July set to be driest on record for England and Wales after relentless heatwaves

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Climate scientist urges better planning as southern England had just 1% of long-term average rainfall last month

Half of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.

The announcements this week by England’s Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four record-breaking heatwaves since May which have fuelled huge wildfires and left farmers, wildlife and protected habitats running out of water.

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Queensland reveals concept plans for Brisbane Olympic stadium precinct – but critics say they are ‘fantasy vision’

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David Crisafulli says ‘Queenslanders will enjoy for generations’ as opponents point to lack of detail

The Queensland government has released new concept images for a parkland precinct to surround the 2032 Olympic stadium, as it seeks to quell concern at the loss of Brisbane’s largest inner-city parkland.

But opponents of the plans – now entering the early construction phase – to build a stadium at Brisbane’s Victoria Park say the concept images are a “fantasy vision” with no detail, and which overlook the likely need for carparks, roads, transport links and plazas to accommodate large crowds.

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‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk

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Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes

The government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.

Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife.

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Callas, Beethoven, bee-eaters or storks: competition seeks to redesign euro notes

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The EU is using a currency redesign as an opportunity to be less neutral and try some finely balanced identity-building

Is Europe best represented by the bold intellect of Marie Curie, the sprawling imagination of Miguel de Cervantes and the intense musical genius of Ludwig van Beethoven? Or by a migrating stork and a bee-eater, swooping across borderless plains and enjoying freedom of movement across European countries?

The quest to settle this issue has engaged a surprising number of people across the continent, after more than 6 million people voted in a survey within just a week of its launch to determine whether the newly redesigned euro bank notes should depict either cultural figures or birds and waterways.

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UK’s state investments agency hit by data breach

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Security lapse leaves sensitive information and contact details of 51 government officials exposed for 40 hours

The public body in charge of the UK’s state investments has been pushed to improve its internal security after a data breach left “high-level management information” publicly accessible for nearly two days.

UK Government Investments (UKGI), the agency that manages the taxpayers’ interest in a swathe of companies including Channel 4 and the Post Office, said the security failure also left more than 50 government officials’ personal details exposed for nearly 40 hours.

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Shooting at In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Idaho leaves three people dead

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Police chief say shooter found dead after ‘very chaotic scene’ near busy shopping area in Twin Falls

Three people were killed and seven more were injured, some critically, in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon, a Twin Falls city spokesperson said.

Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer said. He did not know if the suspect was included in the fatality count.

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EVs and hybrids approach half of Australian new car sales amid ongoing fuel crisis

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Australians bought EVs and hybrids at nearly same rate as petrol cars between April and June, Australian Automobile Association data shows

Australians are now buying electric and hybrid vehicles at the same rate as traditional petrol-powered cars, according to new data that shows EV sales doubled in the months after the peak of the fuel price spike.

Fuel prices are again on track to top $2 a litre, after the federal government’s fuel excise reductions – introduced to offset the impact of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East – come to an end on Sunday.

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Undercover police unit closed down over unjustified surveillance, spycops inquiry told

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Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

An undercover police unit that spied on tens of thousands of political activists had to be shut down amid severe criticisms and recriminations, the spycops public inquiry has heard.

Jon Boutcher, a senior police officer who took over responsibility for the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) unit, concluded within months that it had to be wound up because it was conducting unjustified surveillance and was badly run.

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Trump climbs down on Iran strikes after Saudi alarm and threats from Tehran

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President claims delay is ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a deal’ as intervention by Saudi crown prince is revealed and Iran warns neighbours

Donald Trump said on Saturday night that the US would hold off on any new strikes on Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached – marking the president’s latest climbdown from extravagant threats to hit the Tehran regime hard.

The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, it was reported. Trump’s reversal also came after Iran threatened to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two ships were attacked off Oman in the strait of Hormuz.

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Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise across west Africa, campaigners warn

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Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’

A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.

In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality. Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country.

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Moscow restaurant bombing kills three people as device carried by woman explodes

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More than 20 people injured in explosion near Italian restaurant on Saturday night, authorities say

A homemade bomb carried by a woman killed three people and injured at least 21 in ⁠an explosion near a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening, authorities said.

The explosion occurred just before 8pm close to an Italian restaurant located in one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinskaya ​Square, the police said.

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Capital One says it closed Trump Organization’s accounts after anti-money-laundering review

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Disclosure from 2021 investigation marks first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to Donald Trump

Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its ⁠decision to close the Trump ⁠Organization’s bank accounts ​years ago, stating that it did so after a review by anti-money-laundering experts.

The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to Donald Trump’s family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking – or denying services on religious or political grounds – the Trump Organization.

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Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore, known for playing mobsters and tough guys, dies aged 80

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Veteran actor best-known for playing Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero, friend of Tony Soprano who becomes FBI informant

Vincent Pastore, a veteran actor who played mobsters and tough guys, and was best-known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on The Sopranos, has died. He was 80.

Bob McGowan, who had managed Pastore since his run on The Sopranos, told the Associated Press that he learned of his death Saturday from another client and actor on the show, Vincent Curatola.

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Tourist plane crashes during flight over Peru’s Nazca Lines, killing 13

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Aircraft crashes into field after departing from nearby city of Pisco, according to local authorities

Police in Peru report that 13 people, among them foreign tourists, have been killed in a plane crash in southern Peru, near the Nazca Lines.

Local authorities in Nazca confirmed that 11 tourists and two pilots died when the Cessna Grand Caravan crashed in Pueblo Viejo, approximately 4 miles (6km) from the city of Nazca and roughly 12km from the Nazca Lines site.

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3 people killed, at least 21 wounded in Moscow restaurant bombing, Russian officials say – Politico

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  1. 3 people killed, at least 21 wounded in Moscow restaurant bombing, Russian officials say  Politico
  2. Bomb explodes at Moscow restaurant, killing two victims and woman suspected of delivering device  CNN
  3. Bombing at Moscow restaurant kills 3 - authorities  RTE.ie
  4. Explosion in Moscow leaves at least 3 dead, 21 injured  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
  5. Three killed after bomb detonated at Moscow restaurant, state media say  BBC
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Why did Ceuta migrant mayhem chill already frosty Israel-Spain relations? – Al Jazeera

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  1. Why did Ceuta migrant mayhem chill already frosty Israel-Spain relations?  Al Jazeera
  2. Spain Says Most Immigrants Who Overran Its African Enclave Have Left  wsj.com
  3. Spain pushes migrants home as Ceuta vents over ‘invasion’  Financial Times
  4. Socialist Spanish PM blasts Meloni over restored border controls after Ceuta surge, demands emergency meeting  Fox News
  5. Spain pushes migrants back to Morocco as fallout deepens over mass border breach  The Washington Post
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Thirteen die in tourist plane crash over Peru’s Nazca Lines – Reuters

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  1. Thirteen die in tourist plane crash over Peru's Nazca Lines  Reuters
  2. At least 13 dead as tourist plane crashes during flight over Peru’s Nazca Lines  theguardian.com
  3. Tourist plane crashes in Peru, killing 13 on board  BBC
  4. Police say 13 killed as small plane viewing Nazca Lines in Peru crashes  Al Jazeera
  5. Tourist plane crashes in Peru, killing 13 on a Nazca Lines sightseeing flight  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
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