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Rachel Reeves becomes first woman to hold post in 800-years as Angela Rayner named secretary of state for levelling up

Hurricane warning issued for coast from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, including Cozumel, with coastal residents in Texas told to prepareHurricane Beryl has made landfall as a category 2 storm in Mexico's top tourist destinations, triggering a red alert in the region following its deadly trail of destruction across several Caribbean islands.The storm's core shifted over the Yucatan, with winds slowing to approximately 100mph (160km/h) as it reached the north-eastern region of Tulum, famed for its white-sand beaches, lush landscapes and Mayan ruins. Continue reading...

Former human rights lawyer has pledged stability and moderation' after taking Labour party back into powerKeir Starmer, who has just secured the biggest election victory in the UK this century to become prime minister, is considered reserved by the British public. In marked contrast to his best-known recent predecessor, the joke-telling Boris Johnson, Starmer invests the task of being a political leader with considerable seriousness, reflecting a career in which he was previously a human rights lawyer and, for five years from 2008, Britain's chief public prosecutor.Making his first speech as prime minister outside 10 Downing Street on Friday, Starmer said with characteristic understatement that he would be a leader for stability and moderation" and pledged change, national renewal and a return to the politics of public service". Continue reading...

The likely main contenders to succeed Rishi Sunak, broadly ordered by their place on the political spectrumThe votes have been counted, the dust has largely settled, and the Conservatives are left with 121 MPs. From this rump - about a third of the pre-election total - who will compete to take over as party leader from the soon to depart Rishi Sunak? Here are the likely main contenders, broadly listed from centre to right. Continue reading...

Some disenfranchised voters submitted a protest vote for Reform fearing immigration wouldn't be slowedAt lunchtime on Friday, Marie Bryant, 77, and her husband, Mervyn, 83, had no idea their Kent constituency had fallen to Labour. The couple from Folkestone had submitted their postal votes for the Conservatives weeks ago and were out shopping for pond cleaner.Despite knowing the national result, the Bryants had assumed their seat had stayed blue. Their shock was palpable. Oh my goodness!" Marie said, relaying the news to Mervyn. He was less restrained, barking: God help us!" Continue reading...

Polling has shown that the most likely scenario on Sunday is that National Rally will not win an absolute majority of seatsAnd here's another new poll, conducted for Les Echos.This poll puts the far right National Rally at between 205 and 230 seats. Continue reading...

A senior US official said a new proposal by Hamas could lead to a pact that would be a step to a permanent ceasefireThe director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that further disruption to health services is imminent in Gaza due to a severe lack of fuel".Posting on Thursday evening, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wrote on X: Only 90,000L of fuel entered Gaza yesterday. The health sector alone needs 80,000L daily, forcing the UN - incl WHO - and partners to make impossible choices." Continue reading...

Former SNP voters stayed away or swung behind Labour, tired of scandal, policy failure and division

Newborns are tuned in to the ups and downs of speech, and even a cry mimics language heard while in the wombThe upward intonation, the guttural ck" and even the cheeky comeback to win the argument: at just 19 months old, baby Orla has mastered the crucial elements of speaking like a scouser.Impressively, the toddler who featured in a viral video this week appears to have done so without the need for actual words. Continue reading...

First Labour prime minister since 2010 promises to serve whole country as he speaks outside No 10

Party co-leader and new MP Carla Denyer says election shows voters have had enough of incremental change'

Ad-funded streamer wades into market with offering it says will appeal to those underserved by rivalsThe Wes Anderson classic Moonrise Kingdom, the Channel 4 sitcom Fresh Meat, a reality TV series about adult content creators, some Bollywood hits and a handful of shark flicks: Tubi's home screen is not short of viewing options, just like the British video-streaming market it waded into this week.Tubi is taking on the likes of Netflix, Disney+, ITVX and the BBC's iPlayer with a free, ad-funded service offering 20,000 films and TV episodes, and an ambition of repeating its success in the US, where it has amassed nearly 80 million monthly users. But will it have a similar impact in the UK, where rival platforms are already well established? Continue reading...

Former neonatal nurse proclaims innocence from dock as she is sentenced for attempted murder of newborn babyLucy Letby cried from the dock: I'm innocent," as she was jailed for attempting to kill a newborn girl in a shocking act of calculated, callous cruelty".The former neonatal nurse made the remark after being ordered to serve a whole-life prison term. Continue reading...

Sunak apologises to country and fires starting pistol on leadership race before going to Buckingham Palace for final audience with king

Anas Sarwar says next step is Scottish parliament, while Sturgeon says numbers are at grimmer end of expectations'

More than 170,000 children are on waiting lists to join the Scouts and GirlguidingYouth groups are clamouring for more volunteers amid a rise in the number of parents seeking affordable and sociable outdoor activities for their children away from screens.Groups including Girlguiding and the Woodcraft Folk are facing substantial unmet demand for their sessions as the Scouts this week said their waiting list has hit a historic high. Continue reading...

Labour leader promises age of national renewal' in which his government will start to rebuild our country'

With nearly all of the 650 seats declared, Keir Starmer is expected to be the new prime minister as the Labour party secures a majority. Follow the final results and find out how your constituency voted

Average house price at 288,455 in June, down 0.2% on May, says Halifax, as property shortage keeps prices highHouse prices remained subdued" for a third month in a row in June, as a shortage of properties kept prices high, according to the mortgage lender Halifax.The average house price hit 288,455 last month, down only 0.2% on the 288,931 recorded in May, while house price growth on an annual basis remained unchanged at 1.6%. Continue reading...

With all but a handful of results declared, party's tally stands at 71, beating its previous record of 62 in 2005

Canadian PM hails Labour's historic victory', while Israel's president says he hopes to deepen the close friendship'

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The story of a disastrous night for Rishi Sunak's party and a stunning dawn for Keir Starmer

On a morning when the Dandenong Ranges were largely obscured by clouds, Danny Pearson says lots of caffeine' was driving his enthusiasm

Voters in South West Norfolk deliver one of biggest blows to Conservatives on disastrous night for the party

Officers raided 33-year-old's home and allegedly seized statue along with 24 suspected stolen drivers' licences and prescription medication

Keir Starmer's Labour is heading for power with a large majority as voters punish Rishi Sunak's Conservatives

Labour frontbencher Thangam Debbonaire falls to heavy defeat as city elects its first Green MP

Exit poll predicts hard-right party winning 13 seats and early declarations show it outperforming Tories in north-east

Deputy leader praises Keir Starmer, while Wes Streeting says forecast result would be remarkable recovery from 2019

Dangerous Atlantic ocean route is gaining popularity because of increased vigilance by authorities in the MediterraneanNearly 90 migrants bound for Europe died and dozens more are missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, the state news agency and a local official said on Thursday,The Mauritanian coast guard recovered the bodies of 89 people aboard a large traditional fishing boat that capsized on Monday July 1 on the coast of the Atlantic ocean" about four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the country's south-west city of Ndiago, the state news agency said. Continue reading...

After the Brexit battering of 2019, the party was at a low ebb. This has been a remarkable four-year turnaround

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Lawrence Cheung received his card too late to post home, so went to the Gare du Nord to find someone who might be travelling to the UK

Convicted financier Raffaele Mincione is seeking to clear his name over Vatican's 350m London investmentPope Francis's chief of staff has become one of the highest-ranking Holy See officials to testify in a foreign court, giving a British tribunal a detailed explanation of the negotiations at the heart of the Vatican's trial of the century".Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra was called to testify on Thursday on behalf of the Vatican secretariat of state in a British civil proceeding brought against the Vatican by an Italian-British financier who was involved in the transactions over a London property. Continue reading...

Death of Lauren Evans, whose body was found in the same house as that of paramedic Daniel Duffield, being treated as murderThe family of a 22-year-old woman who was found dead at a house in the West Midlands have paid tribute to her as a sweet girl whose smile would brighten even the darkest of days".Staffordshire police have said the death of Lauren Evans, from Bridgend, in south Wales, is being treated as murder. Continue reading...

Suspects suspended from senior posts at firm providing digital services for all of British law enforcementTwo senior leaders of the Police Digital Service (PDS) have been arrested on suspicion of fraud and bribery and suspended from their posts.The company provides digital services for all of British law enforcement and has an annual turnover of more than 70m. It is owned by police and crime commissioners and funded by the Home Office and police forces. Continue reading...

Family members and eyewitnesses say they had to dig in mud to find survivors and some of the more than 120 killedRelatives of victims of the deadly crowd crush during a Hindu religious gathering in northern India have accused the authorities of leaving their loved ones to die in the mud and on hospital floors due to a lack of medical staff and ambulances.More than 120 people died at the religious gathering of about 250,000 people held on Tuesday as devotees surged forward, causing panic, with many falling over in the wet conditions. Continue reading...

Mediators including Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying for months to secure a ceasefire and the release of 120 remaining hostages

Digital campaigning gets round media blackout rule restricting broadcasters' coverage while polls are open

Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned father, John, 70, with prescription medication and stabbed mother, Lois, 71A woman has pleaded guilty to murdering her parents after their bodies were found at the family home last year.Virginia McCullough, 36, appeared by prison video link before Chelmsford crown court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to murdering Lois McCullough, 71, and John McCullough, 70, between 17 and 20 June 2019. Continue reading...

Diplomat urged to explain gesture by Turkey footballer Merih Demiral and take measures to prevent a repeatTurkey's ambassador to Germany has been summoned to the foreign ministry in Berlin over the rightwing extremist wolf salute" displayed by the Turkish footballer Merih Demiral, as his goal celebration at the European Championship became the subject of diplomatic exchange.Ahmet Baar en was urged to explain the gesture and take measures to prevent its further use, a ministry spokesperson said, the day after Germany's ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara as Turkey's government accused Berlin of xenophobia" over its criticism of the symbol associated with the Grey Wolves group. Continue reading...

Gabriel Attal said candidate Prisca Thevenot and members of her campaign team were attacked by four individualsThe Ecologists' Marine Tondelier has criticised the far right National Rally's Jordan Bardella, arguing that his party is allowing some candidates who made racist, anti-Semitic and misogynistic comments to remain on the ballot.The French prosecutor's office said it opened an investigation into an assault with a weapon against a public official, after government spokesperson and candidate Prisca Thevenot and her team were attacked yesterday, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading...

Angelica Liddell, who describes herself as an irresponsible artist', read out a bad review by Stephane Capron and called him a bastard'A Spanish theatre-maker is being sued for defamation by a French theatre critic after she read out one of his reviews on stage, flashed her bare bottom at the audience and called him a bastard".In a stunt that has sparked a debate about the limits of artistic freedom in politically divisive times, Angelica Liddell, a director and performer, read out a list of negative reviews of her past work from French critics, many of whom were in attendance at her opening show of the Avignon performing arts festival on Saturday. Continue reading...

Newcastle surgeons remove Archie Routledge's pancreas while transplanting insulin-producing cells into his liverA nine-year-old boy is settling back into family life after becoming the youngest person in the UK to undergo a marathon, life-saving surgical procedure that involves removing the pancreas and injecting its insulin-producing cells into the liver.Archie Routledge, from Workington, in Cumbria, has a rare genetic condition that causes hereditary pancreatitis. It inflames the pancreas causing debilitating abdominal pain and significantly increases the risk of pancreatic cancer in later life. Continue reading...

The campaign group Best for Britain has launched its guide on how to vote to have the best chance of ousting the Tories. We look at what tactical voting involves and what the group is recommending

Hopes rise that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia can beat Nicolas Maduro on 28 July and lead the country out of a wretched decadeThe road from Caracas to Guatire is lined with propaganda billboards glorifying President Nicolas Maduro and likening his political rivals to gangsters from the country's most infamous criminal group. They won't defeat us," the slogan declares.But with less than a month until the economically fractured South American country holds its long-awaited presidential election on 28 July, some people are not persuaded. Continue reading...

Government MPs express disappointment over WA senator's decision as Greens and crossbench praise move

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Boy, 17, charged over driving an allegedly stolen car in a fatal crash that killed a 28-year-old man in Burwood