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Latest updates: Nadhim Zahawi says it will be for next prime minister to take decisions as Rishi Sunak pledges support for vulnerableIn a further defence of Labour’s record in opposition on cost of living, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds claimed that the party have been stating their position “consistently and regularly”. He told the BBC: I think you have got to say that in...

Expert group will declare official drought amid prolonged dry spell, meaning water rationing may take place.A drought is to be declared across wide swathes of England after a meeting of experts, the Guardian has learned.The prolonged dry conditions, with some areas of the country not receiving significant rainfall all summer, have caused the National Drought Group to declare an official drought, according to leaked...

The Pharmacy Guild has pushed for the drugs to be made available without a prescription at community pharmacies due to national GP shortages. This blog is now closedGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastPeter Dutton pressed on voice to parliamentOpposition leader Peter Dutton appeared on ABC’s 7.30 last night and it is worth revisiting for the exchange with host...

Getting a good shot is tricky so here are some tips to capture a picture of the Perseid meteor shower at its peak in AugustPerseid meteor shower 2022: how and where to watch in AustraliaGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingAfter three meteor showers lit up the sky across eastern Australia in July, the Perseid meteor shower will peak 13 August,...

The annual Perseids meteor shower will peak on 13 August. Find out the best time to viewHow and where to photograph the meteor showers in Australian skyGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastAfter the night sky in Australia was illuminated by a trio of meteor showers – the Piscis Austrinids, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids late...

Actor says rise of sex-scene advisers is ‘fantastic’ in wake of Sean Bean’s criticism that it reduces acting to ‘technical exercise’Emma Thompson has joined the actors pushing back against Sean Bean’s criticism of intimacy coordinators, describing the profession as a “fantastic introduction” that has made actors feel comfortable and safe.Bean, best known for his work on Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones,...

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says party would ensure nobody ‘pays over the odds’ for same gas and electricityLabour has said it would eliminate the “premium” that means people with energy prepayment meters, who are often on low incomes, are charged more than those on direct debits.About 4 million domestic customers use prepayment meters, and their price cap is about 2% higher than for direct...

Divulging details about Ukraine’s defence plans is ‘frankly irresponsible’, Zelenskiy says; UN nuclear watchdog calls for visit to shelled plantUN warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plantWhat we know on day 170 of the invasionKazakhstan is expected to sell some of its crude oil through Azerbaijan’s biggest oil pipeline from September to bypass a route Russia threatened to shut.Reuters reports:Kazakh oil exports account...

David Lambourne, who serves on the high court of Kiribati, was detained on Thursday after a failed attempt by the Kiribati government to deport himKiribati’s Australian-born high court justice David Lambourne was released from immigration detention on Friday night, with the government belatedly complying with an order from the country’s court of appeal.The court had ordered Lambourne’s release on Friday morning, after he was...

Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield all in running to host eventBirmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield have been named as potential hosts of the Eurovision song contest when it is held in the UK next year for the first time in 25 years.The seven candidate cities were announced by Scott Mills live on Zoë Ball’s Radio 2 breakfast show....

Former chancellor outlines support package for up to 16 million vulnerable peopleRishi Sunak has said he would find up to £10bn to help people facing rising energy bills, as a minister backing his Conservative leadership rival indicated that direct support for the hard-pressed would be announced “in a considered way”.Acknowledging he would have to increase government borrowing to tackle the crisis, the former chancellor...

Yorkshire Water announces ban from 26 August and Thames Water could introduce measure from FridayA hosepipe ban could be introduced as early as Friday by Britain’s largest water company, covering London and much of the south-east of England, if a drought is declared.Thames Water is “ready to go” with its hosepipe ban, according to its strategy and regulatory affairs director, Cathryn Ross, who said...

While Seoul experienced torrential downpours, rainfall levels are down in China’s Yangtse River basinExtreme flooding in South Korea this week submerged streets, cars and buildings, as torrential downpours brought more than a month’s worth of rainfall in the space of a few days. Between Monday and Wednesday a cumulative total of 525mm – a little over 20 inches – was recorded in Seoul.At least...

The strategies that worked in Kansas – countering misinformation, building a broad coalition – offers lessons for other ballot measuresIn February, long before organizers in Kansas had made the hundreds of thousands of calls, knocked on the tens of thousands of doors; or did the thousands of media interviews needed to win a monumental race against an anti-abortion amendment, they started having parties.Sometimes they...

MP says he can be ‘too blunt and too direct’, after release of landmark review into workplace cultureFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastA senior New South Wales Labor frontbencher has unreservedly apologised amid allegations he bullied staff in the office of former Labor leader Jodi McKay.After a landmark review...

Proposed plan will tackle workload, pay structures and attracting and retaining teachers, but does not address increased school fundingFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastEducation ministers have agreed to a national plan to consider better pathways into teaching, new pay structures and a decreased workload as means to combat the...

Millions of Americans could benefit from provisions in the bill that reduce prescription drug costs, experts sayMillions of older American could benefit from provisions in the new climate and healthcare spending package that lower prescription drug costs. For Black and Latino seniors, who disproportionately suffer from chronic diseases and struggle with high costs, the package, if passed and signed by Joe Biden, could be...

Self-confessed murderer Justin Sneed gave the only evidence in Richard Glossip’s case, later writing ‘somethings I need to clean up’A handwritten letter has come to light casting doubt on the critical testimony of a self-confessed murderer who provided the only implicating evidence at the trial of Richard Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma who is to be executed in six weeks’ time.The letter...

Lawyer Tungnath Chaturvedi took on the might of Indian Railways after being charged 20 rupees – or 21p – too muchAn Indian lawyer has won a 22-year legal battle with Indian Railways for overcharging him by 20 rupees (21p or 25c).When Tungnath Chaturvedi, 66, bought a ticket at Mathura station in Uttar Pradesh in 1999 to go to Moradabad, he was charged 90 rupees...

Western brands that pulled out are still on sale, due to legal changes that have fuelled entrepreneurship Aleksandr Gorbunov, a property investor from the Siberian city Krasnoyarsk, had a simple solution when Zara, the Spanish clothing giant, closed its stores in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine: import it himself.“The idea to start selling Zara came from my wife, who said she really wanted...

Campaigners say many people have had to stop or switch antiretroviral medication regimes – but the government denies supply crisisHundreds of thousands of people living with HIV in India are struggling to access treatment because of a shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, according to campaigners.Up to 500,000 people have not been able to get hold of free ARVs from government health centres and hospitals...

The US actor will be taken off life support after it is determined if her organs are viable for donation, following a severe collision that left her car in flamesThe family of Anne Heche say the US actor is “not expected to survive” a severe collision that left her vehicle engulfed in flames last Friday.In a statement, Heche’s family said through a representative that...

US attorney general cites ‘substantial public interest in this matter’ in announcing the requestThe US justice department (DoJ) has asked a court to unseal the search warrant the FBI received before searching the Florida estate of Donald Trump, Merrick Garland said on Thursday.The attorney general cited the “substantial public interest in this matter” in announcing the request at a hastily scheduled justice department news...

Suspected presence of such documents could explain why US attorney general took step of ordering FBI agents into a former president’s houseFBI agents were looking for secret documents about nuclear weapons among other classified material when they searched Donald Trump’s home on Monday, it has been reported.The Washington Post cited people familiar with the investigation as saying nuclear weapons documents were thought to be...