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Johnson's new-look cabinet to meet for first time

Image copyright EPA

It proved a late first night in office for new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he replaced more than half the cabinet following a swathe of resignations and sackings. The new-look cabinet will meet this morning, with seats around the table for Dominic Raab and Priti Patel, who returned to government as foreign secretary and home secretary respectively. Sajid Javid was made chancellor but there was no place for Mr Johnson's leadership rival Jeremy Hunt.

The changes have brought the average age down by three years to 48, female representation down 5% to 26% and doubled the number of people who voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum to 12. For those struggling to process what it all means, the BBC's Jessica Parker explains the potential impact of the changes - in particular on the Brexit process. You can gen up on the full cabinet line-up using our guide.

In the analysis by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Johnson is a "prime minister in a hurry". Indeed, he was getting through things so fast it took our political editor to break the news to Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg that he had been made Leader of the Commons. There will be plenty of challenges for the new government, and BBC correspondents run through four of the biggest. Much attention will now focus on the opposition parties, with Scotland's first minister, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, already calling for an "alternative option" for her nation.

UK braced for hottest day on record

If you endured a sleepless night after Wednesday's 30C temperatures, look away now. The Met Office says there is a 70% chance the UK could have its hottest day on record, with forecasts of up to 39C (102.2F) for southern and eastern England. There could be bad news, too, for commuters, with Network Rail warning of disruption in areas where tracks were at risk of buckling and many train operators warning passengers not to travel. We explain the hot weather with the help of some sunburn-pink maps and charts and, in case it helps, offer 10 tips on how to "keep cool and carry on".

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North Korea 'fires missiles into sea'

There is tension on the Korean peninsula, with South Korea's joint chiefs of staff claiming the North fired two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan (or East Sea) early on Thursday. It comes amid anger from the North over planned military exercises between South Korea and the US, which Pyongyang says could affect the resumption of denuclearisation talks. One arms control analyst suggests the missiles in question are capable of delivering a "nuclear-weapon sized payload... far enough to target most US forces in South Korea".

Could the biblical practice of gleaning cut food waste?

By Rebecca Wearn, business reporter, BBC News

It is a hot July day in Lancashire and a dozen people are gathering on a dusty farm track two miles outside the market town of Ormskirk. They are gleaners - volunteer harvesters picking what's left in the ground. It's for a good cause: the unwanted kale from this farm will be donated to local food projects and charities.

Feedback Global is one of a handful of campaign groups organising gleans across Britain. It's seen its efforts swell - more than doubling the days in the fields between 2014 and 2018, working with four times as many volunteers and harvesting more than a hundred tonnes of unwanted fruit and vegetables from farms that would otherwise be left to rot.

Read the full story

What the papers say

The front pages offer colourful descriptions of Boris Johnson's ministerial sackings, with the Times calling it "cabinet carnage". For the Sun, it's the "Night of the Blond Knives", while the Financial Times sees a new "hardcore cabinet". Several papers picture the new PM's girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, who watched his speech at Downing Street. Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror suggests Mr Johnson has made his first gaffe in the role, breaking protocol by revealing the Queen told him: "I don't know why anyone would want the job."

Daily digest

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Nissan Workers braced for job cuts

Facebook Record $5bn to settle privacy concerns

Thames Bodies found in search for missing swimmers

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Wrestling 'is my comfort blanket'

If you listen to one thing today

Image copyright Kristaps Selga/ World Coffee Events/BBC

Baristas: The daily grind

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Image copyright Getty Images

If a woman forces a man to have sex, is that rape?

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Lookahead

11:00 Nominations for the Mercury Prize, awarded to the best album made by a British or Irish act in the last 12 months, to be revealed on BBC Radio 6 Music.

18:00 The Labour Party stages a rally in Parliament Square, Westminster, to call for a general election.

On this day

2000 A New York-bound Air France Concorde crashes minutes after take-off from Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground.

From elsewhere

It's electrifying! Olivia Newton-John on her big Grease auction (Guardian)

Theresa May called three people to talk about life after office (Atlantic)

Blood, bogeys and bums: why Horrible Histories reinvented how we see the past (Telegraph)

Out, Out, Out! Ireland serve up cricket Test match special against England (Irish Times)