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Historian tells Hay festival audience that Britain needs to liberate itself and have independence day from its own history'The historian David Olusoga has said the UK is the one country left in the British empire as he likened it to being the last oblivious person at a party.Asked at Hay festival on Sunday whether the British empire had ended, the broadcaster said: There's one country left in the British empire that needs to liberate itself and have its independence day from its own history, and that's Britain." Continue reading...

Two-thirds of Ingria near Turin are competing for positions including a mother and son in rival campsThe last time Igor De Santis ran for mayor in Ingria, a tiny village surrounded by forests and mountains near Turin, he won an easy landslide victory. But he faces a tough challenge in his bid for a fourth mandate, after his mother joined a rival camp.Ingria, one of the smallest villages in Italy, is home to 46 inhabitants. A further 26 people, registered to vote from abroad, make up the electorate. Continue reading...

Unite move comes after Tata, which owns Port Talbot and Llanwern plants, threatened to cut redundancy payUnion leaders are preparing to ramp up industrial action at two south Wales steelworks, in a further escalation of a row over almost 3,000 job losses that threatens to become a big general election issue.Unite said such moves at the Port Talbot and Llanwern works are planned after the sites' Indian owner, Tata Steel, threatened to cut redundancy pay as a response to members voting for an overtime ban. Continue reading...

Starmer's belief in international law and the rise of Labour Friends of Israel offer clues to potential stance on Palestinian statehood

The coronavirus pandemic had a huge effect on the justice system, but what else can the data show us?Justice delayed is justice denied" goes the old legal maxim - one that has captured the state of the court system in England and Wales in recent years.The backlogs caused by the coronavirus pandemic are only one of the ways in which the justice and policing system has changed over the last 14 years - from cuts to legal aid and policing, to a more positive story on crime levels, much has changed since 2010. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president says Beijing is supporting efforts by Moscow to warn leaders off attending Swiss meetingVolodomyr Zelenskiy has accused China of discouraging other countries from attending a peace summit in Switzerland later this month that is aimed at bringing peace to war-ravaged Ukraine.Speaking at Asia's biggest security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, the Ukrainian president sought to rally support among Asia-Pacific nations, urging them to attend the Swiss meeting. Continue reading...

Guided walks around Holmes Chapel take in the bakery where the singer used to work and a viaduct featured in a One Direction documentaryIn recent years, the ticket office at Holmes Chapel station in Cheshire has become something of a shrine to the village's most famous former resident.A lifesize cardboard cutout of the music megastar Harry Styles stands at one side of the small building, while at the other, fans crowd round to sign a guestbook filled with messages to the star. Continue reading...

One Liberal MP said it would be a terrible look' to ask 31-year-old Amelia Hamer, who has been preselected for the seat, to step aside

Ed Davey's party is seeking to win over disillusioned Conservative voters in the Surrey Heath seat of outgoing minister Michael GoveShortly after Rishi Sunak got drenched in a downpour in Downing Street to call a surprise general election, a missive was sent out to party supporters in a key Surrey constituency to rally support.Campaigners were urged to safeguard the future" of the leafy Surrey Heath seat in the commuter belt and be fully dedicated to making sure Michael Gove is re-elected". Continue reading...

About 20-50 balloons an hour incoming, warns Seoul's military, urging public to report but don't touchNorth Korea has sent about 600 more rubbish-filled balloons containing everything from cigarette butts to plastic across the border, Seoul's military said on Sunday, adding that security personnel were collecting them as they landed.North Korea has resumed launching waste balloons towards South Korea" since around 8pm on Saturday, Seoul's joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said. Continue reading...

A Midlands school outlines its flexible approach to running its daily club and reacts to Labour's 365m free breakfast policyIt is just gone 7.30am at The Priory primary school in Wednesbury, near Walsall, and already a dozen or so children - known as the early birds" - have been dropped off so their parents can get to work. Some are jumping through hula hoops and others are just chatting at breakfast tables covered with smart red gingham cloths. The welcoming smell of toast fills the hall as more arrive.This corner of the West Midlands is one of the most deprived parts of England, where poverty is rife. If teachers and staff here were not on hand to provide their charges with a good breakfast, they know many would arrive with empty stomachs, and then be unable to focus in class. Continue reading...

Campaigners say the appointments system need to be overhauled amid criticism about alleged Conservative cronyismBritain's system of public appointments needs to be overhauled by an incoming government over alleged Tory cronyism that has seen dozens of former MPs, party supporters and donors given key public roles, campaigners have urged. The public appointments system was reformed in the 1990s, but ministers still retain significant powers during the selection process. Experts say the current system in effect allows a party to colonise" key parts of the state.It was announced last month that former Tory minister Rob Wilson will be the new chair of the Consumer Council for Water, which represents water and sewerage customers across England and Wales. Continue reading...

Former England captain will become ambassador for foundation that was embroiled in controversy when Charles was Prince of WalesKing Charles has turned to brand Beckham to help him rebuild the reputation of his main charitable foundation after a cash-for-honoursscandal.Former England footballer David Beckham is to become an ambassador for the King's Foundation, formerly the Prince's Foundation, to help promote its work. Beckham met the monarch at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire last month, where he was given a personal tour. The 49-year-old said he was looking forward to exploring a newly discovered shared interest with the monarch in rural skills, nature and the British countryside. They had also swapped beekeeping tips, saidBeckham. Continue reading...

Legal experts say a carve-out' clause in the law relating to extraditions could let the attorney general decline to enforce arrest warrants issued under international law

Actor, who played campaigner Alan Bates in TV drama, calls Horizon scandal a Hitchcockian nightmare' at Hay festivalThe post office operators prosecuted in the Post Office Horizon scandal have extraordinary dignity" after living 20 years in a Hitchcockian nightmare", according to actor Toby Jones.Jones played Alan Bates, a former post office operator and leading campaigner for justice for staff wrongly blamed for accounting shortfalls caused by faulty software, in the ITV drama that put the scandal back in the spotlight. Continue reading...

Twelve-year-old among eight now bailed after attack on teenage girl reported in Newark on 25 MayFour more boys including a 12-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of the rape of a teenage girl in Newark.Nottinghamshire police received a report that a teenage girl had been attacked on Yorke Drive playing fields, Nottinghamshire, between 5.30pm and 7pm on 25 May. Continue reading...

Former Australian prime minister issues warning that young men's thinking on the issue is going backwardFormer Australian prime minister Julia Gillard has said global progress on gender equality is really glacial and slow" as she warned that it is going backwards among young people.Gillard cited recent polling by King's College London's Global Institute for Women's Leadership, which showed that 51% of respondents believe that men are doing too much to support gender equality, while 46% think that men are now discriminated against. Continue reading...

New poll gives Labour its biggest lead since Liz Truss meltdown as Tory towns' gain most from new fundsThe Tory general election campaign hit more trouble on Saturday as Rishi Sunak faced accusations of using levelling up funds to win votes and Labour opened its biggest poll lead since the disastrous premiership of Liz Truss.As Sunak tried to fire up his party's campaign before the first crucial TV debate with Keir Starmer on Tuesday, it emerged that more than half of the 30 towns each promised 20m of regeneration funding on Saturday were in constituencies won by Tory MPs at the last election. Continue reading...

Former Tory minister admits at festival that he felt a fraud due to need to give the impression he was in three places at onceFormer Conservative MP Rory Stewart found being a politician very yucky" and felt like a fraud, he told an audience at Hay festival on Saturday.Asked whether he would consider going back into politics, he said that he found being a politician personally very, very unpleasant" and didn't like it", adding: I feel like a fraud all the time, in a whole series of ways." Continue reading...

Lack of care and support leaves patients stranded on units when they are clinically ready to be dischargedThe number of patients stuck in NHS mental health units in England despite being clinically ready to leave has reached its highest level in at least eight years.Delayed discharges" of patients from hospitals in NHS mental health trusts reached 49,677 days in March, according to an analysis - a higher figure than in any month since at least January 2016, when NHS Digital started publishing the data. Continue reading...

Israeli PM says his country's conditions for ending conflict have not changed after US president presented ceasefire plan

Forces outside the capital drawn on for Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid match and a Tommy Robinson march and counter-protestMore than 2,000 officers have been deployed across London, including more than 400 from outside the capital, to police the Champions League final, a protest by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a counter-demonstration.The final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid takes place at Wembley on Saturday evening. And, earlier, a protest organised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, more commonly known as Tommy Robinson, set off from the Victoria area on Saturday, ending in Parliament Square where speeches took place. Continue reading...

After 30 years in power, the African National Congress, which took 40.2% of the vote, must engage in tricky coalition talks with rivalsThe African National Congress's (ANC) three decades of political dominance in South Africa has come to an end after it was announced that it had won just 40.2% of the vote in last week's general election.The ANC's dramatic decline - the first time it has failed to win a majority of the votes since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first democratic election in 1994 - will lead to a chaotic round of coalition negotiations, with all of its potential partners posing difficulties. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAt least 36,379 Palestinian people have been killed and 82,407 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.An estimated 95 Palestinians were killed and 350 injured in the past 24 hours alone, the ministry said.Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter. Continue reading...

Human rights charities condemn home secretary's comments about MDP Wethersfield and say the site is acutely harmful'Human rights campaigners have criticised the home secretary for suggesting that asylum seekers at a controversial mass accommodation site are lying about being suicidal in the hope of being moved off the former military base.ITV News on Friday night reported on a severe mental health crisis" at Wethersfield in Essex, with many incidents of suicide and self-harm including five to 10 suicide attempts and 10 of self-harm in January this year alone - the highest level since the site opened. Continue reading...

The PM is talking up her underdog credentials ahead of this week's European elections. But many in an impoverished Rome neighbourhood are scepticalSitting in the dark, cramped dining room of her home in Tor Bella Monaca, a densely populated council estate on the outskirts of Rome, Giovanna has just returned from one of several cleaning jobs the 70-year-old does to keep her family afloat. Her husband works on construction sites intermittently. The couple, whose youngest son, Cristian, 26, lives at home, might be depicted as borgatara, a slur in Roman dialect that, loosely translated, means a poor person living on the socially deprived fringes of the Italian capital.Referring to her own upbringing in Garbatella, a traditionally working-class district within easy reach of Rome's famed monuments, the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said earlier this month she was a proud borgatara". Continue reading...

Nasen Saadi also charged with attempted murder of another woman on beach in Bournemouth in MayA 20-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Amie Gray and the attempted murder of another woman on a beach in Bournemouth.Nasen Saadi, from Croydon, spoke only to confirm his name and address during the short hearing at Poole magistrates court on Saturday. Continue reading...

Leon Murray, 35, stabbed Keisha Christodoulou, 32, 17 times the day after she had ended their relationshipA man who stabbed his partner 17 times after she said she wanted to end their relationship has been found guilty of murder.Leon Murray, 35, of no fixed address, murdered Keisha Christodoulou, 32, on 1 November 2022 a day after she said their relationship was over. Continue reading...

Student Henry Hassell, 16, confronts PM over policy which Labour says is unfunded and desperate'

Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, godfather to the princes' sons, is society wedding of the year'. Yet why will Harry not attend?When Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, marries at Chester Cathedral next week the 33-year-old will relinquish the status bestowed on him by society bibles of Britain's richest, most eligible bachelor".It is not just his 10bn inherited wealth and pole position in the Sunday Times list of 40 richest people under 40in the UK that means his marriage to Olivia Henson, 31, is being billed as the society wedding of the year. Continue reading...

After a troubling report on NHS care, the number of pregnant women seeking more control over their birth plans is growingA growing number of patients are paying up to 8,000 to hire private midwives amid frustration at the poor service many face in the NHS. The UK's only private maternity hospital, the Portland, has reported treating more women. It comes after a report from MPs this month found women in labour have been mocked, ignored and left with permanent damage by midwives and doctors.Here, three women tell their story. Continue reading...

After week of campaign missteps, reset' is attempt to firm up base and beat back Reform UK, say observersRishi Sunak is heading to north-east England for a rare foray into the red wall" after a campaign that has so far focused on shoring up the Conservatives' older, more affluent southern base.The prime minister has spent much of the first week of the general election campaign speaking to voters in the south of England who are considering Reform UK, targeting them with a range of policy announcements including the return of national service and tax breaks for pensioners. Continue reading...

Growing number are opting for private maternity services as inquiry finds poor childbirth care is commonPeople are paying thousands of pounds to hire private midwives amid frustration at the poor service many patients face in the NHS, with women left feeling fobbed off and ignored.

Technology figures including Afterpay founders rise up AFR rich list rankings, reflecting changing nature' of Australian economy

Rishi Sunak says the money, paid over 10 years, would help regenerate areas such as Mansfield, Rotherham and HartlepoolThe Conservatives have promised to give another 30 towns in the UK 20m each in levelling up funding over the next decade if they win the election.Rishi Sunak said the 30 would be added to the government's long-term plan for towns, which is intended to pay for the regeneration of underfunded areas. Continue reading...

Nasen Saadi, 20, also charged with attempted murder of another woman following incident on beach, Dorset police sayA 20-year-old man has been charged with murder and attempted murder over the stabbing of Amie Gray and another woman on a beach in Bournemouth, police have said.Nasen Saadi, from Croydon in south London, was arrested by Dorset police on Wednesday and will appear at Poole magistrates court on Saturday. Continue reading...

US president outlines deal that would offer permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal for hostage release and rebuilding effortJoe Biden has urged Hamas to accept a new peace deal he said Israel has put on the table, offering a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of all hostages and the long-term reconstruction of the shattered coastal strip.It's time for this war to end ... for the day after to begin," Biden said, outlining the framework of a three-phase agreement, which he said had been put on the table by the Israeli government. Continue reading...

US president says it is reckless' and irresponsible' for Republicans to malign integrity of America's justice system

Collapse in support means ANC may not reach 50% vote share needed to rule alone. Which parties are contenders for coalition?South Africa is facing the uncertain possibility of a coalition government after a collapse in support for the ruling African National Congress party in Wednesday's election meant it probably will not reach the 50% vote share needed for it to rule on its own. Here is a guide to the three main contenders for coalition partners: Continue reading...

Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid become first Swedes to be knighted by their monarch for almost 50 yearsAbba have received one of the most prestigious Swedish knighthoods after being awarded an order of chivalry last handed out almost 50 years ago.The pop legends were recognised by King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday for their cultural impact, which has taken Swedish pop music to a huge global audience. Continue reading...

Charity Commission says lessons have been learned after dispute involving Penelope Keith, Sian Phillips and ABFThe actors Dame Penelope Keith and Dame Sian Phillips have won a hard-fought apology from England's charity watchdog after it admitted to blunders in its handling of a case involving a 40m actors' hardship fund.The pair, who with others were removed from the board of the Actors' Benevolent Fund (ABF) two years ago in what they argued was an unlawful coup by rival trustees, had accused the Charity Commission of mismanaging its stewardship of the charity. Continue reading...

US says 14 protesters have been jailed for peacefully participating in political activities' that should have been allowedThe Hong Kong government has rejected western criticism of the conviction of 14 pro-democracy activists for subversion, calling it untruthful, slandering and smearing".The US said on Friday it was deeply concerned" about the guilty verdicts announced in the national security law trial of the activists in Hong Kong. The state department said the 14 activists had been subjected to politically motivated prosecution and jailed simply for peacefully participating in political activities" that should have been protected under the basic law, which was supposed to guarantee a degree of autonomy for Hong Kong when it came under Beijing's rule in 1997. Continue reading...

Described by critics as on the Labour right, Akehurst's defence of Israel's actions in Gaza has upset many in party and without

Senior officials say decision marks a serious escalation and that the threat to use tactical nuclear weapons is not a bluffThe Kremlin has said Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons against targets in Russia demonstrates Washington's deep involvement in the conflict, as some of Vladimir Putin's allies increased their nuclear threats against the west.The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday that Moscow was already aware of attempts by Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with weapons provided by the US. Continue reading...

Carriers including easyJet and Ryanair face being banned from charging for carry-on luggageBudget airlines including easyJet and Ryanair have been hit with fines totalling 150m (128m) by the Spanish government for policies that include charging passengers extra for cabin luggage.In the biggest sanction issued by the Spanish government's ministry of social rights and consumer affairs, the carriers easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling and Volotea have been penalised after an investigation launched last summer. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereHere is an extract from a piece about a small group of Israelis stopping settlers obstructing aid trucks, by Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum in Tarqumiya, with photographs by Alessio Mamo:At approximately 10.30am on a scorching Monday, a group of five young Israeli settlers arrived at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the West Bank, where dozens of aid trucks bound for Gaza were expected. Continue reading...

The New Orleans student, living in a center for unhoused youth, says that it's OK to accept a guiding hand' when in needA teenager who has been unhoused for more than a year earned recognition as the valedictorian of his high school's graduating class. Now, he is using his moment in the spotlight to say it is OK to accept a guiding hand" when needed.Despite where you are or the area you are in, even though it might look bad, there are moments where there will be people who will give you a guiding hand," Elijah Hogan of New Orleans told the local NBC affiliate WDSU in remarks published Wednesday. Take that opportunity." Continue reading...

Medical director says Fico to continue recovery at home from wounds sustained in assassination attemptSlovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, has been discharged from hospital where he was being treated after an assassination attempt.Miriam Lapunikova, the director of the hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica, said on Friday that Fico had been transported to his home in the capital, Bratislava, where he would continue to recover. Continue reading...

The desire to see the back of the Tories seems to outweigh any considerations of policy - or whether Labour will actually deliver much positive changeNothing has changed": those were the ill-fated words during Theresa May's 2017 campaign. Things certainly did change, though - a large polling lead almost evaporated by polling day and a hung parliament was returned.In 2024, Rishi Sunak desperately needs a similar shift. But so far the British public seem unmoved. Voting intention, as measured by the opinion polls, remains much as it was when the election was called. Those intentions would see Sunak falling to something ranging between a significant and a historic defeat. Continue reading...