted to his home in June. The cyclist explained at the time that his father was the dentist for the actor’s daughter. Continue reading...

Photograph of Raheem Sterling displayed behind presenter as he spoke of unnamed player accused of sexual offencesBBC News has issued an on-air apology after mistakenly showing a picture of the footballer Raheem Sterling when reporting on a case about another Premier League player arrested over alleged sexual offences.An image of the England international, believed to have been used on an unrelated earlier story about his recent transfer from Manchester City to Chelsea, was shown behind the sports presenter Mike Bushell during an update on the arrest during the Thursday morning sports bulletin on the BBC News channel. Continue reading...

Jonathan Peter Brooks, 58, on trial for attempted murder of Graeme Perks, also ‘doused family home in petrol’A plastic surgeon broke into his colleague’s house at night and tried to set it on fire before stabbing him in the abdomen, a court has heard.Jonathan Peter Brooks, 58, is on trial for the attempted murder of fellow consultant plastic surgeon Graeme Perks, who was a witness in disciplinary proceedings against the defendant which started three days before the incident on 14 January 2021. Continue reading...

Liza Dmitrieva, four, was killed in a strike in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on ThursdayThe life and death of four-year-old Liza Dmitrieva in a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday is a symbol of a conflict where death often comes without warning and from above.A series of video and still images posted on social media appear to track the last hours of Liza, who turned four in March in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Her mother, Iryna, lost a leg in the strike, which was condemned by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as “an open act of terrorism”. Continue reading...

Ismail Abedi, who fled the UK last year, is considered a key witness into the attack that killed 22The elder brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been convicted in his absence of failing to give evidence at the public inquiry into the attack.Ismail Abedi, 28, whose whereabouts are unknown, had refused to cooperate with the inquiry but was ordered by the chair, Sir John Saunders, to attend to give evidence. Continue reading...

Internal memo reportedly points to social media as evidence staff at Frasers Group are abusing schemeMike Ashley’s Frasers Group has banned staff from working from home on Fridays after claiming social media posts showed they were relaxing during working time.The retailer, which owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser, has asked staff to be in the office all week, ending a flexible working policy introduced during the pandemic. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Read our latest full report hereQ: Lord Frost says Penny Mordaunt is not up to the job. You have worked with her. Do you agree with him?Truss says she will not be making any disparaging comments about her opponents. The contest shows a broad range of talent. And the party did not get there through identity politics. Continue reading...

Ruling targets Danish firms that have exported white cheese labelled as ‘feta’Twenty years after feta cheese was recognised as exclusively Greek, the EU’s highest court has gone one step further and announced that Denmark would be breaking the law if it continued to allow dairies to sell counterfeit feta outside the bloc.In Athens the news elicited immediate glee. Continue reading...

Aminata Touré vows to tackle racism in the country as minister for social affairs in the state of Schleswig-HolsteinA woman who spent her childhood years living in German refugee quarters, haunted by uncertainty over how long her family would be allowed to stay in the country, has now become its first black female cabinet minister.Aminata Touré, whose parents arrived from war-torn Mali in 1992 – she was born shortly afterwards – has just taken up her post as minister for social affairs in the Christian Democrat-Green coalition government in Kiel in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. Continue reading...

Kit Malthouse urges people to look out for vulnerable as NHS absences in England rise amid surging Covid casesMinisters are preparing for a surge in demand on the NHS and other essential services ahead of a heatwave that could result in record-breaking temperatures in Britain.The Met Office has issued an amber extreme heat warning across much of England and Wales from Sunday to Tuesday, with temperatures expected to exceed 35C at their peak in southern, central and eastern areas of England. Continue reading...

Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled country on Wednesday after protesters occupied presidential palaceGotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned as president of Sri Lanka after fleeing on Wednesday following weeks of mass protests over the country’s economic crisis.Rajapaksa’s office said his resignation letter had been received by the country’s parliamentary speaker, after it was flown from Singapore, where the leader had fled to. Continue reading...

PM reportedly has no intention of quitting immediately as he wants to shore up areas at risk from successor

Space allocated to Cardiff woman’s flat is inaccessible, so she uses one reserved for disabled visitorsA disabled woman is reportedly facing fines of more than £1,000 for using a disabled-driver car parking space outside her flat.Cerys Gemma, who lives in Cardiff, told reporters the space allocated to her flat is inaccessible as it has a pillar on one side and another car parking space close on the other. Continue reading...

Strike across Great Britain planned for 27 July as RMT calls latest pay offer of 4% this year, up to 4% the next, ‘paltry’Network Rail’s chief negotiator has urged union leaders back to the negotiating table to avert another rail strike, arguing that the company has met its demands and that its latest offer should be put to members to vote on.On Wednesday, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), which has as many as 40,000 members, announced another nationwide strike for 24 hours on 27 July in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Continue reading...

Blanket speed restrictions in south-east expected next week to reduce risk of track and equipment failingRail services around Britain are expected to be severely disrupted next week, with trains running slowly to reduce the risk of track and equipment failing in extreme heat.Blanket speed restrictions are likely to be put in place around the south-east of England with the air temperature forecast to possibly surpass thehighest ever recorded in Britain, which was 38.7 in 2019. Continue reading...

An inquiry was not being ruled out after 54 Afghans were allegedly killed in suspicious circumstances by a single SAS unitA UK defence minister has hinted that the government is considering a further inquiry or review of a pattern of 54 allegedly suspicious killings by SAS soldiers in Afghanistan, reported in a BBC Panorama programme earlier this week.James Heappey told MPs on Thursday morning that defence secretary Ben Wallace “rules nothing out”, and that “he’ll be back in touch with the House very shortly to say how he thinks this might be further reviewed”. Continue reading...

Former Brexit minister and other Liz Truss allies hit out at Mordaunt after she came second in first ballot

Some Indigenous people afraid to seek help and those on NDIS plans not made aware of funding they can access, royal commission hears

Campaigners hail step towards end of practice in French territorial waters that has had ‘devastating’ effect on local fishers

ICO says AI-driven discrimination can lead to job rejections or being wrongfully denied bank loans or benefitThe UK data watchdog is to investigate whether artificial intelligence systems are showing racial bias when dealing with job applications.The Information Commissioner’s Office said AI-driven discrimination could have “damaging consequences for people’s lives” and lead to someone being rejected for a job or being wrongfully denied a bank loan or a welfare benefit. Continue reading...

Life-extending drugs Alpelisib and Trodelvy will benefit 3,500 women a yearThousands of breast cancer patients in England are to benefit from two new drugs available on the NHS following a U-turn by the health watchdog.About 3,500 women a year will benefit from life-extending drugs Alpelisib and Trodelvy, which have now been given the green light despite being rejected earlier this year by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Continue reading...

Phenomenon at Lake Kivu happens when CO from volcanic activity leaks through cracks in the groundThe Swahili word mazuku means roughly “evil wind” and refers to a lethal phenomenon around Lake Kivu on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.Carbon dioxide from volcanic activity leaks from cracks in the ground. The gas is heavier than air and collects in hollows, cellars, and low-lying areas, forming invisible and sometimes deadly pools, especially on windless nights. High concentrations of CO produce dizziness, nausea, confusion and weakness. Unwary victims who do not leave immediately tend to collapse then die in the high concentration of gas close to the ground. Continue reading...

X-rays reveal artist’s face with hat and neckerchief on canvas in National Galleries of Scotland collectionIt was on a Friday afternoon that they found him, staring intently from the back of a canvas in a wide-brimmed hat and loose neckerchief: a previously undiscovered self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, one of the most popular and influential figures in western art history, which had been hiding in plain sight in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland for more than half a century.“It was absolutely thrilling”, says Lesley Stevenson, senior paintings conservator at the National Galleries of Scotland, of the moment that a routine conservation X-ray of another Van Gogh painting, Head of a Peasant Women, revealed this extraordinary find on the back of the canvas, hidden for more than 100 years beneath layers of glue and cardboard. Continue reading...

Wong, a familiar presence at the rallies, used her court appearance to label Hong Kong’s government an ‘authoritarian regime’Hong Kong has jailed a 66-year-old activist known affectionately as Grandma Wong in relation to the pro-democracy protests that rocked the city three years ago.A city magistrate jailed Alexandra Wong for eight months on Wednesday over two counts of unlawful assembly during a protest on 11 August 2019. Wong was a familiar presence at the protests, and was widely recognised for flying the British union jack. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In his first interview since the security deal with Beijing, Manasseh Sogavare says he would only call on China if there was a ‘gap’ that Australia could not fill

Poll reveals more than a quarter of UK hospital nurses have seen patients cared for in ‘inappropriate’ settingsPatients are being treated in the wrong places in UK hospitals, such as corridors and waiting areas, leaving them at risk of poor care, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warns today.Hospitals are so overstretched and understaffed that patients are ending up being looked after in clinically “inappropriate” settings, where personnel may not have the right skills. Continue reading...

Ucas data also shows surge in applications from Nigeria, India and China but fall in nursing applicationsRecord numbers of disadvantaged students in the UK have applied to go to university this year, according to official figures that also show international recruitment has held up with a surge in applications from Nigeria, India and China.According to data published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), overall applications for UK 18-year-olds have exceeded all previous records, raising concerns about competition for places on the most popular courses as some universities try to rein in numbers after over recruiting during the pandemic. Continue reading...

Approval of shot widens options against the virus as CDC will meet next week to decide whether to sign off on vaccineThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in people 18 years of age or older, widening vaccine options in the US against the virus as the fourth vaccine to get approval by the agency.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet next week to decide whether to sign off on the vaccine and determine who should get the shot before pharmacies and other healthcare providers can start administering them. Novavax is also expected to finish its quality testing “in the next few weeks” before the doses are provided. Continue reading...

The attacks on two young women and one teenage girl occurred last week in a park in BracknellA 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of three sexual assaults that took place in Berkshire last week.Thames Valley police said on Wednesday that the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is currently being held in custody. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary forced to regroup after trailing behind Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt after first round ballotTory leadership: live updatesLiz Truss will seek to reinvigorate her campaign to be the next prime minister by promising an “aspiration nation” on Thursday, after she was unexpectedly beaten into third place by Penny Mordaunt in the first round of voting.Long seen as one of the favourites to be the next Tory party leader, the foreign secretary has the backing of Boris Johnson super-loyalists Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Continue reading...

Local MP and councillor angered by comments about Roundhay school, rated ‘satisfactory’ when foreign secretary attended

Latest updates: Former health secretary failed to get the required 30 nominations, along with the chancellor Nadhim Zahawi

Scotland Yard is likely to question a married couple Farah accused of forcing him into domestic servitudeThe Metropolitan police has launched an investigation into claims by Sir Mo Farah that he was trafficked into the UK and forced into domestic servitude.The four-time Olympic champion told a BBC documentary that he was brought to London by a stranger under an assumed name after escaping war in Somalia aged nine. Continue reading...

Landmark legislation in peril and could be killed off by new PM and culture secretary, says government sourceTory leadership: live updatesMinisters have dropped plans to pass the online safety bill next week amid wrangling in the Conservative leadership race, as they were accused of having “given up on governing” by opposition parties.The final stages of the bill, which have come under fire from some candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson who argue it will infringe on freedom of speech, were due to be completed in the Commons next Wednesday. Continue reading...

District attorney George Gascón says his office has asked to unseal transcripts in effort to re-examine caseThe Los Angeles district attorney’s office will no longer object to the release of documents in the 45-year-old rape case against the film director Roman Polanski, the office said on Tuesday.George Gascón, the Los Angeles DA, said his office had reversed its position and asked to unseal the transcripts of the testimony of the former deputy district attorney Roger Gunson as part of an effort to re-examine the case against the 88-year-old film-maker. Continue reading...

People vote for local projects to improve infrastructure and health and wellbeing in five localitiesAs local councils in England continue to feel the sting of over a decade of budget-slashing austerity policies, Brent council has launched an initiative to give residents the power to decide how they spend £2.25m of funding for local projects.The participatory budgeting process was first pioneered in Porto Alegre in Brazil. It has been trialled in Tower Hamlets, but is a first for Brent council which trialled a much smaller version of the initiative in January, with a funding pot of £500,000. Continue reading...

Analysis: Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s authoritarianism and incompetence ended the family’s political reignFor weeks protesters in Sri Lanka have chanted “Go home Gota.” Now Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president, appears to be looking for one. His first stop was the Maldives, reached last night. The United Arab Emirates may be the final destination.The Rajapaksa family’s fall has been spectacular. It has resonated across the region, and well beyond. The ruler of Sri Lanka has been a high-profile casualty of the global cost of living crisis, analysts have said. In distant South Africa, a talk show host asked if the soaring cost of living there could spell the end for the ruling party. Others are asking the same question. Continue reading...

Former BBC broadcaster bombarded Vine with harassing tweets and YouTube videos, court toldTV and radio presenter Jeremy Vine has given evidence in court against a former BBC broadcaster accused of stalking, describing how he was targeted with an “avalanche of hatred”.Vine, who presents shows on BBC Radio 2 and Channel 5, spoke at Nottingham crown court during the trial of former BBC Radio Leeds presenter Alex Belfield. Continue reading...

‘Damning milestone’ means measures such as mask-wearing and better sick pay needed again, doctors and bereaved families sayDoctors and people bereaved by Covid have described the 200,000th death from the virus in the UK as a “tragic milestone” and called for the return of infection control measures, including mask wearing and better sick pay amid concern about rising cases and new variants.Prof Philip Banfield, council chair of the British Medical Association, said: “This terrible loss of life must serve as an important reminder that Covid-19 has not gone away and remains a serious threat to public health.” Continue reading...