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Exclusive: Records show extent of chancellor's donations since 2019 as polling suggests he is on course to lose at general electionJeremy Hunt has been forced to contribute more than 100,000 of his own money to his constituency Conservative party to bolster his chances of re-election, official records show, amid warnings that he is set to lose his seat.Hunt's Godalming and Ash constituency is a target seat for the Liberal Democrats, and a Survation poll projects that he is on course to become the first chancellor in modern times to lose at a general election. Continue reading...

Destroyer Caio Duilio, part of the EU shipping protection force, took out weapon when it came within four miles of the vesselAn Italian warship participating in the EU naval protection force in the Red Sea was forced to shoot down a Houthi missile on Saturday in a rare engagement by the country's navy, which has largely avoided direct action since the second world war.The incident came as Houthi officials vowed to continue to attack British ships after the UK-owned Rubymar sank on Saturday having taken on water for a fortnight after being hit by one of the group's missiles. Continue reading...

NGOs told a future government would take more strategic approach' and target poorest states with budgetA future Labour government would reduce the number of foreign countries that receive development aid, Lisa Nandy has said, arguing money should go to the poorest states, not middle-income ones.The shadow international development secretary told a meeting of NGOs at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) this week that there should be a shift in the focus of aid and that Labour would take a more strategic approach based on Britain's unique strengths". Continue reading...

London mayor says Sunak must be tougher on his party, while Gaza ceasefire fracas piles pressure on many sitting Labour MPsSadiq Khan has condemned Rishi Sunak for failing to call out racist, anti-Muslim and Islamophobic" remarks by a senior Tory MP, following the prime minister's Downing Street address in which he criticised political extremists.In a blunt response to Sunak's unusual intervention, the London mayor said the prime minister had still not fully addressed the nature of the remarks made by former Tory vice-chair Lee Anderson, who said Islamists had got control" of Khan and London. Khan, one of the most powerful Muslims in public life, warned that the past few weeks had seen a concerted and growing attempt by some to degrade and humiliate minorities for political and electoral gain". Continue reading...

Liberal candidate Nathan Conroy wins swing of more than 3% but well short of the 6.3% required, leaving Labor's Jodie Belyea as the newest federal MP

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If police claims are correct, a gun appears to have been largely unaccounted for' the weekend before alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, Vincent Hurley says

Shakira Spencer's former neighbour, her partner and their friend beat and starved her in what judge called a sadistic campaign'Three people have been handed life sentences in jail for the prolonged torture and murder of a vulnerable woman from west London.Shakira Spencer, 35, was tortured, starved and beaten by her former neighbour Ashana Studholme, 39, her partner, Shaun Pendlebury, 26, and their friend Lisa Richardson. Continue reading...

The film-maker, who won the Palme d'Or for 1977's Padre Padrone, was a towering presence for more than three decades, creating politically engaged works with his brother VittorioThe Italian film-maker Paolo Taviani, whose gritty biopic Padre Padrone won top prize at the Cannes film festival, has died aged 92, Rome's mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said on Thursday.For more than three decades Taviani and his brother Vittorio formed one of cinema's greatest directorial duos. Paolo Taviani, a great maestro of Italian cinema, leaves us," Gualtieri said on X. The brothers directed unforgettable, profound, committed films which entered into the collective imagination and the history of cinema", Gualtieri added. Continue reading...

High-budget series with largely Japanese cast avoids well worn western orientalist fantasies and wins plaudits in JapanJapanese audiences could have been forgiven for bracing themselves when Disney announced the launch of Shgun, a 10-part adaptation of James Clavell's classic 1975 novel.With few exceptions, Hollywood depictions of Japan and the Japanese have relied on one-dimensional characters whose purpose is to confirm cultural stereotypes, set against the backdrop of an inscrutable archipelago whose people have much to learn from the western hero. Continue reading...

Galloway claimed his victory signalled a shifting of tectonic plates'. The reality is perhaps less apocalyptic

Home Office inquiry opens after insensitive, upsetting' treatment of children in hotel, who had to guess who would be next to leaveThe Home Office has launched an inquiry after staff made unaccompanied asylum-seeking children play a game in which they had to guess who would be the next one to be placed in foster care, a watchdog's report has disclosed.The report, one of 13 written by the borders inspectorate and released on Thursday, also found that agency workers employed to look after children as young as nine had received insufficient" background checks and training.An inspection of UK airports found that the border is neither effective nor efficient" after discovering posts unstaffed. Neal was particularly critical of Luton airport, where the referrals desks were poorly positioned, creating a stressful and distracting environment.The Home Office has a culture of defensiveness" and will not change" if it does not want to, the borders and immigration watchdog warned in a report produced before he was fired. Continue reading...

Announcement signals widely expected winding down of one of most contentious cases of the Northern Ireland TroublesA seven-year police investigation into murders linked to the British army's top agent inside the Provisional IRA has ended with no prosecutions.The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland said the final files reviewed by Operation Kenova yielded insufficient evidence to prosecute seven alleged IRA members and five former soldiers who worked with the army's Force Research Unit. Three of the soldiers had been agent handlers and the other two were more senior. Continue reading...

Mental health being increasingly cited as main reason for parents choosing home education, official figures findThe number of children in England being home schooled increased by more than 10,000 last autumn, with mental health being increasingly cited by parents as the main reason, according to official figures.The statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE) showed that 92,000 children were recorded as being home schooled on one day last term, compared with 80,900 at the same point in autumn 2022. Continue reading...

Official report finds new and worse failures to spot danger of officer who kidnapped and murdered Sarah EverardSarah Everard's family have said she was kidnapped and murdered by Wayne Couzens because he was armed with police powers he should never have had, after an official report revealed new and damning failures by police who missed his prolific sexual offending dating back almost 20 years.The failures laid out in the report by Lady Elish Angiolini are worse than previously thought, and she concludes Couzens should never have been a police officer. She highlighted a series of chances to spot his danger to women and his unsuitability to be an officer that were missed by repeated bungling in three forces. Continue reading...

Women and children suffering acute malnutrition as territory faces catastrophic conditions', according to UNOne in five pregnant women treated at a central Gaza clinic are malnourished, doctors have warned, as fuel and medical supply shortages closed the last hospital operating in the north of the strip.Every day, we see women and children coming into our clinic suffering from acute malnutrition," said Dr Maram, the lead physician for Project Hope. Continue reading...

Labour MPs received just 1,100 from channel in same period, as concern mounts over its impact

Call-waiting times to Public Department 1' are 12 times faster while public must wait 22 minutes to speak to an adviser, report findsMPs, some civil servants and other high-profile figures are having their calls to HM Revenue and Customs answered up to 12 times faster than the general public because they are able to access a VIP" hotline.As a report found that customer service levels at HMRC have sunk to an all-time low", with users regularly encountering long call-waiting times, it has emerged that certain individuals are able to beat the queues by using a little-known fast-track helpline called Public Department 1" (PD1). Continue reading...

Ministers are exploring possible options for selling down stake in bank to retail investors

Outgoing president confers honour on presumed successor, Prabowo Subianto, who is accused of human rights violationsHuman rights experts have condemned a decision by Indonesia's outgoing president to award the rank of honorary four-star general to his presumed successor, Prabowo Subianto, a controversial figure accused of human rights violations.Prabowo, 72, a former son-in-law of the dictator Suharto and a special commander under his regime was dismissed from the military over allegations he was involved in kidnapping and torturing pro-democracy activists in 1998. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Woman says central party paid 15,000 for her private health care but did not investigate her allegation against MPAn alleged victim of a serious sexual assault by a Conservative MP has accused the central party of being more concerned with protecting its own reputation than her welfare after it failed to formally investigate her complaint.The woman, who must remain anonymous for legal reasons, claims to have told party whips about the alleged attack almost immediately afterwards, but no internal investigation took place. Continue reading...

Salvatore Mancuso was taken into police custody and is expected to cooperate with investigation into war crimes in 1990s and 2000sA Colombian warlord found responsible for more than 1,500 murders and cases of forced disappearance has been returned to his native country after serving a drug-trafficking sentence in the United States and being denied several requests to be sent to Italy, where he also has citizenship.Salvatore Mancuso arrived in Bogota's El Dorado airport on a charter flight that also carried dozens of Colombians who had been deported from the US after illegally crossing the southern border. Mancuso was quickly taken into police custody, wearing a green helmet and a bulletproof vest. Continue reading...

Somerset auctioneer who says he has genuine left boxing glove from 1963 match hopes to fetch up to 500,000An auctioneer from Somerset is selling what he claims is one of the most famous pieces of sporting memorabilia - the split boxing glove from Muhammad Ali's 1963 fight with Henry Cooper.The left glove has gone down in boxing history because Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, is said to have widened a rip in it to buy some time for his man, then fighting under the name Cassius Clay, after he had been floored by Cooper. Continue reading...

Father Felice Palamara notices unusual aroma after consecrating vessel for eucharistA parish priest in southern Italy was about to take a sip from a chalice of wine when he realised it was laced with bleach in what is believed to have been a mafia-related threat.Father Felice Palamara had just consecrated the chalice of water and wine before celebrating the eucharist during evening mass on Saturday at San Nicola di Pannaconi church in Cessaniti, a small town in the Calabria region, and as he prepared to drink from it he notice a strange smell. Continue reading...

City grandee and hereditary peer co-founded a number of companies and was also involved in the artsJacob Rothschild, the financier, philanthropist and scion of the Rothschild banking family, has died aged 87.The City grandee started his career at the family bank NM Rothschild & Sons before leaving in 1980 to co-found a number of companies including J Rothschild Assurance Group, now St James's Place, with Sir Mark Weinberg. Continue reading...

Antoine Galindo is accused of conspiring with rebels, but press freedom groups say no evidence has been found and call for his immediate releaseEthiopian authorities have detained a visiting French journalist for being part of a conspiracy to create chaos" in the east African country.Antoine Galindo, a reporter for the Paris-based Africa Intelligence (AI) news website, was arrested by plainclothes security officers at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel on Thursday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Continue reading...

It is generally agreed Europe needs to spend more on defence, but questions remain about how much and how fast this can be achievedEurope is racing to avoid a blame game" on defence as it grapples with how to increase production amid a serious ammunition shortage in Ukraine and growing questions over the future of US support.As Ukraine enters the third year of Russia's full-scale invasion and worries mount about the US commitment to Nato, politicians, diplomats and experts largely agree that Europe needs to do more on defence. The fraught topic will no doubt be on the agenda as about 20 European leaders gather in Paris on Monday to send Vladimir Putin a message of European resolve. Continue reading...

Junior minister accuses tech firm of violating country's IT laws with downright malicious' answersA response from Google's AI platform suggesting that some experts believe the policies of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, polices to be fascist" has provoked a confrontation between the company and the government.The journalist Arnab Ray last week put the question as to whether Modi was a fascist to Google's generative AI platform, Gemini. He received the answer that Modi was accused of implementing policies some experts have characterized as fascist". Continue reading...

St John Ambulance WA spokesperson says two rescue crews dispatched to town 220km north of Perth

Increase to $203m more than compensates for falls in company's banking and personal injury divisions

Chalmers had announced plans to scrap the veto power but former treasurers and RBA governors say it is a vital safety valve'

The government is again trying to create a guiding mind' for UK train travel - and despite the delays and inertia, almost everyone wants itRail's great zombie hope lurches on. Great British Railways, the future once unveiled by Boris Johnson - declared at times dead, or alive, or simply locked in stasis - came juddering back into the picture last week.The late arrival of a draft reform bill could, rail minister Huw Merriman claimed, still mean that plans for a new guiding mind" for rail, separate from government, come into law this side of an election. We will put decision-making in the hands of Great British Railways to integrate track and train," he promised. Continue reading...

Poll shared with Observer shows high support for reform of prison sentencing to stop lives being torn apart'The British public backs reforms to how pregnant women and mothers are sentenced in courts, a new poll shared with the Observer has found.Polling conducted this month by Survation, on behalf of the campaign group Level Up and the women's charity One Small Thing, found 53% of respondents believed a mother with a baby should not be sent to prison with her infant if a community-based alternative was available. Only 28% disagreed, with the rest answering don't know". A similar majority believed the long-term effects on a child should be a key consideration when sentencing a mother. Continue reading...

Junior doctors' 11th walkout in England expected to add to backlogs in service a third of Britons say NHS is most pressing issueThe NHS has overtaken soaring prices as the issue most Britons believe is the biggest challenge facing the UK, new polling has found.The NHS in England is bracing itself for the latest strike by junior doctors, which starts at 7am on Saturday. Continue reading...

Plaque being unveiled for Jemima Nicholas, who is said to have led a band of women to thwart French troops in 1797The bravery of a Welsh woman who, legend has it, armed herself with a pitchfork to help thwart an attempted 18th-century invasion of Britain is being celebrated this weekend.A plaque is being unveiled in honour of Jemima Nicholas in the seaside town of Fishguard, south-west Wales, close to where she faced down French troops in February 1797. There will be songs, poems and speeches to commemorate her courage. Continue reading...

Amendment by Labour MP Diana Johnson would end prosecutions for terminations after 24 weeksMPs are expected to get a free vote on decriminalising abortion when a Labour backbencher lays an amendment that would end the prosecution of women who terminate pregnancies after the 24-week limit.Diana Johnson is expected to lay an amendment to the Criminal Justice Act next month that would stop the possibility of women being jailed for going ahead with abortions after the time limit. Continue reading...

Star tells audience at prestigious Cesar awards that they need to challenge powerful and abusive men whatever the career riskJudith Godreche has urged the French film industry to break its omerta on sexual abuse in an unprecedented address to the country's most prestigious awards ceremony on Friday evening.Godreche, who says she was groomed and raped as a teenager by an acclaimed director, received a standing ovation as she took the stage at the Cesars - the French equivalent of the Oscars. Continue reading...

Ex-deputy party chair says on GB News Islamists control London as well as its mayor, prompting calls for him to lose the whipThe Conservative MP Lee Anderson has claimed that Islamists" have got control of London" and its mayor, Sadiq Khan.Speaking on GB News, Anderson said of Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London: He's given our capital city away to his mates. Continue reading...

In the 25 years since the damning Macpherson report, so much more needs to be done' by police force, says mother of Stephen Lawrence

Office for Students reviewing courses by subcontractors amid concerns of potential loan abuse and poor education standardsEngland's higher education regulator is to launch its first investigation into franchise students" enrolled on university courses run by subcontractors, amid concerns about poor quality and potential abuse of student loans.The Office for Students (OfS) said it is investigating how 6,500 students are taught under franchise by subcontractors of Leeds Trinity University, saying it will look at whether the courses are of high quality and whether Leeds Trinity has effective management and governance in place" for overseeing its partners. Continue reading...

Incident comes as data shows government sector breaches mostly caused by human error, not criminal acts

European Commission president says she will never work with parties such as AfD or National Rally, no matter how big a vote they secure in European electionsCampaign Corner: SlovakiaAs the campaign kicks off for the June European elections, more parties are presenting their candidates.We believe that this is an attempt to take over the agricultural protest movement by extreme and irresponsible groups, possibly under the influence of Russian agents. Continue reading...

Initiative before national rollout will allow review of care for patients whose condition is deteriorating

Shehbaz Sharif expected to become prime minister again after plans for coalition government announced between PML-N and PPP partiesImran Khan's political rivals have announced details of a coalition agreement, naming Shehbaz Sharif as their joint candidate for prime minister amid continuing concerns about the legitimacy of the recent elections.Khan's rivals said at a news conference of party leaders late on Tuesday that they had secured the required majority of votes to form a coalition government. The parliament will elect Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as the new prime minister when the inaugural session of the National Assembly is convened later this month, the party leaders said. Continue reading...

Though the state's ruling party has been marked by defections and dissent, the opposition has struggled to make its mark

Devastated colleagues and friends pay tribute to Collins as a passionate advocate' and a champion of fairness and equalityNew Zealanders, including leaders from across the political spectrum, have expressed shock and devastation at the sudden death of Green MP Efeso Collins, who collapsed after a charity run in Auckland on Wednesday.It is with profound shock and sadness that we can confirm that Green Party MP Efeso Collins has died," said a statement from the Green party. Continue reading...

Analysis shows 14 landlord MPs are among the 47 backbenchers who have signed amendments to billAlmost a third of the MPs attempting to water down or delay new laws to better protect England's 11 million private renters are landlords, analysis has revealed.MPs including Bob Blackman, Nick Fletcher, Marco Longhi and Geoffrey Clifton-Brown are pressing for changes to the long-awaited renters' reform bill, which will ban no-fault evictions. They want to make it easier for landlords to throw out tenants for antisocial behaviour instead. Continue reading...

Hrdlicka's abrupt departure comes as airline's owners plan to push ahead with relisting on stock exchange

Advocates say Coalition-era loophole has robbed public schools of $13bn, with $26bn to be lost by 2029 if Labor fails to close it in agreements with states

Professor says vaping stores need to be shut down for people to realise supply is being regulated