After Russia’s invasion in 2022, historian Leonid Marushchak saw that Ukraine’s cultural heritage was under threat, too. So he vowed to get to these irreplaceable works before Putin’s forces could. Photographs by Julia Kochetova, Ed Ram and Natalka Diachenko

• Read Charlotte Higgins’s long read about Ukraine’s art evacuators

The Italian photographer was inspired by cinema and art history to create outlandish images depicting Audrey Hepburn, Naomi Campbell and others

Former Labour MP Liz McInnes says a House of Lords elected by PR would address the democratic deficit at the heart of government. Plus a letter from Rosanne Bostock

Lord Lipsey suggests a hybrid system of first past the post and proportional representation for the House of Commons (Letters, 24 July). But why start there, as surely the House of Lords is the area that is crying out for a more democratic system?

An elected Lords, whether that is by proportional representation, alternative vote or FPTP, would address the democratic deficit at the heart of our government. As the Lords does not have constituency connections, it would be far simpler to introduce a PR system based on regions, similar to that which we enjoyed when electing members of the European parliament.

Readers respond to an article by George Monbiot on the deadening effect of extreme wealth on those who have it, and how that affects all of us

“There must be something unresolved about a person who feels the need to fill the sky with noise and capture the attention of everyone he passes, whether he is on the road or the water,” says George Monbiot in his article (Extreme wealth has a deadening effect on the super-rich – and that threatens us all, 24 July). I am sure this would have hit a chord with many who live in or visit the North York Moors national park, as we are plagued by a small aircraft performing aerial stunts at weekends and on fine, sunny days. The peace and quiet is interrupted by a noise of varying pitch and volume as it climbs and falls, twists and turns – the sound amplified as it rebounds off the dale sides into the dales.

National parks are supposed to be places for quiet enjoyment, with restrictions put on activities for those on the ground, but the skies seem free to be abused. We can accept low-flying jet aircraft when they are training – they come and are gone – but this loitering and polluting the air for one person’s pleasure should be curbed.
Richard Colman
Bransdale, North Yorkshire

Once mocked for her fallopian, flesh-coloured fascinator, she has now been crowned a fashion queen by Tatler. Is this the most unlikely second act in style history?

Name: Beatrice of York.

Age: 35.

Steve McQueen, Tracey Emin, Steve Coogan, Adjoa Andoh, Danny Dyer, Jesse Darling and many more spell out what must be done to restore Britain’s cultural lifeblood, from ending elitism to supercharging libraries – and flooding schools with music

At least Labour has started well with the education secretary announcing a review of the curriculum, the idea being that the arts and creative subjects should play a central role. Art education isn’t just about developing artists: it helps creativity and development in science and other fields. Creative subjects have been steadily squeezed out of schools. If we don’t introduce the next generation to the full range of the arts, they will become exclusively a playground of the privately educated. That seems to be happening already and it has to change. I shall be watching closely to see what the new culture secretary does to make Labour’s aspirations a reality.

When Abdulhamid Kircher unearthed his father’s history – which involved drugs, incarceration and fleeing from the Hells Angels – he reached for his camera

As blazes spew smoke across western US, research shows it may be worse for brain health than other types of pollution

A new US study has found that wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution and even increase the risk of dementia.

The findings, reported on Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the weekend under air quality warnings from wildfires spewing smoke across the western US, including a huge wildfire in California that has grown to more than 360,000 acres.

Readers on how best to make disease prevention services effective, to ease the strains on both the health service and the economy

The call for the UK to focus on disease prevention is welcome (UK must move towards disease prevention to save economy and NHS, says expert, 23 July). Too many preventive health opportunities are missed. To be successful, preventive interventions need to reach all who stand to benefit. They should be simple and inexpensive, without unnecessary barriers to access. In general, while individualised medical intervention has a place in the treatment of disease, it is less appropriate for the prevention of disease.

The prevention of heart attacks and strokes is a major opportunity. Most heart attacks and strokes occur in people with blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels that are not regarded as raised, whereas almost all cases occur in people aged 50 and over. For more than 10 years, prevention has been possible using an inexpensive, effective and safe polypill from the age of 50, without the need to perform prior tests or measurements. Such a polypill, containing a statin and low-dose blood pressure medicines, could prevent over two-thirds of heart attacks and strokes, with nearly the full preventive effect being achieved about three years after starting treatment. The evidence for this is secure, but unfortunately access is limited to a private service that the NHS could emulate for all to benefit.

We apply the law of England and Wales to resolve disputes, says Sharan Kaur Bhachu, the court’s family lead judge

I read with interest Pragna Patel’s opinion piece about the Sikh court (The world is getting its first Sikh court in London. That’s a threat to women’s rights, 31 May). Southall Black Sisters, the organisation of which she is a founding member, is an important institution in the South Asian community and has been defending women’s rights since it was founded. We are cognisant of Pragna’s concerns, which are rooted in her organisation’s experience.

We agree that religious courts can create safeguarding concerns and that traditionally patriarchal religious and cultural bodies can place pressure on women to comply or acquiesce.

Many fires were sparked by the weather, with climate crisis increasing lightning strikes amid blistering heat and dry conditions

Fire crews made progress in the battle against major wildfires that have left a trail of damage in the western United States, but thousands of firefighters continue to tackle the flames.

In northern California, the Park fire grew at ferocious speeds to become one of the largest wildfires in the state this year. In southern California, a blaze swept through the historic mining town of Havilah. And in Oregon and Idaho, authorities were assessing the damage caused by several large wildfires raging there.

The five-minute costume drama has become a summer blockbuster on YouTube, with thousands of people enjoying it at home. It is clearly very popular – but will it save lives?

Name: Airline safety videos.

Age: Around since the 1980s.

US defence secretary says China is 'engaging in coercive behaviour, trying to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas’

Japanese and US defense chiefs, as well as top diplomats, agreed to further bolster their military cooperation by upgrading the command and control of US forces in the east Asian country and strengthening American-licensed missile production there, describing the rising threat from China as “the greatest strategic challenge.”

US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, joined their Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, at the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee in Tokyo – known as “2+2” security talks – where they reaffirmed their bilateral alliance in the wake of President Joe Biden ’s withdrawal from the November presidential race.

Paris prosecutors office will also investigate possible antisemitic hate crimes during an Olympic football match in France

French police have opened an investigation into death threats received by three Israeli athletes at the Paris Olympic Games, as well as possible antisemitic hate crimes during a football match, the Paris’ prosecutors office said.

The death threats were reported by interior minister Gérald Darmanin and the investigation will be led by the national anti-online hate body.

Dr Anthony Isaacs, Bernie Evans and Jerry Stuart respond to a piece by John Harris about the need to expose political lies

John Harris rightly warns of the spread of rightwing populism on both sides of the Atlantic and the risk to Labour’s majority at the next election, given Reform UK’s strong showing in many Labour seats (Populism has plenty of false promises to solve Britain’s problems. Labour will need to expose them, 22 July). He calls for a senior Labour politician to expose the scam of “a party founded and led by privately educated opportunists” presenting itself as “the voice of ordinary people”, though it has to be said that this presented no barrier to the success of the Etonians who achieved Tory victories in 2010 and 2019.

Addressing populism will require both a focus on improving living standards and developing a convincing story around the bigger policy areas of tackling inequality, restoring public services and preventing environmental catastrophe, all of which will take time. It is therefore doubly unfortunate that Labour’s leadership, in no current danger, has sought instead to marginalise its own internal critics, particularly over their opposition to the two-child benefit cap. In losing the Labour whip on an issue of principle, the rebels can count themselves in the company of such Labour luminaries as Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot. When Labour reverses its current policy, they may well, by analogy with the anti-Franco fighters who opposed fascism before it was a mainstream cause, come to be lauded as premature anti-austerians, who showed the way to defeat populism.
Dr Anthony Isaacs
London

Cynthia Scott shares her personal experience and calls for thoroughly vetted police officers who are properly trained to protect women and girls

For many women, it will come as no surprise that violence against women is now a “national emergency” (Violence against women a ‘national emergency’ in England and Wales, police say, 23 July). What may raise eyebrows, however, is the fact that it is the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s own analysis confirming this. The question is: what will the police do about it?

In my own personal dealings, the police have come across as poorly trained. I once made a complaint to the police about being seriously harassed by a male stranger on the street. I later found out that my statement to the police had not been logged. I complained a second time; while my complaint was logged in this instance, the onus was on me to provide evidence and check if there was any CCTV in the area. Ultimately, the case went nowhere. On a separate occasion, a police officer at my local station told me the man masturbating next to me on a bus had not committed an offence, as there had been no indecent exposure.

The group scored an own goal if their intention was to influence public opinion

Thank you, Sonia Sodha, for bursting the bubble (“Yes, five years in jail is too harsh, but the Just Stop Oil Five shouldn’t have done it”, Comment). Party A seeks something that Party B refuses to grant. Party A therefore – usually indiscriminately – targets Party C, who must be entirely innocent for this to work, and threatens to harm them unless given what they want.

It’s called hostage taking. In their latest indulgence of the practice, Just Stop Oil once again comes across as implacable yet patronising absolutists: “Yes, we’re hurting you, but we know that it’s for the best.” Their pretence of intellectual coherence is betrayed by the essential crudeness of their message: “Give us what we want, or the bunny gets it.” I cannot believe that their antics attract more people than they alienate.
Peter Millen
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

I can’t think of anyone less “self-indulgent” than Louise Lancaster, one of the Just Stop Oil Five, imprisoned for four years last week.

Blinken warns of further actions if China keeps aiding Russian industrial base; Russia claims control of Lozuvatske settlement. What we know on day 886

• See all our Ukraine war coverage

Birgit, 42, an academic, meets Solomon, 44, a healthcare professional

What were you hoping for?
A fun evening with someone interesting. I chose to not think about it too much beforehand and to just let things happen.

Marvel get sweary as Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman snap on the spandex, and TikTok’s favourite rap star finally releases her debut album

Deadpool & Wolverine
Out now
Way back when, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) was the irreverent, rebellious one, in contrast to the more earnest X-Men such as Professor Xavier. Now he’s paired with Deadpool, the guy who represents the zenith (or nadir) of snook-cocking superhero snark. Comic-book quippery with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy commends troops for hitting ‘Russian bases and logistics on occupied territory’; Russia hands out long jail terms for alleged anti-war plots. What we know on day 885

• See all our Ukraine war coverage

The crackdown on the right to protest in recent years is starting to look like an insidious march towards illiberal democracy, writes Patrick Callaghan. Plus letters from Rosy Mackin, Michael Daniell, Nigel Hooper, Ric Allen, Robert Nelson and Rowena Beighton-Dykes

I agree wholeheartedly with Chris Packham’s and Dale Vince’s article criticising the jailing of environmental protesters (You may find Just Stop Oil annoying. You may dislike their tactics. But they do not belong in prison, 19 July). It’s a chilling response that shames our judiciary.

Yes, the protesters are often annoying, aggrandising and disruptive: that’s the point. Our history is littered with such protesters, whose actions have changed the lives of many and resulted in governments enacting legislation. That we now have legally protected characteristics for many citizens is, in part, due to campaigns by annoying, aggrandising and disruptive citizens, often pilloried, jailed and worse. Our legislative limits on the right to protest in the past few years are starting to look like an insidious march towards “illiberal democracy”, to coin a phrase that Viktor Orbán has used to describe his government.
Patrick Callaghan
London

Readers respond to Emma Beddington’s article about having the option of at-home smear tests

I used to share Emma Beddington’s dislike of smear tests and was further outraged to discover that here in Spain they are not performed in your local GP surgery (DIY smear tests are on their way? I’ll be first in the queue, 22 July). Instead I had to make an appointment with a gynaecologist in a hospital an hour’s drive away. It turned out that this huffed-about visit would save my life.

A smear test can’t diagnose ovarian cancer, but a good gynaecologist taking advantage of a smear appointment to perform an exam can. The doctor discovered a 13cm tumour on my right ovary. He immediately sent me for blood tests and made some referrals. Within two weeks of my smear, I found myself sitting opposite two onco-gynae surgeons – who operated on me a week later.

From an unexpected glimpse of a silky anteater to a tagged terrapin, here is a selection of this year’s winning, runner-up and commended images from the 2024 Mangrove photography awards, run by the Mangrove Action Project

Ukraine’s foreign minister calls on Hong Kong to prevent Russia from using region to circumvent sanctions; drone debris lands in Romania. What we know on day 884

The Pentagon has found $2bn worth of additional errors in its calculations for ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine, increasing the improperly valued material to a total of $8.2bn, a US government report revealed on Thursday. In 2023, the Pentagon said staff used “replacement value” instead of “depreciated value” to tabulate the billions in materials sent to Ukraine. The $6.2bn error created a path for billions more to be sent to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on Hong Kong to prevent Russia and Russian businesses from using the region to circumvent sanctions. Kuleba met with Hong Kong leader John Lee as part of a visit to China. He called on the administration to prevent Russia from using Hong Kong to circumvent restrictions resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a statement from the Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry. “These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia’s potential to wage war and kill people in Ukraine,” the statement said.

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities in two regions with drones, causing disruptions to electricity supplies, the national power grid operator said on Friday. Ukrenergo said power supplies had been already restored to most consumers in the northern Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector have intensified since the spring, resulting in blackouts in many regions and forcing Kyiv to start large-scale electricity imports from the European Union.

A court in Moscow on Thursday ordered the head of a defense ministry’s construction division to be detained for two months on suspicion of abuse of power, Russian news agencies reported, the latest in a series of arrests of high-ranking ministry officials this year. Andrei Belkov heads the Military Construction Company, which builds bases, hospitals, schools and other facilities for the military, according to its website.

Russian and Chinese bombers flew together for the first time in international airspace off the coast of Alaska, in a new show of expanding military cooperation that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday raises concerns. The flights Wednesday were not seen as a threat but it was the first time that Chinese bomber aircraft have flown within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. And it was the first time Chinese and Russian aircraft have taken off from the same base in northeast Russia.

The Turkish navy intercepted a marine drone in the Black Sea off Istanbul, authorities said, with media reporting that it contained explosives and might be Ukrainian. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number of mines suspected of having floated down from the conflict zone have been spotted off the Turkish coast. The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.

Debris from what is believed to be a Russian drone landed in a rural area of Romania, the country’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, in the latest apparent incident of drone wreckage from the war in neighbouring Ukraine falling on to the Nato member’s soil.

The Netherlands and Denmark are to deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine “before the end of summer”, the Dutch defence minister announced Wednesday, saying Kyiv “urgently” needed more military support. The two countries bought the German-made tanks last year for 165mn euros ($186m) before sending them for refurbishment.

With Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters

The government can’t be taken seriously on child poverty, writes Alan Sharkey, while Mike Sheaff decries the suspension of rebel MPs. Plus letters from Leah Key and Peter Brooker

The government’s reluctance to remove the two-child benefit cap, and the punitive action taken against the Labour MPs who voted with their conscience on this matter, betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of deprivation in our country (Labour suspends seven rebels who voted to scrap two-child benefit cap, 23 July).

In the UK, 1.6 million children are affected by the cap. Child poverty has a substantial impact on future health, employment, education and other social outcomes. The cost of this impact is estimated by the Child Poverty Action Group to be £39bn, far outstripping the cost of removing the cap.

Dr Alison Ronan says feminism has been shaped by the courage of the many, not just the few; while Mary Evans is glad that many people still turn to the Women’s Library

I read the article by Susanna Rustin with interest (Dramatic deeds are remembered, but too many feminists of the past are forgotten, 21 July). In Manchester, the Pankhursts are indeed remembered for their deeds and their house has been restored as a museum and a place of commemoration. Emmeline is remembered with an iconic statue in the city centre. But, of course, the history of feminist resistance is much more complicated – with an often overlooked history of grassroots collective action.

A group of enthusiasts, calling themselves Trailblazers!, have been working to restore unseen women into Manchester’s “radical” past: profiling women such as the influential anti-racist campaigner Louise Da-Cocodia (1934-2008), Manchester’s first female councillor and pacifist Margaret Ashton (1856-1937), the Irish trade union activist Mary Quaile (1886-1958) and the early suffrage agitator and scientist Lydia Becker (1828‑1890). These “extraordinary” women sit alongside so many other suffragists, pacifists, union activists and workers in the city, whose apparently “ordinary” lives have been uncovered and celebrated here in Manchester with street art, banners and events.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Residents evacuated in Metro Manila and nearby provinces as flooding wreaks havoc

• Video: Typhoon Gaemi makes landfall in Taiwan and brings floods to Manila

From cold war subcultures to topless bridesmaids, a new exhibition at Kicken Berlin features half a century of groundbreaking images

Christopher Wray testified on Wednesday before House judiciary committee on Capitol Hill

The FBI director told the House judiciary committee that the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump just 11 days ago searched online for information about the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy.

Christopher Wray testified before the committee on Capitol Hill, at the House of Representatives, where the Republicans are in the majority.

Turkey wants doner registered as its ‘guaranteed traditional speciality’ across Europe, akin to serrano ham and Neapolitan pizza

Germany and Turkey have crossed swords over the doner kebab, with Berlin appealing Ankara’s attempt to have the beloved street food given the same protected EU status as Spain’s serrano ham and Neapolitan pizza.

The food fight began in April when Turkey applied to register the name doner as its “guaranteed traditional speciality” across Europe, meaning the label could only be used by those conforming to designated production methods and specifications for the meat inside.

Communities need affordable properties, not executive homes, writes Dr James Derounian. Plus letters from Valerie Organ and Rosanne Bostock

I agree with Simon Jenkins’s overall message that England’s rural communities desperately need low-cost and affordable homes to rent and buy (David Cameron failed to foist new houses on rural areas. Why does Keir Starmer think he’ll succeed?, 18 July). But beyond that he seems to dive down a whole string of rabbit holes, such as 80% of British students expecting “the luxury of living away from home” – the implication being that students should not be enabled to make a first move towards independence. And then he rails against onshore wind turbines.

To say that the Conservatives failed to foist new houses on rural areas is wrong. It was their national planning policy framework that unleashed rampant executive housebuilding of four- and five-bedroom homes on villages and towns across rural England.

It doesn’t have to be a dichotomous choice between first past the post and proportional representation, writes David Lipsey

The election result, with Labour dominating parliament despite only having won just over a third of the vote, has rightly brought electoral reform to the forefront of the national debate (Labour divided over calls to scrap first past the post after landslide win, 17 July). But the debate is in danger of being dominated by a false dichotomy: between first past the post and proportional representation. This is unhelpful, not least because PR is not going to happen – not with a Labour government that FPTP has blessed with such a luxurious majority.

The choice is not between FPTP and PR. As I learned as a member of the Jenkins committee on electoral reform 25 years ago, there are as many electoral systems as there are apples on a tree.

Are you a comedian desperate for an audience – and accommodation – during the Edinburgh fringe? This could be your dream gig

Name: Breakfast roaster.

Age: As yet unborn.

Pyrocumulus clouds like one above Durkee fire can create rain and lightning, potentially causing new fire starts

A wildfire in Oregon has grown so large that it is creating its own weather, experts have said.

The so-called Durkee fire was sparked by lightning and has since grown to nearly 240,000 acres (97,124 hectares). The fire is threatening homes in and around the communities of Durkee, Huntington and Rye Valley, as well as a major highway, cell towers and power infrastructure in the area.

Resumption of flights comes after South boosted frontline broadcasts of K-pop songs and propaganda messages across the border

Balloons carrying rubbish sent by North Korea have fallen on the compound of South Korea’s presidential office, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Other South Korean media reported the balloons caused no damage. AFP reported that the balloons prompted Seoul to mobilise chemical response teams. Yonhap gave no further details.

Edward Rosen, Jabeer Butt and Edward Lyon respond to the first report of the official Covid inquiry

I attended the launch of the Covid-19 inquiry report by Lady Hallett and I left the viewing room with my emotions all over the place (UK in ‘worse state’ to deal with pandemic than before Covid, say experts, 19 July). I remembered my dead colleague, dead patients and a dead friend. But I also remembered our first informal meeting in the NHS, when the possibility of a new pandemic was briefly and nonchalantly discussed. That was in October 1999. Labour was in power and our focus was on innovation and modernisation across the NHS. I was a passionate enthusiast for all this new policy – a cheerful foot soldier for change. Sound familiar?

My contribution as a senior NHS change leader between 2002 and 2005 was to help build a new learning system or infrastructure that included a health observatory capable of horizon scanning for any threats to the NHS and, by default, to the public. This innovation was one arm of the new NHS University, which was designed to provide an integrated learning system across the health sector. The two areas of concern were pandemics and climate change.

Richard Bonfield recalls how he organised a peaceful gathering that led to an inquiry and, ultimately, victory for local people

Re George Monbiot’s article about peaceful protests following the jailing of four Just Stop Oil activists (A record sentence for a Zoom call, arrests for those holding signs outside. This is a blight on British democracy, 19 July), I agree with peaceful protests that can make a difference in changing people’s minds and hearts, but not with actions that cause misery to ordinary people, as was the case with the M25 protest.

In May 2011, I was the organiser of the biggest peaceful protest outside the Senedd Cymru against proposals for swathes of windfarms and pylons to cover huge areas of mid-Wales. Initially, each village set up it own protest group, but quickly everyone realised that we needed one group to fight these imposed developments – result, all 25 groups came together.

Waste from illegal labs and untreated sewage laced with pharmaceuticals is contaminating the seas off Rio de Janeiro. It’s far from the only place to be affected

Name: Cocaine sharks.

Age: Juvenile and upwards.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

From Cornish thatchers to Polish apple pickers and Hungarian hand-milkers, these images capture the essence – and difficulty – of farm life

Ukrainian foreign minister seeking ways for China to help end war; Hungary stripped of EU meeting over Orbán forays. What we know on day 881

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, is in China on Tuesday for talks on how officials there might help end the war with Russia. China presents itself as a neutral party in the war, however its deepening “no limits” partnership with Russia led Nato members to declare it a “decisive enabler” of the invasion, which Beijing has never condemned. The US and Europe have accused Beijing of sending components and equipment used to keep Russian military production going.

Hungary will not be allowed to host a strategic EU meeting next month because of Viktor Orbán’s self-proclaimed “peace mission” trips to Moscow and Beijing without the union’s authority, Jennifer Rankin reports. “We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal,” said the EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, explaining that he had decided the upcoming foreign and defence ministers’ meeting would take place in Brussels instead of Budapest. Hungary holds the rotating EU presidency, and as such would normally host the annual late August gathering.

Ukraine’s top commander said on Monday that Russian forces were staging relentless assaults to try to advance towards the town of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in the east, and that there was active fighting taking place along the entire frontline. Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said fierce battles raged near several eastern villages and towns, including Krasnohorivka and Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop town whose capture would bring Russia closer to threatening important Donetsk region cities.

A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to more than six years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army. Her husband, Pavel Butorin, who also works for RFE/RL, said her arrest was related to a book that she had edited entitled Saying No to War: 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. “My daughters and I know Alsu has done nothing wrong. And the world knows it too. We need her home.” The RFE/RL president and CEO, Stephen Capus, called Kurmasheva’s rapid, secretly held trial and conviction “a mockery of justice”. Kurmasheva, 47, is based in Prague but was arrested while visiting family in Tatarstan, Russia.

Ukraine’s government said on Monday it had struck a preliminary deal with international creditors to restructure government debt worth more than $20bn.

Several thousand people have attended the funeral in Lviv of Iryna Farion, a former Ukrainian MP who was assassinated on Friday. Farion was best known for her campaigns to promote the speaking of Ukrainian and expunge the Russian language from Ukrainian officialdom. She criticised Russian-speaking members of Ukraine’s Azov regiment who defended Mariupol in the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion. Ukrainian police are searching for the unidentified assassin.

The EU has extended sanctions against Russia for a further six months, until 31 January 2025.

The beloved Motown group’s co-founder died of a heart failure and had been struggling with bladder cancer

Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving original member of the Four Tops, the beloved Motown group, died Monday at his home in Detroit. He was 88 years old.

According to a family spokesperson, Fakir died of heart failure with his family and friends by his side. The family announced his death Monday afternoon, saying, “our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a trailblazer, icon and music legend who, through his 70-year music career, touched the lives of so many”.

Two novelists, an agent and a publisher each share their top three golden rules for publishing a book

Does everyone really have a book in them? And if you want to write one, where do you start? The novelist and podcaster Elizabeth Day, host of the How to Fail series, has created a “podclass” to answer those questions and more, hosted by three publishing pros: novelist Sara Collins, agent Nelle Andrew and publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove. Here, the four share their key advice for getting a book out into the world.

After 50 years, the cute Sanrio character has been revealed by her creators – and King Charles – to be something quite unexpected

Name: Hello Kitty.

Age: Fifty. Created in 1974, introduced the following year.

Jonathan Gorse believes the Russian position is understandable, while Karen Miller says placating Putin will not work. Plus a letter from Dr Wolfgang Heinemann

Simon Jenkins, describing his horror at our new prime minister considering whether to allow Ukraine to use British missiles for strikes deep into Russia, is a rare voice of reason in a chorus of relentless escalation (It’s worrying to see the prime minister cheerleading for war. Will Ukraine turn into Starmer’s Iraq?, 15 July). Western leaders across the board seem to have forgotten the promises made to Mikhail Gorbachev more than 30 years ago, assuring him of our commitment to not extend the borders of Nato into the old Soviet bloc.

Since then, we have seen numerous former Soviet states join Nato, leaving Russia encircled to the west, with hostile missiles, troops, tanks and planes now pointing in its direction from its own backyard. Russian discomfort at this situation over the past 20 years has been ignored, and it is my belief that the invasion of Ukraine was entirely due to the fear that Ukraine too would be accepted into the Nato alliance.

Paul Kaufman of Boycott Thames Water hopes public anger over water industry failings will force the government to take action

Public fury at the water industry can be channelled to achieve lasting change (Letters, 14 July). There are parallels with the revolt that brought down the poll tax. Our campaign – Boycott Thames Water – seeks to overturn the false narrative that taking water back into public ownership is unaffordable.

If the Ofwat proposals pass, a water levy will be imposed on every household to pay for the failure of the water companies. The huge percentage hike, on top of inflation, will apply to everyone, irrespective of means. It is a poll tax in all but name. A government committed to fiscal propriety should not stand by and allow this. Many people simply cannot afford water to remain in the hands of rapacious private monopolies.

Melanie Georger, who dreamed of flying for commercial airlines, was only person onboard after passengers jumped

A 26-year-old pilot with dreams of flying for commercial airlines died in a skydiving flight over the weekend when her small plane crashed near the Niagara Falls after her passengers jumped from the aircraft.

Melanie Georger, 26, was the only person onboard when her single-engine Cessna crashed on Saturday, the Niagara county, New York, sheriff’s office said in a statement. Georger, of Towanda, New York, was working to become a commercial pilot, her father said on Saturday in a statement on Facebook.

The Associated Press contributed reporting