The British musician and actor, who played Viv Savage in Rob Reiner’s mockumentary, died in his sleep

David Kaff, the British actor and musician known for playing keyboardist Viv Savage in Rob Reiner’s 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, has died aged 79.

His bandmates in Mutual of Alameda’s Wild Kingdom confirmed the news on their Facebook page, writing that the musician had “passed away peacefully in his sleep” on Friday.

Crew Dragon capsule will parachute into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Tuesday

Nasa retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson and three crew mates from India, Poland and Hungary departed the International Space Station early on Monday and embarked on their return flight to Earth.

A Crew Dragon capsule carrying the quartet undocked from the orbital laboratory at 7.15am ET, ending the latest ISS visit organized by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with Elon Musk’s California-headquartered rocket venture SpaceX.

The left-arm fast bowler claimed a record-breaking six-wicket haul in the third Test against the West Indies to celebrate his milestone match in style

Modern sport reporting casually reaches for words like “brutality” and “carnage” where their usage even as metaphor is overblown. The end of the third Test in Kingston, though, warranted both. Australia’s fast bowlers destroyed West Indies for 27, a single run higher than the lowest innings score in Test history.

The batting lasted 14.3 overs, the third-shortest innings on record. Mitchell Starc, curling the pink Dukes ball, took 6 for 9. Scott Boland’s 3 for 2 came in the form of a hat-trick. It was a sporting annihilation, the lowest West Indies total ever by 20 runs, worse than any time during the struggles of their earliest years or their recent decades. Australia swept the series 3-0.

With a bottlenose population threatened by fishing gear, boats and pollution, campaigners on South Korea’s Jeju island are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable cetaceans

It is a beautiful sunny day on the island of Jeju in South Korea and as the boat cuts through the water all seems calm and clear. Then they start to appear – one telltale fin and then another. Soon, a pod of eight or nine dolphins can be seen moving through the sea, seemingly following the path of the boat.

But as they start to jump and dive, fins cutting through the air, it becomes apparent that one dolphin is missing the appendage, his body breaking the surface but without the telltale profile of his companions. His name, given to him by a local environmental group, is Orae, which literally translates as “long”, but in this context means “wishing him a long life”.

Crucial for coastal communities, mangroves are threatened by land clearing, development and rising seas

As the morning light hits Oibola village in Solomon Islands, the receding tide drains water through a maze of tangled mangrove roots.

Dressed in muddy jeans and a worn T-shirt, Ben Waleilia moves carefully through the thick mangrove forest, searching for seedlings. Rows of young mangrove shoots stand high as Waleilia gently drops seedlings into a small plastic bucket.

Rapid Support Forces accused of targeting villages ‘completely empty of any military objectives’ in North Kordofan state as civil war rages

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed nearly 300 people in attacks in North Kordofan state that began on Saturday, according to Sudanese activists.

The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army in that area, one of the key frontlines of a civil war in Sudan that has raged since April 2023.

More than 30m children worldwide not fully immunised for MMR and UK ranks worst in G7, WHO and Unicef say

Millions of children worldwide are at growing risk of serious illness and death due to declining infant vaccination rates, experts have warned, while the UK ranks worst of major western economies for MMR immunisation.

Figures released by the World Health Organization and Unicef show that more than 30 million children worldwide are not fully immunised against measles, mumps and rubella and 14.3 million children have not received a single routine infant vaccination.

Retailer marks 265th anniversary by choosing children’s favourite toys since its founding

It’s a list that will take you back to your childhood, whenever that was: train sets, Tonka Trucks, Top Trumps and Tamagotchis have all been named among the top 100 toys of all time.

Drawn up by buyers at the retailer Hamleys to mark its 265th anniversary, the selection includes both hardy perennials and passing playground crazes, all of which have appeared on the toy shop’s shelves, and children’s Christmas lists, over that time.

Justices lift federal judge’s order that reinstated nearly 1,400 workers affected by mass layoffs in win for president

The US supreme court on Monday cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education as part of his bid to shrink the federal government’s role in education in favor of more control by the states.

In the latest high court win for the president, the justices lifted a federal judge’s order that had reinstated nearly 1,400 workers affected by mass layoffs at the department and blocked the administration from transferring key functions to other federal agencies. A legal challenge is continuing to play out in lower courts.

David Hourigan has made tiny versions of the Tote, the Espy and many more down to the cigarette butts and band posters, wanting to ‘preserve these before they disappear’

It’s a tiny subject, but a big question: why are humans innately drawn to miniatures? Is it something about rediscovering the power we felt as children playing with toys, little gods in charge of our own dominions? Is it because these small worlds feel reassuringly contained among all the chaos of our own? Is it sheer appreciation for the delicacy and patience required to make them? Or is it simply because watching someone cook tiny meals over a tealight (86m views and counting) is really, really cute?

If, like me, you are mad for small things, you will appreciate the work of David Hourigan, whose new exhibition is dedicated to his models of beloved music venues around Melbourne. His intricate miniatures are so realistic that it can be hard to tell whether you are looking at a photo of the Espy or the Tote – until Hourigan’s big hands loom into view, popping a matchstick down to reveal the scale of his painstaking work. It is very soothing to watch him construct a perfect CCTV camera out of a Carlsberg can, or piece together colonial windows with tweezers.

Chancellor to announce raft of deregulation changes as City regulators move to pare back transparency rules

Rachel Reeves will claim that cutting red tape for City firms will have trickle-down benefits for households across Britain, as she tries to drum up support for a new financial services strategy.

A raft of regulatory reforms are due to be announced by the chancellor on Tuesday, in what the Treasury says will be the “biggest financial regulation reforms in a decade”. It will come before her Mansion House address to City bosses during a dinner at Guildhall in London on Tuesday evening.

UK Biobank project to share 1bn images of organs, blood vessels and bones to help study ageing and ill health

Scientists expect to gain unprecedented insights into human ageing and the earliest signs of disease after scanning 100,000 people from head to toe in the world’s largest whole body imaging project.

The completion of the decade-long task means qualifying researchers worldwide will have access to 1bn de-identified images of the hearts, brains, abdomens, blood vessels, bones and joints of volunteers alongside medical histories and rich data on their genetic makeup, health and lifestyle.

It’s not unreasonable or racist to protest against genocide

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Gregg Wallace report upheld allegation against fellow presenter who says he has no recollection of incident

The MasterChef presenter John Torode has said he was the subject of an allegation of using racist language that was upheld as part of an inquiry into the behaviour of co-presenter Gregg Wallace.

The report, commissioned by MasterChef’s production company, Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated, alongside two stand-alone allegations made against other people, including one for using racist language.

Former governor lost the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani by more than 12 points last month

Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, said on Monday that he will run as an independent in New York City’s mayoral race, after losing in the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani.

Many saw Cuomo as the favorite in the primary, but he ultimately lost to Mamdani, a current member of the New York state assembly, by more than 12 points.

• Third Test, day three: Australia 225 and 121; West Indies 143 and 27

• Australia wrap up 176-run victory and claim 3-0 series sweep

Mitchell Starc has produced one of the all-time great bowling spells and Scott Boland taken a hat-trick as Australia bowled West Indies out for 27 to win the third Test.

On a historic day in Jamaica, Australia’s quicks ran riot to wrap up a 176-run victory and claim a 3-0 series sweep of the Frank Worrell Trophy.

Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale finished the Badwater 135 ultramarathon held in California’s sweltering desert

An 80-year-older runner has made history as the oldest person to complete the Badwater 135, nicknamed “the world’s toughest foot race”.

Last week, Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, became one of 93 people to complete the ultramarathon course – which covers 135 miles, beginning 282ft below sea level in California’s sweltering Death Valley and climbing to 8,360ft at the trailhead to Mt Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States.

Samuel Bond Haskell, whose father represented major stars, was charged with dismembering his wife and killing her parents

A California man who was charged with murdering and dismembering his wife and her parents in the home they shared in the Los Angeles suburbs, then dumping his wife’s remains into a garbage bag, has died by suicide in jail, the Los Angeles county district attorney confirmed on Monday.

Samuel Bond Haskell IV, 37, was arrested in November 2023 and charged with the murders of his wife, Mei Haskell, her mother, Yanxiang Wang, and her stepfather, Gaoshan Li. Haskell pleaded not guilty to the three murder counts in January 2024 and was being held without bail pending trial. He was facing a sentence of life in prison with no parole.

Star’s team members reported music, concert visuals and future setlists taken from vehicle ahead of Atlanta shows

Beyoncé’s choreographer and one of her dancers for the Cowboy Carter tour told police that thieves broke into their vehicle and stole numerous items, including jump drives full of unreleased music, footage for her upcoming shows and past and future setlists.

The alleged robbery, first reported by Channel 2 in Atlanta, occurred less than 48 hours before the singer kicked off a four-show residence at the city’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Bongino appears to be on course to be the Trump administration’s first casualty of the Epstein files fallout

The future of the deputy FBI director, Dan Bongino, is unclear after he stormed out of a meeting with Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and told friends he was considering quitting over the controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.

Bongino, a former New York police officer and Secret Service agent who helped protect George W Bush and Barack Obama, appears on course to be the Trump administration’s first casualty of the Epstein fallout, which is threatening to split the “Make America great again” (Maga) movement

US president says he will send Ukraine Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles paid for by EU allies

• Trump does deal with Nato allies to arm Ukraine and warns Russia of severe sanctions

Politicians in Kyiv have welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement that billions of dollars worth of US military equipment will be sent to Ukraine, while officials in Moscow dismissed his threat of sanctions against Russia as hot air.

In a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the White House, Trump said the US would send Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles, paid for by European allies.

The England captain can realistically set his sights on winning the series against India, then the Ashes

“I’m not tired. I’m not tired. I’m not tired.” Really, Ben? Really? Well, you’re pretty much on your own in that case old boy, after a day where simply watching Ben Stokes being Ben Stokes felt like a full contact sport, psychodrama, soap opera, and in its stickiest moments like a man engaged in an act of public self‑medication by Test cricket.

This fifth day at Lord’s was entirely dominated by Stokes, who loomed over it like the angel of the north, arms outspread, another note in his own extraordinary sporting life. It was shortly after midday that Stokes came running through at the end of his eighth successive over from the Nursery End to talk to the batter Nitish Kumar Reddy, to tell him, specially, that he wasn’t tired – hyped and pumped, eyes boggled, drawing boos from the largely Indian crowd.

Camp Mystic leader, who died trying to save small children, waited over an hour after alert before starting evacuation

• The Texas way: why the most disaster-prone US state is so allergic to preparing for disasters

The adult leader of Camp Mystic, the Texas summer camp where 27 children and counselors died in the Hill Country floods, waited more than an hour after receiving a severe flood warning before initiating an evacuation, it was disclosed on Monday.

Richard “Dick” Eastland, who had run the popular all-girls, Christian-values sleepaway camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River with his family since the 1980s, was among the fatalities after a wall of water rushed through the camp early on 4 July.

• US president was given trophy earlier this year

• Chelsea won newly expanded tournament on Sunday

US president Donald Trump has claimed that the Club World Cup trophy that has featured prominently in the Oval Office will stay there, and that Fifa made a copy of the trophy that was awarded to Chelsea after their win in the tournament’s final on Sunday.

Trump attended the final along with numerous members of his cabinet and Fifa president Gianni Infantino. The pair of presidents jointly presented the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, with Trump staying front-and-center despite the apparent confusion of Chelsea players and the pleading of Infantino.