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Minister blames France for recent problems and suggests Britons might go to Portugal insteadJacob Rees-Mogg has admitted he was wrong to say there would be no delays at the port of Dover caused by the UK leaving the EU.But the Brexit opportunities minister maintained the government line that the French, not Brexit, had caused the recent delays, in a radio interview on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Analysis: the terrorist leader had been ill and key tasks are likely to have been handled by others for several yearsAyman al-Zawahiri was a low-key but effective leader of al-Qaida whose death will cause the terrorist organisation some short-term turbulence but is unlikely to cause any major long-term problems.A decade ago, killing Zawahiri would have made a major difference. Now, though the nature of his death demonstrates the US’s continuing ability to strike individual enemies even in hostile environments and raises questions about the Taliban’s relationship with extremist groups, it is unlikely to weaken al-Qaida significantly. Continue reading...

Government’s £400 discount not enough to offset soaring bills and households may need more help, says analystEnergy bills in Great Britain could reach more than £3,600 a year this winter, experts have warned, with soaring wholesale prices expected to continue to push up household costs until at least 2024.The research firm Cornwall Insight predicts the energy price cap is on track to rise to £3,615 a year from January, an increase on its previous estimate of £3,363 made last month. Continue reading...

Labour says government is ‘totally wrong’ to give tax breaks to oil companies amid cost of living crisisBP will hand billions of pounds to shareholders after tripling its profits to nearly £7bn in the second quarter of the year amid high oil prices during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even as families struggle in a cost of living crisis.The FTSE 100 oil company on Tuesday said its preferred measure of profit, which it describes as its underlying replacement cost profit, rose to $8.5bn (£6.9bn) between April and June. That is up from $6.2bn in the first three months of the year, and three times BP’s underlying profits of $2.8bn in the second quarter of 2021. Continue reading...

Matthew Guy’s chief of staff, Mitch Catlin, resigns over proposal for party donor to pay his company $8,333 a month

Decision is fourth monthly rise in a row, as Australia’s inflation rate soars beyond target range of 2% to 3%

Federal court rules Palmer pay WA premier $20,000, while United Australia party chair is awarded $5,000 after both found liable for defamation

Record number of NI performers at this year’s festival, with C4 comedy hailed for raising awareness of nation’s comic giftsThe biggest ever cohort of playwrights, comedians and artists from Northern Ireland are bringing their work to the Edinburgh fringe this year, with performers crediting the success of Derry Girls for putting the country’s writing and comic talent on the map.There will be 17 shows from Northern Ireland at the fringe this year, which the festival’s chief executive, Shona McCarthy, said was the biggest ever showing for the nation.

Exclusive: secret deportations campaign, which separated families, was racially inflected, report saysChinese seafarers with British wives and children were “coerced” into boats leaving Liverpool after the second world war in a “racially inflected” secret government programme, the Home Office has admitted.After responding to calls to serve in the British merchant navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, about 2,000 Chinese seamen remained in Liverpool at the end of the war. They were subject to a secret Home Office campaign in 1945-46 to round up and ship them back east in the cargo holds of British ships. Continue reading...

Labor supported $1.5bn-a-year program implemented by Coalition but employment minister says some aspects require ‘scrutiny and oversight’

Nine, ABC, Seven and Stan among top 10 most downloaded entertainment apps as Netflix slips to fourth spot after Disney+, Amazon and TikTok

Unesco says it has not been consulted on project and local experts are alarmed at Taliban plansThe Taliban have launched construction work on a tourism complex just metres from the cliff that held the Bamiyan Buddha statues, which archeologists and experts warn could cause permanent damage to the sensitive world heritage site.The project aims to “rebuild” a historic bazaar, which was destroyed in the civil war of the 1990s. Under the Taliban blueprint, the area will become a tourism centre with restaurants, guesthouses, parking, public toilets and handicraft and grocery shops. Continue reading...

Domestic and European flights withdrawn from sale until next Monday as airlines deal with airport’s passenger capBritish Airways has reportedly suspended selling short-haul tickets from Heathrow for at least a week.Tens of thousands of flights have already been cancelled this summer as the industry struggles to cope with the demand for air travel amid staffing shortages. Continue reading...

Tax office has raised excise by 4%, leaving Australians with the world’s fourth-highest beer tax behind Norway, Japan and Finland

House speaker tells all parties not to use the app on parliamentary devices over data security fearsNew Zealand MPs have been warned off using TikTok, with concerns data could be accessed by the Chinese government.Last week, House speaker Trevor Mallard sent out a warning to all parties that MPs should not use the app on their parliamentary phones and devices. Continue reading...

Five men and a woman guilty of public order offences after Nicholas Watt was accosted in central London last yearFive men and a woman who verbally abused a BBC journalist at a protest have been convicted of a public order offence, according to police.A court previously heard how members of the group intimidated Newsnight’s political editor Nicholas Watt during the politically charged incident in Whitehall on 14 June 2021. Continue reading...

Institute for Fiscal Studies says spend per pupil set to be lower in 2025 than in 2010, with budgets already under strain from rises in food, energy and wage billsSchools in England are facing a looming funding crisis, with spending per pupil in 2024-25 expected to be 3% lower than in 2010, according to research.After a decade of austerity cuts, ministers pledged to restore per pupil funding to 2010 levels by the end of the current parliament, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the government is no longer on track to meet its objective because of the cost pressures on schools. Continue reading...

Committee calls for licensing regime and warns non-surgical cosmetic procedures like anti-ageing fillers can be riskyVulnerable people worried about their appearance are being exploited by unregulated clinics offering potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures, MPs have warned.A rise in body image dissatisfaction, driven by social media and unscrupulous advertising, has fuelled the growth of an industry that promises to change how people look using lasers, injections of anti-ageing fillers, chemical peels and other non-surgical procedures. Continue reading...

Turkish actor and Italian business owner, both 27, share £50,000 prize after poll among viewersEkin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti have been crowned the winners of Love Island 2022, winning the £50,000 prize money after a public vote.Cülcüloğlu, a Turkish actor from Essex, 27, and Italian business owner, Sanclimenti, also 27, arrived in the Love Island villa early on in the series as bombshell contestants and won over viewers with their fiery but passionate relationship. Continue reading...

Friends of the Joiners Arms intend to create the UK’s first community-run LGBTQ+ venue to replace pub on Hackney RoadA fundraiser to replace a famed east London gay bar that was shut down by developers has hit its target of £100,000 and secured its future with more than 24 hours to go before its deadline.The Friends of the Joiners Arms (Fotja) campaign group confirmed that it had pulled off the feat – raising more than £30,000 since the weekend for what would be the UK’s first community-run LGBTQ+ venue. Continue reading...

Analysis: civil servants are frustrated with real-terms pay cuts, job losses, and political briefings against themWhile ministers have tried to distance themselves from blame over the wave of strikes bringing some public services to a standstill this summer, they may be forced to show more deference to another group threatening industrial action.Civil servants, whose morale is plumbing new depths due to real-terms pay cuts, 91,000 jobs being axed, and briefings against them by their political masters, have grown increasingly frustrated at how they are treated. Continue reading...

Unions and experts attack Tory leadership candidate’s proposals for civil service savingsLiz Truss has been accused of making “ludicrous” claims as she vowed to cut civil service salaries and reduce expenditure to recoup £11bn a year in a “war on Whitehall waste” if she becomes prime minister.But the Conservative leadership hopeful’s campaign, which received another boost with the backing of Penny Mordaunt on Monday, was forced to redo some of its sums within hours of releasing a series of proposals to reduce the cost of the civil service. Continue reading...

Eliminated leadership candidate endorses foreign secretary as final two answer questions from membersMore from the work and pensions secretary, Thérèse Coffey, who said Liz Truss’s campaign had nothing to do with an image circulating on social media showing her rival, Rishi Sunak, stabbing Boris Johnson in the back.Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Coffey, who is Truss’s campaign manager, said Nadine Dorries “chose” to retweet the doctored image depicting Boris Johnson as Julius Caesar about to be stabbed by a knife-wielding Sunak.Well, I wouldn’t have done it. The Liz for Leader campaign certainly didn’t do it. Nadine chose to do it. I’ve made her aware that many colleagues were upset by it.It’s for Nadine to decide how she runs her social media. But all I say is that I’m really here to focus on Liz rather than other news.I’m not going to go into individual conversations, but she recognised that other people would have been upset by some of this, but she’s very keen to make the case herself.We were at the home of football and football came home with the Lionesses. I was there with Liz and we had a great time, cheering on the Lionesses, who really uplifted the mood of the nation and what a great tournament it’s been. Continue reading...

Blow to Rishi Sunak as Portsmouth North MP hails foreign secretary as ‘the hope candidate’Penny Mordaunt has backed Liz Truss to become prime minister, saying the Conservatives “may lose an election” if they made the wrong decision in the contest.Mordaunt, who was beaten by Truss to be Rishi Sunak’s challenger in the final stage of the Conservative leadership race, said Truss was “the hope candidate”. “Seeing her over the last few weeks has made me want to help her, to help her win, to help build the team we need to win the country, and to give ourselves as a party and as a nation the pride and confidence we need to reach our full potential,” the Portsmouth North MP said. Continue reading...

Rallies in support of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr follow occupation of Iraqi parliament amid a political vacuumProtesters from rival Shia blocs have taken to the streets of several Iraqi cities in a show of force that sparked fears of a descent into violence amid a 10-month political standoff about naming a new government.The rallies followed a weekend occupation of the Iraqi parliament by supporters of the powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has called for the post-2003 political system in Iraq to be overthrown through popular revolt in perhaps the most serious challenge Iraq has faced since the Islamic State terror group overran Mosul and nearly stormed Baghdad in June 2014. Continue reading...

City’s mayor condemns attack on medical facilities; former UK PM David Cameron also among those now blacklisted

Analysis: Government said to be considering inquiry into new ways of handling decisions, as religious groups accused of inflaming tensionsArchie Battersbee joins a list of tragic cases of children in which the courts have been called to take the grave decision on whether life support treatment should be withdrawn.Having a child suffer an injury that leaves them attached to a machine and a shadow of the lively child they were previously is every parent’s worst nightmare. As a result, cases such as Charlie Gard, Alfie Evans, Isaiah Haastrup, Tafida Raqeeb and Alta Fixler have struck a chord with the public. Continue reading...

Shadow ministers say Keir Starmer’s ban on visiting picket lines has ‘effectively broken down’ as frontbencher visits CWU membersShadow cabinet ministers have warned of a “breakdown in discipline” over Labour’s approach to strikes, as Lisa Nandy visited striking BT workers days after Keir Starmer reiterated that frontbenchers should not go to picket lines.Nandy and members of Starmer’s team are understood to dispute whether she was given tacit permission to attend the picket line. Sources close to the Labour leader said the matter had not been resolved and shadow cabinet minsters were furious. Continue reading...

Some of those waiting for community health services are facing delays as long as 120 weeksMore than 1 million people are waiting months, and sometimes years, for out-of-hospital care for back pain, foot problems and hearing loss, a leaked NHS England document reveals.While most of those waiting are adults, almost 300,0000 of them are children and young people who are seeking help with problems such as delayed development and long-term conditions. Continue reading...

Rhys Davies was sentenced after vets examined terriers kept at his tied cottage on Millden estate in ScotlandA former gamekeeper at one of Scotland’s best-known grouse moors has been jailed for eight months and banned for owning dogs for 15 years, after using dogs to fight badgers and foxes.Rhys Davies, from Gwynedd, north Wales, admitted earlier this year that he used five Patterdale terriers for illegal badger and fox-fighting at different locations across Scotland while he was a gamekeeper at Millden estate in Angus, near Dundee. Continue reading...

Boys understood to have been searched in Ilford and Bethnal Green without appropriate adult presentTwo more incidents involving the strip-search of children by the Metropolitan police will be investigated by its watchdog as the fallout from the Child Q case continues.The investigations launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) both involve 16-year-old boys who are understood to have been strip-searched in custody in 2020 without an appropriate adult present: one at Ilford police station in January and the other at Bethnal Green police station in October. Continue reading...

York council leader praises £540m deal that will involve York and North Yorkshire electing a mayorThe UK’s first devolution deal for a city and rural region combined should be seen as a stepping stone towards a bigger goal of devolution for the whole of Yorkshire, a council leader has said.On Monday the leaders of York city council and North Yorkshire county council joined the levelling up secretary, Greg Clark, to sign a “historic” deal that brings a radical shake-up of local government in the area. Continue reading...

Analysis: momentum appears to be with Liz Truss but there are signs that race with Rishi Sunak could be tighter than expected

Thousands join team in Trafalgar Square in London to hail victory described as a turning point

Tuesday’s vote seeks to overturn state constitutional rights in a midwest abortion haven – which way will it go?On 13 July, Sarah McGinnity, 39, sat down with her mother, 67, and six-year-old daughter and carefully wrote postcards to people she’d never met.“Dear voter, it will take all of us to protect reproductive rights in Kansas,” they read. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tom Tugendhat likely to lead trip later this year as London’s relationship with Beijing deterioratesBritain’s House of Commons foreign affairs committee is planning on a visit to Taiwan later this year – probably in November or early December – despite rising tensions in the region, the Guardian has learned.Sources say that the trip – which was originally scheduled for early this year but was postponed due to one member of the delegation testing positive for Covid – was intended to show Britain’s support for the democratically run island, which China considers its own. Continue reading...

Emilian Gebrev says explosion on Sunday is latest of repeated attacks against him by GRU operativesA Bulgarian arms dealer who survived an apparent novichok poisoning in 2015 said he was “100% sure” that Russian operatives were behind an explosion and subsequent fire at one of his depots in the country on Sunday.“There is no way this could be an accident, there was nothing in the building that could have detonated without outside interference,” Emilian Gebrev told the Guardian in a telephone interview. Continue reading...

Service for former first minister brings together Northern Irish, British and Irish leadersDavid Trimble faced bitter opposition from across the political spectrum during his life but his funeral has united British, Irish and Northern Irish leaders in paying tribute to his accomplishments and sacrifice.The service in Lisburn on Monday brought together the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and other political representatives from London, Dublin and Belfast to bid farewell to Northern Ireland’s inaugural first minister. Continue reading...

Noel Quinn says such a move would come with ‘material costs’ and ‘high risk of failure’HSBC’s chief executive has hit back at calls for a breakup from the top shareholder Ping An, saying splitting the business would come with “material costs” and a “high risk of failure” that could harm investors long-term.It came as the bank reported flat pre-tax profits of $5bn (£4.1bn) for the second quarter, as income from mortgages and loans was offset by the amount it had to put aside for potential defaults linked to weaker economic forecasts. Continue reading...

Test required potential homebuyers to prove they could afford three-percentage-point rise in interest ratesThousands of potential homebuyers may find it easier to get on to the property ladder after a key mortgage affordability test was scrapped by the Bank of England.The central bank has said the change – taking effect from 1 August – should not be viewed as “a relaxation of the rules”. However, some commentators said that while the move would be welcomed by many, there was a risk that some people would take out mortgages they were unable to afford. Continue reading...

Deal with German asset management firm Aurelius Group follows CMA concernsJD Sports has agreed a deal to sell Footasylum to the German asset management firm Aurelius Group for less than half the price it originally paid, after it was finally forced to offload the trainer chain by the UK’s competition watchdog.The £38m deal will be completed in the coming weeks, putting an end to a saga that started with JD Sports’ £90m purchase of its rival in 2019 as the FTSE 100 group sought to strengthen its position on the UK high street. Continue reading...

Exhibition includes two specially commissioned works reframing story of former Trinidad governorFor more than a century, the portrait of Thomas Picton hung in a prominent position at the National Museum Cardiff, the image’s description hailing him as a military hero rather than a tyrant and a torturer, before it was removed from view in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.From Monday the two-metre-tall portrait of Lt Gen Picton is back on display in the Welsh capital – but in a very different context. Continue reading...

Former paediatric neurologist was speaking about the risk of long Covid when opposition MPs, most of whom were not wearing masks, interjected

Crime and Corruption Commission says one case involved allegations of strangulation and rapeGet our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastQueensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission received six domestic violence-related complaints about police officers within two weeks of allowing such matters to be treated as corruption instead of misconduct, an inquiry has been told.One officer had allegations of strangulation and rape made against them, while another allegedly had access to child exploitation material, the commission of inquiry into Queensland police responses to domestic violence heard Monday. Continue reading...

At end of April there were 1,414 people in detention centres, 61% due to visa cancellations

Public broadcaster says newly-created independent position will help maintain audience trust and confidence

Authorities remain concerned the overrepresentation of older people in the state’s hospitals

Women have reset clock after more than five decades of pain, says comedian who co-wrote 1996 songThe England football anthem Three Lions should be “put to bed” after the Lionesses’ triumph in the Euro 2022 final, David Baddiel has said.“The women have reset the clock,” Baddiel, one of the trio behind the hit, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme after the win, which erased 56 years of England failing to win a trophy. Continue reading...