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Public sector workers 'to get £2bn pay rise'

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Word has it that the Treasury is about to put a spring in the step of two million public sector workers heading into the weekend. It will announce the biggest public sector pay rise in six years - totalling £2bn - as one of Theresa May's final acts as prime minister, the Times reports. Soldiers are set to get an extra 2.9% while teachers and other school staff will get 2.75%, police officers, dentists and consultants 2.5% and senior civil servants 2%. It is thought the pay rises will have to be funded from existing budgets.

'Hundreds' allege Jesus Army abuse

Hundreds of former members of the Jesus Army are seeking damages for alleged abuse inside the Baptist sect. Ten people from the Jesus Fellowship Church - as it was originally known - have been convicted of various sex offences. The sect is to close and has apologised to anyone "who experienced harm in the past" but is the subject of a renewed police inquiry. And former members tell the BBC how children suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse on a "prolific scale", with most claims relating to incidents in the 1980s and 1990s. One, who we have called Rose, recalls being groomed by an older man from the age of 12. "I didn't know what was going on... I hadn't thought or talked about my body and he used that to molest me and continued to do it every weekend," she says.

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Call to count butterflies during mass migration

The UK is braced for an invasion of painted ladies. Charity Butterfly Conservation says unusually high numbers of the orange, black and white butterfly have been spotted heading from Europe. It's a phenomenon that happens roughly once a decade - 11 million arrived in 2008 - and the charity says it needs volunteers to take part in its annual Big Butterfly Count, which runs until 11 August. The task doesn't sound too arduous. It involves spending 15 minutes in a sunny spot anywhere in the UK, counting the butterflies they see before submitting sightings online.

Step into the shoes of a migrant on the Mexico-US border

This week we've been helping readers understand the dilemmas of migrants forced to make life-changing decisions as they attempt to claim asylum in the US. Tens of thousands of people have already tried our interactive role-play and we've made improvements to it based on their experiences.

Put yourselves in the shoes of Maria - our fictional character - to discover the decisions and dangers many more people like her have been facing.

Try the role-play

What the papers say

A number of papers lead on what some call Boris Johnson's "first defeat" as prime minister, despite him neither having entered No 10, nor actually been elected party leader by Conservative members. The Telegraph says the rebellion to stop a no-deal Brexit was led by the chancellor who - according to the Times - is one of three cabinet ministers set to resign once Theresa May has left office. Read the full review for more details.

Daily digest

'Car cruise' Fourteen injured in 'horrendous' crash

Brexit Scheme to block no deal 'could involve the Queen'

Seat belts Drivers face penalty points for not buckling up

7 days quiz: How much do you know about new EU President Ursula von der Leyen?

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Lookahead

09:00 Auction of football memorabilia including the boots of former Celtic European Cup Winner Tommy Gemmell, in Glasgow.

10:00 Protester James Goddard to be tried at Westminster Magistrates' Court for offences including harassment after MP Anna Soubry was taunted outside Parliament.

On this day

1996 Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic - subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International War Crimes Tribunal - agrees to resign and withdraw from political and public life.

From elsewhere

Theresa May packs her bags, her legacy dominated by failure (Washington Post)

Goodbye, Alan Moore: the king of comics bows out (Guardian)

Why do all mums hate the head of the PTA? Writer Debbi Marco learned the hard way it's always a poisoned chalice (Daily Mail)

The rise of coffee shaming (Atlantic)