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CEO of Competition and Markets Authority tells MPs decision not to allow acquisition of Activision Blizzard based on ‘own analysis’The UK’s competition watchdog has denied acting on the orders of the Federal Trade Commission in the US, as it defended its decision last month to block Microsoft’s $69bn (£55bn) acquisition of the Call of Duty creator Activision Blizzard.Speaking to MPs on the business and trade select committee, Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, said that the CMA only acts on its own assessment of the validity of a merger. Continue reading...

Province has 90 actives blazes, 23 of which are out of control, with thousands evacuated and oil and gas production hitTinder-dry weather and shifting winds in western Canada have elevated the risk of spreading wildfires in the province of Alberta where thousands have already been forced from their homes.About 90 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 23 out of control, according to the provincial government. At one point the fires pushed more than 30,000 people out of their homes while oil and gas producers shut in at least 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 3.7% of national production. Continue reading...

Dinah Rose KC receives apology over story concerning her involvement in Caymans same-sex marriage caseA leading lawyer has received “substantial” damages and an apology from the Times over a misleading report that claimed she had been censured by her professional regulator.The story, published in November, concerned controversy over Dinah Rose KC representing the Cayman Islands government in opposing same-sex marriage in a case at the privy council. Continue reading...

Anonymity lifted from Javad Marandi in NCA claim for forfeiture of assets against three other individualsMedia lawyers have described the high court’s decision to permit the naming of a Conservative donor in a global money-laundering case involving a business associate as a boost for open justice.Javad Marandi, who donated more than £663,800 to the Tories between 2014 and 2020, fought a lengthy legal battle with the BBC to remain anonymous in a claim for forfeiture of assets brought by the National Crime Agency (NCA) against three other individuals. Continue reading...

West Yorkshire police said victims were Katie Higton, 27, and Steven Harnett, 25A man and a woman killed in a suspected knife attack in Huddersfield have been named by police.West Yorkshire police said the two victims were Katie Higton, 27, and Steven Harnett, 25, from Huddersfield. Higton was a mother of four children and Harnett was reportedly her new boyfriend. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tenants feel let down by Labor, but Chris Minns insists sale does not meet ‘definition of privatisation’

Big beneficiaries of regional migration during Covid such as Byron Bay have been hit hardest by increasing interest rates, experts say

High court appeal this week is Bromley’s last chance to walk free after being jailed for life

Exclusive: State government steps in as private insurers refuse to provide coverage to organisations working with vulnerable children

Tyron Frampton faces two counts of rape in Oxford and is bailed to appear before crown court next monthSlowthai, the chart-topping rapper who has received nominations for a Grammy award and the Mercury prize, has appeared in court on two charges of rape.The 28-year-old appeared before Oxfordshire magistrates court via video link on Tuesday charged with oral and vaginal penetration of a woman without her consent in Oxford in September 2021. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Scheme is part of push to tackle backlog of more than 90,000 claims submitted before June 2022Up to 20,000 Iraqi and Iranian asylum seekers are to have their claims fast-tracked by the Home Office in a renewed push to clear a backlog, a leaked letter shows.In a significant move to meet Rishi Sunak’s pledge to deal with more than 90,000 claims submitted before last June, claimants from the two countries will be asked to fill in detailed questionnaires in English before facing shortened interviews with officials. Continue reading...

Lawyers claim royal should be allowed to challenge decision preventing him from paying for police protectionA decision to not allow the Duke of Sussex to pay for police protection while in the UK was unlawful, his lawyers have claimed, as he launched a second legal challenge against the Home Office over his security arrangements.At a high court hearing in London, lawyers for Prince Harry argued he should be given the go-ahead to bring a case over the decision of the executive committee for the protection of royalty and public figures (referred to in court papers as Ravec) that people should not be allowed to pay privately for their protective security. Continue reading...

Western weapons give Ukraine best hope against Russia, as highlighted by response to overnight attack on Kyiv

Anthony Albanese pleased Biden has taken up invitation, an honour also afforded to Barack Obama in 2014

University follows other institutions in removing titles of family who make OxyContin painkillerThe University of Oxford will cut its ties with the Sackler family, whose wealth came from addictive opioid drugs, removing the family’s name from buildings, galleries and positions funded through their donations.The university’s governing council approved the measure to strip the Sackler name from two galleries in the Ashmolean Museum and a university library as well as several staff positions, following an investigation earlier this year by Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, Prof Irene Tracey. Continue reading...

Adam Bandt decries ‘massive black hole’ after Parliamentary Budget Office analysis puts cost at $313bn over a decade

Kevin Roberts repeatedly mentions idea criticised as antisemitic trope at conference attended by Tory MPsOne of the main speakers at a conference attended by two cabinet ministers and a series of other Tory MPs has blamed “globalists” for the world’s political problems, repeatedly using a term associated with the far right and antisemitic conspiracy theories.Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, a US thinktank, mentioned the idea, which has been condemned by Jewish groups as an antisemitic trope, more than a dozen times in his address to the National Conservatism (NatCon) event in London. Continue reading...

Sophia Bush, who is following Cheryl to take up a role in the West End thriller, said the unidentified man had made the experience ‘ugly and scary and sad’The new star of the West End play 2:22: A Ghost Story has condemned an attempt to take illicit photographs of actors in their dressing room.The thriller, which has been staged at several London theatres over the last two years, had its first preview at the Apollo on Sunday night with a new cast led by American actor Sophia Bush (from the TV series One Tree Hill). Continue reading...

Men found responsible for audacious break-in at eastern German city’s Green Vault museum in 2019A German court has convicted five men over the theft of 18th-century jewels worth more than €113m from a Dresden museum in 2019, one of the most spectacular heists in the country’s modern history.The men were given prison sentences of between four years and four months and six years and three months. One defendant was acquitted. Continue reading...

Troubled telecoms firm makes first big move under new group chief executive Margherita Della ValleVodafone is to cut 11,000 jobs from its global workforce over the next three years, the largest round of cuts in the troubled telecoms group’s history.The job losses amount to more than a tenth of the 104,000 global staff employed by Vodafone. The company employs about 9,000 people in the UK, including at its headquarters in Berkshire. Continue reading...

Which? and other groups call for intervention as food industry figures gather for summit with Rishi SunakSome meat and vegetable lines at supermarkets have almost doubled in price over the past year, research has found, prompting fresh calls for the government to intervene as food industry figures gather for summit in Downing Street.Annual inflation on supermarket own-label budget items stepped up to 25% in April, according to the data from consumer group Which?, while the rate of price increases on branded goods remained steady at just under 14%. Continue reading...

Frankie Jules-Hough was fatally injured in crash on M66 in Greater Manchester on SaturdayA pregnant woman has died after a motorway crash that also left her son and nephew badly hurt.Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, was fatally injured at about 3.10pm on Saturday on the M66 in Bury, Greater Manchester. Her son Tommy, nine; Tobias Spencer, four, who is believed to be her nephew; and her other son, Rocky, two, were also hurt. Continue reading...

Publications targeted include those about protest and subjects Beijing deems politically sensitiveBooks about the Tiananmen Square massacre, Hong Kong protest movements, and other subjects deemed politically sensitive by Beijing have been removed from the former British colony’s public libraries in the lead-up to the 34th anniversary of the killings.Hong Kong media have reported a marked increase in the number of book and documentary removals, which have been growing since the authoritarian clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the introduction of the national security law in 2020. It has resulted in a major curtailing of political freedoms in the city, and multiple arrests. Continue reading...

PM heads to Council of Europe meeting in Reykjavík, where he also hopes to win backing for Rwanda plan from head of ECHRRishi Sunak will plead with other world leaders at a summit on Tuesday for cooperation to tackle illegal migration as he seeks to reassert his authority over the restless right of his party.He will also seek to use a rare meeting with the president of the European court of human rights (ECHR) to win backing for UK attempts to overcome rules that blocked the first scheduled deportation flight to Rwanda. Continue reading...

Online fashion business loses out as shoppers return to high streets after Covid lockdownsBoohoo.com has dived almost £91m into the red as its annual sales fell and it wrestled with higher levels of returned products as shoppers stepped out of their easy-fit jogging bottoms and hoodies and back on to high streets.The online fast fashion business said sales fell 11% to £1.8bn in the year to 28 February, including a 9% fall in the UK. It warned that sales were likely to fall by as much as 5% in the year ahead as shoppers reined in spending amid cost of living concerns. Continue reading...

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Literacy of nine and 10-year-olds in England was ranked fourth in world in Pirls study, with teachers praisedEngland’s nine and 10-year-olds have taken fourth place in a major international literacy study comparing the reading ability of children of the same age in 43 different countries, up from joint eighth place last time assessments were carried out.The results saw English pupils leapfrog those in high-performing countries like Finland and Poland in the rankings, while pupils in Singapore topped the league table, followed by Hong Kong in second place and Russia coming in third. Continue reading...

Nick Gibb acknowledges concern after teachers and parents raise alarm about difficulty of testThe schools minister, Nick Gibb, has promised to review a controversial Sats paper, which is said to have left some pupils “in tears”, after teachers and parents expressed widespread concern about the difficulty of the test.The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said the English paper, which was taken by 10 and 11-year-olds in year 6 last Wednesday, was so difficult that teachers had struggled to understand the questions. Continue reading...

Progress in international reading literacy study (Pirls) results show Australian students from disadvantaged backgrounds still lag behind national average

Queensland police say an 18-year-old man has been taken into custody after incident at Peace Lutheran College and is helping with the investigation

Lawyer for One Nation leader tells court there is proof he sexually harassed his former staff member, but Burston denies all claims

Kasy Chambers says skyrocketing rents are having flow-on effects on jobs and other services such as aged care

Longtime host of Victoria’s regional statewide drive program is on leave pending her Fair Work Commission claim, broadcaster says

‘We do not want young people having unfettered access to pornography,’ communications minister, Michelle Rowland, says

Joanne Willmot alleges she suffered a decade of abuse, starting at the hands of her foster carer at age three or four

Documents from inquiry into trial show prosecution raised concerns about news article based on leaked report

‘Smile education’ coach Keiko Kawano says more and more people have developed a ‘complex’ about smilingAfter three years of concealing their mouths behind masks, some Japanese people are turning to specialist smile tutors to relearn the art of breaking into a beaming grin without looking awkward.Since lifting the official advice to wear masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, many people have admitted to struggling to adjust to life without face coverings, with some confessing they have forgotten how to smile. Continue reading...

Refugees are among those receiving support since civil war broke out last month – and officials believes more sexual assault cases are going unreportedThere have been multiple reports of civilians being raped by armed men in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum where fighting broke out last month, say government officials.Four women and a girl, three of them refugees, are being supported by a specialist unit whose director said she thought most of the sexual violence in the city was going unreported. Continue reading...

AI could help overcome writer’s block, suggests musician amid industry move to stop perceived threat of fake songsNeil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys has suggested artificial intelligence (AI) could be a useful tool in a songwriter’s kit amid fears over the impact of the technology on the music industry.In an interview with Radio Times, Tennant, who founded the synthpop duo more than 40 years ago, suggested AI could be used to help musicians overcome writers’ block and finish songs. Continue reading...

Leading global media figures among signatories backing publisher, hit with wave of ‘lawfare’ including legislation to stop him hiring UK barristerMore than 100 journalists and editors have signed an open letter calling for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, a British media mogul detained in Hong Kong on national security charges.Leading global media figures including the Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, and Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa called for the charges against Lai and other journalists in Hong Kong to be dropped. Continue reading...

Premier says he is ‘unconvinced’ that new tax will provide benefits as he flags planning system changes

‘This is the third time I’ve walked through and been accused of something,’ shopper tells staff member in video

Brett Johnson, 42, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of misconduct after using police databases to find personal details of women who were seeking help

Exclusive: Qatari minister expected to take presidency of ILO event despite bribery investigationThe UN’s labour rights watchdog, the International Labour Organization (ILO), is facing a backlash over the nomination of Qatar to chair its flagship annual conference despite a police investigation into alleged bribery of EU lawmakers by the Gulf state.The Guardian has learned that Qatar’s minister of labour, Ali bin Saeed bin Samikh Al Marri, is expected to take the presidency of the ILO’s international labour conference in Geneva in June, an annual event intended to advance global standards on workers’ rights. Continue reading...

Minutes from recent meeting say surprise call was ‘finely balanced’ and aimed at diminishing the risks of high inflation becoming entrenched

The ALP’s first national conference under the Albanese government will also debate union proposal for an export tariff on unprocessed critical minerals

Formal signing to take place in Papua New Guinea next week when Joe Biden holds summit with Pacific leaders to emphasise commitment to regionThe US and Micronesia have agreed to renew their strategic pact known as Cofa, Joe Biden’s presidential envoy Joseph Yun has said, adding that he hopes for similar progress with Palau as the US shores up support among Pacific island countries to counter competition from China.Yun said the Compact of Free Association with Micronesia would be signed on 22 May at a ceremony in Papua New Guinea, attended by the US president, Joe Biden, and the new Micronesian president, Wesley Simina. Continue reading...

Union head Ian Leavers says commissioner Katarina Carroll issued ‘unlawful direction’ to officers in April

Charity says number of potential victims identified via helpline more than doubled last yearThe number of potential victims of modern slavery in the UK more than doubled to record levels last year, with a particularly sharp increase in alleged exploitation in the care sector, figures show.Calls to the UK modern slavery helpline identified 6,516 potential victims last year, an increase of 116% from 2021, according to the figures from the anti-slavery charity Unseen. It said the potential victims included 173 children. Continue reading...