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Millions of Australians face a hike in their Help and Hecs loans when indexation is added on 1 June, the highest increase in decades

Thousands of refugees face transport chaos, cash shortages, scammers and visa delays as they race to escape to neighbouring countriesLong queues are building on Sudan’s borders, where people fleeing intense fighting are facing daylong waits and demands for visas in order to cross to safety.On Tuesday, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was expecting 270,000 refugees to cross into Chad and South Sudan, including South Sudanese returning home. It did not have projections for Egypt or Ethiopia, where many fleeing from the capital, Khartoum, have headed, or for other neighbouring countries. The UNHCR estimated that, so far, up to 20,000 refugees have crossed into Chad from Darfur, and 4,000 into South Sudan. Continue reading...

Tangaraju Suppiah was hanged despite international pleas to reconsider capital punishment for drugs offencesSingapore has hanged a prisoner for conspiracy to smuggle one kilogram of cannabis, authorities said, ignoring international protests and concerns that he lacked full access to a lawyer or interpreter.The United Nations Human Rights Office had called for Singapore to “urgently reconsider” the hanging and British tycoon Richard Branson had urged the city state halt it. Continue reading...

Pharmacy Guild says Labor policy puts businesses at risk as it vows to tell customers who inquire about price rises or service cuts to ‘ask Albo’

Meeting will bring together leaders of the US, India, Japan and Australia at the Sydney Opera House

Thirteen young people killed themselves in first three months of 2023, as coroner urges parents and friends to help young people stay connected and supported

Ad blitz will seek to reset debate and cut through dense legal arguments and political brawling, Dean Parkin says

Four backbenchers add names to open letter accusing PM of leaving ‘people with the least behind’

Wildlife Trusts schemes are part of wider programme to help rare habitat recover across British IslesTwo temperate rainforests in Wales and on the Isle of Man have been named as the first to be restored by the Wildlife Trusts, as part of a wider programme to help the rare habitat recover across the British Isles.Temperate rainforests, also known as Atlantic or Celtic rainforests, are found in places with exposure to the sea – areas with “high oceanicity” – and receive high rainfall and humidity, with a low variation in annual temperature. It is a globally rare habitat, thought to be more threatened than tropical rainforest. Continue reading...

Chain raises price amid' ‘inflationary challenges’ but adds in 10% off food, as part of Club Pret rebrandPret a Manger is upping the cost of its subscription service by a fifth – but adding a 10% discount on food and snacks alongside free drinks to the offer from Wednesday – as the sandwich chain warns that the “inflationary challenge” remains.Its chief executive, Pano Christou, said Pret a Manger may have to put wages up again this year – after a 19% rise in the past year – amid stiff competition for workers. Continue reading...

Survey shows large cuts to outings, teaching assistants and GCSE and A-level choices, reflecting ‘decades of government underfunding’Half of school leaders in England say they are having to cut school trips and outings, with children in disadvantaged areas more likely to lose out, according to polling.Almost two-thirds (63%) of senior leaders who took part in the survey are having to cut teaching assistants, while a quarter are reducing sports, extracurricular activities and the number of GCSE and A-level subject choices available to their pupils. Continue reading...

Balances with utilities are £5bn higher than April 2022 despite cost of living crisis after customers cut usageEnergy suppliers are hoarding nearly £7bn of customers’ money despite a cost of living crisis that has left some households forced to choose between heating and eating.More than 16m UK households are collectively in credit by £6.7bn to their suppliers, with half of those holding balances of more than £200, research from comparison site Uswitch.com has shown. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says more flights to take off into Wednesday after first UK plane leaves Khartoum; Sudanese army accused of breaching ceasefireAlicia Kearns, the Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton is the chair of the UK parliament’s foreign affairs select committee, and she has been doing the media round in the UK this morning.She told Sky News she felt “enormous relief” at the news that the evacuation process was beginning, but cautioned to hold all those involved “in our hearts” because “as we all know the ceasefire did not hold on Saturday for more than three hours.”We know that not everyone who has registered with the Foreign Office of those numbers actually wants to be evacuated.So look, they’ve said they want to get passport holders out. They’re going to prioritise women, children, the vulnerable, those with medical needs. That is absolutely the right thing to do. But it is a race against time.Pressure had been growing on the UK government to act, following the removal of embassy staff at the weekend and as other nations pressed on with their own extractions. Family members of some stranded Brits had complained they felt abandoned. The FCDO pushed back, saying there were more British nationals needing assistance than those from most other countries, and it was simply unsafe to move large numbers of people, including children and the elderly, without a cessation in the fighting.A Foreign Office official said ambassador Giles Lever had been instrumental in helping to broker the ceasefire thanks to his personal connections to senior figures in both the government and RSF. Lever has taken a certain amount of heat since it emerged he was in the UK for the Easter holiday when the crisis broke out Continue reading...

PM ‘confident’ that government has met pledge made at last general election on police numbers in England and WalesRishi Sunak is due to announce that the government has successfully recruited 20,000 police officers since 2019, as critics point out that a similar number have been cut by Tory-led administrations since 2010.In a statement, the prime minister said: “When I stood at the steps of Downing Street six months ago, I made clear that I would do whatever it takes to cut crime and make our communities safer. At the heart of that pledge is recruiting 20,000 additional police officers. Continue reading...

Cyril Ramaphosa renews efforts to leave court over arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin but his party says otherwiseSouth Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has announced that the country wwill resume its efforts to leave the international criminal court (ICC) in the wake of an arrest warrant issued for Vladimir Putin.But there was confusion over the real position of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC), as the party put out a statement the same day saying South Africa’s effort to withdraw from the court should be rescinded. Continue reading...

Guaidó lands in Miami after failed bid to attend summit hosted by leftwing president, with return to Venezuela looking unlikelyVenezuela’s best-known opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has touched down in the United States after being unceremoniously ejected from Colombia while attempting to gatecrash a summit about the political future of his crisis-stricken homeland.Guaidó shot to fame in early 2019 and for a brief moment looked poised to topple Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, with the support of dozens of foreign governments including the US, UK and Brazil. Continue reading...

First RAF flight leaves amid ceasefire as Britain begins belated evacuation of 2,000 trapped nationals

One of the sensational claims in Prince Harry’s legal case against News UK appears difficult to proveAmong the many extraordinary claims in Prince Harry’s legal case against News UK, one stands out: the allegation that there was a secret deal between Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group and the monarchy to stop members of the royal family suing over phone hacking.The prince suggests that this arrangement was known about by his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William and leading courtiers. Harry claims that under the terms of this supposed deal, royal victims of phone hacking would receive a settlement and an apology when all the other phone-hacking cases had concluded. Continue reading...

Britain criticised for prioritising getting embassy staff out of Khartoum first as Germany and France celebrate evacuating hundreds of citizens

Former first minister says she ‘could not have anticipated’ events and they played no part in decision to quitNicola Sturgeon has described her husband’s arrest as her “worst nightmare” and said it played no part in the decision to stand down as Scottish National party leader.The former first minister said the three weeks since Peter Murrell’s arrest at their home in Glasgow had been “traumatic” and “very difficult”, in her first public statement since the police raid. Continue reading...

Neonatal nurse in tears when being questioned about babies she allegedly murdered on return from holiday, jury toldLucy Letby cried as she described the “devastating” deaths of two babies from a set of triplets she allegedly murdered a day apart before being removed from frontline nursing, a court has heard.The neonatal nurse broke down in tears as she was questioned by police about the babies she allegedly killed immediately after returning from a holiday to Ibiza, Manchester crown court was told on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Senior aid worker issues warning over armed seizure of Khartoum lab containing deadly diseases

Woman had been travelling with friend who was found to have cyanide in her body at autopsy, police sayA woman has been arrested on suspicion of premeditated murder after she was accused of poisoning a friend using cyanide in Ratchaburi, central Thailand, with police saying they are also investigating the circumstances of nine further deaths.The accused, identified in Thai media as Sararath Rangsiwutthiporn, or Am, had travelled with her friend, Siriporn Khanwong, known as Koi, to make merit by releasing fish at a pier in Ratchaburi on 14 April. Continue reading...

Spotlight on Westminster after Labour-led Welsh administration says sorry to mothers coerced into giving away childrenMinisters are coming under renewed pressure to formally apologise for the practice of forced adoption after the Labour-led Welsh administration said sorry to mothers coerced into giving away children.Julie Morgan, the deputy minister for social services in Wales, said on Tuesday in the Senedd that the whole of the Welsh government was “truly sorry” for the “cruelty” of forced adoptions. Continue reading...

Kevan Thakrar, who is serving a life sentence, has begun a judicial review, claiming his isolation from other prisoners is unlawfulA prisoner’s detention in solitary confinement in England for more than two years has been “wholly unnecessary” and has made him suicidal, the high court has heard.Kevan Thakrar, 36, who is serving a life sentence for murder and attempted murder after being convicted on a joint enterprise basis in October 2008, is challenging his solitary confinement, claiming it is unlawful. Continue reading...

Scientists to tell Senate inquiry that protective headwear does not stop the brain from moving inside the skull which causes concussion

Jonathan Sriranganathan claims his being arrested at protests was ‘partly a result of racism’

RAF transport planes fly into country, as UK government takes advantage of ceasefire

Boss of Grosvenor, which owns swathes of Mayfair and Belgravia, warns of ‘more pain’ for commercial property market

Kyle Bevan given life sentence for murder of stepdaughter, with girl’s mother, Sinead James, given six-year termThe stepfather and mother of a two-year-old girl who died after suffering more than 100 injuries in a six-and-a-half hour attack at the family home have been jailed over her killing.Kyle Bevan, 31, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lola James, who died of the sort of injuries usually suffered by car crash victims or people who have fallen from a significant height, and told he would serve at least 28 years before he was considered for release. Continue reading...

Changes to be included in budget will slash costs for GP visits and medicines but pharmacists likely to push back against new policy

Roadmap to stop use of substances including ‘forever chemicals’ used to implement bans on 14 chemical groups so far, report statesA plan to ban up to 7,000 of the most potentially dangerous chemicals on the European market by 2030 is failing badly, according to a study.A year ago, the EU launched a roadmap to banning groups of toxic substances linked to environmental damage and serious illnesses such as cancers, hormonal disruption and reprotoxic disorders. These included all bisphenols, the most dangerous flame retardants, and the increasingly controversial PFAS chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Continue reading...

Details of alleged deal in 2020 given in legal documents submitted by Prince Harry amid legal fight with Sun publisher

Customers face fine of up to £1,000 for breaching ban that South West Water blames on below-average rainfallEven though this March was one of the wettest in England for 40 years, a hosepipe ban has been imposed on hundreds of thousands of people in the south-west.Customers of South West Water in much of Devon, including the city of Plymouth and the towns of Barnstaple, Tavistock and Torquay, are all subject to the restrictions, which are likely to be in place until December. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer calls for specific offence as part of broader pledge to tackle violence against women and girls

Trial of Dong Yuyu, detained after meeting Japanese diplomat, comes as country’s espionage laws widenedA Chinese journalist at one of the country’s major state media outlets known for his relatively forthright and liberal writings has been arrested on charges of espionage, his family have said.Dong Yuyu was detained in February 2022 after meeting with a Japanese diplomat who, it was reported at the time, was also taken for interrogation before being released. Dong’s family kept his detention secret in the hope of securing his release, but last month were told his case was progressing to trial. Continue reading...

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Online retailer to open new site in Luton but sales have fallen back after Covid lockdownsOcado and Marks & Spencer’s online retail joint-venture is to close its oldest warehouse, in Hatfield, putting up to 2,300 jobs at risk.Ocado said the orders handled at the warehouse in the Hertfordshire town would be switched to the group’s other automated warehouses, including a new site scheduled to open in Luton later this year. The Hatfield site processes about a fifth of Ocado.com’s 400,000 weekly orders. Continue reading...

Lt Gen Simon Stuart says troops will face ‘opportunities and challenges’ but shadow defence minister says army will be weakened by changes

Five schools preparing to close, according to local report, with others made to merge amid falling school enrolment numbersHong Kong schools are being forced to merge or prepare for closure as a decade-long decline in the birthrate and a recent exodus of residents from the city has led to a plunge in student numbers.Local media have reported that at least five schools face closure in coming years after they failed to reach the minimum 16 enrolments in the first grade. There have been two recent cases of schools merging with each other due to insufficient student numbers. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: The ex-deputy PM has found ample support from some quarters after an investigation into bullying was released. Our political correspondents explain how Raab’s anger drove the discourse

Own-label items available less than 1% of the time at Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express and Morrisons Daily, finds consumer groupLow-income families are missing out on the chance to pick up supermarkets’ lowest-priced essentials as fewer than 1% of the leading chains’ smaller stores stock them, according to a study.The consumer group Which? dispatched mystery shoppers to hunt for a list of about 30 items under the cut-price own-label ranges in Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons stores, including apples, beef mince, tinned tomatoes, rice and instant coffee. Continue reading...

Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, said narrative of ‘snowflake millennials’ was toxic to WhitehallRishi Sunak needs to speak out against the “torrent of invective against the civil service” unleashed by Dominic Raab or risk a toxic environment in Whitehall, the former head of the UK civil service has said.Lord Kerslake said Sunak needed to publicly reject the narrative that complaints of bullying, upheld against Raab in an official report published on Friday, are “all about snowflake millennials and a fifth column in the civil service, and the idea that the civil service are working to bring down ministers they don’t like”. Continue reading...

Far-right cable news host leaves with immediate effect with interim presenters replacing himThe far-right host Tucker Carlson has left Fox News, it was abruptly announced on Monday.“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the network said in a statement. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” Continue reading...

Greg Williams offered transportation for women seeking out-of-state care after the supreme court’s Dobbs decision last yearAbout three weeks after the US supreme court last year struck down the federal right to abortion, Greg Williams, a volunteer pilot for a group that provides free flights to people who need to travel for medical care, posted a Facebook message.“If any women need to make an unexpected trip from the south to, say, Illinois or New Mexico or Virginia for reasons that are none of my business, I can provide safe, private air transport that would get you where you need to go and back the same day at a price that will work for you,” Williams wrote on 28 June 2022. Continue reading...

What Kids Are Reading report found communities on sites such as TikTok helped stimulate interest in readingThe number of books read by children increased by almost a quarter last year, according to a report, as BookTok and other social media trends stimulated interest in reading for young people.The 2023 What Kids Are Reading report, which surveyed children in the UK and Ireland, found that pupils read 27,265,657 books in the 2021-2022 academic year, 24% more than the 2020-2021 academic year. Continue reading...

If Tory MPs vote down opposition day motion, Labour can accuse them of thwarting attempts to clean up rivers, beaches and chalk streamsLabour is planing to use the same Commons procedure that helped remove Liz Truss from Downing Street to force Conservative MPs into a politically embarrassing vote about whether to toughen up rules on sewage discharges.The party plans to use its regular opposition day motion on Tuesday to push a binding motion, which would oblige the government to set aside Commons time next week for a debate and vote on a Labour bill to impose tougher penalties for sewage spills. Continue reading...

Labour must balance tackling antisemitism with demonstrating an even-handed complaints systemKeir Starmer and his allies have been using the local election campaign as a trial run ahead of the all-important general election next year. For the last three and a half weeks, they have been laser-focused on campaigning on doorsteps, pushing out Twitter attack adverts and setting out what they would do in office.But 10 days before the key electoral test, Labour finds itself desperately trying to stave off yet another racism row. After Diane Abbott was swiftly suspended from the party for her remarks in a letter to the Observer, speculation has swirled on how long officials will take to investigate her comments and decide on her fate. Continue reading...

Health secretary Steve Barclay claims some industrial action is unlawful as mandate will have expiredMinisters are pressing ahead with a legal challenge to halt some of this weekend’s planned strike by nurses in England.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) disclosed on Monday evening that the government is applying to the high court in London for a ruling that the action by nurses on Tuesday 2 May is illegal. Continue reading...

Publication follows weeks of allegations about Confederation of British Industry reported by the Guardian