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Victims of crime say it's no laughing matter' after ministers caught on hot mic ribbing' about scheme

John Neal failed to disclose relationship with female colleague that risked triggering conflict of interest concernsLloyd's of London has ruled that its former boss John Neal breached compliance rules by failing to disclose a close relationship" with a female colleague that risked triggering conflict of interest concerns at the insurance market.An investigation by the Council of Lloyd's, which is responsible for the market's management and supervision, said it could not find any conclusive evidence" Neal was romantically involved with the company's then corporate affairs director, nor that there were any process failures relating to her promotion during Neal's tenure. Continue reading...

Proceedings suspended as politicians call for Modi government to address police violence and education scandalsIndia's opposition parties have shut down parliament in a protest calling for the resignation of the education minister, in solidarity with the new youth-led cockroach" movement.Opposition politicians, led by the Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, gathered outside the parliament building in Delhi on Wednesday, many dressed in black and waving placards calling on Dharmendra Pradhan to quit. Continue reading...

Equinor benefits from move to ramp up oil and gas production during strait of Hormuz blockades

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Measure to cost more than 500m, with money allocated to allow devolved nations to do the sameSingle bus fares across England will be capped at 2 from January, Andy Burnham has announced, as he continues a cost of living blitz in his first week as prime minister.The nationwide cap is currently set at 3 until the end of March 2027, although some areas - including London and Greater Manchester, where Burnham set a 2 limit as mayor - have lower top rates for single tickets. Continue reading...

Annual June figure comes after new PM pledges to reduce cost of living and improve economy

Greenpeace petitions Dutch courts to order JBS to disclose how its aims are compatible with responsibilities to climate and human rightsThe world's biggest meat company, JBS, faces a landmark legal challenge to disclose how its $6bn (4.5bn) global expansion plan is compatible with responsibilities to the climate, nature and human rights.Courts in the Netherlands, where JBS is headquartered, will assess the petition filed by Greenpeace for information on whether the company is compliant with Dutch laws on duty of care" as well as its own publicly stated commitments. Continue reading...

These visualisations from exclusive polling modelling show how the UK parliament could change under different voting systemsNew analysis produced exclusively for the Guardian reveals how different voting systems would return wildly different seat totals in the UK parliament based on current polling.While the current first past the post (FPTP) system could leave Reform UK just 30 seats short of a majority based on recent polls, the modelling shows how proportional systems would be likely to give the UK a more finely balanced parliament that better represents the votes people cast. Continue reading...

Ten-second siren' to blare on most phones on Monday as part of national test despite reservations from some states

Prosecutor tells court that gaps or inconsistencies' in the woman's account enhances her credibility', but the defence maintains she is lying

One Nation leader criticised by advocates after telling women being abused: don't put up with it'Pauline Hanson has described domestic violence as wrong" but a two-way street", and that women being abused should not put up with it, drawing condemnation from advocates who have accused the One Nation leader of victim-blaming.On Wednesday, Hanson told radio station 4BC domestic violence in Australia was a scourge, but that society was under so much pressure", when asked to call out the issue. Continue reading...

Abbas Araghchi says he has kept on the move since being pulled from rubble after strike on first day of warIran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has described how he was pulled from the rubble of a leadership compound after the US-Israeli airstrike that killed the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war, and has survived since by constantly moving around the capital, Tehran, by car.In an interview with the Iranian journalist Javad Mogouyi, Araghchi confirmed Israel and the US had accurate intelligence on the location of Khamenei and other officials, enabling them to target Iran's senior leadership. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research shows millions live more than a 1km round trip from 24/7 accessible deviceMore than 16 million people in England and Wales risk dying from a cardiac arrest because they live farther than a 1km round trip from the nearest 24/7 defibrillator, according to exclusive research.

Judge finds Wilson did not defame Charlotte MacInnes, lead actor in Pitch Perfect star's directorial debut The Deb

Puffling excites volunteers trying to save the last known regular nesting site on mainland of southern EnglandFor years, volunteers have craned their necks and tested their patience to peer into the crevices of the cliffs hoping for a glimpse of fluffy joy.Finally it all paid off as a puffling - baby puffin - poked its way into the sunshine, becoming the first to be spotted on the coast of Dorset in southern England for three decades. Continue reading...

In April Japan coined new term kokushobi for days above 40C as country advises workers to wear shorts to the office to cope with stifling heatJapan logged its first official kokushobi or cruelly hot day" on Tuesday since the new term for when temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius was introduced in April. The Japan Meteorological Agency coined the new designation to warn the public of the heat dangers of days that were once freak weather events but have now become more common.The central Japan cities of Gujo and Tajimi in Gifu prefecture, along with Toyota in Aichi prefecture, all hit 40C. Gujo's 40C and Toyota's 40.1C were all-time highs recorded at their respective weather stations. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Read our latest full report here.Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, is due to meet Donald Trump for the first time today as he wraps up a four-day visit to Washington.The meeting coincides with ongoing US-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel. The two sides announced a framework agreement" on 26 June which stipulates the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah. Continue reading...

Police found woman dead in Bentley home and seriously injured girl on nearby highway

UK resident was evacuated from Democratic Republic of the Congo where there is an outbreak of the diseaseA humanitarian worker is being monitored at a specialist hospital in London after potential exposure to the Ebola virus.The UK resident was medically evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the worker had been treating patients with the disease, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. Continue reading...

After nationwide protests Oleksandr Syrskyi is to be replaced in reshuffle and popular defence minister returns to governmentVolodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and offered a prominent position" to the defence minister he sacked last week in a move that sparked nationwide protests.In a late-night TV address, Zelenskyy said he was appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi, a popular and innovative general, as the new head of Ukraine's armed forces. Drapatyi would oversee a reorganisation of the army's command structure, Ukraine's president said. Continue reading...

As new prime minister briefs cabinet on cost of living government', critics ask where money will come fromAndy Burnham is under mounting pressure to explain how he will pay for his policy pledges as he implored his new cabinet to examine all possible ways" to tackle the cost of living crisis.On his first full day in power, the prime minister faced questions about how he would fund the removal of VAT from electricity bills and also an expected uplift in defence spending - an issue that led his new chancellor, John Healey, to resign as Keir Starmer's defence secretary last month. Continue reading...

The new prime minister said he wants his government to look at all possible ways' to help families with high costs

Diligent, popular, unexpected pick for the Treasury has been given a straitjacket - and the job of funding PM's policy promises

Such technology solves problem of longer, thinner, energy-saving wings not fitting in airports around the worldAirbus has said it will test folding wings for the next generation of its bestselling planes, as the world's largest planemaker races to work out the shape of future commercial aircraft by the end of the decade.Longer, thinner wings made of light but strong composite materials offer the promise of energy savings but present a problem for manufacturers because they will not fit in airports around the world, many of which are already at or near full capacity. Continue reading...

James Desborough told court he had discovered bodies of Claudio Aquilino and Daniel Coleman on his land near St AustellA convicted killer accused of murdering two of his friends whose remains were found burnt and dismembered near his Cornish woodland cabin has insisted he did not kill them but had discovered their bodies on his land.James Desborough claimed he came upon one of the bodies hanging from a tree and the second lying naked in a stream. Continue reading...

A reasonable worst-case scenario' suggests need for large-scale movement of populations away from reshaped coastUp to 13 million people in the UK face the long-term risk of coastal flooding due to the climate crisis, scientists have warned, with a reasonable worst-case scenario" suggesting the need for the large-scale movement of populations away from a dramatically reshaped coast.Even if today's global pledges to cut carbon pollution are met, about 1.4 million more people will be exposed to coastal floods in 2200 and 1.7 million in 2300 due to the sea level rise driven by melting ice caps and warming oceans. Continue reading...

Paul Condon tells inquiry there was appalling behaviour by individual officers' but that greater fault was systemicA former Metropolitan police commissioner has admitted that the force failed over decades to properly control a controversial undercover unit that committed horrendous" abuses, the spycops inquiry has heard.Paul Condon said he was appalled by the wrongdoing of the unit, which spent 40 years spying on tens of thousands of political activists. Continue reading...

The deaf actor, who played a major role in Godzilla v Kong and its 2024 sequel, was killed in a car crash in MarylandKaylee Hottle, who played a major role in Godzilla v Kong and the sequel Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, has died at the age of 18.Her death was confirmed by her father, Joshua, in a video shared on Facebook. The stream was in American Sign Language (ASL) as the Hottle family is all deaf. I am taking a flight that I never would like to take," is the name of the video. Continue reading...

Thousands of people again on the streets of Delhi calling for education reforms despite police violence on MondayTaru had come to the protest prepared this time. In one hand was an anti-government poster and in the other was a bicycle helmet. We need to have protection in case Delhi police beat us up again," said the 25-year-old, who stood among her friends. We are not scared of them and we won't run away, no matter what they do. We'll stay here till they listen."On Tuesday, central Delhi still thronged with thousands of protesters, as an unprecedented expression of dissent against the powerful ruling Narendra Modi government showed no sign of abating. Continue reading...

New defence secretary Wes Streeting denounces drill by Neustrashimy as performative and irresponsible'A Russian warship fired its main cannon in a short notice test 45 miles south of Plymouth on Monday, the day Andy Burnham was appointed as prime minister.The Neustrashimy suddenly announced it intended to fire its guns in the morning and requested that a British warship, which had been tracking it, retreat a couple of miles to a safe distance. Continue reading...

Melia group says Donald Trump's sanctions make it impossible' to keep any of its 34 sites openA Spanish hotel chain is to cease all operations in Cuba at the end of the week due to major difficulties" in doing business on the island under growing pressure from Washington.The latest US sanctions make it impossible, de facto and de jure, to maintain even minimal operational stability", the Melia group explained in a statement on Tuesday to the Spanish stock market regulator. Continue reading...

Animal welfare charities say marmoset could be first of many' since new law on primate licenses and microchippingA stressed and dehydrated" monkey has been found in a laundry bag on a London bus in what animal welfare charities warn could be the first of many" abandonments now owners must obtain primate licenses.The female common marmoset was discovered on a 302 bus waiting in Kensal Rise, north-west London, on Friday by a passenger whose buggy was obstructed by the bag containing the monkey in a cage. The monkey has since been named Oyster after the London transport payment system. Continue reading...

Film star promotes Christopher Nolan film epic wearing gold artefacts dating back almost 3,000 yearsThe Odyssey is a story about a Greek king's long journey home. But a pair of earrings worn on the new film adaptation's press tour - and their long separation from their homeland - is sparking controversy.At a photocall in London, Zendaya, who plays the goddess Athena in the Christopher Nolan film, wore a pair of earrings fashioned from Iranian artefacts dating back to 700BC. Continue reading...

Experts warn global energy market at a critical juncture' with escalating Middle East crisis expected to further drag on a slowing Australian economy

Government urges visitors not to approach or feed wolves as it manages safety amid growing populationDanish authorities have advised tourists to stand still, make eye contact and put up maximum resistance" in the event of attack if they encounter a wolf while on holiday.After a 200-year absence, wolves started returning to Denmark in 2012. There are now estimated to be 49 wolves on the Danish peninsular of Jutland. Continue reading...

Joshua Kerry appears at Westminster magistrates court charged with murder of former MP earlier this monthA man has appeared in court charged with the murder of former MP and Reform UK spokesperson Ann Widdecombe.Joshua Kerry, 28, is accused of killing the 78-year-old former Conservative minister at her home in Haytor, Devon, earlier this month, by hitting her on the head with a hammer 21 times. Continue reading...

State department's 100-page report is latest push in Trump administration campaign to bring down governmentThe US government's latest allegations that Cuba is behind many of the most significant upheavals in recent American political history" and that its leaders pose a unique threat to American homeland security" have come as startling revelations to those living under the six-month-long US oil blockade in Havana, where desperate people search through piles of uncollected rubbish for food, or else swelter at home in 24-hour-plus blackouts.The unsigned 100-page report Cuba: Capital of 21st-Century Communism, published by the US state department on Monday, blames Havana for everything from the George Floyd riots to the rise of antifa to the explosion of pro-terrorist activism on American college campuses". Continue reading...

Move would give government veto over big decisions and hostile takeovers, after Burnham's call for greater public control

European leaders have made positive noises about the new UK PM, but he is likely to face the same restrictions as Starmer

Interviews with residents of Russian-held region point to frustration with Moscow as Ukrainian campaign to isolate it takes toll on daily lifeFirst, the guests stopped coming. As Ukrainian drones and missiles pounded Crimea throughout the spring and into the summer, Russian tourists began cancelling their bookings at the small guesthouse Marina runs in Yevpatoria, a resort town on the peninsula's Black Sea coast.Then petrol became scarce, making it harder to stock the business with food and other essentials. Now, electricity and running water are cut off for much of the day, just as the summer heat sets in. Continue reading...

National disaster agency confirms severe financial and human losses' in eastern province of NuristanRescue crews in Afghanistan are searching for survivors and bodies among the rubble of houses destroyed by devastating flash floods that authorities said had killed nearly two dozen people and left more than 100 people missing.The Afghanistan national disaster management authority said on Tuesday that 23 people had died, 80 had been injured and more than 100 were missing after floods struck the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, causing an undetermined number of buildings to collapse. The provincial capital city of Parun was among the areas affected, authorities said. Continue reading...

Officers use teargas and water cannon on crowds in Bologna after death of Abderrahim Fakir under police restraintPolice have clashed with demonstrators during a protest in the Italian city of Bologna after a Moroccan-born man died pleading for help under police restraint.Human rights campaigners and Italy's opposition parties have demanded urgent answers over the death on Sunday of Abderrahim Fakir, 42, who had moved to Italy when he was five years old and ran a small removals and cleaning business. Continue reading...

Residents of Deir Jarir say raids that killed two Palestinians late on Sunday are part of pattern of violenceEven by the brutal standards of militant settler violence in the West Bank, the raid on Deir Jarir late on Sunday night that killed two Palestinians and left another in hospital with a gunshot wound was extreme.Palestinians in the town said settlers from a nearby outpost arrived after 9pm on Sunday claiming that they were searching for stolen livestock. Israeli soldiers and police soon joined them, protecting them as they sought to take several villagers' sheep by force. Continue reading...

Global hunger declined for the third year in a row in 2025 but experts call for action to bring down costs of fruit, vegetables and dairy as report shows 2.69bn people can't afford to eat wellOne in three people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet, a new report has found, prompting calls for urgent action on food affordability.There are 2.69 billion people unable to afford a diverse diet that meets their energy and nutrient needs, and it will take immense" amounts of work to achieve the global target of zero hunger by 2030, the annual report from five UN agencies warned. Continue reading...

Figure of 16bn from ONS comes after Andy Burnham revealed plans to cut VAT on electricity bills

Unemployment holds steady at 4.9%, underlining the challenge facing the new prime minister

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Newly appointed chancellor John Healey says reduction will be funded by cancelling digital ID schemeElectricity bills will be reduced by an average of 45 a year from October, after Andy Burnham announced the government would remove VAT from them.The new prime minister said on Tuesday he was implementing an immediate tax cut to help ease cost of living pressures for households in Britain. Continue reading...

People gather at cafes and outdoor screenings to support team after Spain's backing for Palestinian rightsThe Spanish football team's World Cup win has been celebrated in the streets of Gaza, where Spain's support for Palestinian rights and Israel's backing for the Argentinian team turned the competition into more than a football showdown.Gathered at cafes and outdoor screenings, Palestinians defied the risk of Israeli attacks to cheer on a team they had taken to their hearts. Continue reading...