Pharmacists can only dispense maximum of two months’ supply for every prescription as supplier struggles to meet demandMinisters are restricting an hormone replacement therapy medicine for menopause symptoms to two-month prescriptions as the supplier struggles to meet soaring demand.Utrogestan is expected to be in intermittent supply until late this year, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Officials said its manufacturer, Besins, was increasing supply but still unable to fill the gap. Continue reading...
School leaders announce launch of body to protect students from the risks of artificial intelligenceSchools are “bewildered” by the fast pace of development in artificial intelligence and do not trust tech firms to protect the interests of students and educational establishments, headteachers have written.A group of UK school leaders have announced the launch of a body to advise and protect schools from the risks of AI, with their fears not limited to the capacity of chatbots such as ChatGPT to aid cheating. There are also concerns about the impact on children’s mental and physical health as well as the teaching profession itself, according to the Times. Continue reading...
Man in Spider-Man mask scales London headquarters in apparent protest against paedophile sculptorA controversial statue by the paedophile sculptor Eric Gill on the front of the BBC’s headquarters has been struck with a hammer in an apparent protest, the broadcaster has announced.A man wearing a Spider-Man mask scaled Broadcasting House in central London and defaced the carving of Prospero and Ariel in the early hours of Saturday morning – the second time the 1931 work has been attacked. Continue reading...
Change should result in fewer animals being abandoned and make it easier for owners to find accommodationRenters, pet owners and animal shelters have praised a long-awaited law that will allow tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation, after the government unveiled legislative changes to the private rented sector earlier this week.Under the renters’ reform bill, tenants will have the legal right to request a pet in their home, which landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. The legal overhaul will also abolish section 21 no-fault evictions. Continue reading...
by Antonio Voce, Seán Clarke and Gabriel Smith on (#6BTGH)
Find out which parties have won seats to Northern Ireland’s 11 local council areas after Thursday’s electionsOn Thursday 18 May people across Northern Ireland voted to elect new local councils, two weeks after many voters in England did the same. There are 11 local council areas in Northern Ireland, from Derry City and Strabane in the west to Belfast in the east.As in the rest of the UK, local councils in Northern Ireland have responsibility for local services including recycling and waste collection, planning, health and environmental enforcement, parks and leisure facilities. They are not responsible for some areas that fall to local councils elsewhere, notably, education, social services, libraries and housing. Continue reading...
Data suggests Sky News and the Australian mentioned the ABC’s coverage of Charles III’s coronation more than 150 times in the past two weeksThe pro-monarchy Liberal party MP Julian Leeser has said fellow ABC coronation panellist Stan Grant faced “unrelenting racism online” in response to the broadcast, as data suggests Sky News and the Australian mentioned the coverage more than 150 times in the past two weeks.On Friday, Grant announced he would walk away from hosting Q+A after this Monday’s episode following what he said was the media lying and distorting his words while criticising the ABC’s coverage of Charles III’s coronation.Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Continue reading...
by Josh Taylor and Elias Visontay (earlier) on (#6BTCP)
Australian prime minister meets with US president Joe Biden and António Guterres, secretary general of UN – this blog is now closedIt’s been a big week for Australia’s relationship with China.The trade minister, Don Farrell, made his first visit to Beijing, where he met with China’s commerce minister. Continue reading...
Buzz around the trendy restaurant took a dark turn with domestic abuse claims, but the atmosphere remains buoyantOne of Los Angeles’s trendiest restaurants is entangled in a divorce case linked to a series of disturbing allegations.When Horses opened in Hollywood in October 2021, the Los Angeles Times described it as “a new modern LA institution”. The spot has become a celebrity magnet, drawing stars from Will Ferrell to Beyoncé with rich entrees, memorable cocktails and a cozy, pub-like atmosphere. Continue reading...
Andy and Lynette Smith spent 10 months seeking compensation after animals’ escape from nearby farmAn Essex couple have spent 10 months seeking compensation after 18 escaped water buffaloes stampeded through their garden, with eight of them taking a morning dip in their new swimming pool.Andy and Lynette Smith, who are retired, say that their garden and pool were ruined after the animals, which weigh about 600kg each, got out of a rare breeds farm and on to their property, causing more than £25,000 worth of damage. Continue reading...
Billionaire former prime minister, 86, had been suffering from a lung infection linked to leukaemiaSilvio Berlusconi has been discharged from hospital in Milan, declaring “the nightmare” is over, more than six weeks after the former Italian prime minister was admitted with leukaemia and a lung infection.“Today, after 45 long days, I finally returned home,” the 86-year-old billionaire media mogul said in a statement after leaving the San Raffaele Hospital on Friday. Continue reading...
Police name victim as Jonathan Hogg and say they have destroyed animal in Leigh that posed ‘significant risk’ to publicA Wigan man who died after being attacked by a dog has been named by police as Jonathan Hogg, 37.Officers shot dead the animal after the attack in Leigh, Wigan, on Thursday evening. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason in Hiroshima and Aletha Adu on (#6BTCS)
PM says Labour criticism of family tax arrangements doesn’t bother him, as rich list shows he and his wife have lost £200mRishi Sunak has said he is “not bothered” by Labour’s criticism of his wealthy family’s tax arrangements and thinks the UK has “moved beyond” judging people on their money, as a new estimate said the UK prime minister’s fortune had fallen to around £500m.Sunak, who is the wealthiest British prime minister ever on account of his wife’s shareholdings, said he did not pay attention to Labour’s personal attacks on his finances. Continue reading...
Marcelo Xavier accused of indirectly contributing on the grounds that he failed to take steps to protect workers in AmazonFederal police have brought criminal charges against the former head of Brazil’s Indigenous protection agency for alleged acts of omission they believe indirectly paved the way for the murders of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips in the Amazon last year.Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro made Marcelo Xavier the head of the Indigenous agency Funai in July 2019, six months into his environmentally devastating four-year administration. Continue reading...
Lummi Nation in Washington state says it holds transboundary rights and that Canada has failed to ‘consult and accommodate’A tribal nation in the United States is seeking to block approval for a multibillion dollar port expansion in Canada, arguing that it holds transboundary rights and should have been included in consultation process.The effort to block approval of a controversial new container terminal project in Vancouver marks the first major attempt to use a recent landmark decision by the Canadian supreme court, which found that some Indigenous peoples living in the US have rights in Canada. Continue reading...
by Harry Taylor, Martin Belam, Guardian staff and age on (#6BSXH)
Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses Arab League leaders in Saudi Arabia; US to back international effort to train Ukrainian fighter pilotsVolodymyr Zelenskiy has addressed Arab League leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He asked them not to turn a blind eye to what was happening in Ukraine. “Unfortunately there are some among the world, and here among you, who turn a blind eye to those cases and illegal annexations. I am here so everyone can take an honest look, no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must be independence,” he said.After the visit, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister declared the country to be neutral in the conflict.The US has said it will back a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 and other modern fighter jets, marking a significant boost to western support for Kyiv as it prepares a major counteroffensive. The news was welcomed by Zelenskiy and the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, whose RAF will be involved in the initiative.Russia has imposed sanctions on the former US president Barack Obama, in response to the US doing likewise to 300 individuals, companies and institutions. The US measures are largely targeted at energy production.Ukraine claimed it destroyed 19 drones and missiles out of 28 launched on Friday morning. “Three Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea and 16 drones were shot down. Shelling continues on an almost daily basis,” the Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said. Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv, has posted on Telegram to say that five drones were shot down overnight above his western Ukrainian region.Vladimir Putin has said the west is trying to break up Russia into different states based on ethnic and national lines. In a speech on Friday he said the sanctions were helping unite the Russian people rather than divide them. In comments reported by Reuters, he said: “There are attempts to drive a wedge between peoples of our country. They say Russia should be divided up into tens of different states.”The Russian security council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, has claimed that the US was involved in the killing of a pro-war military blogger in a bomb blast in St Petersburg in April, and the car bombing of a nationalist writer and politician earlier in May.More than 100,000 people have enlisted in the Russian army so far this year, the former president Dmitry Medvedev has said, as Moscow seeks to recruit volunteers for its offensive in Ukraine.Five members of a Belarusian regiment fighting with Ukrainian forces have been killed in the flashpoint city of Bakhmut, a Belarusian opposition leader living in exile said on Friday. “Heartbroken by the death of five members of the Belarusian Kastus Kalinouski regiment fighting for Ukraine in Bakhmut,” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter.The G7 group of nations has urged Russia to stop its objection to the renewal of the Black Sea grain deal and told it to halt “threatening global food supplies”.Russia has refused the latest US request for consular access to the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying.A judge is poised to decide whether a Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents, including sensitive information about the war in Ukraine, will remain behind bars while he awaits trial. Jack Teixeira is due back in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, where a magistrate judge is expected to hear arguments on prosecutors’ request to keep the 21-year-old locked up before issuing a ruling.The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by about $3bn, a Senate aide and a defence official told Reuters on Thursday. The error may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defence against Russian forces. Continue reading...
Salvatore Mancuso testified to peace tribunal that rightwing AUC worked hand in glove with business, military and political eliteA notorious former commander of Colombia’s largest paramilitary group has revealed new details of how rightwing death squads worked side by side with the country’s business, military and political elite to sow terror in the countryside and wipe out leftwing insurgencies.Salvatore Mancuso told Colombia’s peace tribunal this week that state institutions were not only complicit in the expansion of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) but actively coordinated with them, giving orders to wipe out anyone suspected of aligning with communist rebels. Continue reading...
Moscow also denied consular access to detained journalist as US imposes more punitive measures in response to Ukraine invasionRussia’s foreign ministry has said former President Barack Obama is among 500 US citizens who will be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington.The ministry also said on Friday that Russia had refused the latest US request for consular access to the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying. Continue reading...
Annual RHS show uses theme of accessibility in effort to broaden appeal of horticultureChelsea flower show has long been a staple of the society calendar, with celebrities and royals making an appearance among the peonies and roses.However, this year, the Royal Horticultural Society is trying to make the show – and horticulture – more inclusive, by putting on special events for children, and encouraging the creation of gardens with an accessibility theme. Continue reading...
Signs that NHS’s inability to offer prompt care is creating surge in people resorting to private carePatients are paying up to £550 an hour to see private GPs amid frustration at the delays many face getting an appointment with an NHS family doctor.Growing numbers of paid-for GP services are opening up across Britain, in the latest sign of how the NHS’s inability to offer prompt care is creating a surge in people resorting to private healthcare. Continue reading...
Korean media praises prime minister’s gesture, known as ‘manner legs’, while some Canadians say it is embarrassing countryJustin Trudeau’s hair has made international headlines, as have his fumbling handshakes and propensity to appear shirtless when cameras are near. Now, the Canadian prime minister’s well-mannered legs are getting their moment in the spotlightAhead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Trudeau and a delegation of Canadian ministers were in South Korea to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as an attempt to salvage a multibillion-dollar battery plant deal. Continue reading...
Police found Alexander Carr in railway embankment tent in London after nationwide manhuntAn “arrogant” killer who provoked a national manhunt after killing a much-loved Sunderland woman has been convicted of murder.Alexander Carr went on the run for 18 days in December last year after stabbing 47-year-old Michelle Hanson to death in her flat. Continue reading...
Former PM’s wife announces pregnancy on Instagram, saying they ‘can’t wait to meet this little one’Carrie Johnson has announced that she and Boris Johnson are expecting their third child, with the expected delivery date just weeks away.Johnson announced on Instagram she was eight months pregnant, saying the baby would arrive in “just a few weeks”. The couple have two other children: Wilfred, who was born in April 2020, and Romy, who was born in December 2021. Continue reading...
Backbenchers seeking meeting with Suella Braverman after prime minister sets new goalRishi Sunak’s change of government targets on immigration has prompted discontent among restless Tory backbenchers, with some now seeking a meeting with the home secretary, Suella Braverman.It comes after the prime minister set a new goal of bringing migration down below the level he “inherited”, which was about 500,000 net arrivals a year when he took office. Continue reading...
The spray can reverse an opioid overdose and access to it has been eased in recent months, but access is still limitedIn late March, the Food and Drug Administration attempted to increase access to naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, by making it available over the counter rather than just by prescription. The move was hailed as a “strong step forward” in preventing overdose deaths by Xavier Becerra, the health and human services secretary.But big hurdles remain, said Dr Bharath Chakravarthy, an emergency physician at the University of California, Irvine, and other providers who treat people who are addicted to opioids. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey, Rowena Mason, Ben Quinn and Aletha A on (#6BT7X)
Carmakers’ criticisms and migration figures add to pressure on Rishi Sunak, who is not trusted by leaversRishi Sunak cut a relaxed figure as he sat in shirtsleeves, clutching a Downing Street mug, chatting to journalists on the plane to the G7 conference in Japan this week. One question ruffled his smooth demeanour, though: what did he make of Nigel Farage’s eye-opening comments the previous evening?Brexit had “failed”, Farage had said. Britain had “not actually benefited … economically” from leaving the EU. And who was to blame for this sorry state of affairs? “Useless” Tory governments. Continue reading...
Prime minister says he wants level of net immigration to fall below the 500,000 it was when he took over. This live blog is now closedIt is a topic Rishi Sunak would no doubt prefer to avoid: the record-breaking jump in net immigration – soon to be revealed in official figures – which is already causing increasingly fractious rows within his cabinet.Even a trip to the G7 summit in Japan was not far enough, with reporters on the flight asking directly whether the prime minister intended to stick to Boris Johnson’s 2019 manifesto pledge to bring net immigration down. Continue reading...
University is latest body to distance itself from sponsorship by owners of Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContinKing’s College London has become one of the latest UK institutions to sever all ties with the Sackler family following outrage over its role in the deadly opioids epidemic in the US.Several other UK organisations that have recently been funded by Sackler cash, including the Royal Opera House, continue to take active steps to distance themselves from the family and expunge all records of their previous ties. Continue reading...
Days before general election, footage emerges showing ‘illegal’ deportation of refugees out of country’s borderThe Greek government is facing fresh condemnation of its migration policies, days before general elections, following the release of video footage depicting the forcible expulsion of asylum seekers who had sought sanctuary in the country.Barely 48 hours before polls open, the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right administration has been put on the defensive by extraordinary documentation of the illegal “pushback”. The footage, taken by an Austrian activist on Lesbos last month, was brought to light by the New York Times, which published the material on Friday, after being “verified and corroborated” by the US outlet. Continue reading...
Appeal court judges say events leading to 16-year-old’s death ‘can only be categorised as extreme’Parents jailed for leaving their daughter to die in squalor have had their sentences increased at the court of appeal.Kaylea Titford, 16, was found in conditions described as “unfit for any animal”, after her death at the family home in Newtown, Powys, in October 2020. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6BT5N)
Britain’s most valuable fintech firm has criticised regulatory hurdles that it says could drive it abroadSenior government ministers have asked to meet the bosses of Britain’s most valuable fintech firm, Revolut, amid reports that the company’s banking licence application may be refused by UK City regulators.The Guardian understands that the stated intention of the meeting is to discuss the government’s growth agenda but it comes amid a series of complaints from businesses including Revolut over regulatory hurdles that their bosses claim could drive firms abroad. Continue reading...
Hundreds of firefighters struggle to contain blaze across at least 7,500 hectares in northern ExtremaduraHundreds of civilian and military firefighters are tackling a wildfire in south-west Spain that has burned across at least 7,500 hectares (18,500 acres) of land and forced the evacuation of more than 500 people since it began on Wednesday evening.Efforts to fight the “very large and difficult” fire in the Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata areas of northern Extremadura are being hindered by strong winds, according to the regional government, which believes the blaze was started deliberately. Continue reading...
Assad is attending summit in Saudi Arabia after 12 years outside bloc over Syrian civil warA smiling Bashar al-Assad has been brought in from the diplomatic cold in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, receiving a warm welcome to a summit of the Arab League.Arriving on a Syrian Airlines jet, Assad took his place at the summit for the first time since the 22-member bloc suspended his country in 2011 after a violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators that led to civil war. Continue reading...
A surprise speaker at the Pen America gala, the author said ‘if it had not been for these people, I most certainly would not be standing here’Salman Rushdie has made his first public appearance since he was stabbed and lost sight in one eye after being attacked at a literary event, joking that it was “nice to be back – as opposed to not being back, which was also an option”.Rushdie was a surprise attendee at the Pen America gala on Thursday night in New York. The author was greeted with a standing ovation according to the New York Times. After his remarks about being back, he said he was “pretty glad the dice rolled this way”. Continue reading...
Conceived by the artistic director of Birmingham Rep, Sean Foley, the award will be open to all with the winner receiving £25,000A new playwriting prize dedicated to comedy has been launched in honour of Victoria Wood on what would have been the standup and writer’s 70th birthday.The Victoria Wood playwriting prize for comedy is the brainchild of Sean Foley, the artistic director of Birmingham Rep. Foley called comedy “perhaps the most difficult genre of all” and said the new award is “the first major playwriting prize for narrative stage comedy in the world”. The competition is open to all, with submissions accepted from September. The winner will receive £25,000. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Unions say move will diminish national security, with temporary staff unable to detain suspected terroristsHundreds of soldiers and sailors are to be trained from Monday to cover striking Border Force guards, as ministers prepare for a potential summer of chaos at ports and airports, the Guardian can reveal.In a move which unions say will diminish security at points of entry to the UK, members of the armed forces will be given five days’ training before checking passports at Heathrow, Gatwick and Dover. Continue reading...
Company has clashed with governor over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, prompting state to strip its self-governing powerDisney has scrapped plans to build a near $1bn (£804m) corporate campus for 2,000 employees in Florida, amid an increasingly bitter political and legal battle with the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, over the future of the entertainment giant’s theme parks.Walt Disney, which has also announced the closure of its $2,500-a-night “Star Wars” Galactic Starcruiser Hotel in Orlando, said it would no longer relocate California-based employees including theme park ride designers to the new campus about 18 miles (30km) east of Walt Disney World. Continue reading...
UNHCR says Myanmar government has refused to allow it to distribute health supplies in Sittwe, where an estimated 90% of Rohingya homes have been destroyedUN staff say they have been denied access to help thousands of Rohingya living in displacement camps in Myanmar who are in urgent need of food, medicine and shelter in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, which struck the west of the country on Sunday.People living in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, said they estimated that about 90% of homes of Rohingya people had been destroyed and more than 100 people killed when winds of more than 150 miles an hour hit the region. However, the refugee agency UNHCR said the Myanmar government has refused access to the camps in Sittwe, home to about 100,000 people. “As yet, UNHCR has not been granted access to carry out needs assessments.” Continue reading...
Acclaimed actor in European art cinema also secured a prominent role in US soap opera DynastyAustrian actor Helmut Berger, who became a star of 60s and 70s art cinema with roles in films such as Luchino Visconti’s The Damned, and Ludwig and Joseph Losey’s The Romantic Englishwoman, has died aged 78. His death was announced by his management agency, which posted a statement on its website saying Berger had “passed away peacefully but unexpectedly” in Salzburg, the city where he grew up.Born Helmut Steinberger in the Austrian spa town of Bad Ischl in 1944, Berger studied acting in London before moving to Italy, where he met and began a relationship with acclaimed director Luchino Visconti, nearly 40 years his senior. Visconti gave him his first acting role, a small part in the comic anthology The Witches, and subsequently cast him in a spectacular role in his landmark 1969 epic The Damned. Berger played Martin von Essenbeck, a scion of a wealthy industrial family who struggle for control over the business in interwar Germany as the Nazis rise to power; for the film, Berger famously performed in drag as Marlene Dietrich and was subsequently nominated for a Golden Globe for most promising male newcomer. Continue reading...
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