Seeking out a better deal from your broadband, pay TV and energy suppliers? While you know it could save hundreds of pounds, you might be wondering if it's worth the hassle. But often it only needs one call or a couple of clicks - and banks even pay an incentive to people who switch their main current accounts. Regulators have made the switching process easier in recent years, encouraging people to shop around when cost of living pressures have intensified. Which deals are the best for you still depends on your circumstances, but here are some of the ways that switching works.

Thousands may have died in UK's exceptional May and June heatwaves More than 2,700 people may have died from heat-related causes during the UK's exceptionally hot weather in May and June, experts' estimates suggest. The figure, from a team at Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is based on what's known about the dangers of extreme heat. Most deaths will have occurred in the June heatwave, they say - the warmest June on record in England, when temperatures hit 37.7C (99.9F) at Lingwood, Norfolk, smashing the previous high of 35.6C (96F) set in 1957. A rare red heat alert, external was issued for parts of England and Wales at the time, warning even healthy people of the significant risk to life. May temperatures, meanwhile, hit a new UK high of 35.1C at Kew Gardens on May 26 - a significant increase on the previous high mark of 32.8C, which had been set back in 1922 and equalled in 1944.

Around 100 firefighters have been called to a fire affecting a house, gardens, sheds and a railway embankment in Walthamstow, east London. London Fire Brigade (LFB) said two rest centres had been set up locally for impacted residents. It said it received the first of more than 100 calls to the incident near Vallentin Road and Shernhall Street just before 18:30 BST, with 20 fire engines and around 125 firefighters in attendance. In an update at about 21:00, LFB said the cause of the fire was currently unknown but crews have been working hard to extinguish the fire as swiftly as possible. The fire brigade has advised people in the area to keep their windows and doors closed due to the significant amount of smoke produced by the fire.

Speaking multiple languages may slow brain aging by up to 13 years, a new study finds. Language learning can improve attention, working memory and executive function at any age.

British Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery has invited Prince George and Princess Charlotte to play tennis with him, after meeting the royals at the men's single's final. The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with Charlotte and George, arrived at the All England Club shortly after 15:00 BST on Sunday, receiving a standing ovation as they entered the royal box. Fery, who turned 24 on Sunday, said: I know the whole family are all tennis fans, so I told her if her kids ever wanted to hit, I'm free. Prince William and Catherine congratulated the tennis player on his run to the semi-finals and wished him a happy birthday. Image caption, Britain's Arthur Fery lost to Alexander Zverev in the men's single's semi-finals Fery also received a birthday card from the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russian drones and missiles killed four people in Ukraine overnight, while Ukrainian attacks on Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine killed five. Three people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, including two at an "industrial enterprise" in the city of Kryvyi Rih, regional officials said on Sunday. Russia has escalated attacks in recent weeks, taking advantage of Ukraine's critical shortage of munitions for its Patriot air defence system, which has rendered it largely unable to intercept ballistic missiles flying at several times the speed of sound. NATO countries pledged at their summit in Ankara last week to provide more Patriot munitions to Ukraine, and President Donald Trump said he was willing to give Kyiv a license to manufacture the US missiles domestically.

A large-scale wildfire in north Wales as been declared a major incident by emergency services, as firefighters tackle fires across England and Wales during the record-breaking heatwave. Residents near Conwy Mountain and the Sychnant Pass have been evacuated, while members of the public were warned to avoid the area. In Greater Manchester, fire crews are working to contain a moorland fire near a reservoir, while in Camberley, Hampshire, crews are extinguishing a large heathland fire. Wildfires burned in County Durham, Derbyshire, East Sussex, West Sussex, Devon and Somerset over the weekend, during a warning that parts of the country were facing an exceptional risk for fires. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said in an update on Sunday afternoon that it was working in challenging conditions in order to contain the Conwy Mountain fire, with operations expected to continue for some time.

A racing driver who was in the car with Andrew Freddie Flintoff when he crashed while filming Top Gear in 2022 is suing BBC Studios. Paul Rees gave the presenter expert driving advice from the passenger seat, and is now seeking up to £150,000 for personal injury, according to court documents. It was not publicly known that anyone else was in the open-topped three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 when it overturned during filming. Flintoff suffered serious facial and rib injuries. BBC Studios in its legal response said Rees did not complain of any injuries at the time or after the crash.

Cyborg cockroach fitted with a tiny diving suit can survive underwater for up to three hours, potentially aiding search and rescue teams in flood and earthquake disaster zones.

A large number of datacentre projects around the world are being challenged or cancelled. A large number of datacentre projects around the world are being challenged or cancelled. 'These are some of the most complex structures ever created': how tech reporting moved into the physical world The Guardian's global tech reporting team are investigating the impact of the vast datacentres being built to power the AI revolution. Sun 12 Jul 2026 10.00 EDTLast modified on Sun 12 Jul 2026 10.01 EDT Journalists often use the term "shoe-leather reporting" to refer to the on-the-ground legwork that goes into covering certain stories. As the tech industry's focus has shifted from screen-based realities to the physical world of colossal AI datacentres and social media harms, comfortable footwear has become more essential to a tech reporter's job. Earlier this week, we published the Guardian's latest investigation into the datacentres and energy infrastructures that underpin AI - revealing that an £8.2bn AI complex in rural Scotland has misrepresented its plans to be powered entirely by on-site renewables.