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Prime minister James Marape was at pains to say he did not want to be forced to make a choice between the US and ChinaHe may have just signed a new defence cooperation agreement with the United States, but the prime minister of Papua New Guinea was determined to make it clear that he did not want to be forced into making a binary choice between Washington and Beijing.Speaking after the deal was struck, James Marape reflected the view of Pacific leaders that they should not simply be seen as chess pieces in a broader geopolitical struggle,as China and the US step up their efforts to expand their influence among Pacific island countries. For Pacific countries, their priorities lie in their development needs and action on the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Health declaration to last 180 days, as world’s biggest exporter of chicken meat detects virus for first time everBrazil has declared a state of animal health emergency for 180 days in response to its first ever detection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in wild birds.Brazil – the world’s biggest chicken meat exporter with US$9.7bn in sales in 2022 – has so far confirmed eight cases of the H5N1 in wild birds, including seven in Espirito Santo state and one in Rio de Janeiro state. Continue reading...

Simon Fleming was armed with a fake bomb and fired his rifle at cars and in the air in Windang in 2021

Forecast full-year result is underpinned by a flying schedule that is more profitable than before the pandemic, airline says

Met apprehends 18-year-old after clip of man entering home in Hackney and briefly sitting on sofa was shared on social mediaPolice have arrested a man, 18, after a video posted on social media showed people entering a private home in Hackney, east London, Scotland Yard said.The Met said on Monday night: “An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and is currently in police custody. Continue reading...

Self-described partisans the Freedom of Russia Legion say they launched cross-border raid from Ukraine

Kathryn Campbell appointment made before royal commission evidence went ‘beyond what was envisaged’

CoreLogic says if increase is maintained, prices will be 4% higher at the end of 2023, defying forecasts of falls of 10% or more

Northern Irish actor, who often played warriors in productions including Rome and Vikings, was hospitalised suddenly while filming in ItalyRay Stevenson, the Northern Irish actor who played the villainous British governor in RRR, Volstagg in the Thor films and a main antagonist in the upcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka, has died aged 58.Representatives for Stevenson said he had died on Sunday, four days before his birthday. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported he had been hospitalised with a sudden illness on the island of Ischia, while in production on the film Cassino in Ischia. Continue reading...

Deal to stop violence comes as journalists’ syndicate accuses paramilitary group of targeting reportersA weeklong ceasefire in Sudan intended to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid got off to a shaky start on Monday evening as witnesses in the capital, Khartoum, reported fighter jets over the city and continued fighting in some areas.The US and Saudi Arabia announced the deal to stop six weeks of fighting, saying it would come into force at 9.45pm (7.45pm BST). World powers had put pressure on the army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to sign a deal. Previous attempts have fallen apart. Continue reading...

Police clash with young people throwing fireworks after being called to serious car crash in ElyPolice officers are facing “large-scale disorder” at the scene of a serious road traffic collision in Cardiff.Officers were called to the scene of the crash on Snowden Road in Ely shortly after 6pm on Monday. Scenes being livestreamed on YouTube showed young people throwing fireworks and other missiles at a line of police officers with riot shields who were blocking one end of the street. Continue reading...

Review recommends legislative changes in England and Wales to counteract ‘pernicious’ myths contaminating court casesGreater restrictions should be introduced on the use of rape complainants’ personal records and evidence relating to their sexual behaviour to avoid rape myths contaminating trials in England and Wales, a government-commissioned review has said.The Law Commission suggested that legislative change was necessary to address the decline in rape prosecution and conviction rates since 2016, warning that “pernicious” myths and misconceptions about rape and sexual assaults “filter through the breadth and depth of the criminal justice system”. Continue reading...

Treasurer Tim Pallas to hand down ninth budget on Tuesday with all eyes on debt recovery plans

Former deputy PM not planning to contest Esher and Walton seat, after quitting cabinet over bullying claimsDominic Raab will stand down as an MP at the next general election, weeks after he quit Rishi Sunak’s cabinet over bullying claims.The former deputy prime minister, who had once been regarded as a potential leader of the Conservative party, resigned last month after a report on allegations of bullying found he had been “unreasonably aggressive”. Continue reading...

BND intelligence service is finding expectations of flexible working and taking a mobile to the office are affecting recruitmentJames Bond was famously given the licence to kill by MI6, as part of his role as a British secret agent.Today’s wannabe spies are more likely to ask for something else: permission to work from home – a cultural shift that has hit recruitment figures for Germany’s intelligence service. Continue reading...

PM has asked for further information before decided whether ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus will be asked to investigate Braverman. This blog is now closed

Move comes after inquiry found children had faced ‘limitless’ cruelty with complicity of institutionsThe government is to launch a compensation scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse in England, the home secretary has said.The scheme is in response to the findings of a seven-year inquiry that revealed failings by schools, local authorities and other institutions to protect and safeguard the children in their care. Continue reading...

Permanent secretary told about alleged request in autumn, say sources, as home secretary fails to calm Tory nerves in CommonsThe most senior civil servant in the Home Office was made aware of allegations that Suella Braverman wanted civil service help in dealing with a speeding fine, the Guardian understands.The development raises questions about how many other senior officials and ministers across Whitehall were then informed about the claims, and puts pressure on the prime minister to order an investigation into the allegations. Continue reading...

Paul Hawkes says claims that he hacked Hugh Grant’s emails on behalf of Daily Mirror are ‘fantastical'Press reform campaigners threatened to “destroy” a private investigator because he refused to help their campaign against newspaper groups, it has been alleged at the high court.Paul Hawkes, a veteran private investigator, said claims that he hacked Hugh Grant’s emails on behalf of the Daily Mirror were “fantastical” and “made-up”. After being presented with a supposed invoice for the work, Hawkes mocked the idea he would have carried out such a serious act for such a small sum, telling the court: “You’re saying I got it hacked by a third party for £150? Come on!” Continue reading...

Country unveils new banknote as currency plummets with inflation on course to 130%Argentina’s new 2,000-peso bill, the country’s largest-denomination note, went into circulation on Monday, though due to fast depreciation of the currency it is worth only $8.50 at the official exchange rate and just over $4 in commonly used parallel markets.The peso has shed about a quarter of its value against the dollar this year despite strict capital controls that slow its fall. Most Argentinians buy dollars in unofficial markets where they trade at over 480 pesos versus the official rate of 235. Continue reading...

Family of Rachel Rose Gibson believe she had heart attack at home five minutes from hospital in WrexhamA 58-year-old woman died alone curled up in a blanket on the floor of her bedroom as she waited more than five hours for an ambulance.Relatives of Rachel Rose Gibson believe she had a heart attack at her home in Wrexham, north Wales, only a short drive away from a hospital, but died before an ambulance reached her. Continue reading...

Kyiv says Russia carrying out airstrikes on Bakhmut; Russian state-owned media says Putin informed of claim Ukrainian forces attempted to infiltrate Belgorod region. This live blog is now closed

Exclusive: research reveals 350 low-paid workers a day are raising complaints about errors in benefit top-upsMore human contact is needed in the UK’s automated welfare system, ministers have been warned, as it emerged 350 low-paid workers every day are raising complaints about errors in welfare top-ups, causing financial hardship and emotional stress.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) handled 126,286 disputes about errors made by its decade-old automated “real-time information” (RTI) system in 2022, a freedom of information request revealed. Continue reading...

Death of headteacher Ruth Perry prompts calls for employers to have to report when workers take own livesWork-related suicides should be reported by employers and investigated by the safety watchdog amid concern that workplace stress is at “epidemic levels”, trade unions have said.They fear the death of the primary school headteacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself while awaiting the outcome of an Ofsted report, shows that potentially fatal work-related stress is not confined to teaching.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Lancashire woman met Michelle Obama, commanded a warship, performed with Peter Kay and drove a tankVery few people would be able to say they had commanded a Royal Navy ship, met Michelle Obama and presented a television weather forecast.But Laura Nuttall from Barrowford in Lancashire did not let a terminal cancer diagnosis stop her from ticking off an impressive bucket list before her death on Monday at the age of 23.Went fishing with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer (she caught a pike, they caught nothing)Graduated with a 2:1 in politics, philosophy and economics from Manchester UniversityDriven a monster truck, a bus, a 650-tonne crane, a tractor, a digger and a tank (after her driving licence was revoked due to seizures)Met Michelle ObamaHad a pub lunch with Peter Kay and danced on stage with him in front of 10,000 peopleHad a song dedicated by Johnny MarrDrove a London Underground tube trainCompleted a skydivePresented the weather on the BBC (“I thought it would be quite easy, but it’s really not.”)Commanded a Royal Navy warshipSpent a day with police tackling a simulated riotTravelled to the USWent on safari in South AfricaWatched the Women’s Euro final at Wembley and received a video message from England captain Leah WilliamsonWent sailing around the west coast of Scotland with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer TrustVisited the Uncle Joes’s Mint Balls factory in Wigan and also the Heinz factory, receiving tins with her name onHad a video chat with Malala YousafzaiVisited the Royal Mint and pressed a 50p coinHad tea at the Ritz with newscaster Sophie RaworthRan a marathon Continue reading...

Search reportedly to take place at behest of German authorities about 25 miles from where Madeleine went missingAn active search for Madeleine McCann is to be carried out for the first time in nearly a decade in a reservoir in Portugal, according to reports.Police officers are to search Barragem do Arade reservoir near the town of Silves in the Algarve, according to German media, about 25 miles (40km) from Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared aged three from her family’s holiday apartment on 3 May 2007. Continue reading...

Judicial sources say incident during Real Madrid’s match with Valencia is being treated as possible hate crimeSpanish prosecutors have opened an investigation over racist chants hurled at Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior during a weekend match, as the head of Spain’s football federation admitted the country had a “problem” with racism.The prosecutor’s office in the eastern city of Valencia, where the game took place, was investigating the incident as a possible “hate crime”, judicial sources said, after Luis Rubiales of the Royal Spanish Football Federation called for zero tolerance. Continue reading...

Swiss authorities have launched an investigation into the deaths and said they cannot rule out that the three died in an avalancheThree Dutch mountaineers who had been missing for days have been found dead in the Swiss Alps, and police suggested they may have been victims of an avalanche.Two men aged 32 and 40 and a 30-year-old woman had been hiking in the southern Swiss canton of Valais when they disappeared, regional police said on Monday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK foreign secretary has been using jet that costs more than £10,000 an hour to hire for Caribbean and Latin America tourIn the cut-throat world of hit TV show Succession, it is the go-to private jet for the Roy dynasty, providing a backdrop to the programme’s high-level plotting amid luxury leather upholstery.Now it has emerged that an Embraer Lineage 1000E – lauded as “the crème de la crème of private business jets” – has also been the choice of aircraft for the British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, on his eight-day tour of the Caribbean and Latin America. Continue reading...

Kyriakos Mitsotakis says he will not try to form coalition after his party fell five seats short of majorityRiding high on an election victory few expected, Greece’s prime minister has said he will push for a repeat poll “as soon as possible” after a landslide win that left the centre-right leader short of a parliamentary majority under a new voting system.Hours after his New Democracy party clinched almost 41% of the vote – 20 percentage points ahead of its main rival, the leftwing Syriza, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he would not waste time trying to form a coalition government. Continue reading...

Lyn Rigby says she believes soldier son killed in Woolwich would be proud of work helping bereaved military familiesLyn Rigby, the mother of the murdered soldier Lee Rigby, says she speaks to her son every morning and can still feel his presence a decade after he was killed.Fusilier Rigby, 25, was killed on 22 May 2013 by terrorists near his barracks in Woolwich, south London. His attackers, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, were found guilty of his murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Continue reading...

Exclusive: A taxpayer-funded online employability course that included videos on body language contained ‘not curriculum-endorsed materials’

Just 16.2% of all rentals listed for $400 or less in April 2023, down from 30.2% in 2022

Calls for reform grow with daughter of patient saying families should be notified when police are deployed to aged care homes

Mission Australia report finds demand for its services has jumped as CEO says government needs far more than ‘Band-Aid crisis solutions’

Exports of fruit have fallen from £248.5m in year to March 2021 to £113.8m in 12 months to March 2023

Failure of appeal paves way for possible byelection in former SNP MP’s Scottish constituency

Exclusive: Statistics watchdog speaks to Treasury staff after chancellor conflates fall in debt with a less steep rise than first predicted

Home secretary should instead have been upfront about her speeding last summer, says Nick Freeman

Some members of justice group pull out from art project over lack of input in formal pandemic inquiry

Tory senior treasurer Mansour says he wants to assist ‘very capable prime minister’ Rishi Sunak

DfT tells operators wifi is low priority for travellers and they need to justify business case for itTrain passengers face losing access to wifi after the government told rail companies to stop providing the service unless they can demonstrate its business case.The move is being pushed by the Department for Transport (DfT) in order to cut costs as it looks to “reform all aspects of the railway”. Continue reading...

Home secretary confirms she has accepted points on her licence but denies breaking ministerial codeSuella Braverman has insisted that “nothing untoward happened” over claims she broke the ministerial code in allegedly asking civil servants to assist over a speeding fine.Her comments came after No 10 confirmed Rishi Sunak has spoken to his ethics adviser over the issue, although no formal inquiry has yet begun. Continue reading...

Indian presidency of group becomes mired in controversy as tourism session hosted in disputed territoryIndia’s presidency of the G20 group of leading nations has become mired in controversy after China and Saudi Arabia boycotted a meeting staged in Kashmir, the first such gathering since India unilaterally brought Kashmir under direct control in August 2019.The meeting, a tourism working group attended by about 60 delegates from most G20 countries taking place from Monday to Wednesday, required a large show of security at Srinagar international airport. Continue reading...

Fire began shortly after midnight at school serving mostly Indigenous young people aged 12-18, say officialsAt least 20 pupils have been killed in a fire in a school dormitory in Guyana, authorities have said.The Guyanese government said in a press statement that the fire broke out in the dormitory building of a secondary school in the south-western border town of Mahdia, 200 miles (320km) south of the capital, Georgetown. Continue reading...

State bailed out lender, formerly known as RBS Group, in near-£46bn deal during 2008 financial crisisThe UK government has sold a £1.26bn stake in NatWest, taking the state’s shareholding below 40% for the first time since the bank’s emergency bailout in 2008.It marks the sixth block sale of NatWest shares since the financial crisis, and brings the government one step closer to returning NatWest to full private ownership. Continue reading...

Transmission lines in the US need to be increased threefold, but faces pushback from fossil conservation and green groupsAmerica’s renewable energy drive needs more than a million miles of new transition lines but emerging resistance includes opponents worried about building them in one of the country’s richest areas of ice-age fossils.The Greenlink West project would build a 470-mile-long transmission line bringing clean electricity north to Reno in Nevada, but it cuts through an area containing everything from woolly mammoth tusks to giant sloths to ancient camels. Continue reading...

Labels will alert people to calories, risk of cancer and liver disease and dangers of drinking while pregnantIreland is to become the first country in the world to mandate health labelling on alcoholic drinks to alert people to calorie content, grams of alcohol, risks of cancer and liver disease and dangers of drinking while pregnant.The health minister, Stephen Donnelly, signed the legislation on Monday and said he looked forward to other countries following the example – a prospect that has worried Italy’s winemakers and people in several other EU member states. Continue reading...

British Medical Association to put government offer to hospital doctors, who had voted to take strike actionHospital doctors in Scotland have been offered a cumulative 14.5% pay rise in a fresh attempt by Scottish ministers to avert highly disruptive strikes.Junior doctors had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in Scotland for the first time after rejecting the original Scottish government offer, in a dispute closely mirroring the industrial action by doctors in English hospitals. Continue reading...

Typhoon projected to affect US territory of Guam as early as Tuesday. Elsewhere, Europe is heating upOver the weekend, a rapidly intensifying region of thunderstorms in the western Pacific culminated in the formation of Typhoon Mawar.The movement of this storm is projected to affect the Mariana Islands, including the US territory of Guam, as early as Tuesday. There is a risk of wind speeds above 75mph, with torrential rain. Continue reading...