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Boy, 14, opens fire in classroom killing eight pupils and a security guard, Serbian interior ministry saysA 14-year-old boy has opened fire in a Belgrade classroom, killing eight children and a school security guard and injuring a further six pupils as well as his teacher, the Serbian interior ministry has said.Police identified the shooter by his initials, KK, and said he had been a pupil at the school in the centre of the Serbian capital since 2009. He had used his father’s gun for the shooting at about 8.40am on Wednesday and was later arrested in the school playground. Continue reading...

Simon Fleming has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including using a fake bomb to create a false sense of danger

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Families in Rhyl decry ‘shameful’ lack of consultation before removal of Drift Park play area to make way for flood defencesThe developer Balfour Beatty and Denbighshire council have been accused of ignoring the needs of children by ripping out a playground in the deprived Welsh town of Rhyl to make way for a £92m flood defence project.People in the town told the Guardian they were given no warning that the popular Drift Park playground would be removed, despite the consultation process having been carried out with global engineering consultants Mott MacDonald. Continue reading...

Queensland police tells coroner it found officers acted appropriately in 2020 incident that left Mohamad Ikraam Bahram dead

RBA official Marion Kohler says recovery in population could have ‘unanticipated or more pervasive effects’

Man approached gates and allegedly threw items suspected to be shotgun cartridges into palace groundsA man was arrested outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after allegedly throwing items – suspected to be shotgun cartridges – into the palace grounds.Officers detained the man at about 7pm after he approached the gates of the palace in central London. Continue reading...

Health secretary now expected to impose two-year deal on members of all 12 unions• UK politics live –latest news updatesThe body that represents more than 1 million NHS staff in England has accepted the government’s improved pay offer, but several unions plan to continue striking for more money.The NHS staff council voted to accept a pay deal covering 2022-23 and 2023-24 thrashed out between the health secretary, Steve Barclay, and unions. Continue reading...

Analysis of Chinese court records shows eightfold increase in cases mentioning exit bans between 2016 and 2022China is increasingly barring people, including foreign executives, from leaving the country, according to a report and research.Scores of Chinese nationals and foreigners have been ensnared by exit bans, according to the report from the rights group Safeguard Defenders, while a Reuters analysis has found an apparent surge in court cases involving such bans in recent years. Continue reading...

Experts say incarceration only increases risk of offending after Queensland police union president’s comments

Access to PCV jabs in South Sudan, Somalia, Guinea and Chad ‘could save 40,000 children a year’Delays in rolling out a vaccine against childhood pneumonia in four of the world’s poorest countries have been blamed for thousands of unnecessary deaths.South Sudan, Somalia, Guinea and Chad are four of the last African nations without the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), one of the most powerful tools against pneumonia in children. Continue reading...

In a decision reached at its meeting today, Australia’s reserve bank will lift interest rates, causing further strain to borrowers

A second firefighter was also taken to hospital with serious injuries after paramedics were called to the Slacks Creek blaze

All the coverage from fashion’s biggest night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This year’s theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. This blog is now closed

Cyberattack resulted in hacking of 4TB of data including IDs, finance reports, accounting data, client documents and credit card details

Musician best known for folk-pop hits such as If You Could Read My Mind and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald continued to tour in his later yearsThe Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, best known for folk-pop hits such as If You Could Read My Mind and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, has died at the age of 84, his family has announced.His longtime publicist Victoria Lord said Lightfoot died at a Toronto hospital on Monday evening. Continue reading...

Australian rugby league boss saying ‘quiet part out loud’ in quest to generate revenue from US betting market, anti-gambling advocate says

Teargas fired amid clashes as unions turn traditional marches into anti-government protest against pension reformFrench police fired teargas and clashed with demonstrators in Paris and other cities on Monday after trade unions transformed their traditional Labour Day marches into anti-government demonstrations against the rise in the retirement age.At least 108 police were wounded and 291 people detained across France as violence erupted in several cities on the sidelines of the main union-led marches, the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said. In Paris, 25 police were injured and 111 people were detained. One police officer suffered serious burns to his hands and face after being hit by a petrol bomb, he said. Continue reading...

Boy, 13, charged with three counts of dangerous driving causing death and unlawful use of a motor vehicle

More than 7,000 such cases reported over quarter, the most in two years, and nearly one out of 10 involved staff

Joyce to step down in November after 15 years at the helm, when he will be replaced by the current chief financial officer

Figure is acceleration in casualties, with most troops killed in brutal trench warfare for eastern city of Bakhmut

Party wants greater taxation on North Sea profits to fund freeze on council tax for cash-strapped UK households

Historic regalia includes Imperial Mantle worn by George IV in 1821 and a white gauntlet made for his grandfather in 1937The king will be attired in historic vestments worn at past coronations during numerous costume changes at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, Buckingham Palace has said.The ceremony will see him layered in heavy shimmering gold cloth, with the oldest item being the Imperial Mantle, spun from gold, silver and silk thread, with a gold bullion fringe and gold clasp, and dating back to the opulent coronation of George IV in 1821. Continue reading...

Exclusive: up to 10 disused cruise liners, ferries and barges sought to help tackle processing delaysThe Home Office is planning to use 10 redundant cruise ships, ferries and barges to house asylum seekers in ports around the country, with Liverpool expected to be next in line as ministers struggle to get to grips with the asylum backlog.Officials have been told to look at “all options” to find housing for people caught up in processing delays, including former military camps and prisons, with the total backlog more than 1,500 higher than in December when Rishi Sunak pledged to clear it within a year. Continue reading...

Move by senior party figures comes after fellow MP said she was worried about how force was handling crimes against womanLabour MPs have spoken to Leicestershire police after Stella Creasy expressed concern about how the force was “dealing with crimes against women” in response to their handling of her harassment case.Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, and Liz Kendall, the shadow health secretary, spoke to police after Creasy criticised their handling of a harassment case against a troll who made a baseless complaint about her to social services. Continue reading...

Carl O’Keeffe was taken to hospital after incident at Kong Adventure Centre but died from his injuriesThe family of a man who died after getting stuck in a cave at an indoor climbing centre in the Lake District say they have been left “broken-hearted”.Carl O’Keeffe, a 49-year-old man from Lancaster, was attending a birthday party with his niece in the Kong Adventure Centre in Keswick, Cumbria on 22 April, Sky News reported. Continue reading...

Fatalities underline dangers in government efforts to evict thousands of miners who have devastated Indigenous territoryBrazil’s battle to reclaim its largest Indigenous territory from tens of thousands of illegal miners has taken a deadly turn after at least five people were reportedly killed during 36 hours of violence in the Amazon’s sprawling Yanomami territory.The bloodshed began on Saturday afternoon when masked illegal miners allegedly launched an attack on a Yanomami village called Uxiu. Continue reading...

Critical shortages of basic goods including water, and bodies piling in streets creating ‘environmental catastrophe’Sudanese medics have described seeing piles of bodies in the streets of the capital, Khartoum, people drinking polluted water, and doctors working under bombardments as the battle between the country’s two warring generals continues despite a threadbare ceasefire.Intense explosions and shelling were audible in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile, on Monday and there were reports of further explosions and clashes in the Bahri and Kafouri districts of Khartoum North. In the south of Khartoum, residents reported that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fired anti-aircraft missiles in response to bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Continue reading...

Photographer Ken Pretty from the town of Dildo spotted an unusual ice formation at sea – an avalanche of risque puns ensuedIt was a calm spring day when Canadian photographer Ken Pretty spotted an interestingly shaped 30ft iceberg off Newfoundland’s east coast.As he flew his drone overhead, Pretty, who hails from the town of Dildo, realized the hulk of ice bore a distinct resemblance to a characteristic part of the male human anatomy. Continue reading...

Labour leader insists party is cutting through with voters as he chats to locals and visits an ice-cream parlourOf all the people Keir Starmer should meet on a bank holiday visit to Blackpool, it was a former neighbour from decades ago who wanted to chat about Kentish Town.Starmer and Carol Morgan, visiting from Potters Bar, had a really warm, nostalgic chat about house numbers and where they had lived in relation to the local swimming pool as the Labour leader ordered ice-creams. Continue reading...

RCN leader urges health secretary to resolve ongoing pay dispute as one-day strike affects cancer and emergency care for first time. This blog is now closed

Women’s rights groups and trade unions write to business secretary over worker protection billWomen’s rights groups and trade unions have written to Kemi Badenoch to plead for her not to scrap the new worker protection bill, saying new laws are badly needed to tackle “endemic” sexual harassment in the workplace.The Fawcett Society and Pregnant Then Screwed were among the groups to call on the business secretary not to allow the legislation to time out, after it became a rare example of a private member’s bill winning government backing. Continue reading...

Country’s largest public sector strike in history ends with most set to return but over 35,000 revenue agency workers still negotiatingCanada’s government struck an agreement with 120,000 federal workers on Monday, effectively ending the country’s largest public sector strike in history, which had crippled services from passport renewals to immigration.While most strikers are set to return to work after almost two weeks of deadlock, more than 35,000 revenue agency workers who also went on strike on 19 April are still negotiating, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) union said. Continue reading...

Ukrainian man’s licence had picture of former UK PM and correct birthdate – but officers did not fall for itDutch police who arrested a man in connection with a drink-driving incident were surprised to find that the name on his driving licence was Boris Johnson.The Ukrainian driver’s fake licence, complete with the former British prime minister’s picture and correct birthdate, was purportedly issued in 2019 and valid until the end of the year 3000. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ombudsman has received 18 official requests to examine grievances against Sciensus since August last yearThe watchdog responsible for investigating unresolved healthcare complaints has been warned repeatedly for nine months about problems with Sciensus, a private company paid millions to deliver vital medicines to NHS patients, the Guardian can reveal.The parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO) is charged with reviewing disputes between patients and the NHS or companies providing NHS services in England. Patients have the right to send formal reports to the watchdog if an organisation has acted improperly, provided a poor service or not put things right. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Increases since 2019 also outstrip funding for free school meals as costs jump, Lib Dems findThe price of school lunches has increased by more than a third in parts of England, increasing the pressure on school finances and family budgets during the cost of living crisis, according to figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats.

Ukraine intercepts 15 out of 18 missiles as Moscow launches strikes apparently designed to hamper Kyiv’s plans for a counteroffensive

Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Joe Biden are expected to discuss the security situation in the South China SeaThe president of the Philippines is meeting his US counterpart in Washington as the two countries draw closer together against what they say is growing aggression and harassment by China.Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Joe Biden will meet in the Oval Office on Monday, during the Philippine president’s four-day US tour. They are expected to discuss the security situation, with the US hoping to strengthen longstanding ties between the two nations as it battles Beijing for influence in Asia. Continue reading...

Prof Marian Knight says action needed to improve diagnosis of condition in which fertilised egg implants itself outside womb

Even stories on cost of living leave journalists facing assault, threats and arrest under Digital Security ActFour weeks ago, a reporter in Bangladesh was hauled from his office, badly beaten – and then thrown from the roof of his building, leaving him with fractures in his back, three broken ribs and a machete wound on his head.The journalist, Ayub Meahzi, believes he was targeted for reporting on alleged local government ties to a criminal group. Continue reading...

Sir Charles Trevelyan was Treasury official during great famine in 19th century when potato crops failedThe former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan has said her family would consider paying compensation to Ireland because of an ancestor’s role in the Great Famine of the 19th century.Her great-great-great-grandfather Sir Charles Trevelyan, a senior British government official, was among those who “failed their people” during the humanitarian catastrophe in the 1840s, she said. Continue reading...

The measure will deliver a ‘more dignified retirement to more Australian workers’, treasurer Jim Chalmers says

Government hopes prominent notifications will be hard to miss as it plans to begin testing new system soon

Unclear whether all British evacuees will be able to reach city more than 500 miles from KhartoumBritish forces will oversee an additional evacuation flight out of Port Sudan as fighting continues to rage in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.British passport holders, as well as doctors with leave to remain in the UK and their dependents, were told to arrive at Port Sudan international airport on the Red Sea coast before midday local time (11am BST). Continue reading...

Writers Guild of America could call stoppage as early as Tuesday if pay agreement is not reachedNegotiators for Hollywood writers and film and television studios are engaged in 11th-hour talks in an effort to avert a strike that would disrupt TV production across an industry grappling with seismic changes.The Writers Guild of America (WGA) could call a work stoppage as early as Tuesday if it cannot reach a deal with companies such as Walt Disney and Netflix. A strike would be the first by the WGA in 15 years. Continue reading...

The $50 daily rate will rise at first only for people over 55 as ministers target cost of living relief at women and long-term unemployed

The actor, who was diagnosed aged 29, said advancing disease had caused him a string of injuries but he was still able to remain optimisticBack to the Future star Michael J Fox described Parkinson’s as a “gift that keeps on taking” in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, in which he described his struggles with the illness.The 61-year-old activist and former Hollywood actor was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease a year after Back to the Future Part III was released in 1990. Continue reading...

South-east Asia must not become ‘an arena for proxy wars’, the nation state’s foreign minister said

Pearson says reconciliation efforts would be ‘dead’ if the proposal is rejected, while a yes vote would have ‘tectonic’ positive change