by Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter on (#6WY7V)
Victorian supreme court judge tells jury that charges relating to Simon Patterson have been droppedThe trial of Erin Patterson for allegedly murdering her in-laws by serving them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms has started in a Victorian court.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...
Researchers have compared the monotreme's traits with the Kryoryctes cadburyi, an ancient water-dwelling creature that lived in Australia more than 100m years ago
Escalation from US military suggests previous restraints on causing civilian casualties have been relaxedI am the candidate of peace," Donald Trump declared on the campaign trail last November. Three months into his presidency, not only is the war in Ukraine continuing and the war in Gaza restarted, but in Yemen, the number of civilian casualties caused by US bombing is rapidly and deliberately escalating.Sixty-eight were killed overnight, the Houthis said, when the US military bombed a detention centre holding African migrants in Saada, north-west Yemen, as part of a campaign against the rebel group. In the words of the US Central Command (Centcom), its purpose is to restore freedom of navigation" in the Red Sea and, most significantly, American deterrence". Continue reading...
by Justin McCurry, Pjotr Sauer and agencies on (#6WX9R)
Acknowledgment, after long silence over deployment, comes as Russia claims it has recaptured Kursk regionVladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un have confirmed for the first time that North Korea has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine, with both leaders describing the soldiers as heroes".The acknowledgment comes amid claims by the Kremlin - contested by Ukraine - that North Korean forces helped recapture Russia's Kursk region. Continue reading...
Spravato, derived from a popular club drug and also known as esketamine, offers hope to tens of thousands of Australians living with chronic mental illness
Indian navy showcases its strike capability, while Pakistani minister says nuclear weapons are targeted at you'India's navy test-fired missiles on Sunday, showcasing its ability to carry out long-range, precision offensive" strikes, as tensions with Pakistan rise after last week's terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.Indian Navy ships undertook successful multiple anti-ship firings to re-validate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems, and crew for long-range precision offensive strike," the navy posted on X, as the prime minister, Narendra Modi, promised a harsh response" to the attack at a tourist site, the deadliest against civilians in Kashmir in 25 years. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Uzo Mbonu describes being targeted and completely isolated' by colleagues at HMP SwalesideA black former prison officer has said he suffers flashbacks and nightmares after colleagues in a high-security jail subjected him to extreme racist abuse and managers failed to support him.Nigerian-born Uzo Mbonu said he felt he was picked on and ostracised by other officers at HMP Swaleside in Kent because he did not have a British accent, did not understand the jokes his colleagues made, and challenged things he felt were going wrong. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood and agencies in Rome on (#6WWZY)
Mourners express sadness and gratitude, while special mass in St Peter's Square attracts 200,000 peopleThousands of people queued to visit Pope Francis's tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica the day after heads of state, royalty and hundreds of thousands of mourners attended his funeral in Rome.Many crossed themselves and took photos on their phones as they filed past the tomb, marked simply with the name Franciscus. Continue reading...
Government hails safeguarding of jobs as 55,000-tonne load and other imminent supplies mean blast furnaces have fuelSteelmaking at Scunthorpe will continue for months, the government has said, after it confirmed that a shipment of more than 55,000 tonnes of coking coal arrived in the UK this weekend.The shipment - more than four times the weight of the Shard, western Europe's tallest building - landed at the Immingham bulk terminal on the Humber River on Sunday and will be taken by rail the 20 miles to the British Steel site to power its blast furnaces. Continue reading...
Polling predicts victory for party in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull/East Yorkshire with the Greens possibly taking West of EnglandThere are six mayoral elections next week. Two of them are for single-authority mayors (Doncaster and North Tyneside), but the others are for combined-authority mayors (or regional mayors - like metro mayors, but not just covering city regions). Today YouGov has released polling covering all four of these contests and it suggests Reform UK is on course to win two of them easily. And the Green party is narrowly ahead in a third, the poll suggests.Here are the polling figures.In theory the Tories should be winning in Lincolnshire as they hold most of the parliamentary seats in the area and have dominated local politics forever. But it's also the most Reform-friendly part of the country. It contains Richard Tice's constituency and numerous seats in which they came second. Plus their candidate is a former Tory MP - Andrea Jenkyns, famous for her Boris Johnson obsession and making a middle finger gesture at a crowd outside Downing Street. She is, by all accounts, quite a few sandwiches short of a picnic but, nevertheless, is strong favourite to win. Large chunks of local Conservative parties, including several councillors, have already defected. Continue reading...
Number of recorded offences rose to 516,971 last year, though retailers fear data severely underestimates' scale of problemThe number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to the highest level on record, according to official figures, surpassing half a million offences for the first time in 2024.A total of 516,971 shoplifting offences were recorded last year, a 20% increase on the 429,873 recorded in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading...
UK anti-financial crime agency's change in guidance hopes to induce more firms to step forward and report suspected wrongdoingThe Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said it is prepared to let companies avoid prosecution if they self-report suspected financial crime and cooperate with investigators, in an important change to its previous guidance.The SFO, which investigates complex financial crimes, fraud and corruption, said companies that flag potential breaches would be offered the chance to negotiate a deferred prosecution agreement" (DPA), apart from in some exceptional" circumstances. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6WSR7)
Labour backbenchers demand clarity on practical impact of transgender people's use of toilets and hospital wardsMinisters have come under pressure to provide answers on how last week's supreme court ruling on gender identity will affect the daily lives of transgender people, amid confusion over issues such as toilet provision and hospital wards.Keir Starmer said he welcomed what he called real clarity" and a welcome step forward" in his first response to the court decision, which ruled that woman" in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman. Continue reading...
The most animated jousting on Channel 9's great debate' came when both leaders were invited to rebuff the biggest lie' their opponent has pushed during the Australian election campaign
Worshippers gathered in Rome for the Easter weekend reflect on legacy of pontiff who pushed the limitsBill Nicoletti and his family, from Philadelphia, were among the thousands gathered in St Peter's Square for Easter Sunday mass when Pope Francis arrived in his open-air popemobile.The vehicle cruised through the square, stopping occasionally for the pontiff to bless babies that were brought towards him, as the delighted crowd shouted Viva il papa!" (Long live the pope!) Continue reading...
UN, Palestinian Red Crescent and civil defence service condemn lack of accountability after Israeli investigationThe UN's humanitarian agency, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Gaza's civil defence service have rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that concluded the killings of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers in Rafah last month were caused by professional failures".Eight PRCS paramedics, six members of the civil defence rescue agency and one employee of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, were carrying out two rescue missions when they were shot and killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...
Russian military confirms Easter truce' is over and fighting has begun again as Ukrainian says Moscow launched 96 drones and three missiles overnight. This live blog is closed
Ukraine reports drone and artillery strikes over Easter weekend, while Moscow also claims ceasefire breaches by KyivVolodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Vladimir Putin's Easter ceasefire as a fake PR" exercise and said Russian troops had continued their drone and artillery attacks across many parts of the frontline.Citing a report from Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskyy said Russia was still using heavy weapons and since 10am on Sunday an increase in Russian shelling had been observed, he said. Continue reading...
Rating agency downgrades Ineos Quattro as it says trade barriers' could affect it for next two yearsSir Jim Ratcliffe's loss-making chemicals business could take longer than expected to recover its financial health because of Donald Trump's trade tariffs, analysts have said.The billionaire industrialist has faced growing concerns over the state of his chemicals group amid problems with his business interests in Manchester United and All Blacks rugby. Continue reading...
Laurie Lee and Robert Graves among English-speaking Quixotes' in new book celebrating literary love for all things SpanishAlmost 200 years ago, the pioneering British travel writer Richard Ford offered an observation that has been happily ignored by the legions of authors who have traipsed in his dusty footsteps across Spain, toting notebooks, the odd violin or Bible, and, of course, their own particular prejudices.Nothing causes more pain to Spaniards", Ford noted in his 1845 Handbook for Travellers in Spain, than to see volume after volume written by foreigners about their country." Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#6WR6Q)
After smelling fragrances inmates create poems, prose or drawings that recall holidays, park walks and sweet shopsSmell it, but don't stick your nose straight in it," says Michael O'Shaughnessy, pulling a small white card, sealed twice in ziplock bags, out of a metal chest. Waft it, close your eyes. Does it remind you of anything?"O'Shaughnessy, an illustrator and senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, first began using smells with art students, asking them to develop projects and concepts" based on scents because it's a leveller". Continue reading...
Russia touted as possible destination for Iran's uranium stockpile and could also act as arbiter of deal breachesRussia could play a key role in a deal on the future of Iran's nuclear programme, with Moscow being touted not only as a possible destination for Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but also as a possible arbiter of deal breaches.Donald Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Continue reading...
Worshippers are frisked on entering temple in Kandy where relic is held and photography is strictly prohibitedSri Lankan police have launched an investigation into a photo circulated on social media claiming to show a Buddha tooth relic, which has gone on display under tight security.The Criminal Investigation Department was ordered to determine whether the widely shared image was taken during the rare display of the relic, police said. Continue reading...
Pope Francis has attributed two miracles to the London-born teenager, who built websites for church and died of leukaemiaHe was a London-born teenager with leukaemia who spread his faith by building websites, later gaining the moniker God's influencer".And now Carlo Acutis, a computer prodigy who died at the age of 15 in 2006, will become the first millennial canonised by the Catholic church next week, in St Peter's Square. Continue reading...
Scheme to boost British film industry leads to Universal Pictures pocketing millions of pounds for blockbuster Jurassic World: RebirthA leafy corner to the west of Watford was transformed into a jungle last year. Authentic-looking exotic flowers lined the floor, tree trunks soared up to an artificial canopy and reeds hung from their branches. Peering between them was Hollywood A-lister Scarlett Johansson.The extravagant construction was a set in Sky Studios Elstree where the movie Jurassic World: Rebirth was being made. Filming there, instead of in an actual jungle, enabled Universal Pictures to pocket millions of pounds of UK taxpayers' money to partially cover its blockbuster costs. Continue reading...
Dozens of MPs are angry at their party, despite frantic efforts by whips and government ministers to assuage them We just go to the park': making the most of Easter in a child-poverty hotspotLabour MPs opposed to the government's massive 5bn of benefit cuts say they will refuse to support legislation to implement them, even if more money is offered by ministers to alleviate child poverty in an attempt to win them over.Legislation will be introduced to the House of Commons in early June to allow the cuts to come into force. They will include tightening the criteria for personal independence payments (Pip) for people with disabilities, to limit the number of people who can claim it. Under the changes, people who are not able to wash the lower half of their body, for example, will no longer be able to claim Pip unless they have another limiting condition. Continue reading...
Inmates complain of rashes and fever, echoing the events that led Dartmoor jail to close last yearThe government faces further potential legal action over concerns about levels of radon gas at a second prison, after Dartmoor jail was forced to close.Ministry of Justice officials have ordered radon detection equipment to be installed at Lindholme prison near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, where prisoners have reported feeling unwell with symptoms such as headaches, rashes and fever. Continue reading...
Opposition says trial was staged to entrench president Kais Saied's authoritarian ruleA Tunisian court has handed down prison sentences of 13 to 66 years to politicians, businessmen and lawyers in a mass trial that opponents say is fabricated and a symbol of president Kais Saied's authoritarian rule.Businessman Kamel Ltaif received the longest sentence of 66 years on Saturday, while opposition politician Khayam Turki was given a 48-year jail term, a lawyer for the defendants said. Continue reading...
English-speaking minority refugees caught up in clashes between the military and separatists are stranded in neighbouring countryAmid the sound of children excitedly practising a drama for a forthcoming performance, a yam seller calls to passers by with discounts for their wares. Outside a closed graphic design shop overlooking them from a small hill, Solange Ndonga Tibesa tells the story of being uprooted from her homeland in north-west Cameroon.In June 2019 she and other travellers were abducted with her three-month-old baby by secessionists, who accused them of supporting the military. Their captors repeatedly hit them with butts of their guns, keeping them in a forest without food or water. Continue reading...
by Andrew Gregory, Severin Carrell, Rajeev Syal and P on (#6WPRB)
Equality watchdog says health service now has clarity' as managers draw up new policy for hospitals and surgeriesNHS chiefs are scrambling to overhaul guidelines for single-sex spaces in thousands of hospitals and GP surgeries after the equality watchdog warned they would be pursued if they fail to do so.The British Transport Police became the first to change policies on Thursday amid the fallout from the supreme court ruling on the legal definition of a woman, piling pressure on the health service and other organisations to revamp their guidance. Continue reading...
Lib Dems say not a single all-party meeting on issue has taken place since plan for national care service was unveiledThe government has been accused of delay and drift" after it emerged crucial cross-party talks aimed at building political consensus for large-scale changes to adult social care have failed to get off the ground.The Liberal Democrats said not a single all-party meeting on the issue had taken place in the four months since the government announced ambitious plans to build a national care service to fix the UK's growing social care crisis. Continue reading...
The pivotal barbarian conspiracy' of AD367 saw Picts, Scotti and Saxons inflicting crushing blows on Roman defencesA series of exceptionally dry summers that caused famine and social breakdown were behind one of the most severe threats to Roman rule of Britain, according to new academic research.The rebellion, known as the barbarian conspiracy", was a pivotal moment in Roman Britain. Picts, Scotti and Saxons took advantage of Britain's descent into anarchy to inflict crushing blows on weakened Roman defences in the spring and summer of AD367. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Martin Belam (earlier) on (#6WP92)
These laws were written 20 years ago plus when the world was different,' Tory leader saysThe chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has suggested that there may be legal challenges around the efficacy of gender recognition certificates (GRC) ahead.Asked on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme if yesterday's supreme court ruling had rendered the legal document worthless, Kishwer Falkner said:I think the next stage of litigation may well be tests as to the efficacy of the GRC, and or other areas. We don't believe they are [worthless]. We think they're quite important.But I think there will be other areas, I mean, the Government is thinking of digital IDs, and if digital IDs come in, then what documentation will provide the identity of that person? So it's going to be a space that we'll have to watch very carefully as we go on.It's a victory for common sense, but only if you recognise that trans people exist. They have rights, and their rights must be respected - then it becomes a victory for common sense.It's not a victory for an increase in unpleasant actions against trans people. We will not tolerate that. We stand here to defend trans people as much as we do anyone else. So I want to make that very clear.They are covered through gender reassignment ... and they're also covered by sex discrimination.We'll have to flesh this out in the reasoning, but I think if you were to have an equal pay claim, then depending on which aspect of it that it was, you could use sex discrimination legislation. Continue reading...
British Transport Police amends policy in light of supreme court's landmark ruling on definition of a womanTrans women arrested on Britain's railways will in future be strip-searched by male officers in an updated policy after a landmark ruling by the supreme court.The British Transport Police said same-sex searches in custody would be conducted in accordance with the biological birth sex of the detainee" under updated guidance for public bodies. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6WPKW)
Great Yarmouth MP who now sits as an independent is also suing two other senior party figures amid bullying rowRupert Lowe, the former Reform MP who lost the whip in March, has announced he will be suing Nigel Farage and two other senior party figures for defamation after they accused him of bullying staff and making verbal threats.Lowe, who now sits as an independent, said he was suing Farage, the Reform leader, along with Lee Anderson, its chief whip, and Zia Yusuf, the party chair, for comments he said had caused serious harm to my reputation". Continue reading...
French weekly published pictures of Pelicot with a man, described as her companion', walking in the streetGisele Pelicot, who survived nearly a decade of rapes by dozens of men, will sue Paris Match magazine for invasion of privacy, her lawyers said on Thursday.In its latest edition, Paris Match published seven pictures of Pelicot accompanied by a man described as her companion walking in the streets in her new home town. Continue reading...
Event was meant to kick off 30 May to follow failed 2017 festival that resulted in Billy McFarland's wire fraud convictionFyre festival 2 has been postponed", according to messages sent to ticket holders, just weeks before it was scheduled to start.The event, advertised as a luxury music festival, was supposed to take place in Mexico from 30 May to 2 June. It was intended as an improved followup to the failed Fyre festival in 2017, which experienced problems with security, food, accommodation, medical services and artist relations, resulting in the festival being indefinitely postponed and eventually cancelled. Continue reading...
France imposed harsh ransom' after 1825 Revolution that campaigners say stunted Caribbean country's developmentThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has announced a joint commission with Haiti to examine the countries' shared past as Haitian campaigners demand a reimbursement of billions of dollars worth of ransom" paid to France.Macron announced his intention to create the commission as campaigners renewed calls for reparations on the bicentenary of an agreement to pay 150m francs to France in 1825 to compensate slave-owning colonists after the Haitian Revolution. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#6WPG1)
Screenwriter says he has no time for online warriors' criticising show, which now has two minority ethnic leadsThe Doctor Who screenwriter Russell T Davies has said he has no time for online warriors" who claim the show is too woke.Speaking to BBC Radio 2, the Welsh writer - who was also behind the hit series Queer As Folk and It's a Sin - said: What you might call diversity, I just call an open door." Continue reading...
Exclusive: Mark Bridges of Farrer & Co was trustee for Rifaat al-Assad, who was charged with war crimes in 2024Queen Elizabeth II's private solicitor spent eight years helping to manage the offshore wealth of the uncle of the recently deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, an investigation has established.Rifaat al-Assad became known as the butcher of Hama" after allegations he played a key role in a massacre of thousands of Syrians at the city of Hama in 1982. In 2024, Switzerland formally charged him with war crimes. Continue reading...
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