World news | The Guardian

Allegation raised in parliament that MP arranged for property developer Alex Sekler to travel to Torres Strait for Covid jab referred to state corruption watchdogQueensland’s corruption watchdog will consider whether to investigate allegations raised in parliament that Liberal National Party MP Warren Entsch helped a political donor get a Covid vaccine in the middle of the pandemic when doses were in short supply.Queensland Health on Monday confirmed it had referred the matter to the state crime and corruption commission (CCC). Continue reading...

Labor’s Don Farrell warns the government will regard the delay until October as a ‘failure to pass’ the bill

The recent college graduates were visiting Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria when man allegedly shoved them down a steep slopeTwo US women who had just earned computer-related college degrees had gone to southern Germany to celebrate when a fellow American whom they met while hiking shoved them both down a steep slope last week, killing one and seriously wounding the other, according to officials.Eva Liu, 21, had received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May. Authorities say she was sexually assaulted and pushed to her death near Neuschwanstein Castle, a famous tourist destination in Bavaria. Her 22-year-old friend Kelsey Chang had also just graduated from the same school with a bachelor’s in computer engineering – reports say she was attacked, too, but survived. Continue reading...

A magistrate for nearly 30 years, David Rose describes the feeling of exclusion after not being able to enter certain legal buildings

Rightwingers claim Boris Johnson suspension ‘unnecessarily high and fierce’ after findings he deliberately misled parliamentDozens of Tory rightwing MPs are preparing to abstain from voting in the Commons on Monday over the parliamentary investigation that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs, in a sign of support for the former prime minister.Between 60 and 70 MPs with constituencies in the “red wall” were said to be feeling “incredibly warm” towards Johnson, after he urged his parliamentary supporters not to vote against the committee’s findings. Continue reading...

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces, wants to frame Islamist opponents as a threatHundreds of Islamist leaders and activists in Sudan have been detained by the Rapid Support Forces in a wave of repression targeting the paramilitary group’s political opponents.The arrests began before the outbreak of fighting in April between the RSF and forces loyal to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto military leader, but have intensified since. Continue reading...

Palestinians condemn move and Washington calls for return to dialogue amid Israeli plans to give go-ahead to 4,560 housing units in occupied territoryThe United States says it is “deeply troubled” by the Israeli government’s tabling of plans to approve thousands of building permits in the occupied West Bank and has called on Israel to return to dialogue aimed at de-escalation.The plans for approval of 4,560 housing units in various areas of the West Bank were included on the agenda of Israel’s Supreme Planning Council that meets next week, although only 1,332 are up for final approval, with the remainder still going through the preliminary clearance process. Continue reading...

Suspected people smugglers to appear in court in Kalamata, as police in Kashmir announce 10 arrestsNine suspected people smugglers are to appear before a Greek court accused of piloting the fishing trawler that sank off the coast of Greece last week leaving hundreds missing and presumed dead in one of the Mediterranean’s worst boat disasters.Greek authorities have said 78 dead and 104 survivors – mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Pakistan – were brought ashore after the overcrowded boat sank about 50 miles (80km) off the southern Greek town of Pylos early on Wednesday, days after it set sail from Tobruk in Libya heading towards Italy. Continue reading...

Opposition attorney general Michaelia Cash made last-minute speech slamming proposed Indigenous consultation body

Winter has set in and forecasters predict clear frosty nights and chilly icy mornings for south-east

Temperatures of nearly 45C recorded, with people over 60 particularly at risk, as deaths strike Uttar Pradesh and Bihar statesAt least 96 people died in two of India’s most populous states over the past several days, with swaths of the country reeling from a sweltering heatwave.The deaths happened in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar, where authorities warned residents aged over 60 and others suffering various maladies to stay indoors during the daytime. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak told his government appears to be going backwards on pledge to end rough sleeping in EnglandHomelessness charities have told Rishi Sunak they are deeply concerned the government will fail to meet its target of ending rough sleeping in England by 2024.In a letter to the prime minister, the organisations said the data shows “we are going backwards in terms of meeting the goal”. Continue reading...

Letter sent to home secretary warns tens of thousands of children could be locked up indefinitely if illegal migration bill passesThe UK’s top medical bodies have called for an urgent meeting with ministers after suggesting that tens of thousands of children could be locked up indefinitely if the illegal migration bill, which has been going through parliament, becomes law.The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Psychiatry, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Faculty of Public Health have written a letter to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the health secretary, Steve Barclay. The letter has come at the start of Refugee Week coordinated by Together With Refugees, a coalition of more than 500 national and local organisations representing refugees, and has called for an emergency meeting to outline the serious harm and risks the health professionals say these children would face. Continue reading...

Claire Holmes is Conservative candidate to be MP in seat Nigel Adams suddenly stood down from after winning large majorityThe Tories have named a local councillor as their candidate in the upcoming Selby and Ainsty byelection, triggered by the resignation of a Boris Johnson ally.Nigel Adams, who had already confirmed his plans to retire at the next general election, last week announced he was standing down with immediate effect. Continue reading...

As much as 35mm of rain fell in an hour near Sheffield and Met Office says weather could get even worseFlood warnings will be in place across England going into Monday morning after almost half a month’s worth of rain fell in one hour on Sunday.Thunder and lightning swept across the north throughout the evening, as 35.6mm of rain fell in Woodhouse Mill, near Sheffield between 6pm and 7pm. Continue reading...

Former England rugby league player who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease was pushed by Macy, 11, and Maya, eightRob Burrow, the former England rugby league player, completed the Arena Group Leeds Mini and Junior Run with his daughters on Father’s Day on Sunday.Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in late 2019, was pushed by Macy, 11, and Maya, eight, along the course. Continue reading...

As another scandal hits the Tory party, its MPs are even more gloomy about how PM can project the government as honest and professionalEight months into Boris Johnson’s leadership, he was faced with what many deemed was a challenge greater than the second world war, which his hero Winston Churchill presided over; the Covid pandemic had just begun.While Johnson was criticised in March 2020 for being slow to enact lockdown measures to prevent deaths, after warnings from the World Health Organization, he managed to garner the public’s sympathy as he himself battled the disease in intensive care. Continue reading...

Observers say a strong candidate could get closer to Labour under new voting system – but names in frame lack heftFor most parties, having a former prime minister labelled a liar and exiting the Commons amid furious internal rows would be the biggest political disaster in years. But if you ask some Conservatives, it wasn’t even the worst this month.Even the most optimistic Tories in London are politely baffled, it is fair to say, by the decision of party officials to unveil a shortlist of candidates for mayor comprising Daniel Korski, Susan Hall and Mozammel Hossain. Continue reading...

Shadow business secretary met new director general of scandal-hit lobby group weeks after party cut tiesThe Labour party has moved closer to ending its boycott of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), in an early sign that steps to rehabilitate the crisis-hit UK lobby group may be working.On Sunday, Labour confirmed the shadow business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, had met the new CBI director general, Rain Newton-Smith, last week. Continue reading...

New Partygate video shows Tory officials at party at height of pandemic. We look at who was thereA new Partygate video that shows Conservative officials dancing, joking and drinking during lockdown has forced thousands of people across the UK to relive harrowing memories of the sacrifices they made at that time.Michael Gove has apologised and said their actions were “indefensible”, but he refused to back calls for some of the attendees to lose honours they were given by Boris Johnson, who has been found guilty of misleading parliament over the Partygate scandal. Continue reading...

Russian-installed official says Ukraine has made new gain on battle front since launch of counter-offensive earlier this month

Teacher from west Sussex says victory was down to strong manifesto and knowing everyone in Sant JoanThe new mayor of Sant Joan, a small town of 2,000 people that sits in the centre of Mallorca, likes to joke that his main priority when he begins work on Monday will be ensuring a kettle is installed in his office.Last month’s regional and local elections – which left the ruling Socialists with a bloody nose, triggered a snap general election and caused the conservative People’s party (PP) to forge a coalition with the far-right Vox party to rule the Valencia region – have also had unexpected consequences in Sant Joan. Continue reading...

Disagreement over possible successors may mean secretary general is asked to remain in role at next month’s summit in LithuaniaPolitical disagreements, vetoes and personal reluctance make it increasingly likely that the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, will be asked to remain in post for another year at the Nato summit in Lithuania next month.It would be the third time the former Norwegian prime minister has been asked to extend his almost 10-year term. Continue reading...

Use of solitary confinement due to chronic staffing shortages at Cleveland detention centre has detrimental effect on children, advocates sayMore than 60% of the workforce at the troubled Cleveland youth detention centre in north Queensland quit during the past three years, data obtained by Guardian Australia shows.The figures supplied by the youth justice department show total staff numbers at the detention centre have declined since mid-2020, about the same time the state enacted laws designed to lock up more children. Continue reading...

Nick McKim to introduce private member’s bill in Senate to promote market intervention

But levelling up secretary insists Shaun Bailey and Ben Mallet should keep their honoursMichael Gove has apologised for a new Partygate video that shows Conservative officials dancing and laughing as they broke Covid lockdown rules, deeming their actions “terrible” and “indefensible”.The video, obtained by the Mirror, shows members of staff drinking alcohol at the gathering in London on 14 December 2020, and mocking lockdown rules the public were following at the time. At least 24 people were in attendance, including Shaun Bailey – made a peer in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list – whose campaign team organised the event. He left before the video was taken. Continue reading...

Two EU countries say agency unlawfully obtained details of citizens to issue driving finesTwo EU countries have accused Transport for London’s debt collection agency of breaching data protection laws to obtain the names and addresses of citizens in order to issue fines for driving in the capital.Motorists from across Europe have been hit with penalties, some totalling thousands of pounds, for driving in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez). Penalty notices are being sent to foreign motorists who enter the capital without pre-registering their vehicle, and the Guardian has revealed hundreds of drivers have been fined despite driving emissions-compliant cars. Continue reading...

Exclusive: James Wharton is helping to forge Westminster connections for the cryptocurrency sectorA former campaign manager to Boris Johnson who was appointed to lead an education quango is facing fresh questions over his role in a cryptocurrency lobbying firm.James Wharton, a peer and former MP who chairs the Office for Students (OfS), has launched a new public affairs company that pledges to “help clients navigate the complexities of Whitehall and Westminster” and specialises in “disruptive” highly regulated sectors. Continue reading...

Scotland’s ex-first minister returns home after arrest as poll suggests Labour on course to defeat SNPScotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said “I’ve done nothing wrong” as she returned home for the first time following her arrest last Sunday.Her statement came as a Sunday Times poll suggested Labour would defeat the SNP at the next election for the first time since 2010 to become Scotland’s largest party at Westminster. Continue reading...

In Milano 2, the swish housing estate that launched a scandal-ridden career, residents are still grateful to the former PM. Whether they will vote for Forza Italia is a different matterOne of Silvio Berlusconi’s final wishes was to see the lago dei cigni, or swan lake, centrepiece of Milano 2, the peaceful, lusciously green residential development built by the entrepreneur on the outskirts of the northern Italian city, and a debut triumph that put him on the path to becoming a billionaire and ultimately conquering politics.On his way to nearby San Raffaele hospital, where he died three days later at the age of 86, Berlusconi and his entourage, including his 33-year-old partner Marta Fascina, stopped at the Maximilian Bistrot, where he took a seat by a window with a view of the artificial lake and ordered an ice lolly. Continue reading...

Group calls for police to reopen investigation, and for Shaun Bailey and Ben Mallet to lose honoursA group representing the families of people who died of Covid-19 has expressed its disgust at video purporting to show revellers at the Conservative party headquarters during lockdown, as the police said they were “considering” the footage.The video, which was obtained by the Mirror newspaper, appears to show Tory party workers drinking alcohol and dancing on 14 December 2020 at a gathering held by the campaign team of the unsuccessful London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey. Continue reading...

Minister says privileges committee’s recommendation that Boris Johnson serve 90-day ban was ‘not merited’Michael Gove has said he disagrees with the parliamentary investigation that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over the Partygate scandal, and will abstain from voting on it in the Commons.The UK levelling up secretary claimed the Commons privileges committee’s recommendation that Johnson should be suspended for 90 days over repeated contempts of parliament was “not merited”. Continue reading...

Ukraine reportedly makes gain in counteroffensive; Russia claims to have repelled attacks on Zaporizhzhia frontline

More than $3bn in costs could be added to EU industry unless deal is tweaked, say representatives of sectorEU exports of electric cars to the UK worth €30bn a year will be put at risk unless the Brexit trade deal is tweaked, representatives of the sector in Brussels have said.Three of the world’s biggest car manufacturers have already called on the British government to open talks over new rules that will see 10% tariffs put on exports to the EU, if 45% of an electric vehicle by value does not originate in the EU or the UK. Continue reading...

Footage shows members of staff drinking alcohol and dancing at the gathering on 14 December 2020New footage has emerged appearing to show a Christmas party at Conservative party headquarters during coronavirus restrictions in 2020.The video, obtained by the Mirror newspaper, shows members of staff drinking alcohol at the gathering in London on 14 December 2020. At least 24 people were reportedly in attendance. Continue reading...

TaxPayers’ Alliance says HMRC, health department and atomic energy authority all use old servers that make them vulnerableGovernment departments responsible for running health and social care, and for collecting taxes, are using outdated software that leaves them wide open to cyber-attacks, according to a disturbing new investigation.The use of “legacy” servers and databases has been uncovered through freedom of information (FoI) requests from the low-tax pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance. It has found that many of the systems in Whitehall were so out of date that they were no longer supported by Microsoft and would cost huge sums to replace. Continue reading...

On the publication of today’s 4,000th Everyman crossword, setter Alan Connor is asked about the ‘entry-level’ puzzle’s history and his five predecessorsReaders, how might one describe “the angry outburst of a common man who is stumped by a cryptic clue on his birthday”? Answer: Everyman’s anniversary crossword. This weekend, with the sort of opening riddle that would never pass muster alongside our weekly Everyman grid, the Observer is taking time to mark the 4,000th outing of its celebrated, supposedly entry-level Sunday puzzle.First published in August 1945, Everyman is one of Fleet Street’s most established and beloved crossword challenges and yet has passed down through only six skilled compilers’ hands. This Sunday the occasion is celebrated in a special anniversary layout, featuring an appropriate selection of historic Everyman clues. Continue reading...

Russian occupiers have unleashed a reign of terror in the city of Enerhodar, detailed here by one survivor of the secret police

Mark Taylor is used to steering through dangerous seas – now he will have to navigate the London art marketStormy seas are a common challenge for lifeboatman Mark Taylor. As a skilled coxswain of the RNLI boat that serves the coast around Tynemouth in the north-east of England, he has often faced down dangerous swells to reach mariners in distress.But this weekend Taylor, who has also become a sought-after artist, is getting used to the contrasting waters of the Thames. After working on his painting in his studio near his North Shields home, the 43-year-old has been picked out for a London exhibition and a new artistic residency on the banks of the Thames in Canary Wharf. Continue reading...

Former social worker now helping in Kherson says her account was closed after missing a text messageA retired social worker who has spent the past year doing humanitarian work across Ukraine – frequently dodging missiles and other attacks – was left with no access to her pension or life savings after Lloyds Banking Group, possibly fearing she was a sanctions risk, shut her bank account.Fiona Hancock and her partner, Robert Paliwoda, have been working as volunteers helping women and children across various parts of the country since June last year. Continue reading...

Irish dancer who found fame with Riverdance to be focus of ‘no holds barred’ TV biopicThe premise may sound familiar: an ageing, little-known athlete from the wrong side of the tracks gets a belated shot at the big time and triumphs, finding fame and redemption, but the price is a broken, battered body.It’s not Rocky Balboa, it’s Michael Flatley in a “no holds barred” biopic series about his rise, fall and Pphoenix-like resurrection in the world of Irish dancing. Continue reading...

Broadcaster gives no explanation for decision to pull long-planned documentary examining Westminster’s handling of allegationsA BBC Panorama documentary commissioned to look into the internal handling of claims of widespread sexual harassment inside the Palace of Westminster has been dropped for the foreseeable future, the Observer understands, despite months of research.The prestigious investigative programme, which had been due to go out this summer, has now been removed from future broadcast schedules without any public explanation from the BBC. Continue reading...

Met Office warns of heavy showers and some flooding in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern IrelandThunder, lightning and heavy rain is set to lash large swathes of the UK on Father’s Day.A yellow Met Office weather warning for thunderstorms almost entirely covers England and Wales between noon and midnight on Sunday, and there is also a warning in place until 9pm in Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

The youngest life peer in UK history at the age of 29, the former assistant to Boris Johnson was covering maternity leave in his officeConcern is growing within Whitehall over Boris Johnson’s decision to make a former political aide the UK’s youngest ever life peer, amid claims that she only entered Downing Street’s political office to cover for another official’s maternity leave.The former prime minister’s resignation honours list caused months of angst within the government as a result of some of the names that Johnson intended to either place in the House of Lords or award with another gong. It has already been confirmed that eight people that Johnson had wanted to place in the second chamber were rejected by the commission tasked with vetting new peers. Continue reading...

The former prime minister is at war with the parliament whose powers and authority he claimed to hold so dear to bolster the Vote Leave endeavourIn the long June days running up to the 2016 referendum on EU membership, Boris Johnson toured the country to promote the supposed benefits of Brexit. Wherever he went he drew large crowds. Leaving the European project, he told voters, would allow the UK to take back control of its money, its laws and its borders.While the Vote Leave slogans cut through because they were simple (if often misleading), there were also high-minded constitutional themes, central to the great Johnson-led push for freedom. During a visit to Ipswich on 20 June 2016 he alluded to the most important, saying that staying in the EU would mean “the steady and miserable erosion of parliamentary democracy in this country”. Continue reading...

Futurebuilders England Fund doubled economic output of some areas and improved deprivation levels by up to 17%A long-term anti-poverty fund created during the government of Tony Blair doubled the economic output of some local areas and improved deprivation levels by up to 17%.The Futurebuilders England Fund gave £142m in loans and other financing to 406 charities and enterprises in England from 2004 to 2010. Continue reading...

Half of all Tory voters take a dim view of the former prime minister whereas the ex-president has a strong Republican supportThere are two very big differences between the situation confronting Boris Johnson and that facing the man with whom he is frequently compared, Donald Trump – namely, popularity and context.Johnson is weaker than Trump. First, because he is less popular with Conservative voters than Trump is with his Republican supporters. About half of 2019 Conservative voters disapprove of Johnson’s performance in office. And at the time he left office, 40% or more rated him as untrustworthy, dishonest and/or incompetent. Continue reading...

The senator – who denies any wrongdoing – resigned from the Liberal party on Saturday and claimed he has been denied procedural fairness

Sporting teams, friends and family used weekend to mourn the victims as fundraising effort tops $600,000

Witnesses say some groups were forced into the most hazardous part of the vessel that sank, leaving hundreds feared deadPakistani nationals appear to have been singled out on the trawler that sank off Greece last Wednesday with hundreds of passengers feared dead.Macabre details have emerged of conditions on the boat, as questions mount over whether the Greek coastguard “covered up” its role in the tragedy. With about 500 people still feared missing, new accounts from survivors indicate that women and children were forced to travel in the hold, and that certain nationalities were condemned to the most dangerous part of the trawler. Continue reading...