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European Commission president says she will never work with parties such as AfD or National Rally, no matter how big a vote they secure in European electionsCampaign Corner: SlovakiaAs the campaign kicks off for the June European elections, more parties are presenting their candidates.We believe that this is an attempt to take over the agricultural protest movement by extreme and irresponsible groups, possibly under the influence of Russian agents. Continue reading...

Initiative before national rollout will allow review of care for patients whose condition is deteriorating

Shehbaz Sharif expected to become prime minister again after plans for coalition government announced between PML-N and PPP partiesImran Khan's political rivals have announced details of a coalition agreement, naming Shehbaz Sharif as their joint candidate for prime minister amid continuing concerns about the legitimacy of the recent elections.Khan's rivals said at a news conference of party leaders late on Tuesday that they had secured the required majority of votes to form a coalition government. The parliament will elect Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as the new prime minister when the inaugural session of the National Assembly is convened later this month, the party leaders said. Continue reading...

Though the state's ruling party has been marked by defections and dissent, the opposition has struggled to make its mark

Devastated colleagues and friends pay tribute to Collins as a passionate advocate' and a champion of fairness and equalityNew Zealanders, including leaders from across the political spectrum, have expressed shock and devastation at the sudden death of Green MP Efeso Collins, who collapsed after a charity run in Auckland on Wednesday.It is with profound shock and sadness that we can confirm that Green Party MP Efeso Collins has died," said a statement from the Green party. Continue reading...

Analysis shows 14 landlord MPs are among the 47 backbenchers who have signed amendments to billAlmost a third of the MPs attempting to water down or delay new laws to better protect England's 11 million private renters are landlords, analysis has revealed.MPs including Bob Blackman, Nick Fletcher, Marco Longhi and Geoffrey Clifton-Brown are pressing for changes to the long-awaited renters' reform bill, which will ban no-fault evictions. They want to make it easier for landlords to throw out tenants for antisocial behaviour instead. Continue reading...

Hrdlicka's abrupt departure comes as airline's owners plan to push ahead with relisting on stock exchange

Advocates say Coalition-era loophole has robbed public schools of $13bn, with $26bn to be lost by 2029 if Labor fails to close it in agreements with states

Professor says vaping stores need to be shut down for people to realise supply is being regulated

PM says federal government will make no changes' to Western Australia GST payments, which could hit $50bn over a decade

The Guardian found huge variation in the delays children face, as demand has outstripped provision

Former Post Office chair claimed request was made so government could limp into' the next electionMinisters have denied claims by the former Post Office chair that the government wanted to stall compensation payouts to victims of the Horizon scandal so the Conservatives could limp into" the general election.Henry Staunton, who was sacked last month by the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, amid anger over the Horizon scandal, said the request came soon after he took up the role in December 2022. Continue reading...

In Russia, the battle to eradicate the opposition leader and his legacy will continue long after his deathIn Russia, it is not enough to kill an opposition leader. His ageing mother must travel to the Arctic Circle to search a prison colony and a morgue for his body. Russians with the temerity to lay carnations in his memory must be detained.Even a preliminary cause of death, sudden death syndrome", was misleading, as though his death behind bars was not years in the making. Continue reading...

US president joins world leaders in outrage at Putin critic's death in prison, while human rights observers report at least 73 arrests

Details about leader's finances for 2022-23 come after Rishi Sunak revealed he paid more than 508,000 of tax on 2.2m plusKeir Starmer paid 99,431 in UK tax on earnings of 404,030 last year, according to a summary released by the Labour party.The Labour leader's tax summary for 2022-23 was published a week after Rishi Sunak's, which revealed the prime minister paid more than 508,208 in UK tax last year on earnings of just over 2.2m. Continue reading...

President-elect has human rights abuses to answer for, says mother of student shot at 1998 protestEvery Thursday for the past 17 years, in searing heat and pouring rain, Maria Catarina Sumarsih has stood outside the Indonesian presidential palace, demanding justice for her son. He was shot dead in 1998, when authorities opened fire on student protesters as they called for an end to the rule of dictator Suharto.Soon, it is assumed, the palace behind her will be inhabited by Prabowo Subianto - a former son-in-law of Suharto and a special commander under his 32-year regime, one of the most brutal and corrupt of the 20th century. He is accused of involvement in a series of rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and torture during the Suharto era, which ended in the same year that Sumarsih's son died. Continue reading...

New conservatorship is being proposed for the musician, following the death of his wife Melinda in January, according to court documentsIt has been announced that the Beach Boys co-founder and musical mastermind Brian Wilson has dementia, as his family move to appoint new conservators to help him following the death of his wife.A statement on Wilson's website reads: Following the passing of Brian's beloved wife Melinda, after careful consideration and consultation among Brian, his seven children, [housekeeper] Gloria Ramos and Brian's doctors (and consistent with family processes put in place by Brian and Melinda), we are confirming that longtime Wilson family representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will serve as Brian's co-conservators". Continue reading...

Oklahoma's KYKC initially refused to play the song, but later added it to its rotation after saying it had not been aware of Beyonce's new singleA country music radio station in the US that initially refused to play a listener's Beyonce request has now added the artist's new tracks to rotation after an online firestorm.On Tuesday, a Beyonce fan contacted the station to request her song Texas Hold Em - one of two released in a surprise drop during the Super Bowl where the 32-time Grammy winner also announced the second album in her Renaissance trilogy. Continue reading...

Lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted for the bill drafted by centre-right government despite church officials' objectionsGreece has become the world's first Christian Orthodox nation to legalise same-sex marriage after the Athens parliament passed the landmark reform amid scenes of both jubilation and fury in the country.In a rare display of parliamentary consensus, 176 MPs from across the political spectrum voted in favour of the bill on Thursday. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present. Continue reading...

Actor and TV personality, 42, said diagnosis helped her understand her brain's background noise'Sheridan Smith has spoken about how a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has helped her make sense of a lot of things" in her life.The Olivier award-winner, who will star in the musical Opening Night at the Gielgud Theatre next month, told Vogue I never know what to say and I overthink", adding that she found herself constantly overanalysing" little things, such as the mums' WhatsApp group" for her son's school. Continue reading...

Smyth family from County Down had lost hope of seeing Blueberry again until he was found in Galway, IrelandFour years after the Smyth family had abandoned all hope, the call came: We have your Blueberry."The beloved black cat who disappeared in November 2019 from the family home in Bangor, County Down, on Northern Ireland's coast, turned up last week in County Galway in western Ireland. Continue reading...

Rescue organisations warn decree requiring their boats to return directly to a given port - often far away - prevents them from helping others in distressSeveral groups running rescue missions in the Mediterranean are calling for a change in the EU's policies, which they say are partly to blame for the drownings of more than 3,000 people last year.A 2023 decree has severely reduced the response capacity of the NGO-run civil fleet's search-and-rescue missions, routinely putting the lives of people crossing the Mediterranean at risk. Continue reading...

European Broadcasting Union's decision follows calls for country to be excluded over Gaza war

In today's newsletter: As attacks intensify on what once the safest place for civilians in Gaza, what does it mean for the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the area? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Yesterday, the UN's humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, issued a dire warning about the consequences of an Israeli ground assault on Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. The scenario we have long dreaded is unravelling at alarming speed," he said. Palestinian civilians trapped there, he added, are staring death in the face".For more than a week, Israel has intensified its aerial attack on Rafah, saying that it is the last refuge of Hamas militants who have been driven out of the rest of Gaza. But hundreds of thousands of refugees have also fled to the area - and Israel is yet to set out a plan to keep them safe if it proceeds with a ground operation.US news | At least one person was killed and 22 others injured, including eight children, in a shooting during a Super Bowl victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday. Hundreds of people who gathered to celebrate the Chiefs' victory on Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers ran for shelter from the gunfire.Antisemitism | The scale of the surge in antisemitism in the UK since Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October has been revealed, in data showing a 589% increase in the number of incidents compared with the same period in 2022.Labour | Keir Starmer is facing a fresh test of his authority as MPs prepare to vote on a second parliamentary motion calling for an immediate" ceasefire in Gaza next week. The party's abstention on a similar vote in November triggered a huge split in the party and 10 frontbench resignations.Security | The head of the US House intelligence committee, Mike Turner, has called for the Biden administration to declassify information on what he called a serious national security threat", later reported to involve Russian plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space. The New York Times said US allies had been briefed on the intelligence, which was not deemed to represent an urgent threat.Food | Bowls of pink-tinged rice are about to feature on sustainable food menus, according to researchers who created rice grains with beef and cow fat cells grown in them. It is hoped the rice, created using stem cells, will be a more affordable source of protein than traditional beef, with a smaller carbon footprint. Continue reading...

Nathan Bake, 28, was second-in-command at dark web site that allowed millions of child abuse images to be sharedA mechanic from Cheshire who created and ran child sexual abuse sites on the dark web has been jailed for 16 years.Judge Thompson described Nathan Bake, 28, of Runcorn, Cheshire, as a dangerous offender and additionally imposed a four-year period on licence in the community to be served after the prison sentence. Continue reading...

Economy minister says he is best candidate for top job and Senedd needs to do more to look like our country'Vaughan Gething knows that whenever he discusses his skin colour, he is accused of playing the race card and opens himself up to a torrent of abuse on social media. Nevertheless, he does not fight shy of discussing the significance of what he will achieve if he becomes the leader of Welsh Labour, and thus the first minister of Wales, next month.You can't deny the historic nature of it. I think I should win because I'm the best candidate. I've got loads of experience. I've got values rooted in our movement. I was a trade union shop steward, Wales TUC president, had 10 years as an employment lawyer and I have a vision for the future. But if I win, the fact that I'll be the first black leader of any European nation is a matter of historic significance." Continue reading...

Labour leader under pressure over claims Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali's remarks went unchallenged at event

New data reveals backlog of 1.1m claims across all payments while around half of all calls to Centrelink went unanswered in six-month period

Dairy farmer dead after wild weather in South Gippsland, while ongoing power outages affect more than 134,000 customers

ABS data finds participation of children in public education has dropped four percentage points in two decades to 64%

Foreign secretary issues stark warning and implies UK will not back a Rafah offensive

Activist Bart Staszewski hails meaningful and necessary' apology as opening new chapter for state broadcasterA television presenter with Poland's state broadcaster has apologised for the years of shameful words" directed at LGBTQ+ people, in a moment hailed by a prominent rights campaigner as the closing of a chapter in Polish society.Bart Staszewski, an activist and film-maker, said the apology made to him live on air on Sunday showed the transformation of a broadcaster that served as a mouthpiece for the Law and Justice (PiS) party during its time in power. Continue reading...

Cryptosporidium parasite causes 498 diarrhoea cases in NSW this year and 736 in Queensland in January alone

Billionaire politician was jailed on corruption charges in August last year after returning from self-imposed exileJailed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be freed, the kingdom's justice minister has said, possibly as soon as the weekend - just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile.The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse of power charges in August, but within days had his sentence cut to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Continue reading...

MLC school in Burwood overfunded by $2.7m in 2024, figures revealed in Senate show, making it among 40% of private schools overfunded by commonwealth

Prime minister faces one-hour grilling from voters following day of campaigning in YorkshireI must confess that if I was looking for woke extremists" myself, then the British armed forces would be unlikely to be my first port of call, but the idea has gripped defence secretary Grant Shapps, who has complained that time and resources are being squandered to promote a political agenda which is pitting individuals against each other" because there is a woke culture that has seeped into public life over time and is poisoning the discourse."He has ordered a review of diversity and inclusion policies at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after it was reported that the army wants to relax security checks for overseas recruits to increase black, Asian and minority ethnic representation.This is a time when only our enemies want us to be divided and we have absolutely no time for this - sort of putting ideology before security. It is absolutely clear, and let me be totally clear, there is no way we are going to be easing up security requirements for ideological requests. That is simply not going to happen.You know, the British armed forces have one purpose and one purpose alone, and that's to defend the British people and bring death to the king's enemies. There's no way we're going to be putting ideology before security. Continue reading...

Esther Ghey says she believes social media use left her daughter vulnerable, while killers were able to access violent content onlineThe mother of Brianna Ghey has called for her murder to be a tipping point" in how society views the mess" of the internet, warning that a generation of anxious young people will grow up lacking resilience.Esther Ghey said technology companies have a moral responsibility" to restrict access to harmful online content. She supports a total ban on social media access for under-16s - a move currently under debate in certain legislatures, including Florida in the US. Continue reading...

Calls for Labour leader to remove whip from Azhar Ali if he becomes MP, after his suggestion Israel allowed' 7 October attackKeir Starmer has been urged to confirm disciplinary action for Labour's Rochdale byelection candidate, Azhar Ali, if he becomes an MP, after he apologised for comments made about the Israel-Gaza conflict.Some Labour MPs and members have voiced their concern at the leadership's continued support of Ali and his campaign, saying it marks a huge and disappointing shift" from Starmer's promises of taking a zero-tolerance" to antisemitism, and all forms of racism. Continue reading...

David Cameron says extremist' settlers responsible for human rights abuses against West Bank residents

Energy department says location in Wales, which is owned by Hitachi, is among those being consideredThe UK government has said it is working on making sites available for new nuclear power stations, amid reported talks with the owner of the Wylfa facility in north Wales.Hitachi owns the site on the island of Anglesey or Ynys Mon, but its future has been uncertain since 2020, when the Japanese company formally abandoned its own effort to build a new reactor there after failing to agree financial support with the government. Continue reading...

Reports of a fractured relationship with Joe Biden and collapse in public support are isolating Israeli PM

Regulator concerned about concerning spike' in neglect cases, which advocates say are the result of workforce shortages

Creator of Spamalot says he sold home last year and that comedy troupe he co-founded in 1969 is a disaster'The Monty Python star Eric Idle has said that he has continued to work at the age of 80 for financial reasons.The comedian and actor, known for his role as Sir Robin the-not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and for many other characters in the group's films and series, said he sold his home last year. Continue reading...

Laws prohibiting sale of knives to minors will also be fast-tracked as government considers expanding police search powers

Annual Hilda survey of 17,000 Australians shows clear trend of younger people becoming lonelier and feeling more isolated as time goes on'

Irish state's founding fathers killed and disappeared five times more people than Provisional IRA would do over 30 yearsThe Irish Republican Army's executioners shot and secretly buried their victims in fields and bogs, leaving them to decay and enter the ranks of Ireland's disappeared".Some were British soldiers, others were suspected informers or turncoats. Uncertainty about their fate and the location of their remains added a cruel twist to a brutal conflict. Continue reading...

More than 500 dogs sent to US for rehoming as local industry breeds more dogs than needed and demand for homes outstrips supply

Inspired by French action, British campaigners say they will continue slow tractor protests after Dover roads were blockedFarmers say there will be further French-style blockades following a slow tractor protest at Dover against low supermarket prices and cheap food imports from post-Brexit trade deals.Around 40 tractors and other farm vehicles blocked roads around the Kent port for several hours on Friday evening by driving slowly and carrying signs with slogans such as No More Cheap Imports". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereChildren are going without food for days and some people are resorting to grinding animal feed into flour to survive, says the BBC who spoke to people living in north Gaza. People also described digging down into the soil to access water pipes, for drinking and washing.International charity ActionAid has said that food is becoming so scarce in Gaza that people are resorting to eating grass. Every single person in Gaza is now hungry, and people have just 1.5 to 2 litres of unsafe water per day to meet all their needs," said ActionAid in a statement published that warned intensifying attacks in Rafah would have disastrous consequences". Continue reading...

Suella Braverman and a former priest accuse church but Justin Welby says its role has been mischaracterisedThe Church of England has refuted a claim that it operated a conveyor belt for asylum seeker fake conversions", saying parish records disproved the eye-catching allegation.Churches have been at the centre of a storm over fake conversions" in the past week after it emerged that Abdul Ezedi, the Afghan man suspected of a chemical attack on a woman and two children in Clapham, was granted asylum on his third attempt after converting to Christianity. Police said on Friday that Ezedi was believed to be dead. Continue reading...