World news | The Guardian

Home Office has ‘worrying’ habit of announcing untested ideas to stop Channel crossings, says analysis

SBU’s Ivan Bakanov and war crimes prosecutor Iryna Venediktova sacked after their officials found to be collaborating with Russia

Latest updates: five remaining contenders take part in ITV debate ahead of next round of MP ballots on Monday

Analysis: the candidates’ pitches are evolving but the ITV debate was not enough to move the dialSometimes in TV debates there are clear winners. It often happens in the first debate of a series, when viewers do not know what to expect, and it happened last week, when Rishi Sunak and Tom Tugendhat clearly made a better impression than the others. That was the consensus commentariat view, but also the finding of a snap poll too.But mostly debates just confirm impressions that are already fairly well lodged in the minds of people who already have a view on the candidates. Continue reading...

Wage growth is at record low levels, while the profit share is at a near-record share of GDP, according to analysis from the Australia Institute

NSW and Victorian governments say at least four refuelling stations will be built along Hume Highway

Army and explosive experts use drone amid toxicity fears from wreck reported to be Ukrainian aircraftA large cargo aircraft transporting munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh has crashed and exploded in a ball of flames in northern Greece, killing all eight crew onboard.Serbia’s defence minister, Nebojša Stefanović, said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of military products, including illuminating mortar shells and training shells, and the buyer was the Bangladesh defence ministry. Continue reading...

The change, to be rolled out this week, will leave customers to judge whether goods are still fine to eatMarks & Spencer is planning to remove “best before” labels from 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables in its stores to cut food waste.The change, to be rolled out this week, will rely on customers using their judgment to determine whether goods are still fine to eat. The measure will affect 85% of the supermarket’s fresh produce offering. Continue reading...

Rugby league clubs and stars pay tribute to player Ricky Bibey, a two-time Challenge Cup winnerA former rugby league player has been named by Italian media as the man found dead in a hotel room in Florence.Ricky Bibey, a two-time Challenge Cup winner with Wigan Warriors and St Helens, was found dead in the room at the Hotel Continentale on Saturday morning, alongside a 43-year-old woman who had suffered serious injuries. Continue reading...

Despite court hearing, Home Office continues to claim UNHCR is supportive of controversial schemeThe Home Office has been accused of misrepresenting the UN refugee agency’s stance on sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, in a new disagreement between the two organisations, the Guardian has learned.The Home Office and UNHCR have clashed previously over the safety and suitability of the Home Office’s policy of forcibly removing some asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the UK on small boats or in the back of lorries to Rwanda to have their claims processed there. Continue reading...

Campaign launched to highlight plight of Maksym Butkevych amid fears he is being wrongly labelled a ‘British spy’

His Name is My Name recounts Eline Jongsma’s efforts to trace the life and crimes of a Nazi collaborator in the NetherlandsIt was the family secret that nearly went to the grave. Gerrit Jongsma was a convicted war criminal – a small-town mayor and Nazi collaborator who sent at least one Jewish family to their deaths. He was also the great-grandfather of Eline Jongsma, a Dutch writer and film director, who only discovered his identity a decade ago.Far from further hiding his crimes, Jongsma, with long-term directing partner, Kel O’Neill, created a documentary about her relative, which was released on Instagram this month. Continue reading...

Some say the Tory top gun is planning a comeback, as maverick creates Bush-style photo opportunityHis premiership may have been grounded and his status as Tory top gun soon to be erased, but Boris Johnson sought to underline his standing as the maverick of British politics last week with a visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.Donning flying overalls reminiscent of those worn by President George W Bush ahead of his infamous “mission accomplished” speech in 2003, Johnson looked the part as he was given a demonstration of a Typhoon fighter jet. Continue reading...

Evacuations from Sviatohirsk Lavra in Donetsk; Russian forces reportedly preparing new offensive; all bodies identified after Vinnytsia missile attack

Boy died of critical injuries after parents flagged down ambulance while trying to get him to hospitalA three-year-old boy has died after a collision with a tractor on a farm in Bury.Greater Manchester police (GMP) were called shortly before 12.45pm on Saturday after people in a vehicle carrying a seriously injured child flagged down an ambulance. Continue reading...

Protesters angry prime minister who they say propped up Rajapaksa dynasty in running to lead countrySri Lanka’s political crisis is looks likely to continue this week after the ruling party decided to nominate the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as its candidate to be the next president.After the dramatic toppling of Sri Lanka’s strongman president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the campaign has begun for who will take up executive power at a time when the country is facing some of the worst economic and political upheaval since independence. Continue reading...

Prime minister stays at Chequers as NHS, schools and transport providers issue warnings about fatally high temperaturesBoris Johnson was accused on Saturday of being “missing in action” after failing to attend a Cobra meeting to discuss the national heatwave emergency following predictions that thousands could die in the coming days.As the threat to life from the impending heatwave continues to crystallise, the prime minister chose to skip the meeting on Saturday. He instead stayed at his Chequers country retreat, where he is due to hold a thankyou party for supporters on Sunday. Continue reading...

The family of the veteran pilot who lost his life in the May crash – along with everyone else on board – joins those calling for updated tech in aircraft“He used to say, ‘24 hours [in a day] is not enough for me!’”Bibhuti Ghimire’s voice breaks as she describes her father, a well-respected pilot in Nepal and a multitalented man with a flair for music, who would get bored with playing the piano and move on to the harmonium. “And he loved to fly.” Continue reading...

If PM elevates Nigel Adams and Nadine Dorries to Lords, byelections could be the acid test for new Tory leaderBoris Johnson is threatening to set an “early test” for his successor by ensuring they have to face two early byelections as the new Tory leader, the Observer has been told.The prime minister is planning to elevate at least two current MPs to the House of Lords well before the next election, triggering two contests that will test public support for whoever replaces him in Downing Street. Continue reading...

Preet Chandi, first woman of colour to complete a solo unaided trip to the South Pole, announces plans for her next tripWhen she became the first woman of colour to complete a solo, unaided trip to the South Pole, Capt Preet Chandi wanted to prove “no matter where we are from, no matter what we look like, we can achieve anything we want”.Now, “Polar Preet” has her sights set on a greater challenge – to become the first woman to complete a solo and unsupported journey across the entire continent of Antarctica. Continue reading...

Beyond the frontlines, academics are fighting to counter the fake tales of their country’s past that are peddled by the KremlinAt the entrance to Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, a bronze relief of the face of Mykhailo Hrushevsky stares out towards the red-painted portico. A historian by training, and a key figure in Ukraine’s national revival in the early 20th century, Hrushevsky served briefly as the head of Ukraine’s revolutionary rada – or parliament – in 1918.Taras Pshenychnyi, deputy dean of the history department, pauses to examine the image of his distinguished forebear, and to reflect on the extraordinary times the university is seeing since the Russian invasion. Continue reading...

At least 37 deaths across country since Thursday as residential areas appear to be targeted• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updatesAir raid sirens sounded across Ukraine on Friday evening, as the country braced itself for another string of intensified long-range missile strikes on cities and towns across the country.At least 37 people have been killed in missile attacks since Thursday that appear to have targeted busy civilian areas and crowded buildings, a tactic Russia has repeatedly denied employing. Continue reading...

During lockdown, fledgling comedians won virtual acclaim. Now they hope real-life festival crowds will find them just as funnyHow does a newcomer fill a theatre while up against thousands of rival entertainers? This is the challenge posed by the Edinburgh fringe festival. But an answer can now be found on TikTok.Several of the up-and-coming talents at the fringe for the first time next month are already celebrities on the social media site, andwill arrive equipped with bands of admiring followers to match those of established names on the comedy circuit. But will their online audience turn up in real life? Continue reading...

Emergency meeting held on Saturday afternoon as Met Office warns ‘lives are at risk’An emergency meeting is being held by ministers and officials on Saturday amid soaring temperatures, which experts have warned could put lives at risk.The high temperatures are expected to peak on Tuesday, with an 80% chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C (101.7F) set in Cambridge in 2019, and a 50% chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK. Continue reading...

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says support will continue until the end of September amid winter Covid wave set to peak in August

Bookmakers’ favourite to replace Johnson as PM accuses other campaigns of running ‘black ops’ briefings against her

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urges mask-wearing indoors after national cabinet meeting. This blog is now closed

Calls for aid to be let into Port-au-Prince district after ‘battlefield’ violence leaves dozens dead and cuts supplies of food and waterHaiti’s capital has been racked by a week of heavy fighting between gangs, with the global medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warning that thousands of people were trapped without food or water in one district of Port-au-Prince’s notorious Cité Soleil slum.“We are calling on all belligerents to allow aid to enter Brooklyn and to spare civilians,” said Mumuza Muhindo, the MSF’s head of mission in Haiti, in a statement referring to the contested area within the sprawling Cité Soleil. Continue reading...

A 17-year-old was fatally stabbed following a violent brawl on 11 April

Sir Kevan Collins says recovery plan may end up little more than ‘a few kids in the corner doing a bit of tutoring’The former education recovery commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, has accused the government of burying its head in the sand over the loss of learning among children in England due to Covid, warning the problem will not just “go away”.He expressed regret about lost opportunities after the government rejected his ambitious £15bn plan for recovery, including an extended school day for all, and warned that the flagship national tutoring programme (NTP) was in danger of becoming little more than “a few kids in the corner doing a bit of tutoring”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labour leader, speaking after meeting German chancellor, condemns candidates’ ‘fanciful’ spending plansKeir Starmer has dismissed the acrimonious Conservative leadership race as a “travelling circus”, in which the candidates have demolished their party’s economic credibility by promising billions of pounds of unfunded tax cuts.Speaking on a visit to Berlin where he held talks with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Labour leader highlighted the “fanciful” spending pledges made by the five contenders battling it out to succeed Boris Johnson. Continue reading...

Succession star warns cost of rental accommodation is ‘squeezing the lifeblood’ out of festivalThe Succession star Brian Cox has warned the Edinburgh fringe risks “cutting off the lifeblood” of young talent at the festival if action is not taken to lower soaring accommodation costs for performers.The 76-year-old actor, who plays Logan Roy in the hit HBO show, said the festival, which starts on 5 August, is the only one like it in the world – and it is a “conduit for young talent”. Continue reading...

While leaders presented a picture of harmony, more vexing topics like Australia’s fossil fuel ambitions and China were kicked down the road

Co-founder of Guadalajara cartel was one of FBI’s most-wanted fugitives after being freed from prison in 2013Rafael Caro Quintero, a drug lord known as “the narco of narcos” who was behind the killing of a US drug enforcement agent in 1985, has been captured by Mexican forces nearly a decade after walking out of prison, according to the country’s navy.Caro Quintero was arrested after a search dog named Max found him hiding in brush in the town of San Simon in Sinaloa state during a joint operation by the navy and the attorney general’s office, a navy statement said. The site was in the mountains near Sinaloa’s border with the northern border state of Chihuahua. Continue reading...

At least three killed and 15 hurt in Dnipro missile strike; UK says Kremlin responsible for British captive’s death; Ukraine reports May peak in military losses

This live blog is now closed. We will return in a few hours to bring you all the latest developmentsRussian and pro-Russian Luhansk People’s Republic separatist forces claim to have entered the outskirts of Siversk in Ukraine’s Donbas, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.Acknowledging that reports have not corroborated, the ministry said Russian forces have been slowly advancing westwards and probing assaults towards Siversk from Lysychansk to open a pathway onward to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.Bakhmut is likely to be the next objective, once Siversk is secured,” the report read.The simple truth is that, as we speak, children, women and men, the young and the old, are living in terror.” Continue reading...

The five candidates face off in a televised Channel 4 debate

Head-to-head sees open arguments over tax and identity politics, with no candidate willing to say Boris Johnson is honest

Experts warn of worse to come, with most states likely several weeks away from peak hospitalisation rates

Ongoing focus on disaster management needed to avoid kneejerk reactions from one event to the next

Level 4 heat alert announced for next week means ‘illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy’Thousands of people could die in the coming heatwave, experts have warned, as the government triggered the first ever national emergency heat red alert with a record 40C (104F) temperature forecast for south-east England on Tuesday.Health officials fear people living alone on upper floors of buildings are among those who could perish, as people did in Paris in 2003. Last year two lesser heat episodes caused about 1,600 excess deaths, according to official figures. Continue reading...

Russian strike kills 23 in Vinnytsia, grain ships stuck in the Black Sea and the deadly danger of sea mines

Maya and Clara Pope-Sutherland blame Gaia’s disappearance and death on serial failings by police and mental health servicesThe wonderful memories of Gaia Pope come easily and vividly to her twin, Maya Pope-Sutherland, and older sister Clara Pope-Sutherland.“We never spent a moment apart when we were younger, we were so close, we had a real bond,” Maya, 24, told the Guardian. “There was a spirituality about Gaia. Her name means ‘Mother Earth’ and she felt a connection with the trees, the sky, animals. She was altruistic and caring, a great listener.” Continue reading...

Health officials are advising people how to stay safe during expected record temperatures next weekPut that cold beer down, hold the iced coffee and shut the window. Common tricks for keeping cool in a British summer do not apply to the sweltering, record-breaking temperatures forecast for much of England early next week.Heat of 40C (104F) is a risk to life and not only to vulnerable people. Healthy people who do not take care were also in danger, government health officials warned on Friday. So go easy on the caffeine and alcohol, pull the curtains, drink water and stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day. Importantly, do not presume the air outside is cooler than inside. But, most of all, check that people who live alone or in potentially hot and stuffy rooms are safe. Continue reading...

Trio of dissidents in US condemn president’s trip to Saudi Arabia and accuse him of ‘normalising’ murderous regimeKhalid Aljabri, Lina al-Hathloul, and Abdullah Alaoudh grew up within a few blocks of each other in their Al-Falah neighborhood in Riyadh, but never knew each other.On Friday, as Joseph Biden touched down in Jeddah, in their native Saudi Arabia, the three exiles met for the first time for a Middle Eastern breakfast in Arlington, Virginia, in the outskirts of Washington. Continue reading...

Employers will no longer be able to withhold tips and will be obliged to share tipping recordsA bill to force restaurants to hand over all tips to their staff, including any service charge, will come into law after winning backing from MPs.The private members’ bill on tips was put forward by the Conservative MP Dean Russell after the delay of a wider Employment bill, which was intended to include the new rules. Continue reading...

1986 song gets first ever UK chart placing after appearing in season finale, reaching No 22First there was Kate Bush, scoring a No 1 hit with Running Up That Hill 37 years after it was released. Now, the supernatural power of Stranger Things to resurrect old hits continues, giving Metallica their first UK Top 40 hit since 2008.Like Running Up That Hill, their 1986 song Master of Puppets was used as a key plot point in the Netflix series, featuring in the final episode of the fourth season in an operatically epic scene. Continue reading...

Kurtis Dilks, 35, tied up the former England player in front of his children and threatened to cut off his fingersA “chillingly ruthless” robber who was part of a gang who tied up former England footballer Ashley Cole in front of his children, and threatened to cut off his fingers, has been jailed for 30 years.Kurtis Dilks, 35, was also ordered to serve an extended licence period of five years by a judge at Nottingham Crown Court after smashing his way into the footballer’s Surrey home with a sledgehammer and subjecting his family to a “terrifying” ordeal. Continue reading...