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Backlog in cases set to reach 100,000 in England and Wales without action on shortage of barristers and judges

Gulf state awarded the tournament amid accusations of sportswashing' over exploitation of its migrant workforce

Exclusive: Some inmates being advised to change plea to secure earlier release as backlog spirals, watchdogs say

After 152 shows, Swift's global tour has been the most successful of all time. At the final dates, fans explain their devotionBy now, nearly 21 months after Taylor Swift launched what would become the highest-grossing tour of all time, you could be forgiven for thinking both wait, Taylor Swift is still on the Eras Tour?" or that the globe-spanning, headline-dominating, literally seismic show would go on for ever.After all, the Eras era has spanned an epoch, at least in ever-quickening internet time. But after 152 shows, 10-plus million fans and several pop cultural takeovers, the Eras Tour reached the end of its road in fittingly rainy Vancouver, having become the highest-grossing tour of all time - though total revenue figures have not been released. Continue reading...

Investigators say woman may have been dead for weeks and body hidden in bushes was in severe state of decomposition'

Firm disputes Transport and Environment's findings, which also ranked Deutsche Bahn as one of the least reliableEurostar is the worst-performing rail service on the continent and Germany's Deutsche Bahn is one of the least reliable, according to a ranking of 27 European operators.The report from the campaign group Transport and Environment (T&E) scored Europe's rail operators on factors such as ticket prices, punctuality and willingness to give refunds. It found that only 11 operators had punctuality rates above 80%. Continue reading...

Pauline Sowry was 49 years old when she was last seen by her family in December 1993

Coverage of the extraordinary events in Syria have filled the front pages in the UK, US and AustraliaNewspapers covering the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his subsequent flight to Moscow have reflected on the Assad family's five decades of dynastic rule in Syria, jubilation across the country, and questions over what will happen next.The Guardian splashed with Rebels seize Damascus as Assad flees to Moscow", with a picture underneath of celebrations in Damascus. There was a pointer to Peter Beaumont's profile of Assad, in which he writes: Bashar is gone, swept out of power by an offshoot of al-Qaida. And with the dramatic ending of the half-century of Assad rule, a key section of the map of the Middle East has been utterly redrawn." Continue reading...

This blog is closedWe have some more comments from Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, who has ben speaking in the Qatari capital of Doha. He said Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was probably outside Syria after Islamist-led rebels declared he had fled the country.Assad is probably outside of Syria", Fidan said when asked in Qatar about Assad's whereabouts and whether his life might be in danger. Continue reading...

US president Joe Biden says we think we can get him back', as family of Washington Post contributor ask for his safe returnJoe Biden believes missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive, and said that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar al-Assad's ousting from power.We think we can get him back," Biden told reporters at the White House on Sunday, while acknowledging that we have no direct evidence" of his status. Continue reading...

Josh Burns says he has been standing up for his Melbourne community every day' as Chris Bowen calls for national unity

IPPR and Save the Children call for measures including new not-for-profit nursery trusts and increased funding for deprived areasTwo-thirds of the poorest families in England are missing out on childcare, according to a report.Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Save the Children has found that access to affordable and good-quality childcare is defined by class. Among the poorest fifth of parents with young children, only a third (36%) use formal childcare, compared with double that (73%) of the highest-earning families.Empowering local authorities to pool funding to secure new childcare in the areas of greatest need and organise the new schools-based nursery expansion.Ensuring childminders are paid monthly.Increasing funding for deprived areas and children living in deprivation.Reforming the SEND funding system. Continue reading...

Train network workers had planned to strike after pay deal negotiations collapsed

Police launch new appeal over death of Lisa Hession, 14, who was strangled in an alleyway near her home in LeighPolice have offered a 50,000 reward as a new appeal for information is launched over the murder of a schoolgirl in Greater Manchester 40 years ago.Lisa Hession, 14, was sexually assaulted and strangled in an alleyway less than 200 metres from her home in Bonnywell Road, Leigh, after walking back from a party. Her mother, Christine, had expected her to return by 10.30pm and reported her missing 15 minutes later, according to Greater Manchester police (GMP). Continue reading...

No one party or sect should feel unsafe,' says Qatari foreign ministry, as states meet to assess collapse of Assad regime

CEO has fared well in an embattled sector, turning around the UK's biggest commercial public broadcaster despite the stubbornly low share priceAs Carolyn McCall enters her eighth year as boss of ITV she might be forgiven for wondering if maybe she shouldn't have turned down a chance to run Marks & Spencer instead.McCall revealed the approach back in 2016 while quashing speculation she was poised to leave easyJet, where her reputation soared having turned around the fortunes of the budget airline. Continue reading...

US president-elect claims Kyiv would like to make a deal' to end war with Russia and cites loss of 400,000 soldiers'Donald Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, a day after meeting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Paris, claiming Kyiv would like to make a deal" to end its war with Russia.In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said both sides had suffered enormous losses in the war - which, he claimed on the US election campaign trail, he would be able to end in 24 hours" if elected. Trump has already appointed the retired army general Keith Kellogg as his Russia and Ukraine envoy, tasked with ending the war. Continue reading...

Met Office yellow wind warning across much of England and Wales on Sunday morning, while Northern Ireland faced gusts of up to 80mph overnight

With the fall of Damascus, Iran can longer deny that its political and military axis of resistance' has collapsed

Government to set out details of independent review into benefit overpayments and how problems can be fixedThe government has promised a new settlement" for unpaid carers, vowing to put an end to the scandal of carer benefit overpayments that has left hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in huge debt and in some cases facing prosecution.Ministers are expected to announce the details of an independent review of carer's allowance, the main benefit for carers, on Monday. The review will look at why the overpayments happened and how the problems can be fixed. Continue reading...

Ruling New Patriotic party concedes defeat after vote dominated by economic crisis and high cost of livingGhana's former president John Dramani Mahama has won a historic comeback election victory after voters appeared to punish the ruling New Patriotic party over its management of an economic crisis.The NPP's candidate, the vice-president, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday conceded defeat in the weekend presidential election after failing to shake off widespread frustration over the high cost of living. Continue reading...

Archbishop of Paris consecrates the cathedral's new altar with perfumed oil to the sound of the restored organParisians, the French and the world rediscovered the breathtaking beauty of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral on Saturday evening, five years after it was devastated by fire.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, led a guest list of international heads of state and other dignitaries including Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales, politicians and celebrities in lauding what he described as a triumph of the French nation in raising the monument from the ashes and making his country united and proud". Continue reading...

Bestselling classical musician says he had to train himself to hear overtones and undertones of notes' againThe violinist Nigel Kennedy has said that he experienced partial deafness for about three months after having the third Covid vaccine in 2021.I wasn't in a fit state to play concerts," he said, recalling that his hearing loss coincided with the trauma of breaking the little finger of his left hand while trying to control his large dog. Continue reading...

As Moscow's top diplomat reeled in Doha, his Turkish counterpart appeared to know he had the upper hand

Omar Fayed claims former Harrods Owner tricked police to escape justice over rape and sexual assault allegationsMohamed Al Fayed pretended he had dementia so he could evade prosecution for sexual crimes, his son has said.Police now believe Fayed may have raped and abused at least 111 women and girls over nearly four decades. Continue reading...

As an inquest begins, Roger Leadbeater's family believe there was a series of mistakes before he was killed by a woman who had absconded from a psychiatric wardWhen the family of Roger Leadbeater, a 74-year-old man stabbed to death while walking his dog yards from his home in Sheffield, went to lay flowers at the scene two days later, they were met with a horrifying sight.Nobody had cleaned the scene. It was the most barbaric thing I've ever seen," said his niece Angela Hector. There was blood everywhere. You could see the dog paw prints, the outline of his body. It was horrific. A dog walker stopped to talk to me, and his dog was licking Roger's blood." Continue reading...

Despite pledge to challenge claims, the prosecutions agency is not tracking how many cases it has droppedThe Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not know how many rape cases have collapsed after defence claims of sexsomnia" despite fears the rare medical condition is being exploited.The prosecutions agency for England and Wales has previously pledged to robustly challenge" sexsomnia claims after a string of high-profile cases where sexual offence suspects were acquitted - or had their investigations dropped - after the disorder was raised. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak's push to clear backlog of claims is driving huge increase in legal appeals, costs and harm to applicantsOnly half of the Home Office's recent asylum decisions have met its own internal quality checks, significantly fewer than before Rishi Sunak's push to clear a backlog of old claims.Civil servants and lawyers say errors and omissions are also driving a huge increase in costly legal challenges, with more than 9,300 appeals lodged between this April and June. Continue reading...

Privacy fears raised as report warns photographs of arrested people who are then released are being retainedImages of arrested people who were innocent of any crimes are still being stored in a police database that may be used for facial recognition purposes, an official report has warned.In 2012, the high court ruled that keeping the images of people who faced no action or who were charged and then acquitted was unlawful. Continue reading...

Celebrations on streets of Syrian cities as as Assad regime appears to have fallen

Residential building attacked by Franco's aircraft in 1936 may not become memorial, rightwing council suggestsCampaigners are urging Madrid city council not to abandon plans to create a museum on a site immortalised in a Robert Capa photograph that captured the aftermath of a fascist bombing raid in the early days of the Spanish civil war.On his second trip to Spain towards the end of 1936, the Hungarian-American war photographer came across a bomb-damaged house in the working-class Madrid neighbourhood of Vallecas, its roof and facade torn with shrapnel and the street outside peppered with debris. Continue reading...

Musical also claims prizes for best director, screenplay, editing and best actress for Karla Sofia GasconAll-dancing, all-singing musical Emilia Perez has twirled itself into contention for next year's Oscars, as Jacques Audiard's genre-bending drama scooped four out of five top prizes at this year's European Film Awards.At Saturday evening's ceremony in the Swiss city of Lucerne, the veteran French film-maker won best film, best director and best screenplay prizes for his Spanish-language musical, about a Mexican cartel boss who has a sex-change operation and tries to make up for past crimes. Continue reading...

Raygun: The Musical creator Steph Broadbridge told her Instagram followers lawyers had concerns it would damage the controversial breaker's reputation

Whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad unknown as rebel group says it has begun entering the capital

As the government works to secure the release of the remaining Australians, Mick Tsikas looks back on his work documenting their fate, from arrests to, in some cases, executions

Anthony Albanese and Murray Watt made the comments in the wake of the attack on Adass Israel but security agencies are yet to determine the motive

Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned earlier this week, is seen as central to President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief martial law declarationSouth Korean prosecutors have arrested ex-defence minister Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Tuesday, local media has reported.Kim, who offered his resignation on Wednesday, was seen as a central figure in Tuesday's brief martial law declaration. A senior military official and filings to impeach Yoon by opposition members said Kim had made the proposal to Yoon. Continue reading...

Diplomacy took centre stage in evening of celebration, with 1,500 dignitaries including Donald Trump, Jill Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy present

Ceremony gives French president moment of glory in company of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he delivers on promise to restore cathedralIt was like stepping back into a medieval age and reliving the breathtaking awe Notre Dame cathedral would have inspired in the 14th century when the light from the rose windows threw a kaleidoscope of colours on its pale creamy walls before hundreds of years of liturgical smoke and city pollution blackened them.This is how the church would have appeared on completion in 1345, towering over Paris, then a city of 200,000 people, from the Ile de la Cite in the middle of the River Seine that bisects the French capital. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Read the Observer's report about Storm Darragh here

Foreign powers urge opposition groups to end fighting and preserve single, united country at talks in QatarThe three key external national actors in the Syrian crisis tried to regain control of the rebellion on Saturday by calling for renewed direct dialogue between the country's President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups, adding that it would be inadmissible" to use terrorists to gain control of the country.Meeting on the margins of the Doha Forum, in Qatar, Turkey, Russia, and Iran urged the Syrian opposition to heed the call to end the fighting and to preserve Syria as an integrated and united country. Continue reading...

Fears of higher death toll as mayor of Dutch city says chances of finding people alive under rubble are slimAt least three people have died after an explosion and fire caused a building to collapse in The Hague, the city's mayor has said, and there is little chance of finding more survivors under the rubble.The cause of the explosion in the Mariahoeve neighbourhood of the Dutch city early on Saturday morning was unclear. Continue reading...

Government says allegations deeply distressing' as dossier of allegations grows in wake of Observer investigation into Mossbourne schoolsThe government has expressed alarm at deeply distressing" allegations of emotional harm at one of the country's leading academy trusts after an Observer investigation.Almost 140 parents, students and teachers have now spoken out about systemic" and lasting" emotional harm to children stretching back two decades at two schools in Hackney run by the Mossbourne Federation. Continue reading...

The broadcaster's recently launched Naked Week will mix satirical humour and topical investigative journalismRadio 4's new topical comedy show, which replaces the long-running The Now Show, will break the news, not just make jokes about it, its creators have said.The Naked Week, which has taken the broadcaster's Friday night comedy slot, has brought Private Eye journalists onboard to dig up scoops. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Day joins husband in society founded in 1904 to encourage Dorset men to socialise in LondonThe Society of Dorset Men has admitted its first female member in 120 years, becoming the latest in a line of Victorian-style men-only clubs to allow women to join.Elizabeth Day has been approved by the society, which was founded in 1904 to encourage men from Dorset to socialise in London, after the committee voted to allow female members in August. Continue reading...

Gaie Delap was sent to prison in August for her part in disruptive protests on M25 in NovemberA 77-year-old activist is facing recall to prison because her wrists are too small for an electronic tag.Gaie Delap, from Bristol, was sent to prison in August, along with four co-defendants, for her part in a campaign of disruptive protests on the M25 in November 2022. Continue reading...

A 1561 charter granted powers to imprison young working-class women found walking with undergraduates after darkIn 1561, a little-known charter granted the University of Cambridge the power to arrest and imprison any woman suspected of evil". For nearly 350 years, the university used this law to incarcerate young working-class women found walking with undergraduates after dark in Cambridge.The women were considered prostitutes and could be forcibly taken to the university's private prison and sentenced to weeks of confinement by the vice-chancellor. More than 5,000 were arrested in the 19th century alone. Continue reading...

Once one of Africa's economic powerhouses, Ghana has struggled with a cost-of-living crisis and high inflationMillions of Ghanaians have headed to the polls in a presidential election after a campaign dominated by what many see as the west African country's worst economic crisis in a generation.Polls opened at 7am and will close at 5pm, with early results expected late on Saturday. The first official results will be released by Tuesday. Continue reading...

Police say the driver is assisting with inquiries after the death in Tipton, SandwellA four-year-old boy has died after being hit by a bus in the West Midlands.Police said the driver of the bus was assisting with inquiries after the death in Tipton, Sandwell. Continue reading...

Drugs found on a vessel that had arrived from Guatemala were bound for Belgium, authorities sayAuthorities in the Dominican Republic say they have confiscated nearly 9.5 tonnes of cocaine found in a banana shipment.It is the largest drug seizure in the country's history. Continue reading...