1. Greening calls for second EU referendum
Former education secretary Justine Greening has called for a second referendum on the EU. Writing in The Times, the MP for Putney dismissed Theresa May’s proposed EU deal as a “fudge I can’t support” and “the worst of both worlds”. Greening said the “only solution” is to “take the final Brexit decision out of the hands of deadlocked politicians”.
2. Trump’s ‘low expectations’ for Putin summit
US President Donald Trump has said that he has “low expectations” of his bilateral summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, adding that “maybe some good” will come of it. Trump said he might raise the issue of interference in the 2016 US election, which he won, after the US Justice Department charged 12 Russian intelligence officers on Friday with a litany of alleged offences.
3. House price slump blamed on seller surge
House price growth has slowed this month as a result of an increase in properties coming onto the market, without a corresponding increase in buyers, property website Rightmove says. There are more houses for sale now than at any point since September 2011 - which coming during the usual summer slump in purchasing, is forcing sellers to reduce prices.
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4. Elon Musk calls Thai cave diver a ‘paedo’
Billionaire Elon Musk has deleted a tweet in which he baselessly told his 22 million followers that one of the British cave divers who helped rescue 12 Thai boys trapped in a cave was a “paedo”. The Tesla founder appears to have struck out in anger at the diver’s claim that Musk only visited the cave with a mini-sub as a “PR stunt”, and could not have helped.
5. Joy and violence as France celebrates victory
Joyful celebrations in Paris after France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win the football World Cup turned violent for a minority of fans last night. Some supporters vandalised shops and attacked police with bottles and chairs. Police responded with tear gas and water canon. There were also arrests and disorder in Lyon and Marseille.
6. Higher roadworks speed limit on Sundays to be tested
Highways England is to trial plans to increase the speed limit through motorway roadworks on quiet days such as Sundays, in an attempt to “do away with some of the frustration for drivers”. Long sections of motorways now have average speed limits of 50mph in force, even on Sundays when work is rarely carried out. The new limit might be 60mph.
7. Scottish Highlands to host first UK spaceport
The UK’s first spaceport will be built in the Highlands of Scotland – and could open as soon as the early 2020s. A remote stretch of boggy land in the far north – the A’Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland – has been chosen as the best place from which to launch rockets vertically, putting satellites in orbit. Lockheed Martin has won a $31m contract from the UK Space Agency to establish the spaceport.
8. Pussy Riot: we invaded World Cup final pitch
Russian political activist punk band Pussy Riot have claimed responsibility for the World Cup final pitch invasion, one of the very few political protests against Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime during the tournament. The four pitch invaders, dressed in police uniforms, were quickly removed by security during the second half.
9. Tudor shipwreck found on Kent beach
A group of amateur archaeologists have discovered a Tudor shipwreck embedded in the sand of a Kent beach. Tests on wood from the vessel, found at Tankerton Beach, near Whitstable, have revealed that one plank in the preserved hull came from a tree felled in 1531. The single-masted ship is thought to have been a working vessel and has been given government protection as the only wreck of its kind in southeast England.
10. Briefing: will the Zimbabwe elections be free and fair?
Zimbabweans are preparing to head to the polls in the first election since former president Robert Mugabe was removed from power in November last year.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, president and leader of the ruling Zanu-PF, is standing against more than a dozen other candidates, including Nelson Chamisa from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the country’s main opposition alliance.
The vote on 30 July will be the first time in two decades that the ballot will not feature Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who died of cancer earlier this year.
Zimbabwe elections: will the vote be free and fair?
