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Army chief makes no mention of truce in TV address after UN and US called for ceasefire of at least three daysNew efforts to halt fighting in Sudan failed on Friday, as residents of the capital Khartoum reported intense shelling and gunfights between soldiers and gunmen from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).Witnesses said there was shooting in the north, west and centre of the city, including during the call for special early morning Eid prayers. Continue reading...

Minister resigns as inquiry into bullying allegations finds he was ‘intimidating’ towards civil servants

PM is loyal towards his former deputy but it is hard to see how Raab’s reputation could have escaped notice

Writer and basketball star are among famous names to retain ticks despite not signing up to Twitter BlueElon Musk has admitted he is paying for some prominent Twitter accounts to retain their blue ticks, as the social media platform launched a cull that stripped verified status from many famous names including Beyoncé, Ronaldo and Paul McCartney.Twitter’s owner confirmed the gesture after it emerged that the writer Stephen King, the actor William Shatner and the basketball star LeBron James had retained their ticks – which confer verified status on accounts – despite not signing up to Twitter Blue, the site’s subscription service. Continue reading...

While agents say Britain’s heritage and history is a draw, not all agree on the royals’ value to the sectorAs soon as the date of the coronation was announced last October, Kathryn Mooney booked a flight to London. “I jumped on it right away,” says Mooney, 54, an executive assistant from Toronto. “All I thought was, I’d better get a property, I’d better get a flight, because I knew there would be huge demand.”Why did she want to come? “I know it sounds really hokey, but I want to go and send them some support and love from the sidelines. And honour the queen.” Continue reading...

How the story has unfolded since Ministry of Justice sources first spoke out about his behaviourAfter many turbulent months at the top of government under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak arrived in No 10 knowing he had to put the Conservatives’ days of self-immolation behind them.On his first day in the job last October, he promised the British people that his government would display “integrity, professionalism and accountability” at every level. Continue reading...

Advice from solicitor general rebuffs no campaign’s central claim that the voice would clog up the courts

NSW police confirmed they were investigating reports of the alleged reptile killing

Edward Enninful tells BBC he rejected major fashion brands as he promotes May issue featuring disabled cover starsEdward Enninful, the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, has said he turned down advertising from major fashion brands who do not share his vision of inclusivity.Enninful, 51, who took up the top role at the fashion magazine in 2017, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was told “inclusivity equals downmarket” earlier in his tenure. Continue reading...

Transport secretary defends PM after he is criticised by senior Conservatives for ‘dithering’Rishi Sunak is right to delay the decision on the fate of Dominic Raab, a senior minister has said, as the prime minister pores over a lengthy report into allegations that his deputy bullied staff.Mark Harper, the transport secretary, said on Friday morning Sunak was doing the right thing by waiting to make his mind up over whether Raab should resign over the allegations, a day after he received the report from Adam Tolley KC. Continue reading...

March sales fell by 0.9%, says ONS, which was more than economists had predictedRetail sales in Great Britain fell more than expected in March as poor weather kept shoppers at home, ending two months of increased spending by consumers.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes fell 0.9% last month as the wettest March in 40 years dampened shopper enthusiasm for visiting department stores, clothing shops and garden centres. Continue reading...

Lack of public profile may have appealed to Rishi Sunak when picking him to lead bullying inquiryThe lawyer Adam Tolley KC is not renowned outside legal circles but he has qualities that made him a safe pair of hands for the important and sensitive task of producing the report on bullying allegations that will probably determine Dominic Raab’s political future.He has not acted in a case that would have established him in the public consciousness and he is not on Twitter, unlike many of his fellow barristers, some of whom have huge followings (although they tend to practise different specialities). Called to the bar in 1994 and made a silk in 2014, his lack of public profile may have been a plus for Rishi Sunak – preventing journalists from scouring his social media for controversy. Continue reading...

Fatal crash happened shortly after police pulled over speeding Mercedes driver in Strathmerton

Exclusive: Clive Driscoll, who won convictions of two of Lawrence’s murderers, calls for different force to pursue remaining killersThe detective who brought two of Stephen Lawrence’s killers to justice says the pursuit of the remaining murderers should be stripped from Scotland Yard and handed over to a new force.Former DCI Clive Driscoll led the investigation that in 2012 saw David Norris and Gary Dobson convicted of the murder, 19 years after they and a gang of at least three more youths attacked and stabbed Lawrence in a racist attack. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Senior staff said to want Sunak to set up independent body to assess complaints against ministersRishi Sunak is being urged to set up a new body to assess future bullying claims against ministers after civil servants were left disillusioned over the Dominic Raab investigation.Senior Whitehall staff want the prime minister to allow an independent organisation to assess claims of wrongdoing against ministers, a Ministry of Justice union rep said. Continue reading...

Move comes days after Fox reached a $US787.5m settlement with the voting equipment company Dominion in a separate defamation lawsuit

Government to give $6,000 rebate to drivers switching to EVs worth up to $68,000

Dominic Raab denies wrongdoing after report on his behaviour delivered to Rishi Sunak this morningToday’s announcement by the Association of School and College Leaders that it is to hold a formal ballot for national strike action for the first time in its history (see 9.49am) marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute between teachers and the government.Up until now only members of the National Education Union (NEU) have taken strike action in England, with five more days of strikes planned for later this term. In addition a fresh ballot is to be held to provide the NEU with a mandate for further strike action up until Christmas. Continue reading...

May Golan has insulted Africans in Israel and disparaged the Reform movement, the largest Jewish denomination in the USIsrael’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has nominated a far-right politician who once boasted that she is “proud to be a racist” as his country’s top diplomat in New York.The appointment of May Golan was swiftly denounced by Israeli and American former diplomats, and the head of the largest Jewish denomination in the US, as an affront to the US and damaging for Israel. Continue reading...

Four activists, who sat in the road at Bishopsgate in London in October 2021, were found guilty of causing a public nuisanceOne protester has been jailed for five weeks and three others given fines and community service for their part in a protest to demand government action on insulation.Daphne Jackson, 72, Beatrice Pooley, 65, and two protesters who have outstanding court cases sat in the road at the Bishopsgate junction in London during an Insulate Britain protest on 25 October 2021. The four were convicted of causing a public nuisance earlier this year and sentenced on Thursday. Continue reading...

Wolf Hall trilogy author remembered at memorial service at Southwark cathedral on ThursdayHilary Mantel, the celebrated author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, was working on a “mashup” of Jane Austen novels when she died suddenly, her literary agent told a packed memorial service at Southwark cathedral on Thursday.“She was having the greatest fun dissecting a literary icon,” said Bill Hamilton before a “fragment” of the unfinished novel, Provocation, was read by the actor Aurora Dawson-Hunte. Continue reading...

Taiwo, 3, was found dead in a flat with Olabisi Abubakar, who denies manslaughter and child crueltyA devout Christian mother caused the death of her three-year-old son by making him join her in a religious fast at a time when she was fearful of Covid and worried about her immigration status, a jury has heard.Olabisi Abubakar, 42, an asylum seeker, is accused of the manslaughter of her son Taiwo, who was found dead at their accommodation in Cardiff having suffered malnutrition and dehydration. Continue reading...

Convent in Oosterhout has been left with surplus of more than 60,000 bottles after hot and dry yearA Dutch convent is appealing to wine drinkers to support its endeavours as, thanks to an extremely hot and dry year, Sint-Catharinadal in Oosterhout has an excess of 64,000 bottles made from its vineyard.“We had a lovely summer last year, warm temperatures and it promises to be an excellent harvest of more than 60,000 bottles,” said Sister Maria Magdalena, prioress, in a video appeal. Continue reading...

The Chevron development off the Pilbara coast was approved on the condition the company store about 4m tonnes of CO2 a year

Australian-US company Internet 2.0 says social media app now seeks users’ altitude information according to source code

NHS Confederation’s mental health network says patient safety will be ‘put at direct risk’ by strikeLeaders of specialist NHS mental health trusts are warning that patients will be at risk of self-harm or suicide as a result of next week’s nurses’ strike in England unless an exemption for their staff is agreed.Some areas of mental health nursing were agreed as an exemption in earlier industrial action because psychiatric wards require particularly high levels of staffing. This is to mitigate the risk of patients quickly deteriorating and suddenly requiring one on one supervision, as well as to ensure nurses’ safety. Continue reading...

Senator says she was provoked and stood up for herself after video showed expletive-laden row outside Melbourne strip club

First review in two decades found at least six projects blocked by education ministers and calls for limits on ministerial intervention

Continent set for further drought in 2023, scientists say, as unstoppable impacts of climate crisis mountThe climate crisis had “frightening” impacts in Europe last year, with heatwaves killing more than 20,000 people and drought withering crops, an EU report has found.Its writers said drought was already baked in for many farmers in 2023. The only way to limit the rising damages of global heating was rapidly to cut carbon emissions, they said. Continue reading...

Reserve Bank governor says board challenges him and does not ‘sit there meekly’ but calls overall report ‘kind of excellent’

Scottish estate includes castle, country houses, woodland and grouse moor – assets the royals have started to monetiseThe royal family’s Scottish retreat at Balmoral has become something of a must-see tourist destination for visitors to the Highlands. Families pay £35 at the old gatehouse before walking down a pine tree-lined avenue towards the castle, which is now open to the public again for the first time since the queen’s death there last September.The three-storey granite house, with its decorative turrets and circular towers, is still almost all shuttered. Just the small ballroom is open to view, displaying an exhibition of Windsor family photographs: the queen in tweed skirts; Prince Philip in open-necked shirts and rolled up sleeves; the young princes Charles, Andrew and Edward, and Princess Anne with ponies; and a picture gallery of the queen at Braemar’s Highland Games. Continue reading...

The pop star was found unresponsive on Wednesday evening in his Gangnam apartmentK-pop star Moonbin, a member of the boy band Astro, has died at the age of 25, his music label Fantagio announced on Thursday.Local media, citing the police, reported that Moonbin had been found unresponsive on Wednesday evening in his apartment in the upscale Gangnam neighbourhood of Seoul.International helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Continue reading...

Dalia Stasevska and Marin Alsop among 10 women conducting in 2023 season as festival moves towards gender equalityFor the first time in its history the BBC Proms season will be opened and closed by female conductors, as the festival moves towards gender equality.The opening and closing nights will be led by Dalia Stasevska and Marin Alsop respectively, two of 10 women conducting concerts this year, three making their Proms debut. Continue reading...

Child safeguarding practice review panel says harm was result of day-to-day failures and oversightThe government’s child safeguarding advisers have urged major reforms to protect severely disabled young people in residential care after “horrific and shocking” abuse revelations at a string of homes run by a private operator.The child safeguarding practice review panel recommendations, published on Thursday, follow its earlier report on the systematic abuse and neglect of more than 100 young people at three facilities in Doncaster run by the Hesley Group. Continue reading...

Prominent names say fact that sickle cell anaemia is UK’s fastest growing genetic condition means need for blood from black donors is acuteA group of influential black Britons have launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the urgent need for more black blood donors.Dame Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis partnership, Lord Woolley and Netflix’s Anne Mensah, all of whom were listed among the Powerlist’s top 10 most influential black people in Britain last year, have joined forces for the campaign. Continue reading...

Video shows Gonçalves Dias inside presidential palace as supporters of Bolsonaro went on the rampage in JanuaryA key member of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s new administration has been forced to resign after the emergence of security footage showing him inside the presidential palace during the 8 January far-right assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions.After his election last year, president Lula made the retired army general Gonçalves Dias head of Brazil’s Institutional Security Bureau (GSI), which advises the president on defense and security matters and handles presidential security. Continue reading...

Russian law restricts ‘demonstration’ of LGBTQ+ behaviour, preventing portrayal of dancer’s homosexual relationshipsMoscow’s Bolshoi theatre has dropped a contemporary ballet about the Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev from its repertoire after the expansion of a ban on “LGBT propaganda”.A law passed in November not only widened an existing prohibition on material considered to promote an LGBTQ+ lifestyle but also restricts the “demonstration” of LGBTQ+ behaviour. Continue reading...

Sacked director general Tony Danker says he has been made a ‘fall guy’ for an organisation rocked by controversy

Beattie stepping back ‘with immediate effect’ until investigation into party’s finances has concludedColin Beattie has stood down as the Scottish National party’s treasurer after his arrest on Tuesday as a suspect in the police investigation into the party’s funding and finances.His announcement came as the new leadership under Humza Yousaf struggled to maintain focus on the business of government amid the ongoing turmoil, as well as accusations from opposition leaders of secrecy, incompetence and financial mismanagement. Continue reading...

Action by Terminal 5 security guards to take place on 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 25, 26 and 27 May in dispute over pay

Museum of Shakespeare in Shoreditch to open in 2024 on site of playhouse that staged earliest performancesTheatre lovers will be able to walk across the Elizabethan stage where Shakespeare performed as an actor and may have staged the first performances of Romeo and Juliet and Henry V at a London museum installation that uses the latest AI technology.The Museum of Shakespeare, due to open in spring 2024, will be set within the remains of the Curtain Playhouse – one of London’s earliest theatres. Continue reading...

ACT chief justice calls secrecy ‘anathema to the rule of law’ as sentencing decision finally made public

El Faro moves its headquarters to avoid ‘fabricated accusations’ after 25 years reporting on drug wars, crime and corruptionEl Faro has survived many pressures in its 25 years reporting on El Salvador’s bloody drug wars, crime and institutional corruption.“We’ve been harassed. We’ve received death threats from drug cartels, requiring us to contract armed security guards. And we’ve had the police coming to our houses after we revealed their corruption scandals,” said Óscar Martínez, editor of the online investigative outlet. “Some of our journalists have been exiled, but we have managed to continue reporting from San Salvador.” Continue reading...

The senator called Anthony Albanese’s comments ‘insulting’ after video circulated of her in an expletive-laden argument with several men

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Humza Yousaf’s leadership rival says party is facing a critical moment after ‘mindblowing’ reports about financesThe Scottish National party is facing a “pretty critical moment” and will “be in trouble” unless the leadership takes “decisive action”, Kate Forbes has said.The former Holyrood finance secretary, in her first interview since losing the leadership contest to Humza Yousaf, said reports about the party’s finances had been “mindblowing”. Continue reading...

QCOSS and other tenant advocacy groups support the new rental measures but urge landlords to do the right thing, saying there is still ‘more work to do’ around housing reform

Extreme temperatures described as ‘worst April heatwave in Asian history’ as records tested in India, China, Thailand and LaosA severe heatwave has swept across much of Asia, causing deaths and school closures in India and record-breaking temperatures in China.Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian, described the unusually high temperatures as the “worst April heatwave in Asian history”. Continue reading...

The editor, writer and literary critic who was the UK’s first Black female publisher will replace Philippe SandsMargaret Busby, who was Britain’s first Black female publisher, has been named the new president of English PEN.The editor, writer, broadcaster and literary critic takes over the role from author and human rights lawyer Philippe Sands. English PEN is one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations and is the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers’ association with 147 centres in more than 100 countries. Continue reading...

Representatives from remote communities in Cape York, the Torres Strait and Far North Queensland have spoken at a federal inquiry