World news | The Guardian

Lawyers acting for pro-democracy activist argued that proceedings could be biased due to judge selectionHong Kong’s high court has rejected an attempt by lawyers acting for the jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai to have his national security trial dismissed.The court ruled on Monday that the argument the trial may appear to be biased had “no merits”, and gave the proceedings, which are scheduled to start in September, the green light. Continue reading...

State ombudsman criticises government’s lack of knowledge about unaccompanied homeless children, failure to improve monitoring

The 74-year-old appeared sitting in the dock for the first day of the judge-alone trial

Two people among 15 sleeping rough in the former hat factory the night before blaze remain unaccounted for, as crime scene officers prepare equipment

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Bev McArthur criticised by state’s First Peoples’ Assembly co-chair as trying ‘to make a name’ for herself

Deborah O’Neill made the warning after the consulting firm claimed to have ‘ringfenced’ its government work

Catholic church’s claim he could not have been an altar boy because he was baptised Anglican proved to be incorrect but delayed case for a year, in a legal move being heavily criticised

Two Wrongs, in South Yarra, on Sunday night shared images on social media of patrons posing with the native reptiles

TUC says its study suggests one in 10 women have employers who do not have to enter them into a pensionWomen are more than twice as likely as men to miss out on being automatically put into a workplace pension, according to a report.The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said its study suggested that more than one in 10 women were in jobs where their employers did not have to enter them into a workplace pension, compared with fewer than one in 20 men. Continue reading...

Seven admit rioting, while another six face additional charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in prisonA Hong Kong court has began the trial of 13 people over the storming and ransacking of the city’s legislature in 2019, which was an unprecedented challenge to the Beijing-backed government.It was the most violent episode in the initial phase of the huge pro-democracy protests that shook Hong Kong that year, with millions marching and staging sit-ins for weeks. Continue reading...

Oxford University research reveals 17,000 out-of-area placements in England can be attributed to the corporate takeover of careThe corporate takeover of children’s care has led to more children moving between short-term, unstable placements far away from their families, according to research.The Oxford University study – which drew on more than 600,000 care records – revealed 17,000 out-of-area placements in England can be attributed to the outsourcing of care to for-profit providers between 2011 and 2022. Continue reading...

Local MP Emma Kealy says everyone in the tight-knit community would be affected by the loss

Labor leader who secured largest election victory in the state’s history in 2021 says the job had been ‘all-consuming, each and every day’

Relatives of Dorset teenager say some organisations have only made minor tweaks after coroner’s findingsRelatives of Gaia Pope have expressed anger and heartache at the lack of progress on key reforms in policing and healthcare they believe are needed a year after the Dorset teenager’s inquest exposed dozens of failings in her care.One described the impact of her death and the legal process that followed as “a wound that will never heal or even stop bleeding” while another said they still felt badly traumatised and let down by the legal system. Continue reading...

Exclusive: First minister of Wales says bonds that tie UK together have come under ‘sustained assault’ from 40 years of neoliberalismThe UK could break apart unless it is rebuilt as a “solidarity union” where every citizen’s rights to public services and financial security are protected, the first minister of Wales, has warned.Mark Drakeford said the social and political bonds that tie the different parts of the UK together have come under “sustained assault” from 40 years of neoliberalism, a trend launched by Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and then reinforced after Brexit by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Continue reading...

Tokyo says any missile entering its territory will be destroyed as Pyongyang completes preparations to launch first military spy satelliteJapan’s military has said it will destroy any North Korean missile that violates its territory and is making preparations to do so, after Kim Jong-un’s regime told Tokyo it plans to launch a satellite between 31 May and 11 June.Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, said any launch by North Korea, even if termed a satellite launch, affected the safety of Japanese citizens. “The government recognises that there is a possibility that the satellite may pass through our country’s territory.” Continue reading...

Experts point to crackdown on national security and legal system that encourages guilty pleasChinese courts prosecuted 8.3 million people in the five years to 2022, a 12% increase on the previous period. There was also a nearly 20% increase in the number of protests against court rulings.The figures released by the supreme people’s procuratorate (SPP) in March give a glimpse of how China’s notoriously opaque justice system has operated in recent years, amid a tightening domestic security environment. Continue reading...

Quake that struck Sunbury on Sunday night the strongest in more than 100 years with an epicentre in metropolitan Melbourne

Seven Network says a replacement for the breakfast television host has been selected and will be announced on 5 June

Item inscribed with ‘Eva’ in German and the initials ‘AH’ to go under the hammer at Belfast auction in JuneA silver-plated pencil purported to have belonged to Adolf Hitler is going under the hammer in Belfast next month and is estimated to sell for between £50,000 and £80,000.It is believed to have been a gift to the former Nazi dictator from his long-term partner Eva Braun for his 52nd birthday on 20 April 1941. Continue reading...

Party’s research shows police did not even find a suspect in 30,079 incidents in England and WalesSlightly more than 30,000 muggings in England and Wales did not even result in a suspect being identified by police last year, research released by the Liberal Democrats has shown.Just 8% of all offences of robbery of personal property reported to the police last year saw someone being charged, the data from the House of Commons library research showed. Continue reading...

People’s party strengthens hold on Madrid and could take regions of Valencia and Aragón, according to pollSpain’s opposition conservative People’s party (PP) is heading for an emphatic win in Sunday’s key regional and municipal elections, winning an absolute majority in the city of Madrid and in the surrounding area.It is poised to wrest the regions of Valencia, Aragón and the Balearic islands from the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE). Continue reading...

‘Equal pay generation’ of female workers abandoned by Tories, says Anneliese Dodds, who commissioned researchThe so-called equal pay generation of female workers born near the passing of the 1970 Equal Pay Act are unlikely to see the gap close during their working lives, a Labour analysis has shown.Research carried out for Anneliese Dodds, the shadow secretary of state for women and equalities, calculated that such is the slow rate of change with equal pay for women in their 50s, the gender pay gap will not close before 2050 at the current trajectory. Continue reading...

Re-elected president could take Nato country further towards Russia, or may instead be more open to alternativesWestern capitals remained silent through Turkey’s presidential campaign – privately hoping Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s erratic 20-year rule would come to a surprise close – but now he has been handed a decisive mandate to serve a third term, the west is caught between fear and hope.It fears he will exploit the result to take this Nato founder member further from the liberal secular west, but hopes against hope that, not being eligible to run again and thus freed from the need to pander to a nationalist electorate for the rest of his political life, he may at least be open to persuasion and base his foreign policy on something other than self-preservation. Continue reading...

Doctor also says he was ‘managed out’ of the show after raising concerns over how people were being treatedA TV doctor who previously worked on ITV’s This Morning has said the culture on the show became “toxic” and that he was “managed out” after he tried to raise his concerns.Dr Ranj Singh, who made regular appearances offering medical advice, said that, over 10 years on the show, he grew “increasingly worried about how things were behind-the-scenes and how people, including myself, were being treated”. Continue reading...

Australian musician told Hay festival we should not ‘eradicate the best of these people in order to punish the worst of them’Nick Cave has said that boycotting songs because of the actions of the artist “is not a very good way to go about things”.The Australian singer-songwriter told the Hay festival: “Making art – especially making music – it prevents you from becoming the worst aspects of your character, and that’s why I very much think we need to be very, very careful about the music we don’t think people should listen to any more because of what the artist who has made that music may have been like,” the Australian singer-songwriter said. Continue reading...

The live-action remake brought in nearly $100m over the Memorial Day weekend, knocking Fast X out of the top spotThe Little Mermaid live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 animated classic made a splash at the box office on Memorial Day weekend, bringing in almost $100m in North America, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.The film starring Halle Bailey, winning praise from critics as the titular mermaid Ariel, and Melissa McCarthy as her sea witch nemesis, Ursula, ranks as the fifth biggest Memorial Day weekend opening on record. Continue reading...

Two men in their 20s were pulled from the sea near Torbay as boy who died in Carlisle named as Lewis Michael Kirkpatrick, 15At least three people have drowned over the bank holiday weekend as the UK experienced the hottest day of the year so far on Sunday.Two men in their 20s died after being pulled from the sea off the coast of Torbay, Devon and Cornwall police said. Officers were called to assist the coastguard at about 9am on Saturday after reports of concern for two people off Oddicombe beach. Continue reading...

Pink Floyd co-founder rejects accusations before his Sunday night concert in former Nazi siteSeveral Jewish groups, politicians and an alliance of civil society groups gathered for a memorial ceremony and a protest rally against a concert by Roger Waters in Frankfurt on Sunday evening.They accuse the Pink Floyd co-founder of antisemitism – an allegation he denies. Continue reading...

Andrei Kelin tells BBC: ‘It is an idealistic mistake to think that Ukraine will prevail’

Exclusive: move will come into force on 31 August and will only be waived if a threat to life is fearedThe Metropolitan police will no longer attend emergency calls related to mental health incidents, the force’s commissioner has said.In a letter seen by the Guardian, Sir Mark Rowley says he will order his officers not to attend thousands of calls they get every year to deal with mental health incidents. Continue reading...

US novelist talks of ‘weird kind of identity politics in American publishing’ while at Hay festivalThe author of Babel and The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang, has said she finds the idea that authors should only write about characters of their own race “deeply frustrating and pretty illogical”.Speaking at the Hay festival, the author, who was born in China but moved to the US when she was four, said that there is a “really weird kind of identity politics going on in American publishing”. She is “sympathetic” to an extent, as it is coming from “decades of frustration of seeing the same racist, uncritical, under-researched, shallow stereotypes”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: upgraded Myki ticketing system could have been in place sooner, according to alternate proposals tendered

New report shows average households are spending a third of income on rent while lower income families pay more than half their earnings

Alysia Salisbury was described as ‘a beautiful daughter and sister’ in a tribute from her familyA five-year-old girl has died after a house fire in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales.Alysia Salisbury was described as “a beautiful daughter and sister” in a tribute from her family released through Dyfed Powys police. Continue reading...

Speculation climate protesters could be responsible for phosphorescent patch that appeared by Rialto BridgePolice in Venice are investigating the source of phosphorescent green liquid that appeared on Sunday in the city’s Grand Canal, amid speculation it was caused by climate protesters.Gondoliers could be seen punting through the phosphorescent waters while tourists took photographs of the green patch, from the Rialto Bridge up and along part of the canal. Continue reading...

Ukraine says it shot down 52 Iranian-made devices but debris killed one person and injured two

As the stalemate continues, union infighting has added a new dimension while universities are threatening to dock payWhen Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), stood at the podium of its annual congress yesterday, she said she had “never been so proud to be part of this union as I have in recent weeks, watching you all stand firm in the face of vindictive, bullying behaviour from employers.“Our wins this year have been achieved through unity,” she told the assembled lecturers. “Facing the fights ahead, let’s focus our energy on the real enemy: the employers.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: More than a dozen potentially dangerous devices on sale despite rise in fatal firesE-bike chargers that pose a risk of fire and electric shock have been found on sale on Amazon, eBay and Wish.com amid a sharp rise in blazes associated with battery-powered bicycles and scooters.More than a dozen low-cost devices, several with substandard, unfused plugs, were on offer on all three websites, a Guardian investigation with the charity Electrical Safety First (ESF) found. Continue reading...

Rescue operation off Torbay recovered two men in their 20s and one was declared dead at the sceneTwo men in their 20s have died after being pulled from the sea off the coast of Torbay, Devon and Cornwall police said.Officers were called to assist the coastguard at about 9am on Saturday after reports of concern for two people off Oddicombe beach. Continue reading...

‘The success of this referendum will depend on millions of conversations, between Australians of all backgrounds and faiths and beliefs’, PM to say

Ukrainian adviser says preliminary operations for major offensive underway; explosions shake Kyiv; Russian threat to Nato countries could get worse if Putin is ousted, says RAF chief

Two men charged with aggravated trespass after pitch invasion during Gallagher Premiership contestTwo men have been charged over a Just Stop Oil protest at the Gallagher Premiership rugby union final at Twickenham on Saturday when activists invaded the pitch and threw orange paint powder during live play.The Met police said Samuel Johnson, 40, of Reydon, Suffolk and Patrick Hart, 37, of Brislington, Bristol had been charged with aggravated trespass. Continue reading...

Broadcaster says show will return as normal on Monday amid speculation some hosts have threatened to quitITV has said there are no plans to take its This Morning show off air after reports it could be axed over the Phillip Schofield controversy.The broadcaster denied speculation in Sunday’s newspapers about the show’s future, with a spokesperson saying: “As we said on the record yesterday [Saturday], This Morning is not under review and there are no plans for the show to be axed. This Morning will return as normal tomorrow.” Continue reading...

Man in his 30s was detained on Friday after opening emergency exit at about 200 metres above groundA South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for a passenger who opened an Asiana Airlines plane door minutes before it landed, it has been reported.The man in his 30s was detained on landing on Friday after opening the door when the Airbus A321-200 was about 200 metres (700ft) above the ground in Daegu, South Korea, causing panic onboard. Continue reading...

Meeting of European Political Community in Chișinău will show solidarity in face of Russian threatThe EU is stepping up support for Moldova as 46 EU and European leaders descend on its capital in a show of financial and political solidarity in the face of the threat from Russia.Nestled between Ukraine and the EU, the country of 2.6 million people will be catapulted on to the international stage on Thursday when the European Political Community (EPC) meets for the second time, eight months after its inaugural meeting attended by Liz Truss. Continue reading...

Speaking at Hay festival former foreign secretary said some may see the west as being hypocritical in its anti-Russia stanceDavid Miliband has said that his support for the Iraq war was “one of the deepest regrets” from his time in politics.The former foreign secretary also said that the war and the period around it has subsequently caused “real damage” to western claims to stand up for core values of international order and justice. Continue reading...

Health secretary says projects instead involve ‘a range of things’ including new wings and refurbishmentsThe health secretary has admitted the government is not building 40 new hospitals by 2030, as long promised, but said the projects involved “a range of things” including new wings and refurbishments.Steve Barclay, who nonetheless sought to insist that this did not break the Conservatives’ manifesto promise for 40 new hospitals, also argued that the public were not concerned about the distinction as long as the facilities they used were new. Continue reading...

Criminal turf wars are a sign of deeper problems in country that has EU’s highest cigarette taxesOutside a station in Pantin, a town that nudges up against Paris’s north-eastern border, young men hollered “cigarettes!” at commuters. They flashed two or three packets of what looked like ordinary Malboros or Camels for €5 (£4.35), about half the legal price. “There are so many illegal cigarette sellers near stations, they’re taking over the pavements,” said a customer at a local bakery.The French government has warned of an “explosion” in contraband cigarettes since the Covid lockdowns, as the number of smokers in France remains stable and has even risen among women over 18. Men selling cheap contraband packets near stations in and around Paris, from the Gare du Nord to Barbès or Noisy-le-Sec and La Courneuve, are so commonplace that some residents’ groups deem greater Paris a “giant, open-air, illegal tobacconist’s”. Continue reading...