Prices rose by 3.6% in the year to June, the steepest rise in inflation since January 2024, the Office for National Statistics said.

That marks a significant rise from the 3.4% rate in May.

The rate at which prices rise matters to shoppers, whose money doesn't go as far if goods and services are becoming rapidly more expensive.

The decision will affect whether the Bank of England decides to raise or lower interest rates as higher rates can slow inflation by dampening economic activity.

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said he makes "no apology" for stopping the reporting of a leak that revealed data about thousands of Afghans who had supported British forces.

Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Ben said the decision to apply for an injunction was "not a cover-up".

In February 2022, the details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) were leaked. The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 when some details were posted on Facebook.

Sir Ben said when he was informed of the error he was "determined that the first priority was to protect all those that might be at risk".

• Thousands of Afghans were moved to UK in secret scheme after data breach

"Some may disagree but imagine if the Taliban had been alerted to the existence of this list. I would dread to think what would have happened," he added.

A new resettlement scheme - the Afghanistan Response Route - was set up in April 2024 for those on the leaked list. About 4,500 Afghans have arrived in the UK so far.

The scheme is understood to have cost around £400m, with a projected final cost of about £850m.

Details of the major data breach, the response and the number of Afghans granted the right to live in the UK as a result only came to light on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled the gagging order should be lifted.

The leak contained the names, contact details and some family information of people potentially at risk of harm from the Taliban.

The daughter of an Afghan translator whose details were leaked told the BBC's Newsnight programme that her whole family "panicked".

"No one knows where the data has been sent to - it could be sent to the Taliban, they could have their hands on it," she said.

Her grandmother, who is still in Afghanistan, is "completely vulnerable", she added.

Downing Street would not confirm whether the official responsible for the leak had faced disciplinary action, with a spokesman saying they would not comment on individuals.

Speaking in the commons on Tuesday, Defence Secretary John Healey said the person involved in the leak was "no longer doing the same job", and offered a "sincere apology" on behalf of the government.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also apologised on behalf of her party.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Parliament should have been informed about the leak.

He told the BBC's World Tonight: "Parliament cannot be ignored for that length of time, we owe a duty to the public to at least have examined this."

The chief executive of Co-op has confirmed all 6.5 million of its members had their data stolen in a cyber-attack on the retailer in April.

"I'm devastated that information was taken. I'm also devastated by the impact that it took on our colleagues as well as they tried to contain all of this," Shirine Khoury-Haq told BBC Breakfast in her first public interview since the hack.

"There was no financial data, no transaction data but it was names and addresses and contact information that was lost," she added.

Ms Khoury-Haq said she would not step down from her role, but said she was "incredibly sorry" for the attack.

Co-op was one of three retailers, alongside Marks and Spencer (M&S) and Harrods who were victims of cyber-attacks in spring this year.

Co-op announced on 30 April that it had been hacked, initially saying it would only have a "small impact" on its call centre and back office.

But days later, after being contacted by the alleged hackers, BBC News revealed that customer and employee data had been accessed.

Co-op then admitted the criminals had "accessed data relating to a significant number of our current and past members".

BBC News later discovered from the alleged attackers that the company disconnected the internet from IT networks in the nick of time to stop the hackers from deploying ransomware and so causing even more disruption.

M&S also had customer data stolen, and is still getting its systems back to normal after huge disruption which has cost it millions of pounds.

Last week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said four people had been arrested in connection with the hacks on Co-op and M&S

These were a 20-year-old woman was arrested in Staffordshire, and three males - aged between 17 and 19 - were detained in London and the West Midlands.

They were apprehended on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.

Additional reporting by Charlotte Edwards.

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Southern Water is the latest company to announce a hosepipe ban - affecting almost one million customers - due to prolonged dry weather.

The move will come into force for residents across much of Hampshire and all of the Isle of Wight from 09:00 BST on Monday.

It will ban the use of a hosepipe for activities such as watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool.

Managing director Tim McMahon apologised to customers and said: "Only by working together can we make sure there's enough water to go around for customers and the environment."

The water company was fined £90m in 2021 after raw sewage was discharged across Hampshire, West Sussex and Kent.

Announcing the temporary water restrictions, it called on customers to act immediately and avoid a "spike" in demand that could make the situation worse.

The restrictions will apply to 791,000 customers in 336,000 properties in Hampshire as well as 144,000 customers in 75,000 properties on the Isle of Wight.

The River Test and Itchen chalk streams supply most of the water in the area but are at "critically low levels" - down 24% on normal flows for this time of year, the company said.

The Environment Agency also declared the Solent and South Downs were experiencing "prolonged dry weather".

Several other water companies have already introduced hosepipe bans, including Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and South East Water.

People found to be using a hosepipe during a ban can be fined up to £1,000.

Mr McMahon said: "We have to respond to the widespread and prolonged dry weather affecting our region.

"In our case, this means a hosepipe ban for our customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to protect the health of our amazing chalk streams, which as one of the rarest habitats on earth has been compared to the Amazon Rainforest.

"We must act now to support the wildlife that live there, including Atlantic salmon and southern damselfly."

He continued: "Our teams are working 24/7 to find and fix leaks faster than ever, using a wide range of innovative solutions like drones, sensors and even sniffer dogs, and are ensuring that our pipes, reservoirs and water supply works are working as efficiently as possible – but sadly this is not enough."

Water Minister Emma Hardy said: "We face a growing water shortage in the next decade which is why we are pushing ahead with urgent water reforms.

"Our Plan for Change includes £104 billion of private investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks."

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It's a makeover on a massive scale - it involves moving 1,300 plants, replacing 16,000 panes of glass and cleaning up hundreds of tonnes of iron.

This is the ambitious £50m plan to renovate the world-famous Palm House, which sits at the heart of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

The hot and humid conditions inside have taken their toll on the building, which opened in 1848 and houses a tropical rainforest.

Kew will also use the refurbishment – which will see the glass house closed for five years from 2027 – to reduce emissions from the Palm House to net zero.

The planning permission for the project has now been submitted, and some of the plants that make up the indoor tropical rainforest have started to be relocated.

"This is probably the plant that I worry about moving the most," says Thomas Pickering, head of glasshouses.

He's standing next to one of Kew's most precious specimens: a plant called Encephalartos altensteinii, which is a type of cycad.

It's growing in a pot, and at 250 years old, it's older than the Palm House itself. It's also enormous - weighing more than a tonne and standing about 4m tall.

"It's the sheer size of it. It has a huge weight in that root ball, but also this incredibly long stem, which is very old because they're incredibly slow-growing plants," says Pickering.

The horticulturists will use scaffolds, supports and braces to protect the plant when the time comes for it to be moved. Other plants, that are a bit easier to shift, have already been taken to a temporary greenhouse.

"It's going to be a long term project," explains Pickering.

"And over the next two years, it's going to be a process of selecting which plants we need to containerize (place in pots) and keep, which ones we need to propagate - and also some of the plants will be felled because we won't be able to move them."

The Palm House was built more than 175 years ago and was a wonder of the Victorian age.

No-one had ever constructed a glass house on that scale before and the engineers borrowed techniques from the shipping industry to build the huge structure.

It was last renovated in the 1980s, but now the iron is heavily rusting in places, so it will be stripped back to the bare metal work, repaired and repainted.

All of the thousands of single glazed panes of glass will be replaced and tests are underway to find the best type of glass to provide maximum insulation.

Maintaining the Palm House's temperature at 21C uses a lot of energy, but now gas boilers will be replaced with air source and water source heat pumps.

"This is an incredibly challenging building to make net zero," said Rachel Purdon, head of sustainability at Kew.

"We can do a huge amount with things like sealing the glass and improving the heating systems to massively reduce the carbon footprint and improve the sustainability of the Palm House without impacting the aesthetics."

The Water Lily House, which is located next to the Palm House, will also be made over as part of the renovation. The public will still be able to visit both for the next two years before they're closed for the works.

The team at Kew acknowledges this will be a big undertaking that will have a temporary impact on people coming to their botanic gardens. But they say the results will be worth it.

"The really important aspect of this is to try and ensure that the structure can last as long as possible, before we have to do another refurbishment," says Rachel Purdon.

The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said 20 people have been killed in what it called a "tragic incident" at one of its aid distribution centres in southern Gaza.

Nineteen were trampled to death and one was stabbed "amid a chaotic and dangerous surge" at the site in the Khan Younis area, a statement said. It added that it believed the surge was "driven by agitators in the crowd" who were affiliated to Hamas.

It was not immediately possible to verify the report.

However, officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis earlier said that more than 10 people were killed and others injured due to "suffocation" after the GHF's private security contractors closed an aid site.

An employment tribunal involving a female nurse and a transgender doctor, which has become the latest front in the battle over gender policy, is resuming in Dundee.

Sandie Peggie was suspended from her role as a nurse with NHS Fife last year after she objected to Dr Beth Upton, who is a transgender woman, using a female changing room.

Ms Peggie claims her treatment was unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act and has brought a case against the health board and Dr Upton.

NHS Fife and the doctor are defending their actions – at a cost to the public purse so far of at least £220,000 – arguing that they complied with NHS policy.

Ms Peggie, who has worked at NHS Fife for more than 30 years, told the tribunal she had felt uncomfortable around Dr Upton in a changing room at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital on three occasions between August and December 2023.

She said the issue came to a head on Christmas Eve when Dr Upton started to undress in front of her.

Ms Peggie told the tribunal she had felt "embarrassed and intimidated".

The pair then exchanged words - although the details of their conversation are disputed.

After the exchange, Dr Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's behaviour and the nurse was suspended on 3 January 2024.

In her evidence, Ms Peggie said she had "felt more shocked than anything" when she learned there was a complaint against her.

The board has described Ms Peggie's case as "unnecessary and vexatious" while Dr Upton has accused the nurse of bullying and harassment.

"I'm not interested in vengeance and I'm not interested in retribution – I'm interested in justice," the doctor told the tribunal.

"Trans people are not predators by nature of being themselves."

The tribunal sat for 10 days in February and was then adjourned until now.

A separate disciplinary hearing, which had also been scheduled for February, was postponed at the request of Ms Peggie's legal team.

In that case, the nurse is facing allegations – which she denies – of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Upton.

It is now reported to have taken place although the outcome has not been made public.

Supreme court ruling

The wider issue of gender has provoked years of debate in Scotland.

This includes arguments about the case of a transgender rapist known as Isla Bryson and an attempt by politicians in Edinburgh – ultimately blocked by Westminster – to make it easier to legally change gender.

A pivotal moment came in April when the UK Supreme Court clarified the law on gender, unanimously ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act.

"The concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man," wrote the judges, adding that "the ordinary meaning of those plain and unambiguous words" was self-explanatory and required "no further explanation".

The 88-page judgment was a repudiation of the SNP's interpretation of the law.

The Scottish government responded that it had acted in good faith by arguing in court that trans women were women.

Ms Peggie has since called on NHS Fife to respond to the Supreme Court by acting immediately to "stop permitting any man who identifies as a woman" access to female-only spaces.

NHS Fife says work is underway to "identify areas where any adaptations may be required and schedule any work that may be necessary," as a result of the judgment.

It added that it was waiting to review a new code of practice expected to be issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which advises public bodies on the law.

In a statement, the EHRC said it was "currently working at pace" on the new advice but it added that organisations should "comply with the law" now by "looking at what changes, if any, need to be made to their policies and practices".

The Scottish government says it "accepts the Supreme Court ruling" adding that "detailed work that is necessary as a consequence" is ongoing.

What is a hosepipe ban?

How do I know if there is a hosepipe ban in my area?

Which water companies have a hosepipe ban?

Who is exempt from a hosepipe ban?

How is a hosepipe ban enforced?

How can I water my garden?

Will we see more hosepipe bans this summer?

When will the hosepipe bans end?

A rare oil portrait of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been sold at auction in London for £152,800 ($204,648).

The figure is much higher than the £50,000-£70,000 that auction house Bonhams had estimated the work might fetch. It was painted in 1931 by British artist Clare Leighton when Gandhi visited London.

Bonhams said the painting is thought to be the only oil portrait Gandhi sat for.

He led a non-violent resistance movement against British rule in India and his teachings have inspired millions. Most Indians revere him as the "father of the nation".

The portrait was made when Gandhi went to London in 1931 for the second Round Table conference, held to discuss constitutional reforms for India and address its demands for self-governance.

According to Bonhams, Clare Leighton "was one of the very few artists admitted to his office and was given the opportunity to sit with on multiple occasions to sketch and paint his likeness".

The works remained in the artist's collection until her death in 1989 in the US, after which it was passed down through her family.

Bonham's did not say who bought the painting and it's not clear whether it will be put on display.

South Korea has arrested a high school teacher and a student's father who allegedly broke into a school late at night to steal exam papers.

Their attempt took place at 01:20 local time on 4 July (18:20 GMT) at a school in Andong, a city southeast of Seoul, but was foiled when the school's security alarm went off.

The teacher is facing charges for accepting bribes and trespassing, while the father has been accused of trespassing.

A facilities manager at the school, who allegedly conspired with the duo, has also been arrested for allowing theft and unlawful entry into the school.

Authorities say the teacher had privately tutored the child of the arrested father - which teachers actively employed by schools in South Korea are not allowed to do.

The student had "consistently maintained top grades", according to public broadcaster KBS, but it is unclear if their academic record is related to previous cases of exam-paper theft.

Police also suspect that money had changed hands between the father and teacher, and that this was not their first intrusion attempt, KBS reported.

This incident is the latest in a series of exam-related scandals in South Korea, a country notorious for its hyper-competitive education system.

In June, police announced they were investigating the leak of answers to a nationwide English exam via an online chatroom.

In February, 249 people were detained - dozens of school teachers among them - for selling mock questions for the high-stakes Suneung exam to private academies.

And in late 2023, dozens of students sued the government after teachers accidentally cut their test short by 90 seconds.

South Korea consistently ranks among industrialised countries with the highest levels of stress for young people aged 11 to 15.

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace said he makes "no apology" for stopping the reporting of a leak that revealed data about thousands of Afghans who had supported British forces.

Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Ben said the decision to apply for an injunction was "not a cover-up".

In February 2022, the details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) were leaked. The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 when some details were posted on Facebook.

Sir Ben said when he was informed of the error he was "determined that the first priority was to protect all those that might be at risk".

• Thousands of Afghans were moved to UK in secret scheme after data breach

"Some may disagree but imagine if the Taliban had been alerted to the existence of this list. I would dread to think what would have happened," he added.

A new resettlement scheme - the Afghanistan Response Route - was set up in April 2024 for those on the leaked list. About 4,500 Afghans have arrived in the UK so far.

The scheme is understood to have cost around £400m, with a projected final cost of about £850m.

Details of the major data breach, the response and the number of Afghans granted the right to live in the UK as a result only came to light on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled the gagging order should be lifted.

The leak contained the names, contact details and some family information of people potentially at risk of harm from the Taliban.

The daughter of an Afghan translator whose details were leaked told the BBC's Newsnight programme that her whole family "panicked".

"No one knows where the data has been sent to - it could be sent to the Taliban, they could have their hands on it," she said.

Her grandmother, who is still in Afghanistan, is "completely vulnerable", she added.

Downing Street would not confirm whether the official responsible for the leak had faced disciplinary action, with a spokesman saying they would not comment on individuals.

Speaking in the commons on Tuesday, Defence Secretary John Healey said the person involved in the leak was "no longer doing the same job", and offered a "sincere apology" on behalf of the government.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also apologised on behalf of her party.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Parliament should have been informed about the leak.

He told the BBC's World Tonight: "Parliament cannot be ignored for that length of time, we owe a duty to the public to at least have examined this."

US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has called for the justice department to release all its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in a split with President Donald Trump, who has sought to draw a line under the matter.

"We should put everything out there and let the people decide," Johnson, an ally of the president, said in an interview.

It came as Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" on Epstein. At the weekend, the president urged supporters not to "waste time and energy" on the controversy.

Bondi is under fire after she said last week there was no evidence Epstein kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures.

Convicted paedophile Epstein's 2019 death in a US prison while awaiting federal trial was ruled to be a suicide, but many in Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement suspect a cover-up.

Asked about the Epstein files on Tuesday by US conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Speaker Johnson said he was in favour of "transparency".

The Republican congressman from Louisiana added that he trusted President Trump and his team, and that the White House was privy to facts that he did not know.

But he said Bondi "needs to come forward and explain it to everybody".

• Trump defends US Attorney General Pam Bondi over Epstein files
• Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Trump is facing a rare backlash from his staunchly loyal political base over their theories that details of Epstein's crimes are being withheld in order to protect influential figures, or intelligence agencies.

On Tuesday, he praised his attorney general's handling of the matter, saying: "She's handled it very well, and it's going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release."

Last week the president vented frustration in the Oval Office about his supporters' fixation on Epstein and implored them to move on.

But other Republican allies of the president are not letting go of the matter.

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene told Benny Johnson in a separate interview on Tuesday: "I fully support transparency on this issue."

She praised Bondi's work as attorney general, but said that leaders and elected officials should keep their promises to voters. President Trump had previously pledged to release all details of the Epstein investigation.

Another conservative Republican, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, said if more Epstein files were not released, a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the financier's crimes.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said the voters expect more accountability.

"I think it's perfectly understandable that the American people would like to know who he [Epstein] trafficked those women to and why they weren't prosecuted," Kennedy told NBC News.

But other influential Republicans – including Senator John Thune and congressman Jim Jordan – deferred to President Trump on the matter.

At an unrelated news conference on fentanyl on Tuesday, Bondi brushed aside questions about the controversy.

"Nothing about Epstein," she told reporters. "I'm not going to talk about Epstein."

She said last week's memo by the Department of Justice, jointly released with the FBI, declining to release any further files on Epstein "speaks for itself".

The government's findings were made, according to the memo, after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data.

On Tuesday, House Democratic lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on releasing Epstein files.

Republicans pointed out the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, also had access to the files, but did not release them.

An employment tribunal involving a female nurse and a transgender doctor, which has become the latest front in the battle over gender policy, is resuming in Dundee.

Sandie Peggie was suspended from her role as a nurse with NHS Fife last year after she objected to Dr Beth Upton, who is a transgender woman, using a female changing room.

Ms Peggie claims her treatment was unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act and has brought a case against the health board and Dr Upton.

NHS Fife and the doctor are defending their actions – at a cost to the public purse so far of at least £220,000 – arguing that they complied with NHS policy.

Ms Peggie, who has worked at NHS Fife for more than 30 years, told the tribunal she had felt uncomfortable around Dr Upton in a changing room at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital on three occasions between August and December 2023.

She said the issue came to a head on Christmas Eve when Dr Upton started to undress in front of her.

Ms Peggie told the tribunal she had felt "embarrassed and intimidated".

The pair then exchanged words - although the details of their conversation are disputed.

After the exchange, Dr Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's behaviour and the nurse was suspended on 3 January 2024.

In her evidence, Ms Peggie said she had "felt more shocked than anything" when she learned there was a complaint against her.

The board has described Ms Peggie's case as "unnecessary and vexatious" while Dr Upton has accused the nurse of bullying and harassment.

"I'm not interested in vengeance and I'm not interested in retribution – I'm interested in justice," the doctor told the tribunal.

"Trans people are not predators by nature of being themselves."

The tribunal sat for 10 days in February and was then adjourned until now.

A separate disciplinary hearing, which had also been scheduled for February, was postponed at the request of Ms Peggie's legal team.

In that case, the nurse is facing allegations – which she denies – of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Upton.

It is now reported to have taken place although the outcome has not been made public.

Supreme court ruling

The wider issue of gender has provoked years of debate in Scotland.

This includes arguments about the case of a transgender rapist known as Isla Bryson and an attempt by politicians in Edinburgh – ultimately blocked by Westminster – to make it easier to legally change gender.

A pivotal moment came in April when the UK Supreme Court clarified the law on gender, unanimously ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act.

"The concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man," wrote the judges, adding that "the ordinary meaning of those plain and unambiguous words" was self-explanatory and required "no further explanation".

The 88-page judgment was a repudiation of the SNP's interpretation of the law.

The Scottish government responded that it had acted in good faith by arguing in court that trans women were women.

Ms Peggie has since called on NHS Fife to respond to the Supreme Court by acting immediately to "stop permitting any man who identifies as a woman" access to female-only spaces.

NHS Fife says work is underway to "identify areas where any adaptations may be required and schedule any work that may be necessary," as a result of the judgment.

It added that it was waiting to review a new code of practice expected to be issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which advises public bodies on the law.

In a statement, the EHRC said it was "currently working at pace" on the new advice but it added that organisations should "comply with the law" now by "looking at what changes, if any, need to be made to their policies and practices".

The Scottish government says it "accepts the Supreme Court ruling" adding that "detailed work that is necessary as a consequence" is ongoing.

It has been more than three years since a British official inadvertently leaked a dataset containing the names and contact details of thousands of people who were attempting to flee possible Taliban revenge attacks.

In April 2024, the government began relocating some of them to the UK - but we are only learning this now because extraordinary lengths were gone to in order to prevent the breach and subsequent response coming to light.

As the full picture is finally disclosed to the public, these are the questions still facing Britain's security establishment.

What can be done about the danger of leaks?

It has happened before and it will doubtless happen again.

Think Wikileaks, Snowden and all the countless cyber-hacks and ransomware suffered by companies on an almost daily basis.

Data leaks are not new but sometimes – and it is quite possible that this is one of those times – they can be life-threatening.

The revelations that have come to light will have sent a chill down the spine of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Afghans who fear retribution by the Taliban.

For those already spirited out to Britain, it means they can probably never go back home as long as the Taliban are in power.

For the 600 former Afghan government soldiers and their estimated 1,800 dependants still in Afghanistan, the news will mean they are unlikely to breathe easily until the UK delivers on its promise to get them safely out.

It's important to bear in mind that all this was not the result of some deliberate, sophisticated cyber attack by a state-backed hacking group.

It evolved from an unintentional mistake made by just one individual working for the Ministry of Defence.

What does this say about Britain's moral responsibility?

UK forces were deployed to Afghanistan, alongside US and Nato allies, over a period of almost 20 years, from October 2001 to August 2021.

During this time they worked closely with their Afghan government allies, relying heavily on their local knowledge and expertise.

The most sensitive area was in Special Forces (SF), for whom the Taliban reserved a particular hatred.

When Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in the summer of 202, there was a realisation that those now-former Afghan SF soldiers and their families were a priority for relocation to safety.

But thousands more Afghans also risked their lives to work with the British over those two decades.

Many did it out of patriotism, believing they were working to secure a better Afghanistan.

Some did it for the money, some did it because they trusted Britain to safeguard their lives and their personal details.

A data breach like this now threatens to undermine any future promises by a British official who says: "Trust us, your data is safe with us."

Was there a cover-up?

When this "unauthorised data breach" was finally discovered, a full 18 months after it occurred, the UK government obtained what is known as a super-injunction, preventing its publication by the media.

A super-injunction is so draconian that it means you cannot even report the fact that you cannot report it.

That measure has only just been lifted now, following an independent review.

There is a logical case to be made that this measure was necessary to protect the lives of those affected by the data breach.

However, questions are now being raised about whether the injunction - applied for by the previous, Conservative government - might also have been for political purposes.

The High Court judge who lifted the super-injunction, Mr Justice Chamberlain, said that it had "had the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy".

US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has called for the justice department to release all its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in a split with President Donald Trump, who has sought to draw a line under the matter.

"We should put everything out there and let the people decide," Johnson, an ally of the president, said in an interview.

It came as Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" on Epstein. At the weekend, the president urged supporters not to "waste time and energy" on the controversy.

Bondi is under fire after she said last week there was no evidence Epstein kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures.

Convicted paedophile Epstein's 2019 death in a US prison while awaiting federal trial was ruled to be a suicide, but many in Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement suspect a cover-up.

Asked about the Epstein files on Tuesday by US conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Speaker Johnson said he was in favour of "transparency".

The Republican congressman from Louisiana added that he trusted President Trump and his team, and that the White House was privy to facts that he did not know.

But he said Bondi "needs to come forward and explain it to everybody".

• Trump defends US Attorney General Pam Bondi over Epstein files
• Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Trump is facing a rare backlash from his staunchly loyal political base over their theories that details of Epstein's crimes are being withheld in order to protect influential figures, or intelligence agencies.

On Tuesday, he praised his attorney general's handling of the matter, saying: "She's handled it very well, and it's going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release."

Last week the president vented frustration in the Oval Office about his supporters' fixation on Epstein and implored them to move on.

But other Republican allies of the president are not letting go of the matter.

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene told Benny Johnson in a separate interview on Tuesday: "I fully support transparency on this issue."

She praised Bondi's work as attorney general, but said that leaders and elected officials should keep their promises to voters. President Trump had previously pledged to release all details of the Epstein investigation.

Another conservative Republican, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, said if more Epstein files were not released, a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the financier's crimes.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said the voters expect more accountability.

"I think it's perfectly understandable that the American people would like to know who he [Epstein] trafficked those women to and why they weren't prosecuted," Kennedy told NBC News.

But other influential Republicans – including Senator John Thune and congressman Jim Jordan – deferred to President Trump on the matter.

At an unrelated news conference on fentanyl on Tuesday, Bondi brushed aside questions about the controversy.

"Nothing about Epstein," she told reporters. "I'm not going to talk about Epstein."

She said last week's memo by the Department of Justice, jointly released with the FBI, declining to release any further files on Epstein "speaks for itself".

The government's findings were made, according to the memo, after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data.

On Tuesday, House Democratic lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on releasing Epstein files.

Republicans pointed out the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, also had access to the files, but did not release them.

Cuban Minister for Labour and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó-Cabrera, has been forced to resign from her post after she made comments in a parliamentary session which denied the existence of beggars on the Communist-run island.

The minister had said there was no such thing as "beggars" in Cuba and people going through rubbish were, in essence, doing so out of choice to make "easy money", as she put it.

Her comments were widely criticised by Cubans at home and abroad, and prompted a response from the island's president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. She resigned soon after.

Poverty levels and food shortages have worsened in Cuba as it continues to grapple with a severe economic crisis.

Feitó-Cabrera made the comments earlier this week at a session of the National Assembly, in which she spoke about people begging and rummaging through dustbins in Cuba.

She appeared to deny their existence saying: "There are no beggars in Cuba. There are people pretending to be beggars to make easy money."

Furthermore, she accused people searching through the rubbish of being "illegal participants in the recycling service".

The minister clearly misjudged the outrage and anger her comments would cause and the extent to which they portrayed the country's leadership as unfeeling, authoritarian and deeply disconnected from the dire economic struggles of ordinary Cubans.

A number of Cuban activists and intellectuals published a letter calling for her removal saying the comments were "an insult to the Cuban people".

The Cuban president then criticised Feitó-Cabrera at the parliamentary session - albeit without mentioning her by name - saying the leadership could not "act with condescension" or be "disconnected from the realities" of the people.

Cuban economist Pedro Monreal posted on X saying that there were "people disguised as ministers" in Cuba.

Feitó-Cabrera's resignation was accepted by the Cuban Communist Party and the government.

While the Cuban government does not publish official figures on the number of people begging, the rise in their number has been self-evident to most Cubans amid the island's deep economic crisis.

Police in India have arrested a man in connection with the death of Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathon runner, in a hit-and-run case.

According to the police, the accused, Amritpal Singh Dhillon was driving a speeding SUV when he struck the 114-year-old British-Indian runner. Singh sustained critical injuries and died shortly after being taken to hospital.

The incident took place in the northern state of Punjab on Monday, where Singh was out on his afternoon walk.

Singh, a global icon, set records by running marathons across multiple age categories, including when he was over 100. He began running at 89 and ran nine full marathons between 2000 and 2013, when he retired.

A white-coloured SUV, allegedly used in the incident, has also been recovered by the police.

The hit and run occurred near Fauja Singh's birth village of Beas Pind, close to Jalandhar city.

Police said Singh was crossing a road when he was struck by a vehicle. Locals rushed him to hospital, where he later died.

According to Indian media reports citing the police complaint, the runner's life might have been saved had the 26-year-old driver immediately taken Singh to the hospital.

Singh had many records to his name.

In 2011, he reportedly became the first person over 100 to finish a full marathon, in Toronto. He also carried the Olympic torch at the 2012 London Olympics.

Despite his achievements, Guinness World Records could not recognise him as the oldest marathon runner because he did not have a birth certificate from 1911.

The BBC earlier reported that Singh's British passport showed his date of birth as being 1 April 1911, and that he had a letter from the Queen congratulating him on his 100th birthday.

Guinness said they wanted to give him the record but could only accept official documents from the year of birth.

His marathon trainer had earlier said that birth certificates were not issued in India at the time.

His running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, said its upcoming events in Ilford, east London, where he had lived since 1992, would be a celebration of his life and achievements.

As a young boy, Singh was often teased in his village in Punjab because his legs were weak. He couldn't walk properly until the age of five.

"But the same boy, once mocked for his weakness, went on to make history," he told BBC Punjabi in June.

Singh never went to school and didn't play any sports growing up. He worked as a farmer and lived through both World Wars and the turbulent partition of India.

"In my youth, I didn't even know the word 'marathon' existed," he said.

He started running much later in life, after going through deep personal loss.

In the early 1990s, after his wife died, Singh moved to London to live with his eldest son. But during a visit to India, he witnessed his younger son Kuldeep's death in an accident, which left him devastated.

Back in the UK, Singh was overtaken by grief. One day, during a visit to the local gurdwara in Ilford, he met a group of older men who went on regular runs. That's where he also met Harmander Singh, who later became his coach and his journey as a runner began.

Singh shot to international fame when Adidas signed him for their 2004 Impossible is Nothing advertising campaign, which also featured legends such as Muhammad Ali.

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Pop Mart, the Chinese toy firm behind the hugely popular Labubu dolls, has said its profits are set to soar for the first six months of this year.

The Beijing-based company said in a preliminary statement that it expects profits for the period to jump by 350% as revenues more than tripled.

Pop Mart, which has a stock market value of more than $45bn (£34bn), also said profitability had been boosted by increased recognition of the brand globally and cost controls.

Collectors have been obsessed with the viral Labubu dolls - fictional elf-like creatures with a row of jagged teeth - which have flown off shelves and sparked long queues in shops worldwide.

The company is best known for selling toys in "blind boxes" - a type of packaging that hides its contents until it is opened.

Launched in 2019, Labubu dolls have helped the company become a major retailer, operating more than 2,000 vending machines and stores around the world.

Pop Mart began selling its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020. The company's stock market valuation has jumped by almost 600% in the last year.

Sales from outside mainland China contributed to nearly 40% of its total revenue in 2024.

Many shops around the world had to pause sales of Labubu dolls due to overwhelming demand.

South Korea has arrested a high school teacher and a student's father who allegedly broke into a school late at night to steal exam papers.

Their attempt took place at 01:20 local time on 4 July (18:20 GMT) at a school in Andong, a city southeast of Seoul, but was foiled when the school's security alarm went off.

The teacher is facing charges for accepting bribes and trespassing, while the father has been accused of trespassing.

A facilities manager at the school, who allegedly conspired with the duo, has also been arrested for allowing theft and unlawful entry into the school.

Authorities say the teacher had privately tutored the child of the arrested father - which teachers actively employed by schools in South Korea are not allowed to do.

The student had "consistently maintained top grades", according to public broadcaster KBS, but it is unclear if their academic record is related to previous cases of exam-paper theft.

Police also suspect that money had changed hands between the father and teacher, and that this was not their first intrusion attempt, KBS reported.

This incident is the latest in a series of exam-related scandals in South Korea, a country notorious for its hyper-competitive education system.

In June, police announced they were investigating the leak of answers to a nationwide English exam via an online chatroom.

In February, 249 people were detained - dozens of school teachers among them - for selling mock questions for the high-stakes Suneung exam to private academies.

And in late 2023, dozens of students sued the government after teachers accidentally cut their test short by 90 seconds.

South Korea consistently ranks among industrialised countries with the highest levels of stress for young people aged 11 to 15.