World news | The Guardian

Votes from overseas means left and right blocs now neck and neck in race for powerSpain's socialist party has suffered a setback in its efforts to form a new leftwing coalition government after this month's inconclusive election as a count of overseas votes handed a crucial seat across to the opposition conservatives.The result means the left and right blocs are now neck and neck as MPs prepare for a vote in congress that will determine who gets to govern. Continue reading...

Estate agents selling Twickenham property' believe it could have development potentialIf climbing the property ladder seems stressful to you, why not consider taking the stairs?A disused four-storey stairwell at the back of a branch of Starbucks in south-west London has become the latest peculiar piece of property to go on sale in London's feverish housing market. Continue reading...

Prime minister accuses Labour of being anti-motorist' and says Keir Starmer is a political opportunistRishi Sunak has ordered a formal review into low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, as he sought again to use green policies as a wedge issue with Labour and Keir Starmer.In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the UK prime minister also made a notably personal attack against Starmer, accusing the Labour leader of lacking any guiding principles and being a political opportunist. Continue reading...

Secret portrait of woman likely to be wife of Belgian surrealist found during examination of artist's workA painting by Rene Magritte has been discovered beneath another painting by the Belgian surrealist master - to the excitement of experts.A portrait of a woman had been hidden under La Cinquieme Saison (The Fifth Season), from 1943, now held in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) in Brussels. She was discovered using infrared reflectography. Continue reading...

Emergency services clear debris after storm hits site in Mari El, along northern bank of Volga RiverEight people died and another 10 were hospitalised in Russia when trees crashed into a campsite during a severe storm described as a hurricane", authorities said.According to the latest information, eight people died in Mari El due to the hurricane that took place the day before," said Yevgeny Maslov, the mayor of the city of Yoshkar-Ola. Continue reading...

Anton Wallich-Clifford set up homeless venture the Simon Community in the 60s, inspiring other charities. Now supporters want belated recognition for his achievementsHis work with people on the streets in 60s Britain dragged the country's approach to tackling homelessness out of the Victorian era.Anton Wallich-Clifford was an ex-probation officer whose work with the down-and-outs who regularly appeared before Bow Street magistrates court convinced him a top-down, paternalist approach to tackling homelessness was doomed to fail. Instead, he believed there was a need for charities to meet homeless people on their level and earn their trust, a revolutionary approach at the time but one now widely employed. Continue reading...

Poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns of debt timebomb' as interest rate rises hit low-income householdsMillions of families are borrowing to cover basic bills and expenses, according to analysis that warns Britain is entering a dangerous new phase of the cost of living crisis.Interest rates are expected to rise again this week and there are warnings about a timebomb of debt" among poorer households. Reports suggest companies are targeting struggling single parents, using social media ads, to offer inappropriate debt repayment schemes that will leave them worse off. Continue reading...

Experts and patients concerned over off-label prescribing of drug famous as celebrity slimming jabPatients, charities and health officials have called for prescribers to stop issuing a diabetes drug for weight loss amid a national shortage for those most in need.Ozempic, which contains the active ingredient semaglutide, is licensed for managing blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. However it has quickly become famous as a celebrity slimming jab, with online pharmacies prescribing it off-label" for those seeking to lose weight. Continue reading...

The city's livable neighbourhood' initiative is threatened by the shock Uxbridge byelection result blamed on the ultra low emission zoneOn Bristol's Church Road, in the east of the city, cars, buses and lorries rumble past African-Caribbean hairstylists, eastern European bakeries, and cafes and restaurants selling a selection of Middle Eastern, Somali and Jamaican cuisine. Women talk on phones tucked into their hijabs, while a halal butcher takes a delivery of freshly cut beef.Behind the high street bustle, however, tensions are growing about a delayed trial for a livable neighbourhood" - a low-traffic initiative intended to provide an opportunity to work with local communities to co-design residential streets that are better balanced for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists", according to Bristol councillor Don Alexander, who is responsible for transport in the city. Continue reading...

Yes campaigners will target Liberal, National and teal voters ahead of the referendum

Pilot flown to hospital with serious injuries following incident on the Yorke Peninsula

Families grant permission to name the four service members who went missing during military exercises off the coast of Whitsundays on Friday - this blog is now closedAsked about the surplus the government now finds itself overseeing, Rishworth is asked whether there will be any further assistance in the next budget.Of course, the changes we're making - whether it's to rent assistance, jobseeker - are structural changes. They're ongoing increases that will be applied. So when you talk about the surplus from last year, that's a very different circumstance to the reforms that we've made which are ongoing and structural. We have calibrated these to be responsible to help people that are doing it tough. But also, that they're sustainable into the long-term.The economic inclusion committee was providing a very specific advice on the level of jobseeker to inform the budget process. Of course, the budget process has to take in a range of different factors, including a responsible structural adjustment. But also, of course, as the treasurer has said, making sure that we're not adding to inflation. So there is a lot of issues that we do have to weigh up in a budget process. Continue reading...

All aspects of artificial intelligence will get the comic treatment at this summer's festivalA comedy show is probably not the first place to hear about a burning new issue, but standup routines have a habit of swiftly reflecting the worries of our times. This summer's Edinburgh festival fringe lineup of acts has taken up the threat of artificial intelligence and run with it.A string of performers at the month-long festival, which begins on 4 August, will either use the technology to generate a show or play with the fears prompted by the rapid surge in its use. Continue reading...

The ex-Ukip leader has been hailed as a consumer champion after vowing to create a guide on how to flood banks with data requestsNigel Farage has vowed to help thousands of people flood big banks with demands for details about why they were denied an account, as allies said his treatment by Coutts and NatWest had turned him into Britain's newest consumer champion".The former Ukip leader is to spearhead a website assisting anyone who wants to find out why they have been denied a bank account. Farage used a subject access request to discover that, despite initial denials by Coutts, his political views had played a part in the closure of his account. Continue reading...

Magenta Marshall claims victory in former Western Australian leader's seat but opposition leader says plunge in ALP's primary vote should be a wake-up call'

One of the main factors contributing to the unusually high temperatures is the warm ocean conditions, a BoM meteorologist says

Taipan helicopter was taking part in joint military training Talisman Sabre when it crashed in waters off Queensland's Whitsunday Islands on Friday night

Heads of state will meet in Nigeria on Sunday where they will decide on further actions to pressure army leaders to restore constitutional orderMilitary leaders in Niger have warned against any armed intervention in the country, as west African leaders were set to meet on Sunday for an emergency summit to decide on further actions to pressure the army to restore constitutional order after a coup last week.The heads of state of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union are set to meet in Nigeria, where they could suspend Niger from their institutions, cut off the country from the regional central bank and financial market, or close borders. Continue reading...

About 60% of bouquinistes along the Seine River will be moved on during the Games next year for security reasonsBooksellers in Paris have hit out at plans to hide" them during the 2024 Olympics, after they were told by local authorities to remove their stalls for the opening ceremony for security reasons.The bouquinistes along the River Seine make up the largest open-air book market in Europe and represent a 400-year-old tradition. Continue reading...

At least 100 mercenaries are in Belarus close to the Polish border, as fears grow they intend to bring crisis to neighbouring countries

Students to wait until 2024 to see course fee changes as government begins exploring fairer alternatives to the jobs-ready graduates scheme

Police have arrested two 19-year-olds after Matthew Daulby, also 19, died in hospital after attack in Ormskirk town centreA compassionate, loving and funny" teenager who died after a double stabbing in Lancashire has been named by police.Matthew Daulby, 19, from Liverpool, was stabbed in the market town of Ormskirk during an altercation shortly after midnight on Saturday and died in hospital, Lancashire constabulary said. Continue reading...

Watchdog warns that admin errors, unexplained cancellations and delayed scan reports all contribute to longer waits for patientsPatients with suspected cancer are waiting months for diagnosis because of hidden waiting lists or falling into a black hole" after referral, England's patient champion warns this weekend.Admin errors, unexplained cancellations and delayed scan reports are among factors contributing to longer waits, according to Healthwatch England, a committee of the Care Quality Commission. Continue reading...

Chris Lewis began his walk while facing homelessness in 2017 and acquired a fiancee, baby son and dog en routeA former British paratrooper, who set out alone on a 19,000-mile UK coastline walk has completed the challenge, raising 500,000 for charity and returning home with a partner, dog and baby son in tow.Chris Lewis, 43, was joined by hundreds of cheering supporters as he completed the final mile of his walk, which began on Llangennith beach on the Gower peninsula, near his home city of Swansea, south Wales, on 1 August 2017. Continue reading...

Police appeal for witnesses to incident in Hoylandswaine involving ambulance responding to emergency callA man in his 30s has died after a collision between a scooter and an ambulance responding to an emergency call.The driver was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries. South Yorkshire police said the ambulance driver was helping police with their inquiries. Continue reading...

Poland has been concerned about the spillover of war on to its territory ever since Russia invaded Ukraine. This blog is now closed

Covert government strategy to install electronic surveillance in shops raises issues around bias and data, and contrasts sharply with the EU ban to keep AI out of public spacesHome Office officials have drawn up secret plans to lobby the independent privacy regulator in an attempt to push the rollout of controversial facial recognition technology into high street shops and supermarkets, internal government minutes seen by the Observer reveal.The covert strategy was agreed during a closed-door meeting on 8 March between policing minister Chris Philp, senior Home Office officials and the private firm Facewatch, whose facial recognition cameras have provoked fierce opposition after being installed in shops. Continue reading...

Thousands of people may have perished on Alderney during the second world war but their murderers never stood trialThe official inquiry into Nazi atrocities committed on Alderney in the Channel Islands is under pressure to investigate why those responsible for committing war crimes on British soil were never brought to trial in the UK.Prof Anthony Glees, the security and intelligence expert who advised Margaret Thatcher's war crimes inquiry, told the Observer: This is a vital opportunity to establish all the facts, and it must examine why those who perpetrated such heinous war crimes were never brought to trial in this country. The review into the atrocities on Alderney is to be warmly welcomed, but I believe it should not just focus on the numbers killed, as important as that is." Continue reading...

Nicolas Petro held as part of investigation into funds he allegedly collected from drug traffickers during 2022 election campaignThe son of the Colombian president has been arrested as part of a high-profile money-laundering investigation into funds he allegedly collected from convicted drug traffickers during last year's presidential campaign.The president, Gustavo Petro, a former rebel who rose through Colombia's political ranks as an anti-corruption crusader, said he would not interfere with the investigation. Continue reading...

Article calling him cheating husband who broke the lockdown rules he wrote' was compliant with press codeThe press watchdog has ruled it was not inaccurate to refer to Matt Hancock as a failed health secretary and cheating husband who broke the lockdown rules he wrote".The Daily Mirror piece from November 2022 was among four articles the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) has said did not breach the accuracy clause of the editors' code of practice, after it investigated a complaint made by Hancock. Continue reading...

City continues relationship with Ukrainian capital forged when it hosted Eurovision song contestThousands took to the streets of Liverpool on Saturday as the city hosted KyivPride on behalf of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and an organiser praised the amazing friendship" between the cities.The joint march continues a relationship built when Liverpool hosted the Eurovision song contest on behalf of the war-torn country earlier this year. Continue reading...

More than 100 injured and hundreds of homes reportedly damaged near border with MalaysiaAn explosion ripped through a firework warehouse in Thailand on Saturday, killing nine people and injuring more than 100, a senior official said.The blast in the town of Sungai Kolok, in the southern province of Narathiwat, is thought to have been caused by welding during construction work on the building. Continue reading...

Study of self-reporting data estimates 789, 695 people have symptomatic Covid, up from 606,602Sales of Covid tests have increased by a third this month, while official estimates of the number of people with the virus have also risen slightly.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said its surveillance showed a slight increase in cases and hospital admissions, including those in intensive care, as of 20 July. Its records show 3.7% of 4,403 respiratory specimens were identified as Covid-19 compared with 3.6% of 4,535 two weeks prior. Continue reading...

Port says waiting time down to 45 minutes after ferry passengers faced two-and-a-half hour delays on Saturday morningTravellers at the Port of Dover faced waits of up to two and a half hours on Saturday, according to officials.A nine-lane-wide queue stretched alongside the white cliffs throughout Saturday morning on the approach to the border where French guards were checking passports. Continue reading...

Abandoned vehicles found and arrested 14-year-old is released on bail after death of child on ThursdayPolice investigating the death of a seven-year-old girl in a hit-and-run in Walsall say they have found two abandoned motorbikes, while a 14-year-old boy arrested over the incident has been released on bail.The discovery came after Katniss Seleznev's mother, Tsvetelina Selezneva, spoke of her devastation at her daughter's death, saying her soul is aching" after losing her star". Continue reading...

Conflict over Netanyahu's plans to overhaul judiciary is leading to new levels of civil disobedience - and potential security risksOver his many years of service, Zur Allon, 46, a reservist lieutenant colonel in Israel's artillery special forces, never imagined a day when he would refuse to report for duty.Half of my company was blown up in Lebanon. I have given many years of my life defending this country," said Allon, one of the leaders of Brothers and Sisters in Arms, a pressure group of more than 60,000 Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservists, established earlier this year in protest against the government's proposed overhaul of the judiciary. Continue reading...

Officers use rubber bullets and teargas to disperse demonstrators blockading main roads into DhakaBangladesh police have fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse stone-throwing crowds blockading main roads in the capital, Dhaka, in a protest demanding the prime minister's resignation.The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) and its allies have staged a series of protests since last year demanding that Sheikh Hasina step down and allow a caretaker government to oversee the elections that are scheduled for January next year. Continue reading...

Andrew Griffith backs Sir Howard Davies staying in post after resignations of chief executive and head of private banking armThe City minister has said it would not be helpful" for the NatWest chairman to quit as a result of the crisis over Nigel Farage's Coutts bank account.Andrew Griffith said Sir Howard Davies' resignation would not alleviate the situation, with NatWest having already lost its chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, and Peter Flavel, the head of Coutts, its private banking arm. Continue reading...

Group safely evacuated after being suspended at near 90-degree angle for about 40 minutes in SouthendA 30-metre high rollercoaster broke down leaving passengers left hanging in the air for up to 40 minutes.Videos on social media showed people on the Rage ride at Adventure Island in Southend, Essex, stuck at a near 90-degree angle facing the sky on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

St Fimbarrus church in Fowey, formerly home to Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French, says previous stance was misguided'A Cornish church that banned women from applying to be its new vicar - despite once counting Dawn French, star of the TV comedy The Vicar of Dibley, among its flock - has reversed the decision under new management.A newly elected governing council at St Fimbarrus church in the picturesque port of Fowey in Cornwall has told parishioners that a new season" has begun. Continue reading...

Four people were on board the Australian army helicopter when it went down at about 10.30pm on Friday in Whitsundays

Four feared dead after Australian army helicopter crashes into waters off Hamilton Island. This blog is now closed

Ministers' meeting focused on military cooperation and agreed to increase tempo' of US nuclear-powered submarine visits to Australia as part of Aukus pact

Focus group for the Guardian made up of Chipping Barnet and Don Valley residents backs net zero policiesFor all the fanfare about UK political parties facing pressure to re-examine their climate policies given the cost of living crisis, voters in two areas near clean air zones support measures to ensure net zero targets are met.Wrangling in the aftermath of last Thursday's byelection, when Labour narrowly lost out on winning Uxbridge and South Ruislip, has pushed briefings by some MPs into overdrive about what policies should be reconsidered. Continue reading...

Figures obtained by Lib Dems reveal need for eightfold increase to reach greenhouse gas emissions goal by 2050Plans to electrify the UK's railways are running so far short of what is needed that it would take 240 years at current rates to reach the net zero goal, data has shown.Over the next three years, to the end of 2025, the UK is set to electrify 162.5km (101 miles) of railway track, which is only about 12% of what is estimated to be needed over that period to be in line with the goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Continue reading...

Creator of new BBC show The Power of Parker says young audiences are drawn to the idea of a simpler time'The desire for a simpler time when life seemed easier has created enthusiasm for television shows set in the 1980s and 1990s, according to the creator of new BBC One period comedy The Power of Parker.Set in 1990, the series charts Margaret Thatcher's slipping grip on power in parallel with one of her supporters - an adulterous, self-made" rightwing businessman called Martin Parker, played by Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill - who runs a chain of electrical stores in Stockport. Continue reading...

Greater awareness urgently needed to save lives, BSA chair says after Downing Street meetingThe chair of the UK's Black Swimming Association (BSA) has said greater awareness of water safety is urgently needed in minority communities to save lives.After recent data showed that children in England from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities were 3.5 times more likely to drown than their white counterparts, the BSA organised a roundtable discussion on the issue at 10 Downing Street with concerned groups this week. Continue reading...

Many cash purchases were made in regional areas of NSW, Victoria and Queensland as buyers downsized to less expensive housing

Which? magazine survey divides UK population up into categories based upon how people are copingAre you drained and desperate" or affluent and apathetic"? The UK population is now deeply divided into six new distinct groups based on how people are coping with the cost of living crisis, according to researchers.The groupings have been assembled based on a survey of 4,000 adults by Which? magazine. It found that one cohort of almost 8 million people have been left balancing on a financial knife-edge" having been protected so far from the worst of the squeeze on household finances but are now on the brink of serious hardship. Continue reading...