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Odesa hit by three waves of missile strikes; Russia's rouble falls to lowest point in almost 17 monthsRussia launched three waves of drones and missiles against the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa, officials said on Monday, though the Ukrainian air force said it intercepted all the airborne weapons. Falling debris from the interceptions of 15 Shahed drones and eight Kalibr missiles damaged a residential building, a supermarket and a dormitory of an educational facility in the city, Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said. Two employees of the supermarket were hospitalised, Kiper said. Video showed a huge blaze at the store during the night and, the next day, the large building's charred and mangled wreckage.Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, visited troops at brigade headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian frontline region of Donetsk on Monday, his website said. Zelenskiy reportedly visited brigades involved in attacks on the section of the frontline facing Soledar, the Russian-held town north of Bakhmut.US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Monday, a state department spokesperson said, her third such visit since his detention in March on espionage charges that he denies.

The Scissor Sisters singer will play the Emcee while Self Esteem will make her theatrical debut as Sally Bowles in Rebecca Frecknall's Olivier-winning musicalThe musicians Jake Shears and Self Esteem are to join the cast of the West End hit Cabaret. Shears, best known as the lead singer of Scissor Sisters, will play the Emcee in the musical while Self Esteem (AKA Rebecca Lucy Taylor) will make her theatrical debut as Sally Bowles.Director Rebecca Frecknall's intimate revival, which opened in 2021 and won seven Olivier awards, originally starred Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee and Jessie Buckley as Sally. Shears and Taylor will take over their roles from Mason Alexander Park and Maude Apatow respectively. Their first performances will take place on 25 September at the Playhouse theatre, transformed by designer Tom Scutt into the debauched Kit Kat Club of Weimar Berlin. Continue reading...

Thinktank warns that government's promises of levelling up are being undermined by system that is not fit for purpose'The government's levelling up plans for England are being hampered by a funding system that is not fit for purpose" and deprives the poorest areas of the financial support to match their needs, a leading thinktank has said.The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the method for allocating money to pay for public services is out of date, based on inadequate data and skewed in favour of the better-off south-east. Continue reading...

Prescriptions for new drugs soon to be available as health service unable to offer enough face-to-face servicesWeight-loss jabs are among a range of measures that will soon be made available by the NHS via prescription on apps in an attempt to tackle obesity, as demand for traditional face-to-face services surges.The four programmes - Liva, Oviva, Roczen and Second Nature - can be downloaded via an app or computer, allowing specialists to provide care online. They have been recommended for use by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in new draft guidance and will bring together various specialists, including those providing psychological support. Continue reading...

Proposals to streamline' treatment, which government says are clinically led, would cut number of targets from nine to threeKeir Starmer has accused the government of moving the goalposts" as the number of NHS cancer waiting time targets is expected to be reduced.The government has been consulting on the proposed measures to streamline NHS cancer care, which would replace the nine existing cancer targets with just three. The target of all patients seeing a specialist within two weeks of an urgent referral for cancer tests by the GP is expected to be scrapped. Continue reading...

Tribunal member Sandra Gamble says embedded network customers need protections from unreasonably high prices'

Suspects may have fled the country after girl, named locally as Sara Sharif, died last weekThree people sought by detectives over the murder of a 10-year-old girl in Woking were known to the victim and may have fled the country, police have said.The child, who has been named as Sara Sharif in reports, was found dead at a house in Horsell, a village to the north-west of the town last Thursday. Surrey police believe the trio left the country the previous day. Continue reading...

Opposition leader says holiday could cost economy $2bn and instead promises $250m in community sports grants if elected

University and College Union is preparing a new ballot that could lead to marking boycott continuing and strikes lasting into 2024Universities across the UK will face another round of strikes next month unless employers agree to return to the negotiating table, the University and College Union has warned.A marking boycott that has left tens of thousands of students without their degree result this summer will continue, the union said, while preparations will get under way for a new strike ballot to renew the union's mandate. Continue reading...

The discovery of legionella onboard the barge has hampered ministers' attempts to use it as a deterrent for small boat crossings, but questions remain about the scheme's futureThe Home Office's decision to use the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate asylum seekers generated controversy long before the first person set foot onboard.But issues with its use came to a head on Friday when the government confirmed the asylum seekers were being evacuated just days after moving in because of legionella, a potentially deadly bacteria, being found in its water system. While officials have provided a plan to use an RAF base instead, many questions remain. Continue reading...

Response to federal prosecutors' move to render plea deal moot comes days after appointment of David Weiss to special counselLawyers for Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden who has been under a years-long federal investigation over failing to pay taxes and, separately, illegally possessing a gun, said that part of the plea deal which unexpectedly fell apart in July remains valid and binding", in a Sunday court filing.Federal prosecutors, led by US attorney David Weiss, had on Friday asked the court to cancel its request that the two sides reach a renewed agreement on the deal since there is no longer a plea agreement or diversion agreement for the Court to consider". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Martin Forde KC says fellow professionals are bewildered' at silence over case of Jacqueline McKenzieKeir Starmer is facing calls to defend the legal profession against government attacks on lefty lawyers", amid further concerns for the safety of an immigration solicitor subjected to a targeted campaign" by the Conservative party.Martin Forde KC, the senior lawyer commissioned by Starmer to investigate the Labour party's culture, said legal professionals from across the political spectrum had expressed their bewilderment that the Labour leader had not said anything after such personal attacks, even after former Conservative law officers criticised the political rhetoric aimed at lefty lawyers" on Friday. Continue reading...

Georgia court appears to publish then take down key document, while ex-president lashes out against perceived persecutorsThe indictment of Donald Trump over his attempted election subversion in Georgia loomed closer on Monday amid an apparent false alarm about charges being filed and a series of angry statements from the former president punctuating a day of prosecution presentations in court.At about midday, a two-page docket report posted to the Fulton county court website indicated charges against Trump including racketeering, conspiracy and false statements. The appearance of the report set off a flurry of news media activity, but then the document vanished. Continue reading...

Force's chief constable believes thousands of officers' personal details are in paramilitary handsRepublican paramilitaries have obtained the information that leaked in a Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach, according to the force's chief constable.Simon Byrne said on Monday that he believed dissident republicans had the dataset that mistakenly disclosed the personal details of more than 10,000 officers and staff last week. Continue reading...

Britain risks losing out to the US, Canada and Australia if it favours home over international studentsBritain should warmly welcome international students joining universities across the country or risk losing out to the US, Canada and Australia, the higher education admissions chief has said.The intervention came amid concerns that domestic students hoping to begin undergraduate courses this autumn could lose out to international applicants. Some courses in clearing in the run-up to A-level results day this week are available only to overseas students. Continue reading...

Overnight attack on southern port city wounded three, according to local governor; currency falls to weakest point in almost 17 months

Workers in their 40s, 50s and 60s and those without college degrees appear least likely to move into green jobs, research findsThe rate of transition from dirty" to green jobs is rapidly rising but older and blue collar workers in some states are being left behind, new research has found.Overall the transition rate from dirty to clean industries increased tenfold between 2005 and 2021 with a significant uptick in EV-related roles - even before the $369bn Inflation Reduction Act boost for renewables and electric cars. Continue reading...

Government urged to grant current cohort of Afghans on Chevening scholarship programme indefinite leave to remainAfghan scholars studying in the UK under a Foreign Office scheme say they live in fear of being forced back into Taliban clutches.The current cohort of Afghan Chevening scholars say they are stuck in limbo and face the possibility of having to return to Afghanistan after their graduation in September or once their visas expire. Continue reading...

Downing Street says it hopes to return people to the boat as soon as possible' but declines to give timeframe

Javier Milei, a former tantric sex coach and an admirer of Donald Trump, thinks climate crisis is a socialist lie'A former tantric sex coach who plans to do away with Argentina's public health and education systems, disband the central bank, dollarise the economy and allow people to sell their organs has moved a step closer to becoming the next president of Argentina after a landslide win in open primaries.In a surprise result that has upended Argentina's political universe, libertarian candidate Javier Milei took 30% of Sunday's vote with his Liberty Advances party, outpacing the hard-right candidate Patricia Bullrich of United for Change who came second with 28%. Continue reading...

Middle section of Randklev Bridge on Oslo to Trondheim line slid into Lagen River on Monday morningA critical railway bridge in Norway has collapsed into a river after a storm caused widespread damage to infrastructure.The middle part of the Randklev Bridge in Ringebu, which is crossed by the Dovre line connecting Oslo and Trondheim, slid into the Lagen River on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Those who sold buy-to-let this year made 10,500 less than those who did so in 2022, separate data showsA growing number of landlords have sold up as rates on mortgages surge, according to data that showed tenants facing sharply rising rents amid a squeezed housing market.Estimates by the estate agent Savills showed that 25,000 homes in UK were sold by landlords between April and May, compared with 22,000 in the previous two months. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says movement on renters' rights is needed but has rejected the Greens' calls for a rent cap

Producer and record executive was, according to Quincy Jones, the silent architect of so many deals it would make your head spin'Clarence Avant, a longtime Hollywood insider whose work as a record executive, promoter, mentor and dealmaker earned him the moniker the Godfather of Black music", has died at 92.Avant, the subject of a 2019 Netflix documentary The Black Godfather, died on Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement by his family to the Hollywood Reporter. Continue reading...

Incident on Annalena Baerbock's aircraft is latest to be criticised for damaging Germany's reputation for technical prowessA government plane carrying Germany's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, and a delegation of officials has been forced to return to a layover airport due to technical problems, in the latest of a string of mishaps to beset the government aircraft.The plane, which was taking Baerbock to Australia, had made a refuelling stopover in Abu Dhabi. But just minutes after taking off, it was forced to turn back after the pilot detected a problemwith a landing flap that failed to open towards the tail end of the plane. Continue reading...

Number of black and minority ethnic workers in low-paid and insecure jobs doubled in past decade, figures revealsThe number of black and minority ethnic (BME) workers in insecure work has more than doubled, from 360,200 to 836,340, between 2011 to 2022, data reveals.The research, published by the Trades Union Congress on Monday, showed the proportion of BME workers in low-paid and insecure work increased from 12.2% to 17.8% in the last decade. In comparison, the proportion of white workers in insecure work only rose marginally from 10.5% to 10.8%. Continue reading...

Young people sometimes lack sense of history' to read texts with dated language, argues bestselling authorJacqueline Wilson has said editing children's books to remove inappropriate and dated language is sometimes justified because young people do not have a sense of history".However, the bestselling children's author told ITV's Good Morning Britain that she was opposed to meddling with adult classics". Continue reading...

Rumours that musician was not present for album photoshoot are proved false, say UK auctioneersA vivid image of the Beatles and a memo from their record company's PR manager busting a myth that Paul McCartney was not present at the photoshoot for one of the most famous album covers of all time are coming up for auction this week.The photo shows McCartney with the other three Beatles posing together in 1967 for the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band shoot, which produced the famous cover featuring the band in front of lifesize cut-outs of actors, writers and other figures. Continue reading...

Pair were treated in hospital and discharged after attack in Clapham high street on Sunday nightTwo men were taken to hospital after being stabbed in a homophobic attack outside a south London nightclub.The pair, one in their 20s and the other in their 30s, were on Clapham High Street at about 10.15pm on Sunday when they were targeted. They were treated in hospital and discharged. Continue reading...

Search and rescue operation launched after small vessel failed to arrive at Pinang resort in the Banyak Islands off AcehFour Australian tourists are missing after their boat encountered a storm on its way to a group of remote islands off the west coast of Indonesia.A search and rescue operation was launched on Monday after the small boat failed to arrive at its resort island destination known for its surf and beaches on Sunday. Continue reading...

Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and four others had their convictions for organising an unauthorised assembly overturnedSeven of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy advocates have had part of their convictions quashed by Hong Kong's court of appeal, over their roles in one of the biggest pro-democracy protests in 2019.Jimmy Lai, founder of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper; Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the city's Democratic party; and five former pro-democracy lawmakers, including barrister Margaret Ng, had been found guilty of organising and participating an unauthorised assembly. Continue reading...

Variant is anticipated evolution but exact scope of virus is difficult to discern because of limited surveillance, experts sayA new Covid-19 variant has become the dominant lineage of the virus in recent weeks in the US and while it should not be a cause of undue concern for the public, its emergence is a reminder of the need for greater surveillance of the virus and of the importance of vaccine boosters, according to infectious disease experts.EG.5.1, an Omicron subvariant also known as Eris, is the leading version of the virus and makes up about 17% of Covid cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its rise coincides with a recent uptick in the number of hospitalizations due to Covid. Continue reading...

Clockwork Crew, formerly known as Crew 562, was founded in 2021 and has roughly a dozen members, researchers sayA neo-Nazi active club' counts several current and former members of the United States military as its members, the Guardian has learned, including a lance corporal machine gunner currently in detention on insubordination charges and a former US Marine Corps staff sergeant who was booted from the service for stealing large quantities of ammunition.Lance corporal machine gunner Mohammed Wadaa and former Marine Corps staff sergeant Gunnar Naughton are part of the Clockwork Crew, California's first active club,' according to the group's own internal research records and social media posts, as well as law enforcement sources. Continue reading...

Mohamed Bazoum - ousted by military last month - could face death penalty if found guiltyNiger's mutinous soldiers have said they will prosecute the country's deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, for high treason" and undermining state security.If found guilty, Bazoum could face the death penalty, according to Niger's penal code. Continue reading...

PM says at next meeting with leader of China he will make point that removing tariffs is in best interests of everyone'

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AFP on scene after Malaysia Airlines MH122 flight to Kuala Lumpur is forced to return to Sydney on Monday afternoon

Health secretary says he does not know if Dorset council informed Home Office officials about presence on barge earlierMinisters were not told about the presence of the potentially deadly legionella bacteria on the Bibby Stockholm barge until Thursday night, the health secretary has said, three days after health protection officials informed the county council.Steve Barclay said he could not say whether Dorset council had informed Home Office officials earlier about the test results on the vessel, which is being used to house asylum seekers, but that ministers first knew late on Thursday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: pioneering DJ Linett Kamala sets up mentoring programme to bring more women into soundsystem sceneA Notting Hill carnival pioneer has launched a campaign to bring more women into the festival's soundsystem scene with a new grassroots mentoring programme.Linett Kamala, who at 14 became one of the first female DJs at carnival, has partnered with Guinness to support up-and-coming soundsystem operators, DJs and producers hoping to break into the scene. Continue reading...

Presenter, who has three young children, says pressures of juggling home and work life are real'Presenter Helen Skelton has broadcast her final show for BBC Radio 5 Live for now" to spend more time with her children.The TV and radio presenter, 40, has hosted the Sunday morning programme for the past year after taking over the slot from former Love Island host Laura Whitmore. Continue reading...

Billionaire Gina Rinehart committed fraud with iron ore mining tenements now worth billions of dollars, a lawyer for her two eldest children claimed in court

The new owner of St Mary the Virgin, near Gretna, must tend to the adjoining graveyard, overseeing new burials and 400 graves

Conservations hope to tempt the subspecies from Kangaroo Island by planting drooping sheoaks and eucalypts

Head of industry standards body says more people are turning to renewable technology as energy costs growBritish households are making more green energy upgrades than ever before after installing a record number of solar panels and heat pumps in the first half of the year, according to the industry's official standards body.The industry figures show there were more green energy installations in June alone than in any six-month period in previous years. Continue reading...

National Highways forced to remove concrete after it buried bridge in Cumbria without permissionThe government's roads agency has begun undoing what was described as an act of cultural vandalism" by removing hundreds of tonnes of concrete it used to bury a Victorian railway bridge more than two years ago.National Highways (NH) was ordered last year to reverse the infilling of Great Musgrave Bridge in Cumbria by Eden district council after receiving 911 planning objections to the scheme. The council refused retrospective planning permission despite being offered a 450,000 sweetener by NH to allow the scheme to stay. Continue reading...

Two years on, people who worked in the country's now-defunct legal system remain in grave danger from reprisals for their work

Hanson cites party's electoral performance in letter to members disbanding the party state's executive

Home minister promises widespread reforms but some experts suggest the new laws are more a repackaging of existing measures than real changeMore than 160 years after Lord Macaulay laid down a penal code for what was then a colony of the British crown, India is poised to supplant it with new laws free of colonial vestiges and designed to speed up the judicial process.The government has introduced three bills in parliament that it says will provide a special focus on crimes against women and address the intolerable delays in the system which can leave people waiting 15-30 years for a verdict. Continue reading...

Dominant Western Australian media organisation reported on previous Woodside and Extinction Rebellion protests, but now says the ABC got it very wrong'

William Lai issues global appeal during US stopover after China denounces him as a troublemaker'Taiwan's vice-president has urged the world to stand up against the increased threat from authoritarianism" and reiterated a willingness to talk to China, in a speech made in New York during a brief US stopover condemned by Beijing.William Lai, a frontrunner to be Taiwan's next president at elections in January, said in New York on Sunday: If Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, if the Taiwan Strait is peaceful, then the world is peaceful," according to a read out from Taiwan's presidential office. Continue reading...