Exclusive: Opposition calls for greater penalties as data reveals 59 fines issued this year, down from 96 between late November and end of December

Anthony Albanese records strong approval of his performance, but only about one-third of voters thought the budget would help families

Organisation found to have ‘lacked a trauma-informed approach’ and failed to support disabled woman appropriately

Move adds to ‘arsenal of anti-scam initiatives’ as consumer rights groups call for laws to see banks reimburse victims

Home secretary attacks ‘radical left’ and identity politics and warns against ‘fratricide’ on right

Suspects are also thought to be responsible for two other incidents on trains last weekTwo people have been charged in Austria for allegedly playing speeches by Adolf Hitler via the loudspeaker system of a train running from Bregenz to Vienna.The two suspects, who were not identified, also allegedly blasted “Heil Hitler” via the train’s intercom several times on Sunday. The authorities tracked them down by analysing video from the train cameras. Spreading Nazi propaganda is a criminal offence in Austria. Continue reading...

Son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti arrested after he was shown on video shouting and apparently smacking an officer, police sayThe Nigerian musician Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer, Lagos state police said on Monday.An order was made for the arrest of Kuti, a Grammy-nominated saxophonist and singer, on Saturday after a viral video showed him on a road, shouting and apparently pushing and smacking a police officer, police said. Continue reading...

Former reporter, giving evidence in support of Prince Harry and others, says editor Tina Weaver taught journalists to hack phonesThe Sunday Mirror’s editor personally taught journalists how to hack voicemails, a former reporter has told the high court.Dan Evans told the phone-hacking trial that illegal activity was “bog-standard” at the tabloid newspaper. “The paper did dodgy stuff on basically every story and that is how we operated,” he said. Continue reading...

‘Cultural Marxism’ and excessive education among factors causing existential threat, says Miriam Cates

Tenants in Great Britain now typically paying 25% more than they were at the start of Covid pandemic, according to data

Former chancellor adds to roster of jobs with role as chair of Lingotto, owned by Agnelli family’s ExorGeorge Osborne has been hired to lead a new $3bn (£2.4bn) investment management firm, adding to a growing roster of lucrative jobs the former UK chancellor has taken up since stepping down as an MP in 2017.Osborne, who led the Treasury under David Cameron from 2010 to 2016, has been appointed chair of Lingotto Investment Management, which is owned by the billionaire Agnelli family’s Exor group. Continue reading...

Claudio Trenta, 72, has triggered a national debate after deciding to fix 30cm hole himself in LombardyAn Italian pensioner has pledged to fight against the “injustice” of being fined almost €900 for fixing a pothole.Claudio Trenta was so frustrated by the local council’s failure to repair the 30cm pothole on a pedestrian crossing in Barlassina, a small town in Lombardy, that the 72-year-old decided to take action himself by filling it with cold bitumen. Continue reading...

Retailer parts ways with Adam&eveDDB as it attempts turnaround after slumping to a lossThe owner of John Lewis and Waitrose has replaced its advertising partner of 14 years with Saatchi & Saatchi, the agency famous for its 1979 election “Labour isn’t working” Conservative party campaign.The deal ends the relationship with Adam&eveDDB, which created a run of highly successful promotions based on a cosy emotional feel without a hard focus on price and turned John Lewis’s tearjerking Christmas ads into an annual event, with Monty the penguin, Edgar the excitable dragon and Buster the bouncing boxer dog all capturing the nation’s attention. Continue reading...

Team examining what corporation knew about sexual misconduct allegations says phone line will close on 19 May as plannedA BBC inquiry into what the corporation knew about allegations of sexual misconduct against the DJ Tim Westwood has received “significant” new information.It comes after the independent review team, led by Gemma White KC, opened a confidential phone line in an attempt to “expand the ways in which people can come forward” to report information. Continue reading...

Removing VAT from sunscreens would cut incidence of skin cancer and could save lives, says cancer charity chiefThe high cost of sunscreen is resulting in more skin cancer cases, according to charities who are calling on the UK government to scrap VAT on protective creams.Melanoma skin cancer is on the rise and 4,000 cases annually are linked to poverty, according to the Melanoma Focus charity, which argues that a VAT cut would reduce the number of deaths. Continue reading...

Sturgeon laments polarisation in first policy intervention since stepping down as Scotland’s first minister

On first show since rumours of spat, pair avoid subject altogether – but viewers say they can see signs of strainPhillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, the co-hosts of ITV’s flagship daytime TV programme, chose to ignore multiple headlines about their off-air feud as they tried to present a cosy front on the studio sofa.Following days of front page headlines about reports of their strained relationship, Monday’s show opened with a review of the papers that avoided the subject altogether. Continue reading...

Change to voting status could enfranchise about 5 million EU citizens over the age of 18Keir Starmer has said it “feels wrong” not to allow EU citizens who live and pay tax in the UK not to have the right to vote in general elections.While the Labour leader said there was “no settled policy”, he confirmed in an interview on LBC radio that the party was “looking at some of the voting issues”. Continue reading...

Johnny Kitagawa’s niece issues apology to men who have made abuse claims while not commenting on veracity of allegationsThe president of one of Japan’s most powerful talent agencies has apologised over allegations that the firm’s late founder and pop impresario, Johnny Kitagawa, sexually abused multiple boys.In a video and statement released on Sunday evening, Julie Fujishima, Kitagawa’s niece, issued the apology to young men who had stepped forward with abuse claims, although she did not comment on the veracity of the allegations. Continue reading...

Number of families stuck in temporary rooms for more than six weeks is highest since 2003The number of homeless families being housed by English councils in hotels and B&Bs for longer than the legal limit is at its highest in 20 years.The latest government figures show that 1,630 families were being housed in hotels and B&Bs by councils in England past the six-week legal limit between October and December last year. This is the highest reported figure since 2003. It also marks the highest quarterly increase ever recorded, jumping 35% since data was last reported, for July to September last year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Krish Kandiah wants same help given to Ukrainians offered to Sudanese families fleeing civil warOne of the architects of Britain’s Homes for Ukraine scheme is calling on the government to replicate the programme for refugees from Sudan.Dr Krish Kandiah, the director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which was instrumental in matching many British hosts with Ukrainian refugees, said he wanted the country to show the “same generosity of spirit” to those fleeing war in Sudan as it did to Ukrainians. Continue reading...

Digital publisher and owner of Vice News and Vice TV was once valued at $6bn but has agreed sale for $225mVice, the once high-flying media startup that reached a peak valuation of nearly $6bn (£5bn), has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US as the digital publisher engineers a cut-price sale to a group of lenders.The company, whose assets include Vice News, Motherboard, Refinery29 and Vice TV, has agreed a sale to a consortium that includes Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital for $225m in the form of a credit bid for its assets as well as assuming Vice’s “significant liabilities”. Continue reading...

Surprise visit to UK by Ukrainian president for ‘substantive negotiations’ follows announcement of further military aid

His victim said she woke up to find Ryan John Zabaznow raping her after she passed out after drinking heavily, a court heard

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Agents earn extra commission by shuffling foreign students between providers in what Labor calls an unethical ‘shadow economy’

Critics claim the bill could see government further expand income management policies

Leader of liberal Move Forward says he is ‘next prime minister of Thailand’ and ready to form coalition governmentThailand’s opposition parties have secured by far the largest number of votes in national elections, delivering a damning verdict to the military-backed government that has ruled the country for nearly a decade.Speaking on Monday, the leader of the opposition Move Forward party said he had invited Pheu Thai, the party associated with the exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and four other opposition parties to form an alliance after securing the largest number of votes. Continue reading...

The Australian Institute of Criminology reviewed several tools designed to gauge the threat posed by radicalised offenders

Hong Kong resident John Shing Wan Leung was chair of Texas branch of Chinese ‘reunification’ associationA Chinese court has sentenced a 78-year-old US citizen to life in prison on espionage charges.John Shing Wan Leung, a Hong Kong permanent resident, was detained in April 2021 by Chinese security services. His sentence was announced on Monday by the Suzhou intermediate people’s court on its public WeChat account. No further information about his trial or charges were listed. Continue reading...

Rodney Lee, 73, shot two men with a shotgun at close range at Mordialloc apartment complex in January 2022

Smartphones and credit cards could be used to access public transport under $1.7bn contract

Teacher Simon Baccanello was surfing at Walkers Rock Beach on Eyre Peninsula on Saturday morning when he was attacked

About 1,000 people trapped by seawater rescued amid damage to homes, electricity infrastructure and mobile phone mastsRescuers have evacuated about 1,000 people trapped by seawater 3.6 metres (12ft) deep along western Myanmar’s coast after a powerful cyclone injured hundreds and cut off communications in one of Asia’s least developed countries.Strong winds injured more than 700 of about 20,000 people who were sheltering in sturdier buildings on the highlands of Sittwe township such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, according to a leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in Sittwe. Continue reading...

Plausible for UK to become global clean energy superpower if investment is ramped upThe UK could unlock £70bn every year by generating enough clean electricity to become a major exporter of energy to mainland Europe, according to a former government economist.A new report has found that by increasing Britain’s clean electricity generation 50% above its current projections for 2050 it could become a clean energy superpower capable of exporting £17bn of green electricity to Europe a year. Continue reading...

BMA says consultant pay has declined by 35% since 2008-9Senior doctors in England are to vote on whether to strike amid the continued row over pay in healthcare, as teachers’ unions also plan to hold a ballot for industrial action.The ballot will open on Monday until 27 June as the British Medical Association urges members to approve. Continue reading...

Capital’s mayor lauds achievement but warns skyrocketing rents pose threat to ‘the soul of our city’Sadiq Khan is to announce the surpassing of a landmark housebuilding target in London, but will warn that the capital’s skyrocketing rents pose a threat to “the soul of our city”.In a speech on Monday setting out his stall before the 2024 election for city hall, the mayor of London will say that nearly 120,000 affordable homes have been built in the capital since 2015, equivalent to the housing stock of Plymouth. Continue reading...

Alzheimer’s Society says fear and confusion delays discussion for 33% of those who think they or a loved one may have dementiaA third of Britons who have concerns about whether they, or a loved one, might have dementia wait more than a month to discuss their worries with others, a leading charity has found, despite early diagnosis being important for treatment, support and planning.According to the World Health Organization, more than 55 million people have dementia worldwide, with 60-70% of cases thought to be down to Alzheimer disease. Continue reading...

Suggestion that Linda Reynolds coached cross-examination was an ‘appalling mischaracterisation’, inquiry hears

Agent for bestselling Australian children’s author says she has ‘nothing to say’ about the ban and Duval county ‘is not important’

Researchers studying a submarine landslide uncover MV Blythe Star, which sank in 1973 while sailing from Hobart to King Island

Leader has not been seen publicly in nearly a week, as opposition news outlet says he was taken to an elite clinic on weekendBelarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, who has not been seen in public since 8 May, did not appear at a ceremony in the capital of Minsk on Sunday, triggering speculation the longtime leader is seriously ill.The prime minister, Roman Golovchenko, read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony at which young people swear allegiance to the ex-Soviet state’s flag, the BelTA state news agency reported. Continue reading...

Business and trade secretary to meet Swiss counterpart on Monday to boost trade between two ‘services superpowers’Kemi Badenoch will fly to Switzerland on Monday for talks with her Swiss counterpart on a new post-Brexit trade deal, describing the two countries as “natural trading partners”.The business and trade secretary is meeting Guy Parmelin in Berne to discuss a “modern” UK-Switzerland free trade agreement (FTA) that would boost trade between two “services superpowers”, she said. Continue reading...

WA police minister discloses fresh details in the capture of Terence Kelly, while Cleo’s parents reveal the lingering effects on the family

Hostilities destroyed more than 50 homes and displaced about 950 people, says the UNRelative calm has returned to the blockaded Gaza Strip after a ceasefire that has ended five days of cross-frontier fire between Israel and militant groups in the coastal enclave that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel.A truce mediated by Egyptian officials that went into effect at 10pm (8pm BST) on Saturday night appeared to hold, despite the firing of a rocket towards southern Israel on Sunday evening that Palestinian factions said had launched due to a “technical error”. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president will hold talks with French president over dinner following rip to Berlin

Footballer’s wife tells how she was ‘shamed’ and ‘blamed’ as she recalls the trauma of her early years for TV documentaryRebekah Vardy has said she was sexually abused while growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, an ordeal her former community failed to protect her from.Vardy, 41, opened up about her upbringing in a Channel 4 documentary titled Rebekah Vardy: Jehovah’s Witnesses and Me, which will air on 16 May. Continue reading...

The piece ran on 11 May and accused people who use fake tan of mocking those with naturally dark skinThe Irish Times has apologised for running an article about Irish women’s use of fake tan that was submitted by a hoaxer who used artificial intelligence.The editor, Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, said on Sunday that it had fallen victim to “a deliberate and coordinated deception” that showed a need for stronger controls. Continue reading...

Pedro Sánchez announces subsidy as his Socialist party lags behind conservative opposition in pollsSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced a new scheme that will allow over-65s to go to the cinema every Tuesday for just €2 (£1.76) two weeks before the country heads to the polls for crucial regional and municipal elections.The subsidy, announced during a campaign event in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha, comes a year after Sánchez’s minority coalition government introduced a youth culture voucher scheme that gives Spaniards turning 18 €400 to spend on books, records, digital subscriptions, festivals, concerts, plays, exhibitions and films. Continue reading...

Early counts appear to show firm rejection of government as Move Forward and Pheu Thai parties are neck and neckOpposition pro-democracy parties took the lead in an early vote count in Thailand’s national elections, which appeared to signal a firm rejection of the military-backed government that has ruled the country for almost a decade.According to a preliminary count of more than 80% of the country’s 95,000 polling stations, the progressive Move Forward party was projected to win 114 of 400 constituency seats in the House of Representatives, with Pheu Thai taking 112 constituency seats. Voters have two ballots, and so a further 100 party seats in the house ares allocated on a proportional representation basis. Continue reading...