Rouen Cathedral fire brought under control in Normandy

City authorities say blaze in spire contained after plume of smoke seen rising from 12th-century gothic building

Firefighters in the Normandy city of Rouen have managed to bring a fire in its world-famous gothic cathedral under control, calming fears of another disaster at one of France’s architectural jewels five years after the devastation of Notre Dame.

Initial television images showed a dark plume of smoke rising from the cathedral spire and people in the streets below looking up in horror.

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Intruder climbs up to dome of Florence Cathedral overnight for selfie

Local media reports say 17-year-old is suspected of stunt, which was posted on Instagram

A teenager has been reported to police after allegedly sneaking around Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore overnight and climbing up to its Cupola del Brunelleschi to take a selfie.

Wearing a black hoodie, jeans and trainers, a person filmed himself walking up an inside stairwell of the world heritage site before reaching the dome level, stepping on to a small platform outside and taking a picture of himself.

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Starmer to begin reset of EU relations in meetings with Irish and French leaders

PM to hold bilateral talks at Chequers next week when European leaders will also gather for summit at Blenheim Palace

Keir Starmer is to kickstart the resetting of the UK’s relationship with the EU in bilateral meetings next week with the prime minister of Ireland and president of France.

He will meet the taoiseach, Simon Harris, at Chequers on Wednesday on the eve of the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), a conference of more then 45 EU and non-EU leaders, which takes this place this year at Blenheim Palace near Oxford.

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China a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine, says Nato

Communique highlights concerns over Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and space capabilities

Nato leaders have labelled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and called its deepening ties with Moscow a cause of “deep concern”, in what has been seen as the most serious rebuke against Beijing from the alliance.

The final communique, approved by the 32 Nato members at the summit in Washington, also highlights concerns about Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.

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Joe Biden hints UK should move closer to EU in Starmer meeting

Two leaders meet during Nato summit in Washington as prime minister works on EU-UK security pact

Joe Biden has appeared to back Keir Starmer’s ambition for the UK having a closer relationship with the European Union as the leaders held their first bilateral talks at the White House.

The US president called the US and UK the “best of allies” as he met the new prime minister in the Oval Office, describing Britain as the “knot” that tied the transatlantic relationship together.

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UK will give Ukraine £3bn a year ‘for as long as it takes’, says Starmer

Prime minister holds first official bilateral talks with Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Nato summit in Washington

The new government will stick with plans to spend at least £3bn every year on military support for Ukraine for “as long as is it takes” in its conflict with Russia, Keir Starmer has said.

After his first official bilateral talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the Nato summit in Washington, the prime minister confirmed the military aid would continue until at least 2030-31.

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First F-16 jets heading to Ukraine after months of training and negotiations

Dutch and Danish leaders say Ukraine will be ‘flying operational F-16s this summer’ as Kyiv seeks battlefield wins

The first F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying sorties this summer, according to a statement from the Dutch and Danish governments that was released by the White House at the Nato summit.

Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands, and Mette Frederiksen, his counterpart from Denmark, said the “transfer process” of F-16s to Kyiv was under way after months of pilot training and political negotiations.

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UK will be ‘leading European nation’ in Nato, defence secretary pledges

John Healey acknowledges likely shift of US focus to China and says Britain and EU must raise military spending to counter Russia

Britain will be “the leading European nation” in Nato under a Labour government, the new defence secretary, John Healey, pledged in an interview at the Nato summit in Washington DC – though spending may have to rise significantly if the UK is to remain ahead of Germany.

The cabinet minister, appointed last Friday, acknowledged that European countries within Nato would have to take on more of the burden of defending the west against Russia – regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November.

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Russia bans Moscow Times in crackdown on independent media

Move leaves anybody who cooperates with ‘undesirable’ news outlet liable to prosecution

Russia has classed the Moscow Times as an “undesirable organisation”, outlawing its activities inside Russia and leaving anybody who cooperates with it open to prosecution.

The Kremlin has escalated a campaign against independent media and reporting since Russia launched a military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

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Nato summit live: Stoltenberg says Ukraine Nato membership is ‘not the question of if, but when’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For more on the Dutch and Danish governments’ statement at the summit, read our report:

Here’s the schedule for today’s talks in Washington (all in local time).

8:15am: Nato secretary general’s doorstep

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Move to reduce Lords retirement age to 80 is not about Joe Biden, says Keir Starmer

Ahead of UK-US bilateral talks, PM says primary driver for cutting peers’ retirement age is size of Lords chamber

Keir Starmer has denied that his decision to bring in a retirement age of 80 for the House of Lords means he believes Joe Biden should stand down as US president.

Ahead of his first bilateral talks with Biden at the White House, the UK prime minister said the “primary driver” for bringing in a retirement age for peers was the size of the second chamber.

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Labour will not boost military spend without economic growth, says minister

Comments come as PM begins two-day US visit to urge Nato member countries to increase defence spending

The Labour government will not increase spending on the military unless it is also able to grow the economy, the armed forces minister has said, as Keir Starmer comes under pressure to say when Britain’s defence spending will hit 2.5% of GDP.

Luke Pollard said on Wednesday the government wanted to hit the target promised by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak, but would not be able to do so without economic growth.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Kremlin hits out at UK’s ‘irresponsible’ comments on Storm Shadow missiles – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

Katarína Mathernová, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, has posted pictures of a group of ambassadors visiting the site of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in central Kyiv.

She described the attack on the building earlier this week as the “latest Russian terror and destruction” and described it as “gut-wrenching”.

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Wednesday briefing: How Kyiv is handling the aftermath of a strike on a children’s hospital

In today’s newsletter: At least 30 have died after a missile hit the Okhmadyt facility in Ukraine’s capital – this is how the city continues to life under bombardment

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Good morning.

At least 38 civilians were killed and nearly 200 injured after Russian missiles struck cities across Ukraine in the early hours of Monday morning. In Kyiv powerful missiles hit Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital which is also its main treatment centre for children with cancer, demolishing the top two floors, shattering windows and destroying an entire ward. Another Russian strike later that same day hit a building in the capital where a maternity hospital is located, killing at least seven people. Images of bloodied children and piles of rubble sent shockwaves around the world.

UK politics | Suella Braverman has sparked a backlash after she attacked “liberal Conservatives”, saying she was angered by the flying of the Progress Pride flag in her department when she was the UK home secretary, and calling it a “monstrous thing”.

US election 2024 | The White House clarified that Joe Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physicals, after a heated exchange between the president’s press secretary and journalists seeking an explanation for a Parkinson’s disease specialist visited the White House eight times in as many months.

Work | Campaigners for a four-day working week are preparing a new pilot project on flexible working in the hope that the Labour government will be more receptive to such changes.

Water | Thames Water said it intended to tap investors for fresh funds as it would run out of money by next June without a cash injection, raising fears over its potential collapse.

Health | The amount of sugar consumed by children from soft drinks in the UK halved within a year of the sugar tax being introduced, a study has found. The tax, which came into force in April 2018, has been so successful in improving people’s diets that experts have said an expansion to cover other high sugar food and drink products is a “no-brainer”.

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European leaders use Nato summit to sell military alliance to US voters

Issue of burden-sharing threatens to become major stumbling block should second Trump administration come into power

European leaders at the Nato summit in Washington are focused on explaining to ordinary American taxpayers that the military alliance is worth the money, as the issue of burden-sharing has become a political football for both parties in the US – and threatens to become a serious stumbling block for the alliance should a second Trump administration come to power.

“There is a debate in the United States that the US are doing a lot to support Ukraine and Europe is not doing enough. If you look at figures, it’s actually a different picture. Europe is doing more than the United States: the financial support, military support we all have provided so far has been enormous … We are taking the security and defense seriously,” said Edgars Rinkēvičs, the president of Latvia, during a speech on Tuesday alongside former CIA director Leon Panetta and the Estonian defense minister, Hanno Pevkur. “It’s also very important to explain to the American public.”

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Irish woman charged with ‘attempting suicide’ by Dubai court

Public figures call for release of Tori Towey, 28, who says attempt was response to alleged domestic violence attack

A 28-year-old woman from Ireland has been charged with “attempting suicide” by a court in Dubai, with politicians and campaigners calling for her release.

Tori Towey, who works in the United Arab Emirates as an airline cabin crew member, was allegedly attacked and left with severe bruising and other injuries in a violent incident.

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Leaders head to Nato summit amid Biden doubts and concern for Ukraine

Nato official warns there could be further Russian strikes on Ukraine this week to try to draw attention away from event

World leaders flew into Washington DC on Tuesday for a two-day Nato summit where they are expected to agree enhanced military support for Ukraine against a backdrop of questions about Joe Biden’s mental sharpness.

Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were among those arriving at the US capital amid a warning that Russia could step up missile strikes on Ukraine this week, repeating a barrage that killed at least 38 on Monday.

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Coffee prices will rise even higher, says Giuseppe Lavazza

For UK consumers the cost of beans could increase by up to 25% over the coming year

The price of coffee is set to remain “very high” and is unlikely to drop until the middle of next year amid intense pressure on supply chains, the Italian coffee company Lavazza has said.

“We have never seen such a spike in price as the trend right now,” said Giuseppe Lavazza, who chairs the company. He admitted that he had been wrong to predict last year that prices would begin to fall this year. On Monday, prices reached $4,300 (£3,356) a tonne.

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Spain sentences 15 schoolchildren over AI-generated naked images

Teenagers each given a year’s probation after creating and spreading faked images of female classmates in south-west Spain

A court in south-west Spain has sentenced 15 schoolchildren to a year’s probation for creating and spreading AI-generated images of their female peers in a case that prompted a debate on the harmful and abusive uses of deepfake technology.

Police began investigating the matter last year after parents in the Extremaduran town of Almendralejo reported that faked naked pictures of their daughters were being circulated on WhatsApp groups.

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