jeudi 30 juillet 2026

The unexpected cost of heatwaves

Merz’s plan to stop German ‘traitor states’ blocking Nato | The marriages ruined by Ozempic
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Britain’s most popular daily newsletter, read by more than 850,000

Thursday, 30 July 2026

Issue No. 522

Good morning.

Britain’s relentless heatwave has brought with it an unexpected complication: the NHS is struggling to run blood tests. This comes amid net-zero restrictions on the use of air-conditioning units. Without them, it is difficult to keep samples at a safe temperature. Michael Searles, our Deputy Health Editor, reports.

Elsewhere, former FA chiefs are demanding England pull out of the World Cup over Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the tournament. The Fifa president says those who fail to back him will have their funding cut by billions of dollars.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. Try a whole year of The Telegraph for £19 while our Summer Sale lasts. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.


 

In today’s edition

Merz’s secret plan to stop German ‘traitor states’ blocking Nato troops

‘Our spark has gone’: The marriages ruined by Ozempic

Plus, ‘I can’t dispute a £115k inheritance tax bill because my family records have been lost’

Sale ends soon: One year for just £19

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NHS forced to cancel blood tests during heatwave

All Saints’ church in Blackheath, London, sits surrounded by brown fields

Michael Searles

Michael Searles

Deputy Health Editor

 

The NHS has been forced to cancel blood tests during the summer heatwaves amid net-zero restrictions on air-conditioning units.

As parts of the country continue to experience heatwaves, half of England is now in drought.

Source: Environment Agency

The record temperatures have caused equipment in some GP practices to become unusable. Blood samples are also more likely to degrade in the heat, with doctors warned about the risk of false-positive or false-negative results.

However, as part of climate resilience efforts, those responsible for NHS buildings are encouraged to use natural ventilation instead of air conditioning to keep temperatures down.

Many GP surgeries are based in 20th-century concrete buildings and are unable to retrofit air-conditioning units, either because they are incompatible, funding is not provided, or they would not meet carbon-reduction goals.

Guidance says they should explore every other avenue to reduce temperatures first, such as improving insulation and windows.

New advice for neighbourhood health centres says air conditioning “should only be introduced where the risk of overheating cannot be adequately mitigated through passive measures alone and where they are clinically required to support safe care delivery”.

Last year, The Telegraph revealed that the NHS had spent at least £1.4bn of taxpayers’ money on net-zero schemes without reducing its carbon footprint.

This report is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading

Half of England in drought

 

England must boycott World Cup and fight Infantino, former FA chiefs demand

Adams Cartoon
Tom Morgan

Tom Morgan

Sports News Correspondent

 

England must boycott the World Cup and fight Gianni Infantino. That is the demand coming from former FA chiefs over the Fifa president’s £15bn tournament sell-out.

Infantino’s plan, announced nine days after the World Cup finished, would result in a group of investors controlling the commercial interests of Fifa’s top men’s and women’s competitions.

An unprecedented Europe-wide rejection of global governing body Fifa will be discussed as the 55 Uefa member nations hold emergency talks this afternoon.

It may be moot, because Infantino has said he only needs a 50 per cent majority to press forward with the enterprise, rendering a European veto redundant if the other nations vote yes.

David Bernstein, who took a public stand against Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter while FA chairman, said Fifa’s scheme “stinks” and “we have to have the guts” to boycott the World Cup. Europe, he suggested, should follow and withdraw from future tournaments.

Walking out on Fifa would mean a European withdrawal from next summer’s Women’s World Cup, the 2029 Club World Cup and the 2030 men’s World Cup.

Bernstein said it was imperative the FA acted with Europe to avoid being isolated. “Stating our position quite honestly is a proper thing to do, and I think will be appreciated by football fans in this country, but I think our main thrust should be alongside Uefa,” he told Telegraph Sport.
Continue reading

 

Opinion

Allister Heath Headshot

Allister Heath

Britain can’t fix climate change. Scrap net zero and embrace a Mediterranean lifestyle

We’ve lost the war against global warming so let’s learn to handle hotter weather

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Suzanne Moore</span> Headshot

Suzanne Moore

The wheels are coming off the dim-witted authoritarian known as Zack Polanski

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Tim Stanley</span> Headshot

Tim Stanley

Andy turns on the daytime TV charm. If only the audience knew who he was

Continue reading

 
Matt Cartoon
 

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In other news

• Friedrich Merz is drawing up secret plans to prevent German pro-Kremlin “traitor states” from obstructing Nato’s plans to defend against a Russian invasion. German officials fear the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could frustrate the movement of allied forces through two eastern states it is expected to win in September elections.

• Dr Anthony Fauci refused to answer any questions from Congress in yesterday’s Covid-19 hearing, including what day of the week it was, what colour his tie was and what colour the carpet was in front of him, pleading the Fifth Amendment every time.

• A British woman has been found dead in a suitcase in Athens. The woman, 38, is believed to have arrived in Greece two and a half weeks earlier from the United States.

• Zack Polanski has liked online posts suggesting his Right-wing rivals support Adolf Hitler, amid an ongoing row with Nigel Farage over his social media content.

• Johannes Natland, 19, was hired by a 16-year-old hitman to travel to Britain to carry out an assassination. The hitman had been part of Foxtrot, an Iran-affiliated drugs gang, from as young as 11.

Text messages between Johannes Natland and a friend reproduced by The Telegraph

 

Your essential reads

Philp said the actions of the officers in not intervening in shallow water were ‘completely ridiculous’ and ‘jaw-dropping’ | Credit: Marcin Nowak / Anadolu via Getty Images

We’re told to let migrants cross Channel, French police admit

French police have admitted that they have orders not to stop migrants from getting into boats and setting off for Britain. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, was filmed confronting officers as dozens of migrants clambered onto a dinghy, up to their waists in water. One officer said: “Our order is to let them go. We just have to say to them, ‘Don’t do that. It’s dangerous’.”

Continue reading

 

US-Saudi strikes on Iraq killed at least 20 members of Iran-backed militias

Why Saudi Arabia finally joined the war

Saudi Arabia has attempted to stay out of Donald Trump’s war in Iran, writes Memphis Barker, our Senior Foreign Correspondent. In March, the late senator Lindsey Graham berated Riyadh, a long-standing US ally, for failing to “get involved” in the fight. Now, the Kingdom risks being dragged in against its wishes. It has joined US forces in striking Iranian proxy groups based in Iraq. Riyadh’s real problem is the Houthis’ blockade of the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. Bombs will not force the crucial waterway back open, as Washington has already learned at such cost in Hormuz.

For subscribers only

 

Extreme adventurer Bear Grylls says switching to a carnivore-style diet has made a significant difference to his health

Bear Grylls: I used to be vegan, now I tell my sons to eat offal

Bear Grylls has always been a man of extremes. Now 52, the survival expert has abandoned his once-strict vegan diet and begun eating like a caveman, all in the pursuit of a longer life. Convincing his sons to follow his lead, however, has taken a little more persuasion, writes Nick Harding.

Continue reading

 

‘Our spark has gone’: The marriages ruined by Ozempic

When Emily, 35, was propositioned by a younger male colleague during after-work drinks, she realised her marriage was over. Six months on weight-loss drugs had unlocked fresh confidence, but her new outlook meant she had mentally left her husband behind. Emily is far from alone. As fat jabs like Ozempic rewire attitudes to food, sex and daily pleasure, long-term relationships are reaching a crisis point.

Continue reading

 

Seize the day

These are the best estate cars for staycationing this summer

For those of us remaining in Britain to enjoy a blistering holiday season, some form of load-lugging car is desirable. Which should you choose? We explain why a traditional estate beats a faddish SUV hands down, and examine a selection of stylish yet dependable models to suit all budgets.

Continue reading

Here is another helpful article to read this morning:

  • In this week’s Ask a Lawyer column, a reader can’t dispute an inheritance tax bill due to lost family records. If you’re in a similar situation, Gary Rycroft’s advice might be helpful.
 

Long reads

The barmy life of executive PAs

Telegraph magazine

A Telegraph magazine story from February 1982 found that secretaries were already becoming wise to the threat of technology to their work

Nicole Mowbray

 

Is the role of personal assistant about to be consigned to history? New statistics suggest the job – which can command a salary of £150,000 – could soon become another casualty of the AI revolution.

While work diaries and travel plans may be easily automated, the assistants I spoke to shared stories from jobs (and bosses) so outlandish that only a human could cope, from washing their boss’s 90-year-old mother to laundering their gym kits and hiding extramarital affairs.

“My boss once called me at 2am from their holiday in the Caribbean – where it was 9pm – because the guests in the suite next door were being ‘too loud’,” reveals one.

“Despite the time difference and the fact he was a few metres away, he asked me to phone the hotel’s front desk on his behalf to complain rather than ringing down to them… He felt he paid me to have awkward conversations on his behalf and he didn’t want to do [it].”
Continue reading

 

Your say

Packed lunch pride

Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories.

Orlando writes...
Are you a packed-lunch loyalist? The Telegraph’s Rosa Silverman recently declared this a defining British trait, and I think she’s right. Of course, as I write, I am still basking in a faint glow of virtue, having actually succeeded in setting aside five minutes before work to make my own sandwiches.

It doesn’t always happen – in fact, it often doesn’t happen – but it sure beats handing over the best part of £10 in Pret in return for a sense of rueful disappointment.


 

Telegraph readers have been writing in praise of the DIY meal. Mike Ross pointed out: “I could make packed lunches for a week for less money than a single lunchtime visit to the canteen.”


 

Chris Brooks, meanwhile, hailed another fine British tradition: “Picnics were great when I was growing up, and it was a lot of fun helping to prepare giant feasts for my own young. I still have the giant coolbox on wheels that we dragged the food around in. It’s something that’s done for you and something you do for your own out of love.”


 

Vicki Lester recalled: “More than 45 years ago, my gran, who was the epitome of gracious living, said to me that she had popped my lunch for work in my briefcase. In due course I opened it in the small staff room of my bank office, where I was little more than the junior back then, to find a priceless, clingfilmed early-Victorian dinner plate laden with a salad and a solid silver knife and fork.”


 

Paul Shone wondered if this was an exclusively British habit, however: “Americans take it to another level. I have never seen such huge office fridges packed with last night’s dinner, often from restaurants where they cheerfully box up the half you couldn’t eat.”

Do you bring your own lunch? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.

Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.

 

On this day

1930 | First football World Cup sees Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2

1966
| 36 years later, England beat West Germany by the same scoreline at Wembley to lift the trophy (and our paper coverage the following day can be seen below)

2018 | Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, mistakenly calls his Chinese-born wife “Japanese” during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing

Birthdays: James Anderson (44), Hilary Swank (52), Christopher Nolan (56), Arnold Schwarzenegger (79)

Telegraph front page

Plus, in the news today, Sulemana Abdul Samed, the tallest man in Ghana has died aged 33 after complications from growing too tall. What was his last recorded height?

Sulemana Abdul Samed

Sulemana Abdul Samed was a local celebrity in his home village of Gambaga

1. 6ft 8in
2. 6ft 11in
3. 7ft 4in
4. 8ft 11in

Click one of the options to reveal the answer...

 

Puzzles

Panagram

Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.


 

Yesterday’s Panagram was LABYRINTH. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.

 


Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.

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