Millions head to polls to cast their votes in general election – live

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Polling stations opened at 7am, with voting taking place until 10pm on Thursday night

It is the King’s duty as head of state to appoint a prime minister, and he is travelling from Scotland to Windsor Castle, ready to be on stand-by after being in Edinburgh for Holyrood Week.

The role is one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign, because Charles does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before doing so.

But the overriding requirement is to appoint someone who can command the confidence of the House of Commons – usually the leader of the party with an overall majority of seats in the Commons – to form a government.

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Holly Willoughby speaks out after man convicted of plot to rape and murder her

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Presenter says women should not be made to ‘feel unsafe going about our daily lives’ after Gavin Plumb convicted of plan to abduct her

Holly Willoughby has said “women should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes” after a convicted violent offender was found guilty of masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder her.

Gavin Plumb, 37, was obsessed with the television host, amassing more than 10,000 images of her on his phone including deepfake pornography. He was caught after unwittingly communicating online with an undercover police officer based in the US, who flagged him to UK authorities.

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Birmingham University censoring student beliefs over Gaza camp evictions, court hears

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University is taking legal action to shut down pro-Palestine encampment on Edgbaston campus

The University of Birmingham is censoring students’ beliefs about Gaza by seeking to shut down a pro-Palestine encampment on its grounds, the high court has heard.

Birmingham is one of several universities taking legal action to try to evict student protesters, with a case brought by the University of Nottingham due to be heard before the same judge on Friday.

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Two UK Police Digital Service leaders arrested on suspicion of fraud and bribery

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Suspects suspended from senior posts at firm providing digital services for all of British law enforcement

Two senior leaders of the Police Digital Service (PDS) have been arrested on suspicion of fraud and bribery and suspended from their posts.

The company provides digital services for all of British law enforcement and has an annual turnover of more than £70m. It is owned by police and crime commissioners and funded by the Home Office and police forces.

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Relatives of India crush victims accuse authorities of leaving people to die

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Family members and eyewitnesses say they had to dig in mud to find survivors and some of the more than 120 killed

Relatives of victims of the deadly crowd crush during a Hindu religious gathering in northern India have accused the authorities of leaving their loved ones to die in the mud and on hospital floors due to a lack of medical staff and ambulances.

More than 120 people died at the religious gathering of about 250,000 people held on Tuesday as devotees surged forward, causing panic, with many falling over in the wet conditions.

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Relatives of India crush victims accuse authorities of leaving people to die – The Guardian

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  1. Relatives of India crush victims accuse authorities of leaving people to die  The Guardian
  2. A Family Loses 3 Generations of Women in India Crowd's Panic  The New York Times
  3. Rahul Gandhi leaves for Hathras; main accused, Bhole Baba missing | 10 points  Hindustan Times
  4. Hathras: Stampede at religious event kills at least 116, injures 80  The Associated Press
  5. Hathras stampede: 6 'sevadars' held, main accused on the run  The Indian Express
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Hurricane Beryl barrels through Cayman Islands after battering Jamaica

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Category 3 storm with wind speeds of up to 120mph continues to wreak ‘utter devastation’ in Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl is barrelling through the Cayman Islands after causing death and destruction in Jamaica.

The British overseas territory is bearing the brunt of the hurricane, which has been causing “utter devastation” in the Caribbean since Monday, when it almost destroyed parts of Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Climate protest trial turns to chaos as defendants defy court rules

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Accused speak out of turn about climate threat and challenge judge who orders jury to leave

There was chaos in the courtroom at a climate protest trial when two defendants stood and made statements defying the authority of the court.

At separate points during the trial on Thursday, Roger Hallam and Daniel Shaw, charged along with three others with conspiring to block traffic on the M25 in 2022, stood up in front of the jury and spoke out of turn.

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Israel said to approve largest W Bank land seizure in decades – BBC.com

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  1. Israel said to approve largest W Bank land seizure in decades  BBC.com
  2. Israel approves largest West Bank land seizure in three decades, rights group says  CNN
  3. Israel has approved ‘largest West Bank land grab in 30 years’, watchdog says  The Guardian
  4. Israeli seizures of West Bank land for settlers peaking, watchdog says  Al Jazeera English
  5. Israel announces largest West Bank land appropriation since Oslo Accords  The Times of Israel
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Tennis fans queue to bid adieu to Andy Murray but cheer new British stars

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Murray is due to compete in doubles at his last Wimbledon, yet fans are also ‘pretty excited’ to see younger players

Thursday marks a changing of the guard. While for many this might mean electing a new prime minister, at Wimbledon, tens of thousands queued for a chance to bid adieu to Andy Murray and cheer on the next generation of British tennis stars.

Murray is due to compete alongside his older brother, Jamie, in the men’s doubles this week in his final Wimbledon showing. There had been hope he would play in the tournament’s singles, but he pulled out on Tuesday after being unable to sufficiently recover from the back surgery he underwent 12 days ago.

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‘Once in a lifetime event’: rare chance to see explosion on dwarf star 3,000 light years away

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T Coronae Borealis, or the Blaze Star, was last seen in 1946 and will be visible again some time between now and September

In what is being called a “once-in-a-lifetime event”, light from a thermonuclear explosion on a star has been travelling towards Earth for thousands of years and it will be here any day.

T Coronae Borealis (also known as T Cor Bor, T CrB, and the Blaze Star) will be as bright as the North Star (for those in the northern hemisphere).

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