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Keir Starmer doesn't even prep for PMQs any more. Rish! is sunk but can't see he's in self-destruct modeThe end can't come too soon. Not just for the Tory backbenchers, but for cabinet ministers too. They sit in the Commons with resigned expressions, checking their phones for potentially lucrative job offers. No one can remember the last time Penny Mordaunt was seen with a smile on her face. Jeremy Hunt had his head down, letting his tenants know he was doubling their rent. Every penny counts.Relax everyone. There will be plenty of sinecures to go round. But you can't blame them for worrying. They know the game is up. Most are no longer even going through the motions of looking interested. Like a man on death row, they are just waiting for the date of their execution. Continue reading...

Emergency measures mean some suspects will be released on bail and not sent to a cell as trials postponedHundreds of court hearings have been postponed at the last minute after ministers introduced emergency measures to deal with overcrowded prisons.Operation Early Dawn, triggered on Wednesday, means some suspects will be released on bail, rather than sent to a cell, because their trial will be put off. Suspects' first appearances before magistrates after they have been charged with a crime are also likely to be affected. Continue reading...

David Davis says block on accessing New Yorker's 13,000-word article seems in defiance of open justice'The Tory MP David Davis has used parliamentary privilege to ask why UK readers were barred from viewing an article in a prominent US magazine about the case of the former nurse Lucy Letby.He told fellow MPs that the block on the story published in the New Yorker seemed in defiance of open justice". Continue reading...

Study finds 57% of Black women of reproductive age live in the 26 states with abortion bans or restrictionsMore than half of Black women in the US who are of reproductive age live in states with abortion bans or restrictions, according to a new report.The study, by the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and the non-profit In Our Own Voice, shows the stark impact of overturning Roe v Wade on Black women, NBC News reported. Continue reading...

Announcements are good steps' to reduce harms caused by employment services system but fall short of the overhaul required, advocates say

Treasurer says migration important' but needs to be well managed'

Exclusive: Bureaucratic process of clearing' book has dragged on for almost three years with historians arguing obstruction amounts to censorship'Australia's foreign affairs department (Dfat) is refusing to approve the publication of an official history of military operations in Timor-Leste until references are removed that could embarrass officials and diplomats, leading to accusations of censorship".The finished manuscript was presented for vetting 30 months ago and Dfat is the only agency of nine in the declassification process not yet largely or wholly satisfied it does not pose a risk to national security, defence or international relations.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Fabrice Moello, 52, and Arnaud Garcia, 34, died in brazen attack on prison convoy during which a dangerous inmate escaped

Macron holds crisis meeting amid unrest over plan to increase number of French nationals eligible to vote in Pacific territoryThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, will ask the cabinet to approve a state of emergency in New Caledonia after a second night of unrest over changes to voting rights in the overseas territory that has resulted in the deaths of at least three people.Macron is expected to make the move during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon. The last time France took such a measure for the Pacific archipelago was in January 1985, during a peak of recurring violent conflicts between French authorities and a pro-independence movement that spanned most of the 1980s. Continue reading...

Shadow foreign and defence ministers go to Kyiv to ensure we take politics out of the UK's support for Ukraine'

One group called for book to be returned to Cumberland council library shelves while rivals argued it amounted to a moral sin

WA senator says from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' - a phrase Anthony Albanese argues is counter to two-state solution

Ure played role in ITV children's series of character who had superhuman strength and agilityGudrun Ure, the actor who played Super Gran in the popular 1980s ITV children's series, has died at the age of 98.According to her niece, Kate McNeill, she died at her home in London. Continue reading...

Budget forecasts $14.4bn in savings from national disability insurance scheme, which minister says will come from changes to plan rules

British fashion retailer hit by drop in sales in Asia and Americas, and expects challenging first half of 2025

Robert Malayta, 18, was found dead by police divers in the Ross River near the Townsville suburb of Kirwan in 2022

NGA rebuffs efforts by billionaire to take down painting by award-winning artist Vincent Namatjira

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Five AFP officers say complaints in a November 2022 letter brought them into public disrepute, odium, ridicule and contempt'Five federal police officers are suing the Australian Capital Territory government and Shane Drumgold for $1.42m over the former director of public prosecutions' complaint about the handling of Bruce Lehrmann's prosecution.In December 2022 Guardian Australia revealed that Drumgold had written to the ACT detective superintendent Scott Moller shortly after the trial's collapse, saying he held concerns that police were politically influenced and had aligned themselves with the defence.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Ban comes after Greens MPs wore the scarf that's long been a symbol for the struggle for a Palestinian stateVictoria's parliament has become one of few in the world to ban MPs from wearing the keffiyeh, the scarf that has been linked to the struggle for a Palestinian state for decades.The president of the upper house, Shaun Leane, and the lower house speaker, Maree Edwards, both ruled on Wednesday that the scarf was political, meaning it could not be worn in either chamber.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Researchers say that a critical mass of female anaesthesiologists and surgeons in operative teams can reduce postoperative complicationsHospital surgical teams that include more female doctors improve patient outcomes, lower the risk of serious complications and could in turn reduce healthcare costs, according to the world's largest study of its kind.Studies show diversity is important in business, finance, tech, education and the law not only for equity but for output. However, evidence supporting the value of sex diversity in healthcare teams has been limited. Continue reading...

Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some ordersLorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK's busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government's IT systems delay imports entering Britain.Businesses have described the government's new border control checks as a disaster" after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders. Continue reading...

Lee Hsien Loong will stand down and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong at a challenging time for the city stateSingapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will stand down on Wednesday and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong, the first change of power in the city state in two decades.Wong, 51, a US-trained economist credited with managing the country's response to the pandemic, will be the fourth prime minister to lead Singapore, and is the first leader to have been born after the country's independence in 1965. He is also only the second leader who is not a member of the founding Lee family. He will be inaugurated in a ceremony on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, peak farming groups stage walkout during agriculture minister's post-budget speech. Follow the day's news live

Report from public spending watchdog comes soon after similar data from parliamentary committeeAverage call waiting times at HM Revenue and Customs have soared by more than 350% in five years, with increasing numbers of people not getting through in the first place or having their calls terminated, according to an official report that says the public is being let down".The National Audit Office (NAO) said the quality of customer service provided by HMRC had been far below" the levels expected in recent years, and that its phone lines in particular were not delivering". Continue reading...

Education secretary Gillian Keegan to announce guidelines for phased discussion of topics depending on pupils' ageSex education in England's primary schools is to be limited to those aged nine and over, with explicit" discussions on topics such as contraception to be delayed until the age of 13, according to new guidance to be proposed by the government.The revised guidance on relationships, sex and health education is expected to be published this week by the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and is likely to contain further restrictions on teaching about gender and identity, with teachers told to instead explain biological" facts, according to reports. Continue reading...

IPS report says replacement fuels well off track to replace kerosene within timeframe needed to avert climate disasterHopes that replacement fuels for airplanes will slash carbon pollution are misguided and support for these alternatives could even worsen the climate crisis, a new report has warned.There is currently no realistic or scalable alternative" to standard kerosene-based jet fuels, and touted sustainable aviation fuels" are well off track to replace them in a timeframe needed to avert dangerous climate change, despite public subsidies, the report by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive thinktank, found. Continue reading...

UK mining company reveals break-up plan in bid to avoid takeover by Australia-based BHP

Major shortfalls predicted over next two years as Jim Chalmers downplays potential for inflationary pressures

Plea comes as US secretary of state makes first visit to Ukraine since new aid package was passed by Congress

A surplus matters less than what choices the government makes in its budget - here's what Jim Chalmers' statement tells us

Defence says approved spending for Australia's acquisition of subs so far totals $13.6bn

With many NHS maternity services struggling and a shortage of midwives, MPs' plan for overhaul is ambitiousThat the findings of the UK's first inquiry into birth trauma are far from surprising does not diminish the fact that they are shocking, devastating and difficult - indeed distressing - to read. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for birth trauma's 80-page report should give ministers, NHS bosses and the midwives and obstetricians who deliver care serious pause for thought.It highlights how mistakes and failures" by maternity staff lead to stillbirths, premature births, babies being born with cerebral palsy because they were starved of oxygen at birth, and life-changing injuries to women as the result of severe tearing". How some mothers were mocked, shouted at, denied pain relief, not told what was going on during their labour, left alone in blood-stained sheets, with desperate bell calls for help going unanswered - all examples of care that lacked compassion". And how, in some cases, these errors were covered up by hospitals who frustrated parents' efforts to find answers". It amounts to a shameful catalogue of negligence in the only area of NHS care where two lives - one still unborn - are on the line. Continue reading...

Dubliners urged to give Irish welcome' via interactive sculpture but bad behaviour is also on displayRain sluiced down on a grey Dublin afternoon but the crowd clustering around the portal ignored the downpour and waved at a man cycling towards the screen on a sunny morning in Manhattan.He gazed back, waved and wobbled before recovering his balance and vanishing down Fifth Avenue, eliciting a cheer from the sodden observers on North Earl Street. Continue reading...

So-called minister for common sense says she wants to ban wearing of rainbow lanyards among other measures

UK birth trauma inquiry finds women variously mocked, ignored, fobbed off with paracetamol and left permanently damagedWomen in labour have been mocked, ignored, fobbed off with paracetamol and left with permanent damage by midwives and doctors, and hospitals have covered up their staff's failures, a damning report by MPs has found.Mothers have been left with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unable to bond with their baby and too incapacitated to go back to work because of horrendous experiences while having a child, the UK's first inquiry into birth trauma found. Continue reading...

Letter sent to defence minister and IDF chief says assault on city appears to be nothing short of recklessness'The parents of more than 900 Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza have signed a letter urging the military to call off its ongoing offensive in Rafah, calling it a deadly trap" for their children.It is evident to anyone with common sense that after months of warnings and announcements regarding an incursion into Rafah, there are forces on the other side actively preparing to strike our troops," says the letter, sent on 2 May. Continue reading...

Former chancellor plans to join online retailer owned by the billionaire Barclay family in June

Notorious alleged jihadi changed from a peaceful convert after being influenced by an inflammatory' brand of Islam, a magistrate has heard

Creatives at Jamaica Street Studios fear building will be snapped up by a developer if they don't raise funds in time

Police Scotland's Jo Farrell says other agencies need to step up' and allow officers to focus on core dutiesPolice Scotland is overwhelmed" by the appalling" demands made on officers by failing mental health services and a court system that requires complete reform, according to its chief constable, Jo Farrell.The first woman to lead Police Scotland, the UK's second largest force, Farrell took command of the national service last October. Continue reading...

As Putin's forces press towards ruined Chasiv Yar, Ukrainians try to survive under bombardment in the shadow of the frontlineFor months, Serhiy Gorbunov has been trying to persuade residents of Chasiv Yar, Russia's current target in eastern Ukraine, to leave. There's intense shelling. The place is being bombarded. It's a difficult situation," he said. People are living underground in basements. We tell them: Please go.' They answer with excuses. Most say they don't want to abandon their homes. We try to help but they refuse."Gorbunov is the head of the city military administration in Kostiantynivka, the nearest functioning city to the frontline. That is 7 miles (11km) from his office, reached via a dusty and potholed back road that climbs up to the heights of Chasiv Yar. The Russians, who have been besieging the town for well over a year, have now reached its eastern outskirts and are trying to surround it. Continue reading...

Results put Gitanas Nausda ahead but he will face Ingrida imonyt in a run-off election on 26 MayLithuania's president, Gitanas Nausda, appears on course for a second term after an election dominated by the war in Ukraine and fears over neighbouring Russia.Nausda was ahead with 46% after almost all votes from Sunday's election had been counted while prime minister Ingrida imonyt had 16%. As no candidate won more than 50% the pair will head to a run-off election on 26 May. Continue reading...

Temperatures reach as high as 26.5C on Sunday but warm and sunny spell could be over by Monday morningWeather warnings for rain have been issued across the UK after the hottest day of the year so far.Temperatures reached as high as 26.5C (79.7F) on Sunday but the Met Office has said the recent warm and sunny spell could end by Monday morning. Continue reading...

Heavy bombardment and airstrikes reported in devastated north while clashes also seen in south as tens of thousands flee Rafah

Unseasonably cold weather had slowed UK season, but sunny spell has helped crop grow like stink'Shoppers angered by discovering imported asparagus on supermarket shelves during the short British season for the vegetable are expected to receive a fillip after a sudden burst of sunshine helped the domestic crop.Supermarket shoppers had complained after finding asparagus grown in mainland Europe and the Americas on sale during the peak" British season. Continue reading...

Secretary of state Antony Blinken defends decision to pause bomb delivery to Israel: We have real concerns about the way they're used'On Sunday, more families, estimated in the thousands, were leaving Rafah as the Israeli military pressure intensified. Tank shells landed across the southern Gaza city as the army gave new evacuation orders covering some neighbourhoods in the centre of Rafah, which borders Egypt. Israel yesterday called for Palestinians in more areas of Rafah to head to what it calls an expanded humanitarian area in al-Mawasi, a narrow strip of coastline at the southernmost end of the territory. But there are grave concerns for the security of those fleeing to the area, which aid workers say is packed with hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have already overwhelmed inadequate supplies of food, clean water and healthcare. Sanitation barely exists, leading to the rapid spread of disease.The UK's foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said it would be wrong for Israel to carry out a major offensive in Rafah without a plan to protect people". For there to be a major offensive in Rafah, there would have to be an absolutely clear plan about how you save lives, how you move people out the way, how you make sure they're fed, you make sure that they have medicine and shelter and everything," the former Conservative prime minister told Sky News. We have seen no such plan ... so we don't support an offensive in that way," he added, echoing similar statements by the US. The closure of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, the difficulties of reaching the Kerem Shalom crossing because of the fighting, a lack of transport because of fuel shortages and the flight of key workers mean almost no aid is reaching southern and central Gaza.The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, urged for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid" into the besieged Gaza Strip. But a ceasefire will only be the start," Guterres told a donor conference in Kuwait. It will be a long road back from the devastation and trauma of this war," he said.Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight in the Jabaliya refugee camp and other areas in the northern Gaza Strip, which has suffered widespread devastation. Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery struck across the camp and the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City.On Sunday, more families, estimated in the thousands, were leaving Rafah as the Israeli military pressure intensified. Continue reading...

Survivors pick through debris-littered streets and damaged buildings as rescue workers dispatched amid warning some areas cut off by floodingMore than 300 people were killed in flash floods that ripped through multiple provinces in Afghanistan, the UN's World Food Programme said, as authorities declared a state of emergency and rushed to rescue the injured.Many people remained missing after heavy rains on Friday sent roaring rivers of water and mud crashing through villages and across agricultural land in several provinces, causing what one aid group described as a major humanitarian emergency". Continue reading...

Leaflet instructs Palestinians to leave southern Gaza city as Benjamin Netanyahu shuns pressure from Joe BidenTens of thousands of Palestinians were fleeing Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, on Saturday, after Israeli warnings to evacuate before an imminent military assault that will open a bloody new phase of the seven-month-long conflict.Roads leading out of Rafah were choked with long columns of young and old, sick and healthy, riding in overloaded pick-up trucks and battered cars, in pony carts and on hand-pulled trolleys. Many walked, carrying their belongings, under a searing summer sun. Some were pushed in wheelchairs or even carried. Continue reading...

Academics call for government to avoid inflaming situation but Jewish students say they want to feel safeAcademics have called on the government to avoid inflaming" the situation on British campuses, as students protest against the war in Gaza and their universities' links to Israel.Some senior staff accused Rishi Sunak of scaremongering" by summoning vice-chancellors to Downing Street last Thursday to urge them to take personal responsibility" for protecting Jewish students. Continue reading...