Clock dials atop Elizabeth Tower in London briefly stopped at 12.55pm on WednesdayTime stood still in London on Wednesday, it has emerged.Big Ben, the famous bell at the top of the 96-metre Elizabeth Tower in Westminster, failed to chime when the dials of the clock briefly stopped. Continue reading...
Attacker reportedly first shot dead colleague and stole ammunition before heading towards synagogueA police officer killed three police officers and two visitors in an attack near Africa’s oldest synagogue in Tunisia, the government has said, amid an annual pilgrimage to the island of Djerba that draws hundreds of Jews from Europe and Israel.In the attack on Tuesday, a police officer at a naval installation on Djerba used his weapon to shoot a colleague and seize his ammunition before heading towards the Ghriba synagogue, the interior ministry said in a statement. Continue reading...
Lost students, dwindling relief funds and a juggernaut of new schooling options could portend layoffs and school closuresThree years and counting since the pandemic shuttered schools and tethered students to their laptops, new data shows that enrollment in the vast majority of the nation’s largest school districts has yet to recover.Kindergarten counts continue to dwindle in many states – evidence of falling birth rates and an ever-growing array of options luring parents away from traditional public schools. Experts fear those trends, as well as a possible recession and the looming cut-off of federal relief funds, amount to a perfect storm for US education. Continue reading...
by Sarah Collard and Australian Associated Press on (#6BKZX)
Premier Mark McGowan said the behaviour of the youths was “a form of terrorism” but advocates are concerned about the treatment of young people in the facility
Up to one in 10 doctors and a third of nurses could be trained through vocational path under NHS workforce planSchool-leavers could receive on-the-job training as part of an attempt to help address NHS workforce shortages, under plans to allow tens of thousands of doctors and nurses to join the health service via apprenticeships.Up to one in 10 doctors and a third of nurses could be trained through this vocational path in the coming years under the NHS workforce plan, the PA news agency reported. The NHS’s doctor apprenticeship scheme is due to start in September, where medics in training will be able to earn money while they study. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6BKN7)
NHS in England missed target that patients waiting 18 months for an operation would be treated by AprilA key government pledge to reduce the size of the NHS’s record-breaking care backlog has been broken, the health secretary has admitted.Steve Barclay slipped out the news in a Commons statement on Tuesday about a totally unrelated area of NHS policy – his new plan to improve access to GP care. Continue reading...
Tributes pour in for founder of Os Mutantes, who sardonically named her tumour after far-right president Jair BolsonaroRita Lee, the legendary Brazilian musician, composer and founder of the trailblazing band Os Mutantes, has died at 75, prompting emotional tributes to Brazil’s undisputed “Queen of Rock”.Rita Lee was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021, memorably nicknaming her tumour “Jair” – a sardonic reference to Brazil’s widely loathed then president, Jair Bolsonaro. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Aysen Dennis says plans to bulldoze Aylesbury estate are unlawful and amount to ‘social cleansing’A woman who has lived on the same council estate for 30 years has taken developers and her local authority to the high court over plans to demolish her home.Aysen Dennis, 64, is fighting to keep her two-bedroom council flat on a south London estate and says plans for redevelopment amount to “social cleansing”. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6BKK2)
Customers say lives upended by ripped up schedules and woeful performanceOnce, it seemed like a good idea to live in the Pennines and commute by train. Susannah Simmons, a violinist at Opera North, moved to Marsden for quick and easy access to her work in Leeds and Manchester. “The service was far from perfect but satisfactory,” she says. “But for at least the past year nearly all trains I would have used have been cancelled or delayed, forcing me to drive everywhere.”Like countless others, her life has been upended by ripped up schedules and woeful performance of TransPennine Express. Continue reading...
About 5,500 people still missing after intense floods and landslides with thousands also left homelessAt least 411 people are now known to have died in intense flooding and landslides that hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province last week.Efforts to rescue inhabitants and recover bodies in Kalehe, where the flooding happened, are continuing. Some houses, schools and hospitals have collapsed or become dilapidated or unsafe. Others were entirely swept away. Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson in Taipei and Leyland Cecco in Toro on (#6BJXD)
China’s foreign ministry said it would expel Canadian envoy for Ottawa’s ‘unreasonable action’ of ejecting Chinese diplomatCanada will not be intimidated by China’s tit-for-tat expulsion of a Canadian consul in retaliation for Ottawa’s ejection of a Chinese official, Justin Trudeau has said.Canada expelled the Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei on Tuesday over allegations he tried to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority. Hours later, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said it would expel a Canadian diplomat from Shanghai in retaliation for what it called Ottawa’s “unreasonable actions”. Continue reading...
Much depends on the housing market and there’s no agreement on how that’s faring right nowWith hindsight, one of Britain’s biggest building societies could definitely have picked a better day to launch a first-of-its-kind 100% mortgage.On Tuesday morning, just as the press release was being sent out and Skipton building society boss Stuart Haire was preparing for his BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview, the Halifax reported that average UK house prices fell in April, by 0.3% month on month, and that “we should expect some further downward pressure on house prices over the course of this year”. To add to the gloom, the struggling online estate agent Purplebricks reported a further worsening in trading, there was a profit warning from another firm reliant on the housing sector, and many housebuilders saw their share prices fall. Continue reading...
by Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad and Hannah Ellis-Pet on (#6BK13)
Khan, ousted from power last year, was appearing in court to face charges in corruption casePakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been arrested as he appeared in court in Islamabad to face charges in a corruption case, with scores of security forces in riot gear dragging the high-profile politician into an armoured vehicle.The arrest of Khan – who was ousted from power last year and has evaded arrest several times since – came hours after he released a video message reiterating his allegations that the country’s powerful military establishment had tried to assassinate him twice. Continue reading...
Hamas and Islamic Jihad vow to retaliate after Israeli launches overnight strikes despite ceasefireIsraeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip targeting the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad have killed three senior operatives and at least nine civilians, including three children, according to the Israeli army and Palestinian officials.A total of 40 jets took part in Operation Shield and Arrow, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said, conducting strikes that lasted about two hours starting at 2am (12am BST) on Tuesday. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6BKAQ)
Exclusive: Kensington and Chelsea, one of most unequal boroughs in UK, allocating social infrastructure funds in wards where homes go for millionsOne of Britain’s most unequal boroughs is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds in social infrastructure funds on sculptures and security patrols for wards filled with multimillion-pound homes.The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has agreed to spend £226,000 on an artwork outside a new luxury housing development where two-bedroom flats sell for close to £2m. It is also spending £50,000 erecting a sculpture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi on a green off Kings Road. Continue reading...
Women and adopted children demand Westminster follows example of Wales and ScotlandWomen forced to give up their babies for adoption in the 1950s, 60s and 70s are stepping up pressure on the UK government to issue a formal apology following the lead of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.The women and their adopted children are urging MPs to demand the government act on the recommendation of a parliamentary committee that called for a retrospective public apology for the violation of human rights and psychological trauma. Continue reading...
Tribunal finds Dr Rosalind Ranson was unfairly dismissed after speaking out on Manx approach to CovidThe Isle of Man’s former chief medical officer has said her career and reputation were “destroyed”, after she was awarded a record £3.2m settlement over her unfair dismissal for whistleblowing.The island’s chief minister offered his “deepest apologies” to Dr Rosalind Ranson on Tuesday after a tribunal found that she had been forced out of her job and subjected to “humiliation, bullying, harassment and vilification” for whistleblowing over the Manx approach to Covid-19. Continue reading...
Nur, 33, charged with 1 May murder of Dogbey, 31, as well as offences connected to other alleged stabbing attacksA man has appeared in court accused of fatally stabbing a woman in the neck with a makeshift blade in an unprovoked stranger attack.Mohamed Nur, 33, allegedly set upon Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, 31, from behind with a sharp weapon in broad daylight. Continue reading...
Lisa Nandy suggests mistakes must have been made in arrest of six anti-monarchy protestersMistakes must have been made in the arrests of six anti-monarchy protesters before the king’s coronation, the Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy has suggested, after the Metropolitan police said no action would be taken against them.Nandy said “something has gone wrong” amid growing pressure on the government as well as police to account for the arrests. Continue reading...
Gendarmes turn up at home of 92-year-old woman after receiving complaint about amphibian guests in her gardenA culture war has broken out in a small village in the Savoie region of the northern Alps where three large frogs are threatened with being silenced.In the latest example of a conflict of rights between town and country, nature and neighbour, 92-year-old Colette Ferry opened her door in the small village of Frontenex – population around 1,800 – to two gendarmes recently who said they would be taking away three amphibians that have taken up residence in her garden pond. Continue reading...
Discovery raises suspicions of forced harvesting by suspects linked to group led by Paul Nthenge MackenzieAutopsies on corpses found in mass graves linked to a religious cult in Kenya have revealed missing organs and raised suspicions of forced harvesting, investigators said, with a fresh round of exhumations to resume on Tuesday.The discovery of mass graves last month near the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi has stunned the deeply religious Christian-majority country in what has been called the “Shakahola forest massacre”. Continue reading...
Hundreds, mostly Venezuelans, hope to cross into Peru to flee harsh immigration protocols and growing xenophobia in ChileThe wind sweeping in from the Pacific Ocean buffets makeshift tents made of blankets and scraps of fabric, as sheltering migrants peer out, squinting against the whipped-up sand and fierce sun overhead.This desolate stretch of the Atacama desert has been home for days – and in some cases weeks – to hundreds of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, fleeing harsher immigration protocols and growing xenophobia in Chile and hoping to cross its northern border into Peru. Continue reading...
Terence Kelly’s lawyer claims his culpability is reduced by the extreme neglect he suffered during his own childhoodTerence Darrell Kelly has appealed his sentence for kidnapping four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family’s tent at a remote Western Australian campsite, arguing the sentencing judge failed to give due weight to his turbulent upbringing.Documents lodged at Western Australia’s court of appeal this week also state that a district court chief judge, Julie Wager, erred in finding that Kelly was significantly affected by methamphetamine when he abducted Smith in October 2021.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
Problems at landscaping supplier and online estate agent prompt share dips at housebuildersA profit warning from the UK driveways to roofing firm Marshalls and a gloomy outlook from the online estate agent Purplebricks, which is fighting for its survival, have prompted sharp falls in their share prices and spooked the wider housing sector.A day before its annual investor meeting, Marshalls, which produces landscaping, building and roofing products, said like-for-like sales had fallen by 14% year on year to £227m in the four months to 30 April. Including the acquisition of the pitched roof maker Marley a year ago, sales rose 12%. Continue reading...
Hospitals chief says action ‘will pile even more pressure’ on already overstretched services and calls for talksAmbulance staff in the south-east of England are to strike over pay for the second time on Tuesday, prompting warnings from hospital bosses of further pressure on overstretched emergency services.Members of the Unite trade union employed by two ambulance trusts are striking after rejecting the government’s pay offer of a lump sum cash payment for 2022-23 and a below inflation increase of 5% for 2023-24. Continue reading...
Therapists are helping veterans, as well as families and children, who are psychologically affected by the warVolodomyr Kucherenko’s problems with post-traumatic stress began not with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, but eight years ago when the war began in the Donbas. In the midst of what was supposed to be a truce, he was resting with his unit, which included his brother-in-law, when they were mortared in the yard of a village house.Injured in the leg during the first strike, his brother-in-law threw himself over Kucherenko to protect him from shrapnel as more rounds came in. The wounds he sustained protecting his comrade would prove fatal. Continue reading...
State media report suggests growing suspicions of firms involved in due diligence and business research industriesChinese authorities appear to be running a targeted espionage investigation of foreign consulting firms operating in the country, according to a state media report, after recent raids on the offices several international firms.The latest known case saw officers raid multiple offices used by the business consulting firm Capvision in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Shenzhen, Chinese state media reported on Monday. It followed raids on Mintz Group in March, which saw five employees arrested and the branch shut down. US management consulting firm Bain & Company said its Shanghai office was visited by Chinese officers in April, and employees questioned. Continue reading...
Vulnerability of MPs’ groups to influence of private firms highlighted by appearance at blockchain inquiryFresh questions have been raised about private firms gaining prestige and access to MPs through all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) after an unregulated “bank” with no UK licence gave evidence to an inquiry in the House of Commons.The chief executive of Bandenia Challenger Bank spoke at an APPG inquiry into regulation in December, chaired by a Scottish National party MP, which was promoted using parliament’s official portcullis logo. Continue reading...
Children’s commissioner for England calls for ‘robust’ measures in UK’s online safety bill to protect young peopleEngland’s children’s commissioner has called for the “most robust” online protections for under-18s after publishing research examining links between sexual abuse cases and pornography.In the second of a series of reports exploring the impact on children, Rachel de Souza said she wanted to “turn the tide on pornography’s harms to children”. Continue reading...
Leaders of country’s 16 states will call on Chancellor Scholz to increase daily rate for feeding, housing and schooling asylum seekersGerman lawmakers are at loggerheads over how to manage the number of refugees coming into the country, with regional leaders calling on the government to provide more financial support.On Wednesday, the leaders of Germany’s 16 states will meet Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, in Berlin, and call on him to ensure that the federal government takes on more responsibility for immigration, including increasing the daily rate allocated to cover the costs of individuals. Continue reading...
Non-binding vote bans surveillance software after concluding Hungary and Poland used it to track journalists and opponentsThe EU needs tighter regulation of the spyware industry, a European parliament special committee has said, after concluding that Hungary and Poland had used surveillance software to illegally monitor journalists, politicians and activists.A special European parliament committee voted on Monday for a temporary ban on the sale, acquisition and use of spyware while the bloc draws up common EU standards based on international law. The moratorium would be lifted only on strict conditions, including independent investigations into the abuse of spyware in the EU. Continue reading...
Emergency services were called around 8am on Tuesday to the Gold Coast home where the infant was found deceasedPolice are investigating the sudden death of a baby girl on Queensland’s Gold Coast.Just after 8am on Tuesday, emergency services were called to a home in Mermaid Beach after an infant was located deceased. Continue reading...
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