World news | The Guardian

Defence ministry also sounds alarm at prospect of Beijing-Moscow ties deepening amid expectations Tokyo will boost defence spendingJapan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending.The document includes a chapter on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it says risks sending the message “that an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force is acceptable”. Continue reading...

Performances at four main stages have been called off, as attendees of the Byron Bay festival report long queues, flooded campsites and people sleeping in cars due to the downpour

NSW premier says he told upper house inquiry he was waiting for information from a seperate independent review

Pope will meet Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors, thousands of whom were taken from familiesPope Francis will spend the next week on a “pilgrimage of penance” in Canada, meeting with Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors as he looks to atone for the church’s grim legacy in the country.For the first papal visit to Canada in two decades, the pontiff plans to visit First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities as he travels from Alberta to Quebec, ending his visit in the Arctic territory of Nunavut. Continue reading...

The 44-year-old singer, who portrayed Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann’s latest film, was found unresponsive in her Nashville homeThe actor Shonka Dukureh, who recently made her big screen debut as Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann’s new film Elvis, had died at the age of 44.Dukureh was found dead on Thursday in a bedroom at her home in Nashville, which she shared with her two young children, the Metro Nashville Police Department said. Continue reading...

January 6 committee plays White House national security official saying agents made ‘calls to say goodbye to family members’In chilling new testimony about the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, the investigating House committee showed that members of the Secret Service detail for the vice-president, Mike Pence, so feared for his and their safety that they “screamed” that other officials should say goodbye to their families.A White House national security official whose identity and voice was obscured described the calls in testimony played by the January 6 committee in a public hearing on Thursday night. Continue reading...

The senior Pitjantjatjara artist is the first woman to win the $100,000 award since its inception in 2017

Deputy chief medical officer for mental health says level of distress in young people, happening worldwide, predates Covid

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

The pictures from 2000, 2021 and 2022 offer a new view into its dramatically low water levels, now at just 27% capacityStark images of the “bathtub ring” around Lake Mead have come to symbolize the devastating effects of drought at America’s largest reservoir. Now, newly released satellite pictures from Nasa offer a new view of how dramatically water levels have declined over the past 22 years.The images, which cover the years 2000, 2021 and 2022, show once-full tributaries transformed into dry crevasses. The lake, which supplies water to roughly 25 million people across the American west, is currently at its lowest levels since it was filled in 1937. As of July 18, it stands at just 27% of its capacity. Continue reading...

The New York patient appeared to have a vaccine-derived strain of the virus, although they hadn’t traveled outside the countryAn unvaccinated young adult from New York recently contracted polio, the first US case in nearly a decade, health officials said Thursday.Officials said the patient, who lives in Rockland county, had developed paralysis. The person developed symptoms a month ago and did not recently travel outside the country, county health officials said. Continue reading...

Mark Stephens says party’s denials over sexual harassment claims undermine credibility of female former employeesOne of the UK’s most high-profile freedom of expression lawyers has accused Labour of “spin and dissembling” for denying it attempted to stop two female ex-staffers from speaking about sexual harassment.In a highly unusual intervention, Mark Stephens, who represented Georgie Robertson and Laura Murray, said there were “high public interests at play” and said the party was “undermining their credibility” by issuing statements denying it had tried to offer them non-disclosure agreements. Continue reading...

Former chancellor says opponent’s economic policies risk stoking inflation and pushing up interest ratesRishi Sunak has launched his strongest attack yet on his rival Liz Truss’s economic policies, claiming her £30bn plans for unfunded tax cuts risk stoking inflation and pushing up interest rates.His attack came as a new poll of Tory party members gave Truss a commanding lead in the race to become prime minister. Continue reading...

Medical secretary’s body lay in her London flat for more than two years despite neighbours raising the alarmIt is “difficult to comprehend” that a model tenant could have died and lain undisturbed in her flat for more than two and half years despite not paying her rent and neighbours raising the alarm, an inquest into the death of Sheila Seleoane has heard.The coroner Julian Morris said it was “clear something went wrong” when Seleoane’s repeated failure to engage with her landlord, gas engineers or the police failed to flag up concerns or trigger any suspicions. Continue reading...

The final evidence sessions have heard unflinching accounts of how victims died, panicking and desperate in horrific conditionsThe public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster is ending as it began: with a shocking reminder of the human cost. It opened in May 2018 with elegies to the 72 victims. Its final evidence sessions have been unflinching accounts of the violence of their final moments.The hearings sought to satisfy the fact-finding requirements of the coroner but swung the spotlight of an often highly technical inquiry back to the sheer barbarity wrought upon a community that still awaits justice. Continue reading...

Officials involved in arrest and intimidation of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe named in Commons

Trying top Russians for act of aggression could bring indictments ‘within three months’, says official

Independent review criticises Lisa Osofsky personally after two businessmen’s convictions were overturnedBritain’s most senior anti-bribery prosecutor has been personally criticised in an independent review that examined flaws in a major corruption trial.Lisa Osofsky, the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), was judged to have made a “number of mistakes and misjudgments” in her handling of a prosecution which has ultimately resulted in the convictions of two businessmen being overturned. Continue reading...

Campaign launched to reach those sent overseas during years of hostility towards unmarried mothersIrish people who were sent to Britain, the US and elsewhere for adoption when they were children as a result of decades-long Catholic hostility towards unmarried mothers will be entitled to unrestricted access to their birth certificates and other official records in Ireland for the first time thanks to a new law.The Adoption Authority of Ireland, which has been charged with managing the scheme, has launched a campaign to reach adults who were adopted, formally or informally, overseas. It believes about 100,000 people will be affected by the new Birth Information and Tracing Act. The new law relates to all those born to parents within Ireland and adopted at home or abroad since the foundation of the state 100 years ago. Continue reading...

Richard Moore says 400 intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover have been expelled

Ten said they were providing aid, did not inform police of their intent to travel and were asked to leaveTen British sex offenders travelled to Poland after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, under the guise of humanitarian aid, according to British police.In the six weeks after the outbreak of war, the individuals, all of whom had convictions for sex offences, travelled to Poland. The offenders were supposed to inform British police of their intent to travel, a spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said, and declare any convictions upon arrival. Continue reading...

UK’s organised crime-fighting force complains it only has a third of the money per officer received by the FBIThe UK’s serious and organised crime-fighting force has complained it is struggling to tackle Russian kleptocracy and sanctions evasion because it is given only a third of the funding per officer handed to the FBI.The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the UK had been slower to seize sanctioned Russian oligarchs’ assets than the US because it could not rely on the same “substantial level of investment” that Washington has poured into tackling international corruption and sanctions busting. Continue reading...

Multiple complaints of baffling and unrealistic requirements have been reported as being set by employment agencies under the new program

Domestic violence advocates warn drafted laws could be discriminatory if pushed through by government

Health experts are calling for Medicare item numbers for abortions and pregnancy counselling ahead of women’s safety ministers’ meeting

Recall Act could be triggered with Johnson at risk of losing Uxbridge seat, HoC committee report suggestsBoris Johnson could be forced to face a byelection in his Uxbridge constituency if he is found to have misled MPs over Partygate, a report from the House of Commons privileges committee has made clear.Despite having resigned as Conservative leader, Johnson still faces a parliamentary probe over whether he misled MPs when he told them repeatedly that “all guidance was followed” in Downing Street during the pandemic – something subsequently proved to be untrue. Continue reading...

Appeal court hears attorney general’s arguments against Guardian challenge to decisionThe public interest was not harmed by excluding the media from a hearing where a senior judge decided to seal Prince Philip’s will for 90 years, an appeal court has heard.Sir James Eadie QC, representing the attorney general, made the argument on the second day of an appeal by the Guardian against a decision to seal Philip’s will at a hearing from which the press were excluded. Continue reading...

British Gas owner Centrica says insurance plan won’t stop risky business practices while Octopus calls ringfencing ‘financially illiterate’The owner of British Gas has hit back at rival Octopus Energy in a row over how best to protect households’ overpaid credit in the fallout from a string of supplier failures.Centrica’s chief executive, Chris O’Shea, said its competitor’s proposed solution to protect consumers with an insurance scheme would allow companies to “operate risky business models and dip into customers’ deposits as a free overdraft facility”. Continue reading...

Border Force tactics against small boats in Channel found to be ‘ineffective and inefficient’The Home Office has been accused of dodging scrutiny after a damning report on the government’s response to the surge in Channel crossings was published on the last day of parliament.David Neal, the chief inspector of borders and immigration, said the response was “ineffective and inefficient” and left vulnerable migrants at risk. He revealed that 227 migrants had absconded after arriving in the UK in the space of just five months last year, with some disappearing before having their fingerprints or photographs taken. Continue reading...

Resumption of 40% of supplies is insufficient to ward off energy crisis in Europe this winter, say experts

Councillors criticised for going against wishes of public after voting to remove role of city mayorLiverpool council has voted to scrap the role of city mayor, putting an end to the city’s confusing three-mayor system.From May 2023, the council will return to a leader and cabinet model after councillors voted 51 to 18 to remove the elected position, which sat alongside the role of lord mayor and metro mayor of the Liverpool city region. Continue reading...

Analysis: Brothers of Italy have lead in polls as postmortem begins on technocrat’s government of disunityIf Wednesday marked a brutal, undignified end for Mario Draghi’s government, one person who enjoyed watching his downfall from the sidelines was Giorgia Meloni, the leader of Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist origins, who is in pole position to become Italy’s next prime minister after snap elections expected this autumn.As the shenanigans played out in the senate, culminating with three key parties in Draghi’s coalition boycotting a confidence vote and him resigning, Meloni took to the stage in Piazza Vittorio, a square in Rome where Brothers of Italy, the only party to stay out of Draghi’s government, have set up a shop for the month of July, to express her satisfaction. Continue reading...

Few would rule out the prime minister staging a comeback, if only to prove his opponents wrongHaving departed the dispatch box with the words “hasta la vista, baby” and told MPs “mission largely accomplished – for now”, Boris Johnson was typically attention-seeking during his final prime minister’s questions.“He cannot stand not having attention. It’s hard-wired into him. So, he is playing with us. He is doing it deliberately so we all rush to write articles saying: ‘Will he come back?’, ‘Can he come back?’, ‘How will he come back?’ It’s actually quite funny,” said Sonia Purnell, a biographer of Johnson. Continue reading...

Watchdogs tell carriers not to cause pain for passengers by overselling flights and failing to warn of cancellationsAirlines have been warned that they could face fines if they do not tackle “harmful practices” fuelling chaos at UK airports, including selling more tickets than they can supply and not warning passengers about the risk of cancellations.In an open letter, the aviation and competition watchdogs told carriers they could be penalised if they are shown to be contributing to the misery of passengers hit by this summer’s widespread airport disruption. Continue reading...

Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust having to postpone and divert appointments, with doctors unable to see patients’ notesOne of the NHS’s biggest hospital trusts is facing major problems after its IT system failed because of the extreme temperatures earlier this week.Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust (GSTT) in London has had to cancel operations, postpone appointments and divert seriously ill patients to other hospitals in the capital as a result of its IT meltdown. Continue reading...

Part of a £300m regeneration of the area near Tottenham Court Road station, @sohoplace combines intimacy with innovative designA major new West End theatre is to open this autumn, designed to give audiences an alternative to the restricted legroom, poor sightlines and iffy acoustics – not to mention stuffy heat – of some of London’s older playhouses.On a tour of the venue, which has been named @sohoplace, its owner Nica Burns explained that the building’s proximity to the redeveloped Tottenham Court Road station brought another set of challenges, namely noise and vibrations. The new Elizabeth line, as well as the Northern and Central lines, pass directly beneath the site and Crossrail’s enormous ventilation system lies adjacent to the auditorium. Continue reading...

‘Landmark’ for eight-year-old British enterprise as it turns £14m loss into £32m annual profit helped by Covid loansStarling Bank has reported its first annual profit thanks to a surge in lending, though executives played down the impact that a controversial boom in Covid loans had on its path to profit.The chief executive and founder, Anne Boden, said the latest set of earnings were a “landmark” for the eight-year-old digital bank. Starling, which is backed by investors including Goldman Sachs and Austrian billionaire Harald McPike, swung to an inaugural annual profit of £32m for the year to March, from a loss of nearly £14m over the previous 12 months. Continue reading...

Band cite heat, dust and smoke from French wildfires as the cause of vocal cord damage, resulting in cancellation of Vienna gigEddie Vedder, frontman with rock band Pearl Jam, has suffered damage to his throat and attributed it to extreme weather conditions in France this week.Pearl Jam performed at the Lollapalooza Paris festival on Sunday, where temperatures reached a mid-afternoon high of 36C (96.8F). Continue reading...

New council chief condemns ‘failed experiment’ under which Barnet called itself the country’s first ‘easyCouncil’A former Tory council has voted to end the mass outsourcing of frontline services, bringing most back in-house and ending one of the most controversial local government policies in recent years.Barnet council, in north London, called itself the country’s first “easyCouncil” in 2013 when it announced it would provide only the legal minimum of services, outsourcing everything else from disabilities and highways to planning and procurement through contractors Capita. Continue reading...

An increase could mean lower income tax and and also help young people on to the property ladderBritain’s property taxes are outdated and favour a wealthy elite, according to a comparison with other countries carried out by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).The report found that surging property prices across the OECD’s 38 member states were a cause for concern and should be restricted by more punishing property taxes. Continue reading...

Analysis: Political turmoil could hinder any chance of tackling the ongoing economic crisisOn Thursday morning, 45 years to the day since he was first elected to parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the eighth president of Sri Lanka, replacing the ousted and exiled Gotabaya Rajapaksa. His pathway to executive power – the office Wickremesinghe has clamoured after for so many years – was extraordinary. As a searing editorial in Sri Lanka’s Daily FT newspaper put it on Thursday morning: “Wickremesinghe has no popular mandate and he has won the presidency by proxy.”Many believe that Wickremesinghe’s election, far from stabilising Sri Lanka after the dramatic toppling of Rajapaksa, will instead put it on a pathway of ongoing turmoil and unrest. For a country grappling with the worst economic crisis since the great depression, the consequences could be severe. Continue reading...

Ukrainian leader dismisses latest measures, also targeting Russian gold and major bank, as ‘not enough’New EU sanctions hitting Russian gold, a major bank, a nationalist motorcycle club known as the Nightwolves and actors backing Vladimir Putin have been dismissed as insufficient by Volodymyr Zelenskiy.Approval of the EU’s seventh wave of economic sanctions by the 27 member states on Thursday morning has been lauded by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, as a “strong signal”. Continue reading...

Ministers to face cross-examination as chair Lady Hallett says inequalities ‘will be at forefront’ of investigationMinisters will have a year to prepare before cross-examination at the UK’s Covid-19 public inquiry, its chair Heather Hallett announced, as she opened what is set to be one of the broadest statutory investigations in the nation’s history.The first cross-examinations of the government response to the pandemic including decisions on lockdowns, maintaining public confidence and handling of scientific advice, will begin in summer 2023, two and a half years after the arrival of the virus which has claimed more than 200,000 lives in the UK. Continue reading...

False claims that Tiggy Legge-Bourke had affair with Prince Charles ‘were likely spread to help secure exclusive’The BBC has agreed to pay substantial damages to the former royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke after false allegations she had an affair with Prince Charles were used to obtain Martin Bashir’s 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales.Legge-Bourke’s solicitor, Louise Prince, told the high court the allegations caused “serious personal consequences for all concerned”. Continue reading...

Anti-abortion centers, which are known to use inaccurate information to dissuade people from the procedure, often open in close proximity to abortion clinicsOriginally published by the 19thWith Roe v Wade overturned, abortion providers are flocking to New Mexico, one of the largest south-western states that protects abortion access. Continue reading...

A community ignored and undermined during the Aids crisis 40 years ago feels they are again being failed by the governmentSan Francisco leaders and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups gathered this week in front of the US Health and Human Services’ regional office to protest what they see as a sluggish response to the monkeypox outbreak.“There’s a lot of anger, and it’s totally justified,” said state senator Scott Wiener, who joined protesters from the Alice B Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, San Francisco Aids Foundation and Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and other groups demanding increased access to monkeypox vaccines, testing and therapeutics for an outbreak that so far has been disproportionately affecting gay and bisexual men. Continue reading...

CEO Michael Murray says shoppers have returned to high street but prices likely to rise due to construction costsMike Ashley’s Frasers Group, the owner of Sports Direct and Jack Wills, plans more acquisitions and store openings after sales rose by almost a third and profits bounced back following the end of high street lockdowns.Pre-tax profits for the company, which also owns House of Fraser, Flannels, Game and Evans Cycles, and recently bought the online specialists Missguided and Studio Retail, soared to £366m in the year to 24 April from just £8.5m a year before, as sales rose almost 31% to £4.7bn. Continue reading...

Air taxi company Wisk says it could fly passengers between Olympic venues if it receives necessary approvals