World news | The Guardian

Rescue organisations say passengers on boat attempting crossing from Libya to Italy are feared deadSeveral dozen people are missing and feared dead in the central Mediterranean after the boat in which they were travelling from Libya capsized in bad weather, two rescue organisations have said.The Mediterranea Saving Humans NGO tweeted that according to several sources, the vessel, travelling in the direction of Italy, capsized this morning about 110 miles (180km) north-west of Benghazi. Continue reading...

Corporation’s sports coverage severely disrupted as presenters and pundits pull out in solidarity with LinekerMatch of the Day viewing figures were unaffected by the absence of Gary Lineker on Saturday night.The shortened 20-minute version of the show had no commentary, presenters, or pundits after staff walked out in solidarity with its host Gary Lineker. Even the show’s theme music was dropped, as the BBC dealt with the fallout after suspending its highest-paid star. Continue reading...

Exclusive: report describes culture of low fees and exploitation as research finds median hourly rate of £2.60 an hourArtists working in the public sector are struggling to stay afloat amid a culture of low fees, unpaid labour and systemic exploitation, research shows.A survey of people engaged by everything from flagship galleries to smaller projects found an overall median hourly rate of £2.60 an hour, dramatically below the UK minimum wage of £9.50. Continue reading...

Tower Hamlets council’s failure to stop overcrowding has sparked allegations of ‘negligence’ by residents’ associationResidents repeatedly warned a council landlord about a dangerously overcrowded flat but the problem was not solved before a fatal fire left one man dead, the Guardian has learned.At least 18 men, mostly students and delivery couriers from Bangladesh, were squeezed into bunk beds in a two-bedroom flat in the Maddocks House council block in Tower Hamlets, east London. Some residents slept in the kitchen, a source said, and the tenants together paid the flat’s private leaseholder owner about £8,000 a month. Continue reading...

ITUC removes Luca Visentini from role in wake of disclosure he took money from main suspect in Qatargate bribery scandalAn Italian union leader has been sacked from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) after he disclosed taking money from the main suspect in the Qatargate bribery scandal that has shaken the European parliament.Luca Visentini was removed from his position as ITUC general secretary on Saturday, following the results of an investigation into allegations against him. “The meeting decided that Luca Visentini no longer had the confidence of the general council as ITUC general secretary,” the trade union body said in a statement. Continue reading...

Ian Wright and Piers Morgan support BBC presenter’s right to express views while Suella Braverman and Lee Anderson are critical

Joint action comes after 100 asylum seekers removed from Greenwich hotel against their will last monthTwo-thirds of London’s councils have signed a letter to the home secretary calling for a major shake-up of the government’s hotels policy for asylum seekers.The unprecedented joint action follows the removal of 100 asylum seekers from a hotel in Greenwich against their will last month, a move that has generated concern across the capital’s councils. About 40 asylum seekers refused to move from the Greenwich hotel to one in Dunstable in Bedfordshire and are still there. Both hotels have been targeted by far-right protests. Continue reading...

Exclusive: BBC asked department to remove footage from tweet of video explainer of legislationHome Office officials altered a Twitter post about the illegal migration bill to remove an image of the newsreader Huw Edwards after complaints from the BBC.The tweet, which contains a video explainer for the divisive legislation, was posted on Tuesday by the Home Office from its official account and initially the accompanying image seen on Twitter feeds was of Edwards, the veteran broadcaster. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Arvato, which fitted the meters in England and Wales, made 122,536 requests and had only 11 rejectedThe debt collection agency that force-fitted prepayment meters for vulnerable British Gas customers made a third of all warrant of entry applications in England and Wales last year, the Guardian can reveal.Arvato Financial Solutions, a company used by the energy supplier to pursue debts, made 122,536 applications to gain entry into homes last year – and had just 11 rejected. Continue reading...

Protest leaders say zoo’s move from Clifton to out-of-town spot is being done to make moneySeven-year-old friends Lilah and Inti – dressed as a lion and leopard respectively – were among the most vocal of the protesters. They marched through the streets of Clifton in Bristol shoulder to shoulder, chanting “Leave our zoo alone! Hands off our zoo!”. They paused only to discuss what their favourite animals had been – and decided on the butterflies. “They were so pretty and would land on you,” said Lilah.The pair were among hundreds of people, young and old, who took part in a demonstration on Sunday calling for the reversal of a decision to close Bristol Zoo Gardens. Continue reading...

Events planned UK and Ireland, including a British Library exhibition, to mark 400 years since complete works first publishedFour hundred years ago, a small band of William Shakespeare’s loyal friends and fellow thespians embarked on the complicated challenge of bringing his complete works together in one bound volume. Whether it was an act of love and respect or a money-making venture is unknown.But without the First Folio, published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, half his plays would be lost. Now in this quarter-centenary year, institutional and private owners of First Folios will make their copies available to be viewed by the public across the UK and Ireland. Continue reading...

Robert Buckland voices concerns that illegal migration bill would in effect reverse ban introduced under Cameron governmentFormer ministers are expected to pile more pressure on the government to rethink plans to allow the detention of families with children as part of the illegal migration bill.The former justice secretary Robert Buckland said he was uncomfortable with the plan to reduce small boat crossings that would in effect reverse a ban on child detention implemented under David Cameron. Continue reading...

Forty schools took in record £29m in 2020-21 from satellites, including in developing countriesEnglish private schools are rushing to open lucrative satellite academies abroad, including in some of the world’s poorest countries, to funnel back millions of pounds in profits to pay for their charitable obligations.Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam are among the latest targets for English private schools aiming to expand overseas, in many cases in partnership with property developers looking to build luxury developments or even entire cities. Continue reading...

It may speed up peace talks between Riyadh and the Houthi movement, but it risks locking out other groupsThe new detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran is likely to have major implications for the civil war in Yemen, possibly speeding up peace talks between Riyadh and the Houthi movement, but it also risks locking out other groups, including the main separatist faction, women and western governments.Saudi Arabia has been holding private direct talks in Oman with the Houthi movement since October but the main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has warned it will not feel bound by any deal if it extends to issues of the administration, security or distribution of resources in the south of the country. Continue reading...

Former Foreign Office chief Moazzam Malik said he had seen bad behaviour over 25 years as a civil servantUnfair behaviour from ministers is damaging government policymaking, meaning civil servants may feel afraid to give frank advice, a former senior adviser to Dominic Raab has said.Raab is under investigation over eight separate complaints across three ministerial departments. The inquiry into his behaviour by the independent investigator Adam Tolley KC is likely to be complete within the next month. The probe will only “establish the specific facts” surrounding the claims, on which Rishi Sunak will then rule. Continue reading...

Benefit will depend on how much parents can afford to contribute, with wealthier families getting ‘an extra leg up’, critics say

Mutual obligation system subjects some participants to ‘punitive conditions’, commonwealth ombudsman says

From Nottingham to the Isle of Wight, people lament losing sense of community as well as facilities

Analysis shows parts of country with greatest health-related deprivation have lost out the most

Disruption to sports programming continues into second day as pressure grows on BBC chairman Richard Sharp

Some hosts had trouble accessing support but 88% of those who took in Ukrainians would do so again

PM will pick up cost of upgrade work in North Yorkshire, and no suggestion he received preferential treatmentRishi Sunak’s new private heated swimming pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded to meet its power demands, the Guardian has been told.While many Britons are facing increased electricity bills – and are trying to limit their energy usage – extra equipment was recently installed in a remote part of North Yorkshire to provide extra capacity from the National Grid to the prime minister’s constituency home. Continue reading...

This week’s budget expected to include support to ease financial pressure, but attached to greater obligations to seek workPoorer working parents are to be given more help with the costs of childcare as part of this week’s budget, after warnings that support for them has been severely eroded, and that claiming it is too complicated.Parents eligible for help through universal credit will now be given childcare funding upfront, while it is understood that the amount they can claim will increase by hundreds of pounds. However, the budget will also contain more obligations on such parents to search for work and there will be a general tightening of sanctions aimed at those on welfare. Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves to visit US to learn from senior Democrats about ambitious regional recovery planThe Labour party is planning to put the UK at the head of a worldwide green industrial revolution, with a massive US-style, public-private investment scheme targeted at the most deprived regions.In an interview with the Observer, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, who will travel to Washington in May to meet senior Democrats, says a Labour government will follow the model of US president Joe Biden’s hugely ambitious regional recovery plan, using the climate crisis as the catalyst for economic revival. Continue reading...

Websites appear to be defying a UK ban on advertising prescription drugs by urging customers to register their interest in the new weight-loss injectionAs controversy raged about the new weight loss drug approved for use on the NHS, retail chain Superdrug was last week urging customers to register interest in the injection.Though advertising prescription drugs is in theory banned, the online ad reflected public enthusiasm for what is widely called a wonder drug. Some experts warned of a false dawn, and advised ministers against “jumping on a bandwagon”. Continue reading...

Jewish leaders join Stephen Cottrell in urging government not to penalise ‘world’s most vulnerable’ as charities and businesses voice horror in open letterThe government’s new asylum and migration law “amounts to cruelty without purpose” and is “immoral and inept”, the Archbishop of York has said in a powerful intervention over plans unveiled last week.Stephen Cottrell’s condemnation came as a coalition of more than 350 charities, businesses, unions and legal groups condemned Rishi Sunak’s “cruel and unworkable” plans to detain and immediately deport those coming to the UK in small boats. Continue reading...

Authorities say community still in town could be isolated for up to two weeks with water levels continuing to rise

Julian Leeser says Australians deserve to know what the solicitor general said about the power of the voice to advise executive government

Premier uses Liberal campaign launch to pledge up to $400 annually for children to be used on education or housing once turning 18

More than a thousand nude swimmers stripped off and plunged into Sydney Harbour for the annual event held for the first time since 2019

Government declares state of emergency after major damage and disruptions in northern regionsAt least six people have died in Peru as a powerful cyclone unleashed torrential rains, battering hundreds of homes and causing major disruptions in northern areas.The government has declared a state of emergency as it seeks to bring relief to regions including Lambayeque, Piura and Tumbes hit by the cyclone known as Yaku. Continue reading...

ANC leader was accused of failing to report theft of foreign cash hidden in sofas at his ranchSouth Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog has reportedly cleared president Cyril Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in a preliminary report on a cover-up scandal known as “farmgate”, involving between $580,000 and $5m of foreign currency hidden at his private game farm.The Public Protector said it had notified implicated parties of the preliminary findings of its probe over the theft of the cash from Ramaphosa’s luxury farmhouse – something the president is accused of having attempted to conceal. Continue reading...

More knowledge needed about whether vaping is a ‘stepping stone’ to smoking and to raise awareness of harmful effects among youth, premier says

Broadcaster admits output will be limited, including much reduced Match of the Day, after presenters’ show of solidarity

‘Barbaric’ to take away exam chance after all teenage refugees have overcome, headteacher saysTwo 16-year-old Afghan refugee girls will not be able to sit their GCSEs because the Home Office is moving them out of London weeks before their exams without guaranteed school places, their “heartbroken” headteacher has told the Observer.Fulham Cross Girls School, an academy in London, enrolled 15 Afghan girls who were evacuated to the UK when the Taliban took power in 2021. They have been living in bridging accommodation in a hotel for a year and a half, but all the families were notified last week that they would be moved out of London at the end of March. Continue reading...

Gunman was given a firearms permit despite several psychological red flagsGun laws in Germany, where weapon ownership is among the highest in Europe, could be further tightened after last week’s mass shooting in which seven people, including an unborn child, were killed in a Jehovah’s Witness hall in Hamburg.The attack has thrown up the perennial question of whether the various parts of the country’s federal system are working together, and strengthened the hand of those in the governing coalition who are seeking stronger gun controls. Continue reading...

Hospital chiefs urge BMA and health department to talk over weekend to avert strike set to begin on MondayNext week’s three-day strike by junior doctors in England will threaten patients’ safety and exacerbate the NHS’s staffing crisis, hospital bosses warned.They aired their fears hours after last-ditch talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Friday night failed to avert the stoppage, which will start on Monday and continue until Wednesday and cause massive disruption. Continue reading...

Labour leader says he wants to give UK nations and communities the power to control their destinyKeir Starmer has called for more devolution in his address to the Welsh Labour conference.In a keynote speech at the gathering in Llandudno, the Labour leader said it was time to use the spirit of devolution to “transform Britain, give the communities and great nations of this country the powers they need to control their destiny”. Continue reading...

Some advisers and civil servants speaking to the Guardian say an ‘anti-lockdown filter’ has been placed on eventsThe mass leaking of thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages have laid bare in the starkest terms the extent of the divisions inside the cabinet and among advisers and civil servants handling the deadliest pandemic in modern times.But some who worked in Number 10 and across Whitehall, as well as bereaved families, have been angered by what they see as a rewriting of history by some cabinet ministers and by the framing of some of Hancock’s texts. Continue reading...

Shadow education secretary to announce policy aimed at giving parents more information than Ofsted’s current systemSchool ratings such as outstanding and inadequate would be scrapped in England under a Labour government and replaced with a “report card” aimed at helping parents, the shadow education secretary is to announce.Bridget Phillipson will tell a headteachers’ conference in Birmingham on Saturday that Ofsted’s current system of ratings “is high stakes for staff but low information for parents” because it fails to convey important details about a school’s strengths and weaknesses. Continue reading...

By plugging gaps in their national insurance record, some people can increase their entitlement• Why do those retiring face ‘massive’ losses despite FTSE highs?Pay £800 now and, if you live a long time, get back £5,500-plus in total. If you can afford to hand over £8,000, it could be £55,000 or more. That, in very simple terms, is the pensions deal being offered to many people by the government, experts say.The deadline for taking advantage of what has been called a “bargain price” was originally going to be 5 April but the good news is that this week the government extended it to the end of July. Continue reading...

Burketown flood at ‘record levels’ with helicopter evacuations to continue throughout the day. This blog is now closed

Walkout will cause even more disruption than recent action by nurses, ambulance staff and physiotherapistsNext week’s strike by junior doctors will lead to unprecedented “major disruption” of the NHS and affect thousands of patients’ care, the service’s top doctor warned on Saturday.Many hospitals in England have already postponed outpatient appointments or non-urgent operations ahead of the stoppage on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Continue reading...

Prosecutors said Chow Hang-Tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong were under foreign influence but refused to say who it wasA Hong Kong court has jailed three former members of a group that organised annual vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in China.Chow Hang-tung, 38, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was among those convicted by a magistrate’s court. The two others were Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong. Continue reading...

Ukraine decides to fight on in Bakhmut, says Zelenskiy aide; Wagner chief worried about ammunition shortages; Nord Stream blasts ‘carried out by dive team’ Continue reading...

Nomination at annual meeting of National People’s Congress confirms replacement of Li Keqiang‘A defeated person’: sidelined by Xi, Li Keqiang bows out as premierXi Jinping has nominated Li Qiang, 63, to become premier during the continuing annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the official Xinhua news agency has reported.Li Qiang will replace Li Keqiang, who became premier in 2013 amid high hopes he would usher in liberal reforms. But his power was curbed by Xi, who increasingly sidelined Li Keqiang and placed allies in key strategic positions over him. Continue reading...

Residents in state’s rural west are bracing for the peak of record flooding on Sunday

PM said Father’s Day card would be his ‘limit’ in response to Johnson nominating his father for knighthoodRishi Sunak has said his father would be lucky to get a card on Father’s Day, let alone a knighthood, after accusations that Boris Johnson’s honours list had discredited the system.Sunak has come under pressure to reject Johnson’s list, in which he nominated his father, Stanley Johnson, for a knighthood, given previous allegations about his behaviour. Continue reading...

BBC commentators also refusing to appear after corporation takes its highest-paid presenter off air over impartiality concernsMatch of the Day will be broadcast without presenters, pundits or its usual commentators this weekend, after the main host, Gary Lineker, was suspended from the BBC for breaching impartiality guidelines after criticising the government’s asylum policies.In a dramatic and unexpected escalation of a crisis that has been brewing all week, the corporation took the decision to remove its highest-paid presenter from its flagship football show after he was criticised by Tory MPs and the rightwing media. Continue reading...

Former culture secretary called into question neutrality of civil servant after her appointment as Keir Starmer’s chief of staffThe BBC has apologised for the failure to properly scrutinise claims made by Nadine Dorries on a radio show, capping a day of controversies for the corporation.The broadcaster said in a statement on Friday that “there should have been more challenge” when the former culture secretary and Boris Johnson loyalist made allegations about Sue Gray on Radio 4’s World at One. Continue reading...