World news | The Guardian

Met police say they believe device found near frontbench was put there on purpose to disrupt house businessAn investigation has been launched after a mobile phone found hidden in the House of Commons was reportedly believed to have been planted there to play sex noises during prime minister's questions.The device was found during a routine sweep of the chamber on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Policy lacks support in areas where drilling could start - many of which have Reform MPs or are target seatsMore than a quarter of constituencies that have fracking licences in place are in Reform UK seats or target seats, research has revealed, amid rows inside the party over lifting the ban on the shale gas drilling.A total of 127 constituencies in England and Wales have fracking licences already approved, all of them in the north, research by the Greenpeace-funded journalism website Unearthed found. Of these, 34 are in places where Reform came first or second at the last general election. Continue reading...

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, against 14-year-old girl and a womanAn asylum seeker staying in a hotel in Essex that became the focus of protests has been found guilty of sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl and a woman.Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who had been living in the Bell Hotel in Epping, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one of attempted sexual assault, committed days after arriving in the UK on a small boat. Continue reading...

South-east of country rocked as rescuers struggle to find survivors of first quakeA magnitude 6.2 earthquake has shaken Afghanistan as the death toll from the devastating quake on Sunday rose to more than 2,200.It struck south-eastern regions on Thursday night, according to the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany. It was not immediately clear how much damage there was. Continue reading...

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the suspect who attacked Hollow Water First Nation has also diedOne person has been killed and six others injured in a mass stabbing in an Indigenous community in central Canada, according to federal police who said that the the suspect also died in the incident.The violence occurred in Hollow Water First Nation, a remote community with about 1,000 residents, 217km (135 miles) north of Manitoba's provincial capital, Winnipeg, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told AFP. Continue reading...

Aged care inspector general Natalie Siegel-Brown fears vulnerable older Australians will forgo care because they can't afford it

Prosecution tells hearing Father Ted writer's posts about Sophia Brooks, 18, were oppressive and unacceptable'Graham Linehan, the co-creator of Father Ted, relentlessly" posted abusive and vindictive material on social media about an 18-year-old transgender activist, a court has heard.Linehan's posts about Sophia Brooks were oppressive and unacceptable", the prosecution told a hearing at Westminster magistrates court. Continue reading...

Woman who was immediately sacked when she insulted her manager during a row wins unfair dismissal caseManagers and supervisors brace yourselves: calling the boss a dickhead is not a sackable offence, a tribunal has ruled.The ruling came in the case of an office manager who was sacked on the spot when - during a row - she called her manager and another director dickheads. Continue reading...

Driver, passengers and passersby hurt after bus veers into pedestrian zone near Victoria stationAmbulance services have taken 15 people to hospitalafter a bus veered into a pedestrian zone near Victoria station in central London.The driver of the 24 bus, pedestrians and passengers were injured in the collision on Thursday morning, with witnesses saying they heard a big crash when the bus smashed into barriers at about 8.20am. Continue reading...

Family, marking what would have been Martha's 18th birthday, welcomes adoption of system that gives patients right to request care reviewMartha's rule, which lets NHS patients request a review of their care, is now in operation in every acute hospital in England, health service bosses disclosed on Thursday.The system has helped hundreds of people receive potentially life-saving improvements to their treatment since its introduction began last year. It has led directly to patients being moved to intensive care or receiving drugs they needed, such as antibiotics, or benefiting from other vital interventions. Continue reading...

Former Royal Marine, 53, was arrested after car allegedly driven into crowd celebrating Premier League victoryA man has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges, including dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, after a car was allegedly driven into a crowd of people in Liverpool.Paul Doyle, 53, was arrested on 29 May after allegedly driving through a crowd of Liverpool football club supporters during the team's Premier League trophy parade in the city centre on the evening of 26 May. Continue reading...

Elderly woman with Alzheimer's, medical workers and children among 6,000 Palestinians heldOnly one in four detainees from Gaza are identified as fighters by Israel's military intelligence, classified data indicates, with civilians making up the vast majority of Palestinians held without charge or trial in abusive prisons.Those jailed for long periods without charge or trial include medical workers, teachers, civil servants, media workers, writers, sick and disabled people and children. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: In hosting anti-western leaders at its largest ever military parade, Beijing sent a defiant message that will be heard loud and clear across the worldGood morning. All eyes have been on China this week as the second biggest global economy flexed its muscles.Dozens of world leaders, including from the global south, authoritarian pariah states and the EU, attended China's largest ever military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the war of resistance against Japanese aggression.UK news | Deputy PM Angela Rayner has admitted she underpaid stamp duty on her 800,000 seaside flat, after coming under intense pressure to be more transparent about her property arrangements.Russia | Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong-un to visit Russia during a lengthy meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China's biggest military parade, as Kim promised to do everything I can to assist" Moscow.Police | The Metropolitan police have declined to drop their investigation into the comedy writer Graham Linehan for tweets about trans issues, and said that the law used by officers to detain him needs reviewing.Israel | Israeli drones dropped four grenades near UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon, the agency's force said on Wednesday, in what it described as one of the most serious attacks" on its personnel since a November ceasefire.Portugal | A day of national mourning has been declared in Portugal after at least 15 people were killed when Lisbon's well-known Gloria funicular railway car derailed and crashed on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Former energy tsar suggests the radical step' as one of the few options the government has for cutting billsThe government could save energy users 5bn a year by overhauling the electricity market to stop gas-fired power stations from setting the wholesale price for electricity, according to the former energy tsar.Britain relies on gas plants for about a quarter of its annual electricity use, but they play a much greater role during spells of low wind and low solar generation. Continue reading...

First Steps Learning Academy in Bangor apologises and stands down educator as regulator investigates and mother blames daycare centre

Irfaan Ali will be tasked with turning the profits of Guyana's 2019 oil boom into prosperity for its citizensGuyana's president, Irfaan Ali, has proclaimed victory in this week's general and regional elections after his party won more than 240,000 votes and seven of the country's ten electoral districts.The results are all out there, as published by the Guyana elections commission. The numbers are clear. The people have spoken in an overwhelming way. We have won these elections with a remarkable margin," he told the Guardian on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Shadow justice minister, seen as nurturing Tory leadership hopes, criticises Reform's immigration plans as too weakRobert Jenrick has called for asylum seekers to be detained in camps" with facilities like rudimentary prisons", in an apparent attempt to outflank Reform with his anti-immigration rhetoric.The shadow justice secretary told Tim Shipman at the Spectator of his hope for a decade of net emigration" as Britain now needs breathing space after this period of mad migration". Continue reading...

Reports say New York City mayor encouraged to leave path clear for Andrew Cuomo to take on Zohran MamdaniEric Adams, the embattled mayor of New York, has denied having conversations with Donald Trump about being given a government job in exchange for dropping his re-election campaign.Politico reported on Wednesday that Adams has been offered a position at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, citing a person with direct knowledge of the offer. The mayor met with the president's team during his visit to Florida on Monday, according to the person. Continue reading...

Devolved government says contractors seeking support must prove products will not be used by Israeli militaryThe Scottish government has banned arms companies which supply the IDF from getting grants and investment support, and will freeze support for trade with Israel.John Swinney, the first minister, said on Wednesday any defence contractors who wanted financial help in Scotland would have to prove their products would not be used by the Israel Defense Forces. Continue reading...

Trump criticises victory day event as China caps off week of diplomatic grandstanding seen as rebuke to the westXi Jinping said the world was facing a choice between peace or war as he held China's largest-ever military parade, joined by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in a show of defiance to the west.Putin and Kim, the authoritarian leaders of Russia and North Korea, were among dozens of world leaders who attended the parade, a massive display of military hardware and personnel, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Continue reading...

Russian leader, continuing China visit, is joined by Slovakia's Robert FicoIn the meantime, we have had an update from Ukraine where a man accused of murdering a pro-western Ukrainian politician in the city of Lviv last weekend admitted that he carried out the killing but denied working for Russia, describing the attack as personal revenge," AFP reported.This is my personal revenge on the Ukrainian authorities," the suspect told reporters in a video published by Ukrainian media outlets, denying he worked directly with Russian special services. Continue reading...

Russian president says relations at unprecedentedly high level' as dozens of leaders gather for Victory Day eventsVladimir Putin has hailed Russia's unprecedentedly" high level of ties with China, as dozens of leaders including the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing on the eve of a massive military parade.Putin called China's leader, Xi Jinping, a dear friend" after the two held talks at the Great Hall of the People and then at Xi's personal residence. Continue reading...

Candidate defeats Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns to lead Greens in England and Wales with vision for eco-populism' movementZack Polanski has won the election to lead the Green party in England and Wales, with an overwhelming mandate for the party to adopt his vision to become a mass membership eco-populism" movement directly taking on Reform UK.Polanski, who was the party's deputy leader and is a Green member of the London assembly, defeated Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns by 20,411 to 3,705 votes in a ballot of party members. Ramsay and Chowns, who were standing as a co-leadership team, are two of the Greens' four MPs. Continue reading...

Landslide destroyed a village in the Marra mountains area of western Sudan and left only one survivorMore than 1,000 people were killed in a landslide in western Sudan on Sunday, according to a rebel group that controls the area.The landslide, which followed heavy rain, destroyed the village of Tarasin in the Marra mountains area of western Sudan and left only one survivor, said the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM). Continue reading...

Vogue staffer Malle succeeds Anna Wintour with the title head of editorial content'The biggest job in fashion has finally been filled.Following news that Anna Wintour was stepping back as editor of American Vogue in July, Conde Nast have appointed 39-year-old journalist and Vogue staffer Chloe Malle as head of editorial content at the American fashion magazine. Her role is effective immediately. Continue reading...

Firm returns to profit a year after parent IDS agreed to acquisition by Daniel Ketinsky's EP Group

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The March for Australia demonstrations were promoted by neo-Nazis, anti-lockdown figures and other fringe groupsElon Musk has shared a post on social media that wrongly claims 150,000 people took part in anti-immigration protests in the Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane, despite police confirming the real total of those in attendance was 21,000.Musk shared a post from an X user showing a video of a protest held in Sydney on Sunday, under the banner March for Australia. Continue reading...

Deputy premier threatens to ban practice that was opened as publicly funded service by previous Labor government and then shut down by LNP

Exclusive: Data gathered by Generation Rent shows 37 councils spent 31m in 2024-25 in one-off payments to individual landlordsCouncils across England are increasingly spending millions of pounds a year in incentive payments to private landlords to persuade them to house homeless families, with campaigners describing it as a senseless waste of public money".Data gathered by the campaign group Generation Rent via freedom of information requests showed that 37 councils spent more than 31m on one-off cash payments to private landlords on 10,792 occasions in 2024-25. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary to say an assessment will be carried out of whether Israel has complied with Keir Starmer's termsDavid Lammy will tell MPs on Monday that the UK still intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September, with Israel having shown no sign of meeting the government's demands.The foreign secretary will say in a Commons statement that government officials intend to carry out a formal assessment in the coming days of whether Israel has complied with the tests set out by the prime minister, Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

Brazil's ex-president is expected to be convicted over failed coup - and Fabiano Leitao, who has provoked him for years, is readyWhen Jair Bolsonaro was Brazil's far-right president, the guerrilla trumpeter Fabiano Leitao would stalk him around the capital, Brasilia, to taunt him with renditions of the anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao.In March, when Bolsonaro was charged with plotting a coup, Leitao changed his tune and began provoking the ex-president by serenading him with Chopin's Funeral March. It symbolises his political demise, which is what we want to see," said the 46-year-old musician. Continue reading...

Report from age assurance trial finds multiple fallback options may be needed, as communications minister says there is no one size fits all' solution

Local authorities could be forced to approve new developments, overturning agreed plans, or risk giving planning control to WhitehallAngela Rayner is poised to introduce tougher sanctions on councils in England that block local housing developments.Councils could be forced to approve new housing developments - overturning locally agreed plans - under stricter rules or risk handing over control of their planning departments to Whitehall officials. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Former PM returns to Middle East politics as civil society groups argue that any real solution must begin with Palestinian agencyGood morning. Tony Blair is back and he has plans for the Middle East.No, you have not woken up and jumped back two decades in time. The former Labour leader, who was put under pressure to resign after the disastrous decision to go to war with Iraq - which led to the death of a million Iraqis and created a vacuum later filled by the brutal Islamic State - is back in the headlines this week.Ukraine | The UK and European Union have summoned their Russian envoys after missile strikes on Kyiv killed at least 18 people and damaged British Council and EU offices.UK news | The Treasury is reportedly considering a tax on landlords in the autumn budget that would target income from rents. The proposals are centred on the expansion of national insurance to include rental income.Iran | The UK, France and Germany have formally notified the UN that they have triggered the restoration of sweeping UN sanctions against Iran, giving Tehran 30 days to make concessions on access to its nuclear sites.US news | The White House named non-scientist Jim O'Neill, a deputy of Robert F Kennedy Jr, to serve as acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), amid a standoff over the firing of director Susan Monarez whose lawyers said she could only be removed by Donald Trump himself.Environment | The collapse of a critical Atlantic current can no longer be considered a low-likelihood event, a study has concluded, making deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions even more urgent to avoid the catastrophic impact. Continue reading...

New charge relates to device allegedly placed in Scottish parliament and follows charges relating to possession of indecent imagesThe suspended Labour MSP Colin Smyth has been charged over allegations a secret camera was placed in toilets inside the Scottish parliament.The PA news agency understands that Smyth, 52, faces a further charge from the police in relation to the allegations. Continue reading...

Shooter tried to enter church to carry out attack but failed since doors had been locked when mass began, officials sayAs Minneapolis grappled with the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Catholic school church in which two children were killed and 17 people injured, police said countless lives" had been saved by the church doors being locked as the shooter had not been able to get inside.Two children, aged eight and 10, were killed in the church pews during morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic school church. Fourteen other children, aged six to 15, were also injured, two of them critically, though officials said they were expected to survive. Three adults, parishioners in their 80s, were also injured. Police said the suspect, Robin Westman, 23, killed themself and was found dead behind the church. Continue reading...

Senator Patty Murray calls Trump's immigration policy fundamentally sick' after incident in Washington statePatty Murray, the Washington senator, has called for the Trump administration to provide immediate answers" about reports that two firefighters were detained by border agents as they were responding to a wildfire in the state.Federal immigration authorities on Wednesday staged an operation on the scene of the Bear Gulch fire, a nearly 9,000-acre (3,600-hectare) blaze in the Olympic national forest, where they arrested two people who were part of a contract firefighting crew, the Seattle Times first reported. The fire is the largest currently burning in the state. Continue reading...

Operation at site south of Damascus is deepest into Syrian territory since ousting of Bashar al-Assad last yearIsraeli forces raided a former air defence base in southern Syria on Wednesday during a series of airstrikes in the area - their farthermost such operation inside Syria since Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December.The site, near the city of al-Kiswah, about 6 miles (10km) south of Damascus, was a strategic base for Iranian militias during Assad's rule. Continue reading...

Stretch of Lake Huron shore was promised to Saugeens in 1854 treaty with Crown but wrongly omitted from mapA stretch of beach will be returned to a First Nation in Canada 170 years after it was mistakenly omitted from its reserve. The sandy sliver of land measures less than two miles long, but has nonetheless sparked an outsized battle, with a nearby resort town claiming the case sets a foreboding precedent for property rights in the country.Canada's supreme court said on Thursday that it would not hear a challenge from the town of South Bruce Peninsula, which is contesting a lower court's ruling that the Saugeen First Nation's reserve was erroneously smaller than promised. Continue reading...

Home Office and Bell Hotel owner are challenging high court injunction granted last week to Epping councilA Reform council leader's decision to ban his councillors from engaging with a prominent local newspaper is a massive attack on local democracy" and a sign of things to come should the party form the next government, the outlet's editor has warned.In an unprecedented move, Nottinghamshire county council's four-month-old Reform administration has said it will no longer deal with the Nottingham Post, its online edition and a team of BBC-funded local democracy journalists that it manages.I've been a journalist for 20 years. We have had our ups and downs with all kinds of councils. We managed to get along fine, because most elected officials accept this is par for the course. You are going to get some negative press. What you don't do is shut the shop up.This is a worrying sign of potentially things to come if Reform wins the next election. What you're seeing here in Nottinghamshire is probably a microcosm of how it will be across the whole of the UK if Nigel Farage becomes prime minister. You are just going to see this kind of shutting down of questioning. Continue reading...

Home Office and the Bell hotel owners are challenging Epping Forest council's injunction to stop 138 asylum seekers being housedA ban on housing asylum seekers at a protest-hit hotel would have a serious impact" on the government's ability to house refugees and could incite further demonstrations, the court of appeal has heard.The Home Office and the owners of the Bell hotel in Essex have launched an appeal against the temporary injunction granted to Epping Forest district council (EFDC) last week. Continue reading...

Struggling brand sold by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos, which is to take strategic investment' in Castore's holding companyBelstaff, the struggling British fashion brand known for its heritage motorcycle gear, has been bought by the sportswear group Castore from the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos.Under the deal, the terms of which have not been disclosed, Ineos will make a significant strategic investment" in Castore's holding company. Continue reading...

Alleged footage was shared on social media and amplified by figures including Elon Musk and Tommy RobinsonPolice Scotland have warned the public not to share misinformation about an incident in Dundee involving a 12-year-old girl after online speculation was amplified by Elon Musk.Scotland's first minster has also accused the multibillionaire X owner of undermining community cohesion. Continue reading...

Labor announced on Thursday Create NSW's Arts and Cultural Funding Program will provide financial assistance for 62 organisations statewideArts organisations and galleries across New South Wales have voiced their relief after the state government announced $15.4m funding over two years, allaying worries of a looming crisis for NSW's regional galleries.Sixty-two arts organisations across NSW will receive $15.4m funding for the next two years through Create NSW's Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP), the state government announced on Thursday, with $7.5m going to 31 regional arts organisations, including 10 regional galleries. Continue reading...

Loretta Quinn took out a personal safety intervention order against Dezi Freeman after a disagreement about him accessing her property

Phica posted altered photos, with vulgar and sexist captions, of women including prime minister Giorgia MeloniA pornographic website that posted doctored photos of a host of high-profile Italian women, including the prime minister, Giorgia

Overnight raid kills more than a dozen people as European leaders condemn deliberate' targeting of civilians and institutionsUkrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has now responded to the overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv, criticising Moscow for horrific and deliberate killing of civilians."The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only constant expansion of atrocities," she said.Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were hit: residential houses, office centers, civilian enterprises. Among them also the building where the European Union Delegation to Ukraine is located.Russians now believe that they have paralyzed Ukraine's allies with feigned plans for negotiations' and endless delays that only serve as methods to buy time with the true goal only of preventing sanctions.My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building.Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. Continue reading...

Move by trio of European powers gives Tehran 30 days to improve access for inspection of its nuclear sitesThe UK, France and Germany have formally notified the UN that they have triggered the restoration of sweeping UN sanctions against Iran, giving Tehran 30 days to make concessions on access to its nuclear sites or face deeper worldwide economic isolation.UK officials said the decision had not been taken lightly and there had been intensive diplomacy to try to avert this step. The officials stressed there was still room for some last-ditch diplomacy before the sanctions snapback" comes into force in 30 days' time. The annual high-level UN general assembly in September is likely to host more intensive diplomacy over the situation with Iran. Continue reading...