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Exclusive: As well as citing personal reasons, Ridley says she is making way for a successor ‘to work alongside new leader’

Hollie Ridley, Labour’s general secretary, is to step down this autumn after two years in the job, she has announced to party staff.

Ridley, an ally of Keir Starmer who ran Labour’s field operations in the 2024 general win election, said in an internal email she would stand down after the party’s annual conference in September.

Jérémie Queyras, 28, created painting over months of sessions at his studio where pair struck up unlikely bond

Over months they met secretly in a studio in the government quarter of central Berlin – a young artist and his subject, the former German chancellor Angela Merkel. For hours at a time, while Jérémie Queyras painted her portrait, they bonded, Merkel has said, chatting “about all and sundry”. Sometimes they were silent, or they listened to classical music, taking it in turns to let each other choose the pieces.

The result of what Merkel, 71, called their “little adventure” was unveiled to an invited audience of family, friends and a handful of art critics this week in the neo-baroque Bode-Museum in Berlin.

Suspect seen in Germany after attack apparently targeting tycoon Vadym Iermolaiev

The main suspect in a Monaco bomb attack this week that seriously injured a Ukraine-born business tycoon and two of his family members is a Ukrainian woman living in Germany who disguised herself as a man, authorities have said.

Interpol, the international police organisation, on Friday issued a red notice for Anastasiia Berezovska, aged 39, describing her as German-speaking with dark hair and a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow.

The makers of the blockbusting sci-fi thriller reveal how they made a hit, why Kevin Spacey was almost involved and what went wrong with the sequel

The architects of cinema’s most popular alien invasion have slightly differing accounts of how exactly the original plans for Independence Day came to them. But they both agree that it began with the now-famous image of a massive spaceship looming over a city skyline.

Roland Emmerich, the director, recalls explaining the scope of the concept to Dean Devlin, the co-writer and producer, at the latter’s home: “He lived in an area on a hill, so I said, let’s go to the window – all of what you see would be [covered by] the underside of a spaceship. He said, where’s the humor? And I said, there’s a guy knocking out an alien saying ‘welcome to Earth.’ Then we learned that Tim Burton, a director I really admire, was doing Mars Attacks! We knew that movie was coming out in August, and we said, well, there’s a great date before: Fourth of July. And that’s why the movie is called Independence Day.”

America has long stood for freedom and prosperity, but under Trump insults, threats and unpredictability have become the new norm. As the US marks its 250th anniversary, Guardian correspondents around the world report on how it is perceived elsewhere

Amy Hawkins in Beijing

England attempted 35 crosses in open play against the DRC, their most since their World Cup winning campaign

In the 2-1 victory against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) England achieved something they had not done for six decades: win a World Cup match after going 1-0 down. The 1966 final was the only previous instance, with England losing 17 of the other 22 matches in which they conceded the first goal in the competition.

Opta provided an example of a rather more niche statistical feat that also occurred for the first time in 60 years. This one will not resonate so immediately but highlights an important aspect of the tactical story of England’s campaign this summer.