Some shortages are so serious they are imperilling the health and even lives of patients with serious illnesses, pharmacy bosses say

Drug shortages are a “new normal” in the UK and are being exacerbated by Brexit, a report by the Nuffield Trust health thinktank has warned. A dramatic recent spike in the number of drugs that are unavailable has created serious problems for doctors, pharmacists, the NHS and patients, it found.

The number of warnings drug companies have issued about impending supply problems for certain products has more than doubled from 648 in 2020 to 1,634 last year.

Mark Menzies allegedly spent £14,000 of campaign funds on medical costs and demanded £6,500 from aide to ‘escape captors’

A Conservative MP has lost the party whip over allegations he misused campaign funds and demanded thousands of pounds from an aide to pay off “bad people” in the middle of the night.

Mark Menzies, 52, was suspended from the Tory parliamentary party on Wednesday night while an investigation is carried out.

Rating of -59 is record low for a prime minister in modern times – matching John Major’s score in August 1994, according to Ipsos

In the Commons Lucy Powell, the shadow leader of the Commons, asked Penny Mordaunt when the government first knew about the allegations against Mark Menzies. And she asked if the matter had been referred to the police. “If not, why not?” She went on:

It seems that yet again, like with [William Wragg] and so many of the recent cases of sleaze and scandal, they’re too weak to act decisively and instead choose to brush things under the carpet. The truth is, they’ve given up on governing.

Starmer’s ratings have also fallen since February. 25% are satisfied with his performance as Labour leader (-4) and 56% are dissatisfied (+1). His net score of -31 is his worst as Labour leader since he recorded a -29 in May 2021. Among Labour supporters, satisfaction with his performance has also dropped from 58% to 51%.

When presented with a head-to-head choice, the public think Keir Starmer would make the most capable prime minister over Rishi Sunak by a margin of 22 points (44% to 22%). 22% say neither and 10% don’t know.

This is an increase in Keir Starmer’s lead since January (from 13 points to 22), and is similar to Starmer’s 20pt lead over Boris Johnson in July 2022. Although 2019 Conservative voters still prefer Sunak over Starmer by 49% to 20%.

Nobody from a list of 6 potential alternative Conservative leaders stands out as doing particularly better versus Keir Starmer in a head-to-head contest

Starmer leads each of the following as most capable PM:

Passengers report being stranded in the desert city as the international hub struggles in the wake of unusually heavy rain

• Don’t blame cloud seeding for the Dubai floods

Dubai is wrestling with the aftermath of extraordinary torrential rains that flooded the desert city, with residents describing harrowing stories of spending the night in their cars, and air passengers enduring chaotic scenes at airports.

Up to 259.5mm (10.2in) of rain fell on the usually arid country of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, the most since records began 75 years ago. The state-run WAM news agency called the rains on Tuesday “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949”.

In ‘acute global embarrassment’, Scottish government expected to follow UK and Wales by adopting five-year carbon budgets

The Scottish government is to abandon its “world-leading” goal to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030, after repeatedly missing its legally binding targets.

Màiri McAllan, the Scottish net zero secretary, is expected to announce Scotland will instead follow the UK and Welsh government’s lead by adopting five yearly “carbon budgets”, in a significant policy climbdown.

Demand for private treatment booms as NHS waiting lists remain long, while more people also sign up for dental cover

Britain’s health cover market has grown by £385m in a year as the NHS crisis prompted more people to seek out private medical treatment and demand for dental insurance increased, according to a report.

The total health cover market, including medical and dental insurance and cash plans, grew 6.1% to £6.7bn in 2022, the latest year for which figures are available, according to the health data provider LaingBuisson.

The gulf state’s prime minister said he was making the move due to ‘exploitation and abuse of the Qatari role’

• See all of our updates on the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisis

The EU has edged closer to calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after a meeting of the 27 bloc leaders last night.

Leaders have struggled to agree language from the outset of the conflict, engaging in torturous discussions over whether they should use the word ceasefire, pause, or pauses in the first official bloc-wide declaration in October.

Foreign minister warns of environmental catastrophe in Baltic Sea as he accuses Moscow of using unseaworthy vessels

Russia appears prepared to create “environmental havoc” by sailing unseaworthy oil tankers through the Baltic Sea in breach of all maritime rules, the Swedish foreign minister has said.

Speaking to the Guardian during his first visit to London since Sweden became a Nato member, Tobias Billström called for new rules and enforcement mechanisms to prevent the ageing and uninsured Russian shadow fleet causing an environmental catastrophe. About half of all Russian oil transported by sea passes through the Baltic Sea and Danish waters, often operating under opaque ownership, and using international waters to try to avoid scrutiny.

Shares in Beyoncé and Neil Young song fund rise amid hopes uncertainty over its future could be over

• Business live – latest updates

The embattled British music royalties investment fund Hipgnosis, which owns the rights to songs by artists from Beyoncé to Neil Young, has agreed to a $1.4bn (£1.1bn) takeover by a music and theatrical rights rival after months of turmoil over the company’s structure and leadership.

The Concord Chorus deal, which offers Hipgnosis shareholders a 32% premium to Thursday’s share price at $1.16 a share, could put an end to uncertainty over the FTSE 250 firm’s future.

Following reports of battery investigation into West against unnamed man, rapper’s team allege wife Bianca Censori was being assaulted

Representatives for Kanye West have alleged that a man physically and sexually assaulted his wife Bianca Censori in an incident in Los Angeles.

Sources previously told TMZ that West was being investigated as a suspect in a battery incident earlier this week, after the rapper was alleged to have struck a man who had grabbed Censori.