World news | The Guardian

Sir Richard Moore says Xi Jinping's regime has supported Vladimir Putin diplomatically and amplified Russian tropes' such as Nato being to blameThe head of MI6 has accused China's government and its leader, Xi Jinping, of being absolutely complicit" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a rare public address in Prague.Sir Richard Moore, who has been chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service since 2020, also offered comment on the extraordinary mutiny in June by the mercenary Wagner group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Continue reading...

Jim Arrington, who was recognized as the planet's oldest bodybuilder in 2015, explains how a low opinion' motivated himLike many in the US who are grappling with pressure to look better, Jim Arrington is unimpressed with his physique - but he says that self-perception has motivated him to keep winning bodybuilding competitions at age 90.The nonagenarian great-grandfather spoke about how he has achieved a level of physical fitness which is superior to that of many people more than half his age in an interview published on Wednesday by Guinness World Records, which first recognized him as the planet's oldest bodybuilder in 2015. Continue reading...

Routine care to come to virtual halt for 48 hours this week and in August after improved pay offer ruled outTens of thousands of patients in England face surgeries being cancelled this summer with consultants striking for 96 hours, after Steve Barclay ruled out an improved pay offer.Routine care across the NHS will come to a virtual standstill from 7am on Thursday as consultant doctors and hospital-based dentists begin their first industrial action in a decade for 48 hours until 7am on Saturday. Continue reading...

Report criticises range of shortcomings' in qualifications intended to be equivalent to A-levelsThe government's gold standard" vocational qualifications, T-levels, have been strongly criticised by Ofsted for offering poor value, inappropriate work placements and having high dropout rates.The report, the first independent evaluation of T-levels commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), is highly critical of the complex teaching and industry placements required during the two-year courses, which are intended as a vocational equivalent to A-levels in England. Continue reading...

The bureau of statistics labour numbers will be examined closely by the Reserve Bank when it meets on August 1 to consider interest ratesAustralia's employers added 32,600 more jobs last month as the economy maintained its resilience despite a leap in interest rates.Australia's unemployment rate in June was 3.5%, the Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged for the month from May's 3.6% tally, with a net 15,000 positions added. The ABS revised May's rate down to 3.5%. Continue reading...

Former ABC host and co-author of The Voice to Parliament Handbook says language used by Peter Dutton has been cowardly'

Claims from head of organisation spark outrage in Kyiv and from the International Federation of Red and Red Crescent Societies

Royal commission found the former head of the Department of Human Services was responsible for department that had established an unlawful program'

Aukus requests would be handled faster than almost all applications other than from Taiwan and Ukraine'

Bloc asked to clarify position after Buenos Aires declare triumph' over use of term in summit declarationForty-one years after the Falklands war, the UK has suffered a diplomatic defeat over the archipelago as the EU appeared to endorse the Argentine name for the disputed territory, Islas Malvinas.Brussels supported an Argentina-backed declaration referring to Islas Malvinas at a summit of EU leaders with Latin America and the Caribbean (Celac) leaders on Tuesday, which Buenos Aires called a diplomatic triumph". Continue reading...

Bereaved families welcome proposals to create aggravating factor for murder at the end of a relationshipPartners who murder at the end of a relationship could face longer sentences under a proposed overhaul of punishments for domestic murder.In a move welcomed by bereaved families who have fought for the law to be changed, the proposals announced on Thursday will seek to lengthen the prison sentences for abusers who kill by creating a new aggravating factor for murder at the end of a relationship. Continue reading...

Morrison government stopped releasing reports on MPs' use of business jet fleet in 2021, citing unspecified security concerns

Police say 43-year-old man was armed with a knife and died at the scene after being shot

Protests against tax rises and cost of living turn violent with hospitals reporting many wounded by gunshotAt least two people have been killed during anti-government protests in Kenya, as police opened fire on demonstrators protesting against the cost of living and tax increases.Demonstrators hurled rocks at police and burned tyres in the streets on Wednesday, while the security forces fired teargas in the third round of anti-government protests called by the opposition this month. Continue reading...

Dan Wootton accused of offering Sun colleagues tens of thousands of pounds for sexual materialThe Sun's parent company has hired external lawyers to help investigate very serious" allegations regarding Dan Wootton's time at the tabloid, the Guardian has been told.Wootton is facing allegations he used a pseudonym to secretly offer current and former Sun colleagues tens of thousands of pounds in return for sexual materialIf you wish to contact the author of this article with further information, please email jim.waterson@theguardian.com or contact the Guardian securely. Continue reading...

Votes in the three very different seats could indicate general election swings and prompt cabinet reshuffleThe Conservatives are braced for painful byelection results in a vote on Thursday that could become a damning verdict on Rishi Sunak's ability to win a broad enough coalition of voters at the next election to retain his party's majority.The party could lose all three of the constituencies that are up for grabs - which each have significantly different demographics that the Tories would need to win - with the prospect of hanging on to just one being touted by senior ministers as a victory. Continue reading...

Green members select the party's former co-leader to stand in Brighton Pavilion at next electionThe Green party has selected Sian Berry as its candidate to stand in Brighton Pavilion to replace Caroline Lucas MP.Berry, Emily O'Brien and Dan Rue were vying to be the Green's candidate in the Sussex constituency which Lucas, the former leader of the party, has represented in parliament since 2010. Continue reading...

FCA chief says banks cannot discriminate' against political views, but chair argues it's up to Coutts who they do business with'The City regulator has said it has contacted the owner of Coutts bank amid a growing row over its decision to close Nigel Farage's accounts, but told MPs that while lenders cannot discriminate against customers, it is ultimately up to firms to decide who to do business with.It came as the prime minister, the home secretary and the City minister waded in to the growing debate over the rights of lenders to shut or refuse accounts based on concerns over customers' political views. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereSuspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, has posted this latest news update from Odesa. It writes:During the night attack on Odesa region, rockets hit the grain and oil terminal, damaged tanks and equipment for loading, and a fire broke out, said Vladyslav Nazarov, the spokesperson for the South" command.In the Odesa region, an industrial facility was hit, where an employee was injured, and two warehouses in different locations were also hit - with tobacco and fireworks. Continue reading...

Internal battle between ministers leaving schools in England isolated, says headteachers' representativeSchools are being left in limbo by the government's political squabbles" delaying its transgender guidance for students and staff, according to school leaders.Rishi Sunak had promised that guidance for schools in England dealing with trans issues would be published by the end of the summer term. But the guidance has been held up by legal questions, with No 10 saying on Wednesday that more evidence is required" before publication. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage hereGovernment guidance for schools in England on how to deal with pupils who want to transition has been delayed because No 10 and Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, have been pushing for a tough version that would be unlawful under the Equalities Act, Steven Swinford reports in a story for the Times. Swinford says:The draft guidance stated that children should be allowed to socially transition with the consent of their parents, meaning that they could choose another pronoun or name and wear the uniform of the opposite sex.But the government then commissioned legal advice from Victoria Prentis, the attorney general, about whether a ban on social transitioning in schools was possible. Last week she concluded that such a move would be unlawful and said that the government would need to pass new legislation if it wanted to go further ...Lady McDonagh died in June aged 61 and was hailed for her key role in Labour's 1997 landslide election victory.Her sister Siobhain McDonagh is the current Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden in south London. Continue reading...

Government launches work permit for foreign workers with H-1B visa in US and meets target number of applicants in just two daysThe Canadian government is recruiting high-skilled foreigners working in the United States to move to Canada instead - and the program has been so successful that it met its target of 10,000 applicants in just two days.Canada this week launched a special work permit for foreign workers who already have obtained an H-1B visa in the US, who number nearly 600,000 and come mostly from India and China. The program's 10,000 quota was filled in the first two days of the week, a spokesman for Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Wednesday. Continue reading...

Hugo Carvajal, intelligence leader under Hugo Chavez, accused of providing support to drug trafficking by rebel Farc groupVenezuela's former intelligence chief has been extradited from Spain to the United States where he is wanted on drug trafficking charges, his lawyer and judicial sources said.Gen Hugo Armando Carvajal, who served as intelligence chief under the former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, has long been sought by US Treasury officials who suspect him of providing support to drug trafficking by the now disarmed Farc guerrilla group in Colombia. Continue reading...

Subject access requests have become standard in work disputes and are increasingly used by public figuresNigel Farage's claim that his account at the prestigious bank Coutts was closed because of his political values has been bolstered by a report from the bank's reputational risk committee that he obtained via a subject access request (SAR), an increasingly common tool - some would say weapon - used by individuals in dispute with organisations.SARs, which allow an individual to ask an organisation for copies of any personal information that it holds about them, were introduced under the Data Protection Act 1998. By all accounts, their use has exploded in recent years, with individuals' rights boosted by the GDPR (general data protection regulations), which came into effect in 2018. This stopped organisations being able to charge a fee unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive", and reduced the deadline for responding from 40 days to a month. Continue reading...

Port bears brunt of missile and drone onslaught, with grain and oil terminal, market and storage said to have been hit

Labor's Environment Action Network says draft national platform very, very weak' on opposing native forest logging and land clearing

Experts call for transparency over Project Synergy grant awarded to Innowell, whose platform is no longer used by the federal health department

Grattan Institute analyst says the supply and cost inflation can't fully account for this massive increase in costs'

Aurizon confirms driver was not injured in crash at Fairfield station on Saturday night

Water firm tells investors it is on track to claim reward for exceeding its own customer service targetsSevern Trent may soon be able to charge almost 5 million customers an extra 60m in total on their water bills as a reward for exceeding its own customer service targets.The water firm, which is listed on the FTSE 100, told investors on Wednesday that it was on track to get the multimillion-pound award this year through the water regulator's incentive plan. Continue reading...

Chair of health committee says packaging and marketing of vapes should be restrictedMPs have urged the government to introduce restrictions on the packaging and marketing of disposable vapes to tackle the alarming trend" of children using these addictive products.The health and social care committee said there should be restrictions on how e-cigarettes are sold, in line with those applied to tobacco products. Continue reading...

People earning more than 50,000 a year and their partners will not need to fill in self-assessment tax formThousands of parents could be freed up from the chore of having to fill in a self-assessment tax form after the government announced changes to a tax charge that affects higher earners.Ministers have said that in future, those in work who are affected by the high income child benefit charge" - which affects people earning more than 50,000 a year and their partners - will not have to register for self-assessment in order to pay what they owe. Continue reading...

Andrew Mitchell announces white paper to get Britain back on track for UN 2030 targets after years of aid cutsThe international development minister, Andrew Mitchell, is taking the unusual step of trying to build explicit cross-party support for a white paper due to be published this autumn amid a string of critical global summits.Announcing the initiative this week, he told the Guardian: The white paper will be a parliamentary command paper by the government, but it does not work unless you have agreement across the political parties. After all, international development and British leadership on this is not a Labour or Tory thing. It's a British thing." Continue reading...

Tata project likely to be in Somerset and will be one of Europe's biggest battery cell manufacturing sitesTata Group, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, has announced it will invest 4bn to build an electric car battery gigafactory in the UK, in a major boost to the British automotive industry.The factory is expected to be sited in Somerset and to bring 4,000 new jobs to the area. It will become one of Europe's largest battery cell manufacturing sites when it starts production in 2026, according to Tata Sons, the holding company behind the Indian conglomerate. Continue reading...

Katalin Novak, an anti-abortionist and promoter of pro-natalist policies, spoke at the opening of the Women Deliver conference in RwandaDelegates at a women's rights conference in Rwanda have expressed shock and anger at the appearance of the Hungarian president.Katalin Novak, who is anti-abortion and an important player in the international anti-gender movement", was invited to speak at the Women Deliver conference in Kigali this week, where reproductive rights is one of the critical areas under discussion. Continue reading...

MP for Beckenham appears in court on charge related to confrontation with Sayed Ahmed AlwadaeiThe Conservative MP Bob Stewart has pleaded not guilty to racially abusing a man he allegedly told to go back to Bahrain".The MP for Beckenham in south-east London is alleged to have told Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei during an angry confrontation on 14 December last year to get stuffed" and said he was taking money off my country". Continue reading...

Russia again attacks Ukrainian port of Odesa after pulling out of grain deal; fire reported at military base in Crimea

Shadow chancellor says dire economic inheritance' would prevent party from reversing Tory welfare policies

National Archives files show PM presented with shock resignation of incumbent less than month after failed Arnhem landingsAs well as directing Britain's war effort, Winston Churchill had another seemingly crucial matter to attend to during the second world war - the appointment of a new provost of Eton College.Four months after the 1944 D-day landings and less than a month after the failed operation by British airborne troops to secure the Rhine crossing at Arnhem, the prime minister found himself presented with the shock resignation of the incumbent provost, Lord Quickswood. Continue reading...

Emergency crews arrive to find three vehicles on fire and four others badly damaged on Bruce Highway near Rockhampton

In today's newsletter: Escalating costs mean Victoria will no longer host the competition - but can another host be found? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.I've made a lot of very difficult decisions in this job - this is not one of them," said Daniel Andrews, premier of Victoria in Australia, when he announced on Tuesday that the state was no longer willing to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026.Law | A British woman who was jailed for terminating her pregnancy after the legal time limit during lockdown will be released from prison and reunited with her children. A court of appeal judge said Carla Foster, a mother of three, needed compassion, not punishment", adding that her 28-month sentence would be reduced to 14 months and suspended.Heatwave | The EU has weighed in with help to combat wildfires in Greece, dispatching four Canadair water bombers as the battle to douse blazes that have raged around Athens intensified. Across Europe, back-to-back heatwaves have sent temperatures soaring, while Tuesday marked the 19th day the US city of Phoenix has been subjected to temperatures of at least 110F (43.3C).Ukraine | An investigation has identified four military units under Russia's command that allegedly carried out human rights abuses during the occupation of the Ukrainian city of Izium. After liberating the city last year, Ukrainian troops discovered a mass grave, containing 447 bodies including the remains of 22 Ukrainian soldiers, as well as several torture chambers.North Korea | An American national has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, according to the US-led UN Command overseeing the area. The body tweeted on Tuesday that the US citizen was on a tour of the border village of Panmunjom and crossed into North Korea without authorisation.Policing | The 36-year fight for justice by the family of the murdered private detective Daniel Morgan has ended with the Metropolitan police this morning admitting liability for their errors and corruption, and paying damages. Morgan was found dead in March 1987 outside a London pub with an axe through his head. His family believe he had been about to expose police corruption. Continue reading...

Cyclone Freddy cited as contributing factor in feared new outbreak that follows inoculation of 8 million childrenMalawi is investigating at least 17 suspected polio cases just as a vaccination campaign is completed with more than 90% of the country's children inoculated against the virus.Health authorities fear Cyclone Freddy - the world's longest-lasting tropical cyclone - which made landfall in March in the southern African nation and led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of displacements - could be a contributing factor. Continue reading...

Envoy urged No 10 to exploit opportunities presented by tycoon's premiership while holding our noses', archives revealTony Blair sought to avoid unwelcome headlines suggesting he was snuggling up" to Silvio Berlusconi by not inviting media lobby correspondents to a UK-Italy summit in Rome, newly released documents reveal.Before the February 2002 bilateral, Britain's ambassador to Rome, John Shepherd, told the government it had a real opportunity" to exploit the Italian prime minister's orientations in Europe in support of UK interests, holding our noses and staying alert to the risks as we do". Continue reading...

Sir Stephen Powis says two-day strike over pay will cause most severe impact ever seen in the NHS as result of industrial actionPlanned NHS hospital care in England will be virtually at a standstill" on Thursday and Friday when consultants stage their first strike in a decade, the service's top doctor said.Their two-day strike over pay will cause the most severe impact we have ever seen in the NHS as a result of industrial action", Prof Sir Stephen Powis said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Director general of national intelligence says NSI Act needs to be modernised but defended tough secrecy laws amid unprecedented' levels of espionage

Correspondence released by agriculture department shows level of discomfort among officials about embattled firm's efforts to land new contracts

PM tells 2GB radio's Ben Fordham that media have a responsibility not to raise red herrings' after being repeatedly questioned over impacts of voice proposal

Ihar Karnei was detained and his apartment raided with police seizing phones and computers, according to his daughterAuthorities in Belarus have arrested a prominent journalist who has previously written for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the latest step in a years-long crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists.The Belarusian Association of Journalists said Ihar Karnei, 55, was arrested in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Monday. His apartment was raided, with police seizing phones and computers, his daughter, Polina, told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

More than a quarter of routes in English county and rural areas have been lost over 10 yearsEndangered rural bus services have dwindled to a new low after losing out on funding after the pandemic, analysis for councils has shown.More than a quarter of routes in county and rural areas of England have been lost in the past decade, with passenger numbers falling sharply. Continue reading...

Records from the National Archive reveal the cut-throat world of British poetry, and the politics behind selecting candidatesSir John Betjeman was dismissed as a songster of tennis lawns and cathedral cloisters" evoking an aroma of lavender and faint musk" five years before he was finally appointed to the prestigious post of poet laureate, newly released government documents reveal.WH Auden, meanwhile, was regarded by some as the best candidate but was once ruled out because he had taken US citizenship and because of a pornographic poem that had appeared under his name in an underground magazine. The work, titled The Gobble Poem, was said to be of so filthy a character that his appointment would bring disgrace upon the office". Continue reading...