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Commons committee's report calls for government strategy to engage with young boys to tackle problemSexual harassment of girls is a scourge" in England's schools, according to MPs, who have called for a government-led strategy to focus on boys who are failing to engage with relationship and sex education.MPs on the women and equalities committee said in a report that there should be training for all teachers to help them hold conversations with boys and young men about sexual harassment and gender-based violence, in a way that challenges prevailing gender norms and ideas of masculinity. Continue reading...

Focus group compares first minister with Sturgeon and discusses appeal of Labour as cost of living crisis continuesScottish voters overwhelmed by the cost of living want Humza Yousaf to get a grip and listen" to their struggles, as previous SNP supporters discuss the appeal of revitalised Scottish Labour.As Yousaf reaches 100 days as first minister this week, members of a focus group convened by More in Common UK agree his public profile is not as strong as his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, despite divergent views on her recent arrest. Continue reading...

Study by Greater London authority finds mayor has received over 300,000 pieces of racist abuse since being electedSadiq Khan has received more than 300,000 pieces of openly racist or racially-oriented abuse on social media since he was elected London mayor, with a recent surge in such messages connected to his plan to expand the city's clean air zone, research has found.The study, carried out by the Greater London authority, found that racist abuse against the Labour mayor, which peaked when he was targeted on Twitter by Donald Trump, has started to rise again this year. Continue reading...

Simon Holmes a Court says the laws make it nearly impossible' for independents to successfully campaign

Kristian White was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to 95-year-old grandmother

Ronan Davies, who was 17 months old, died in June after being taken to hospital with severe head injuries

Kremlin spokesman says there have been certain contacts on the subject' with the US but says any discussion will be held in secretThe Kremlin has suggested it could be open to a possible prisoner exchange involving jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but reaffirmed that such talks must be held away from the public eye.Asked whether Monday's consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March on charges of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in US custody on cybercrime charges, could potentially herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow and Washington had touched on the issue. Continue reading...

President's claims come after meeting with Emmanuel Macron, and Russia's competing claim that Ukraine was planning its own attack on the plant

Inquiry comes after President Emmanuel Macron met mayors to explore deeper reasons' for violenceFrench prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of a 27-year old man who was hit by a projectile at the time of the riots on Saturday, the Marseille prosecutor's office has said.The man died on Saturday night while Marseille was engulfed in riots and pillaging, but prosecutors said it was not possible to determine where the man was when he was shot or whether the victim had taken part in the riots. Continue reading...

Damning report highlights lack of control over billions in spending and no stockpile plan for future pandemicBritain's lead public health body has a staggering lack of control over billions of pounds of spending, and there is no plan for stockpiling vaccines or personal protective equipment (PPE) for a future pandemic, a damning MPs' report has found.The public accounts committee was highly critical of the repeated governance and financial failings at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which was set up with great fanfare under Boris Johnson. Continue reading...

Men aged 45, 47 and 58 charged with preparatory acts of terrorism and will appear in Belfast magistrates courtThree men have been charged with preparatory acts of terrorism by officers investigating the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell.The police officer was shot multiple times at a sports complex in County Tyrone on 22 February after a youth football team coaching session. His son was with him as he loaded footballs into the boot of his car when the gunmen approached. Continue reading...

Kristian James White charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to dementia patient at NSW aged care home

GMTV host undergoing trials for new drug that scientists hope could slow or reverse the illnessThe television presenter Fiona Phillips has disclosed she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and is undergoing trials for a new drug that scientists hope could slow or reverse the illness.The 62-year-old said she was informed she had the illness 18 months ago, having had months of brain fog and anxiety. Her mother, father, uncle and grandparents had Alzheimer's, she said. Continue reading...

At least 15 people shot dead across the country in mass shootings so far on the holiday weekend celebrating the US's independenceA long holiday weekend of bloodshed has intensified after a heavily armed gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia on the eve of Fourth of July celebrations, in yet another mass shooting in the US, killing five people and wounding two boys before surrendering to the police.Across the country, Texas was entering the holiday to news that another shooting had killed three people, in Fort Worth, occurring just before midnight amid a gathering in a parking lot that also wounded eight. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard reopens investigation into party at Conservative HQ and launches new inquiry about gathering in parliamentScotland Yard is reopening its investigation into potential Covid breaches at a jingle and mingle" lockdown party at Conservative headquarters at the height of the pandemic as the Partygate scandal continues to plague the Conservative party.The Metropolitan police's decision to look again at the gathering of former Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey's campaign team in the run-up to Christmas 2020 has prompted calls to delay his peerage until the investigation is completed. Continue reading...

Tenants demand rent freeze at National Landlord Investment Show in London as average monthly UK rents soarTenants facing soaring rents staged a protest against rampant profiteering" outside a landlord convention in London where investors were told how to build a 25m property portfolio, using none of your own money".Dozens of renters chanted: Landlords! Parasites!" outside the National Landlord Investment Show and demanded a rent freeze, as the average monthly UK rent has increased by 110 - more than 10% a year - according to the property website Zoopla. Continue reading...

Armoured incursion in response to rising bloodshed across Israel and West Bank looks political as much as tacticalIn the darkness of the night, thousands of people stumbled in lines through the Jenin refugee camp, guiding each other through the twisted metal, churned-up concrete and spent ammunition littering the streets during a lull in Operation Home and Garden, Israel's biggest offensive in the West Bank for 20 years.Videos of the streams of people - about 3,000-4,000, according to Palestinian officials - fleeing to safety on Monday night were widely shared by Palestinians on social media, where they were likened to images of the Nakba, the expulsion of the Arab population from the newly created state of Israel in 1948. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereOleksiy Danilov has described recent days of battle as fruitful" for Ukraine in terms of destroying the resources of the Russian forces. In a post to social media, the secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council described Ukraine as acting calmly" and wisely' in its counteroffensive. He posted:At this stage of active hostilities, Ukraine's defence forces are fulfilling the number one task - the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts, artillery and air defence forces of the Russian army.The last few days have been particularly fruitful. Now the war of destruction is equal to the war of kilometres. More destroyed means more liberated. The more effective the former, the more the latter. We are acting calmly, wisely, step by step.This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

It wouldn't be the first time illegal drugs were brought into the president's residenceA preliminary field test on a white substance found in the White House has reportedly come up positive for cocaine, law enforcement authorities said, and the US Secret Servicewas investigating on Tuesday how it came to be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.The presence of the substance - which has been sent out for further testing - came to light late on Monday when a firefighter with the Washington DC fire department's hazardous materials team radioed: We have a yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride," the Washington Post first reported. Continue reading...

Wimbledon tennis tournament affected by torrential downpoursAfter the hottest June since records began, forecasters have warned to keep an umbrella and raincoat handy this week.The Met Office said 20-30mm of rain could fall over a two-to-six-hour period on Tuesday as a heavy band of rain" passed over the Wimbledon tennis tournament at about 5pm. Continue reading...

Prime minister accused at liaison committee hearing of not turning up to PMQs and avoiding sensitive votes

Party says closures beginning on Wednesday could exacerbate managed decline' of train networkLabour has criticised rushed" plans to close hundreds of railway station ticket offices across England, warning it could exacerbate the managed decline of our rail network".Train operators will begin closing offices on Wednesday, in a move that will dismay vulnerable passengers and inflame the continuing dispute with unions. Continue reading...

Alleged victim claims actor grabbed his crotch and kissed his neck twice, saying be cool, be cool'Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey had a panicked" look on his face after a man he met in a pub rejected him when he grabbed his crotch, a court has heard.The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told a police officer the Hollywood star had kissed his neck twice before grabbing him, saying the words Be cool, be cool". Continue reading...

Judges praised the staggering amount of talent on display' in entries to the competition launched by the London Review Bookshop for writers aged 11 to 14The winners of the inaugural Martha Mills prize for young writers have been chosen from more than 1,000 entrants.Izzy Cooper, Flynn Alexander Hampson and Mabel Swift have been announced as the winners of the award, which was launched by the London Review Bookshop and open to writing by 11-14 year olds. Continue reading...

Case brought against General Medical Council for failure to look into claimed links to heart problems and deathsThe regulator charged with upholding professional standards in UK medical practice is being sued by a junior doctor over its refusal to investigate a cardiologist for spreading allegedly harmful misinformation" about Covid vaccines.Dr Matt Kneale brought the case against the General Medical Council after it failed to investigate Dr Aseem Malhotra at the ROC Private Clinic in London - who linked Covid vaccines to frequent, severe heart problems and deaths, despite substantial evidence for their safety. Continue reading...

Councillors vote for motion asking officers to compile report on future of how islands are runOrkney council is to investigate winning greater independence, including possible deals with Nordic nations, after accusing Scottish ministers of consistently neglecting the islands.Councillors voted by a large majority on Tuesday to look at a range of options to increase their autonomy and funding, alleging that Orkney had been unjustifiably deprived of hundreds of millions of pounds by ministers in Edinburgh. Continue reading...

Robin Arnold, 71, breached a prevention order when he kept quiet about offence involving orphaned boy in AlbaniaA 71-year-old man convicted of raping an orphaned boy in Albania has been jailed in the UK for befriending families and children without telling them of his past.Robin Arnold brought the children, all from an immigrant African community in Carlisle, Cumbria, gifts and they called him Uncle Rob", a court heard on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Monash university report says 60% of survey participants feel unsafe at gigs or in production studios

Labor government warns it will not tolerate foreign interference on Australian soil as it vows to protect free speech

Minister to tell National Press Club Indigenous people more likely to have experienced homelessness than to hold an undergraduate degree'

Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC donated $4.3m to Labor and Coalition in past decade as government contracts increased by 400%, analysis shows

Cost-cutting measure in home city comes as supermarket grapples with rising cost of servicing its 7.5bn debt

Operation allegedly involved moving people from Syria to Spain on a circuitous route via Sudan and north AfricaSpanish police have broken up what they say is an organised criminal gang involved in a highly unusual people-smuggling operation involving the moving of migrants from Syria to Spain on round trip via Sudan.A year-long investigation, which was coordinated by Europol and involved dozens of police officers from France, Norway and Germany, uncovered a network of alleged people-smuggling cells across north Africa and northern Europe as well as the main nerve centre of the gang in southern Spain. Continue reading...

Jamie Barrow incomprehensibly set fire to his neighbours' flat while they slept, saying fire had a calming effect on himUnknown to Fatoumatta Hydara and her two young daughters as they slept in their beds in November last year, their nextdoor neighbour, Jamie Barrow, poured petrol through their letterbox and set fire to it, before calmly walking away and taking his dog out. Their flat was soon consumed by flames. The children, three-year-old Fatimah and one-year-old Naeemah, along with their mother, died of smoke inhalation.It was an appalling crime, made even more incomprehensible as it also appears to be motiveless. Continue reading...

Twenty-five children and 10 adults sent to camps for suspected jihadists repatriated to FranceFrance has repatriated 25 children and 10 women who were held in prison camps for suspected jihadists in north-east Syria, the fourth such operation in a year, the foreign ministry has said.The minors would be handed over to childcare services while the adults would be handed over to the relevant judicial authorities, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Jamie Barrow, who found fires cathartic', poured petrol through neighbour's letterbox and set it alightA man has been found guilty of murdering his nextdoor neighbour and her two young children by pouring petrol through their letterbox and setting fire to their flat while they were asleep.Jamie Barrow, 33, admitted starting the fire in November last year which killed Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, and her daughters, Fatimah Drammeh, three, and Naeemah Drammeh, one. Continue reading...

Health Services Union says wages have hit rock bottom and contributed to 12,000 vacancies as workers head interstate

The programme helped to launch the careers of young actors from the north-east, including the duo who played PJ and DuncanIt was a beloved fixture of the after-school television schedule for children of the 90s, and now their own offspring will experience Byker Grove too.The series, set in a youth club in the Byker area of Newcastle, is being revamped with its former stars Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as executive producers. Continue reading...

Johnny Mercer says food bank use not an accurate measure of poverty after reports of some military personnel relying on them

Arrangements are being made to house refugees from the camp in other locations, as Arab countries condemn military operationSeveral thousand Palestinians have fled their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank after the launch of the biggest Israeli military operation in the area in two decades, according to Palestinian officials.There are about 3,000 people who have left the camp so far," the Jenin deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Roub, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday, adding that arrangements were being made to house them in schools and other shelters in Jenin city. Continue reading...

Homeowners with a mortgage will be breathing a sigh of relief after RBA paused rate rising at Tuesday's board meeting

Jeremy Rodgers, 28, arrested in Florida a day after armed man wanted over riot detained near Barack Obama's Washington homeAmericans continue to be arrested on suspicion of taking part in the Capitol attack, two and half years after the January 6 insurrection by supporters of Donald Trump.Court documents on Monday showed that a Michigan man accused of attacking a police officer with a flagpole during the insurrection was arrested in Florida last Friday, a day after an armed man also wanted for the rioting was arrested near Barack Obama's Washington home. Another man suspected of violence at the Capitol was arrested in Maryland last month. Continue reading...

Central bank leaves official cash rate unchanged at 4.1%. Follow live

Like-for-like sales up 9.8% in quarter and supermarket says it has put more than 60m into cutting prices of basicsFood inflation is starting to fall, according to the boss of Sainsbury's, who said shoppers were putting more items in their baskets as it began to cut prices on some basics.Simon Roberts, the chief executive, said the supermarket was putting all our energy and focus into battling inflation" as household budgets were under more pressure than ever". Continue reading...

Penelope Williams ignored advice to call ambulance after man collapsed in car outside hospitalA nurse has been struck off by the UK regulator for nursing and midwifery after a patient with whom she was having a secret relationship died while in his car with her.Penelope Williams ignored advice to call an ambulance after the man collapsed in the vehicle outside the Spire hospital in Wrexham, north Wales, in January 2022, a hearing was told. Continue reading...

Cane toads first crossed into WA from the Northern Territory 15 years ago and have slowly spread through the Kimberley

In today's newsletter: The death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk triggered five nights of riots in Paris and beyond - but they had been brewing for years Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Apologies if this is the second time you are receiving this email - due to some technical gremlins some people received yesterday's newsletter on Labour for a second time. Below is today's First Edition on France.After a tumultuous week in which the country was shaken by five nights of serious disorder, destruction and - at times - violence, the rioting has subsided and the streets are largely calm.Palestinian territories | Israel has launched a major aerial and ground offensive into the West Bank city of Jenin, its biggest military operation in the Palestinian territory in years, in what it described as an extensive counter-terrorism effort". At least eight Palestinians were killed and 50 injured, 10 seriously, in the attack that began at about 1am on Monday.Hong Kong | China has accused the UK of protecting fugitives after the British foreign secretary criticised Hong Kong's decision to offer HK$1m bounties for the arrest of eight democracy activists based overseas. The Chinese embassy in London called on British politicians to stop using anti-China Hong Kong disruptors to jeopardise China's sovereignty and security".Fuel | The UK energy secretary has accused fuel retailers of using motorists as cash cows", after a consumer watchdog found that drivers were paying more for petrol and diesel than before the Covid pandemic because of weakened" competition.UK politics | Sue Gray was found to have apparently breached the civil service code by discussing a role with Keir Starmer without telling her Whitehall bosses, a Cabinet Office investigation has found.D-day | Leon Gautier, the last surviving member of the French commando unit that waded ashore on D-day alongside allied troops to begin the liberation of France, died on Monday. He was 100 years old. Continue reading...

Prof Brigid Heywood has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and offensive behaviour over an alleged incident in March 2022

Men remanded in custody after allegedly demanding Forest Lake residents hand over e-scooter for sale on Facebook Marketplace