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The Chinese leader’s surprise contact with his Ukrainian counterpart is suspected to be a corrective move

In today’s newsletter: With social services gutted under austerity and abuses of police power exposed, advocacy groups are calling for community-led ways to support young people

Australian home affairs minister Clare O’Neil unveils reforms designed to cut red tape and reduce delays to permanent residency

Director says the renewed focus on the comedy festival taking Humphries’ name off an award in 2019 is ‘really, really inappropriate’

Senior MPs say attendance of Han Zheng, accused of breaching Sino-British treaty with Hong Kong crackdown, would be insultSenior Conservative MPs have labelled the expected attendance of China’s vice-president at King Charles’s coronation as “outrageous”.Han Zheng, who was recently appointed as president Xi Jinping’s deputy, is expected to represent China at the May event, Politico reported. Continue reading...

Officers search Mugdock country park after death of primary school teacher Marelle SturrockPolice are searching for a man at a country park in Scotland after a schoolteacher was found dead nine miles away.Marelle Sturrock, 35, was discovered at 8.40am on Tuesday in a property in Jura Street in Glasgow. Police Scotland said her death is being treated as suspicious. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health secretary trying to ‘wear down’ NHS nurses rather than negotiating, RCN general secretary to tell high courtSteve Barclay will be accused of wasting taxpayers’ money by pursuing striking nurses through the courts when the government seeks on Thursday to shorten their industrial action due to start on Sunday evening.In a witness statement to be heard in the high court, Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, will say the health and social care secretary is trying to “wear down” nurses through legal action. Continue reading...

Benjamin Jeremy Bourke pleads guilty to attempted murder after chasing and shooting teenager with arrows from a compound bow

Appearing in New York court, singer-songwriter defends his ballad Thinking Out Loud against similarities with Gaye’s song Let’s Get It OnEd Sheeran has defended his songwriting in a New York court after it was alleged that he plagiarised Marvin Gaye’s song Let’s Get It On for his own hit ballad Thinking Out Loud.The lawsuit is being brought by the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer on Let’s Get It On, Ed Townsend, and was originally filed in 2017. It alleges that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied an ascending four-chord sequence, and its rhythm. Continue reading...

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Anita Frawley tells parliamentary inquiry the AFL was ‘fantastic’ in caring for her family but needs to do more for other players

Abby Grossberg alleges she was subject to bullying, sexism and antisemitism while working on the former host’s prime-time showTucker Carlson’s abrupt departure from Fox News sent shock waves through the American political and media landscapes and immediately many US pundits linked it to the huge settlement the rightwing channel had just reached with Dominion Voting Systems.Carlson, as a far-right provocateur, had been instrumental in the channel’s airing of conspiracy theories around the 2020 election that had often put Dominion’s voting machines at the heart of false claims of ballot rigging. Continue reading...

Colin Bloom’s report expected to be most sweeping review of government’s relationship with religion in more than a generationUK ministers’ efforts to stop forced marriages are failing because the unit set up to tackle them is undervalued, under-resourced and overly focused on Muslim families, according to a report from Michael Gove’s levelling up department.The 165-page report by Colin Bloom, the government’s faith adviser, will highlight a range of areas in which ministers are ineffective because they are too wary of tackling problems that arise within religious communities. It is expected to be the most sweeping review of the government’s relationship with religion in more than a generation Continue reading...

Prince was among at least five members of royal family who used Bank of England Nominees – set up in 1970s to prevent disclosure of queen’s investmentsPrince Andrew held his shareholdings through a government-backed shell company that was created to conceal royal investments from public scrutiny.The prince was among at least five members of the royal family who used the shell company Bank of England Nominees, which was set up in the 1970s to prevent the “embarrassing” public disclosure of Queen Elizabeth II’s investments. Continue reading...

Items belonging to Queen singer on sale include costumes, handwritten lyrics and a moustache combFor more than 30 years, Freddie Mercury’s London home has been untouched, a shrine to the legendary superstar of the rock band Queen who died in 1991 at the age of 45.Now its contents – from Mercury’s dazzling stage costumes and handwritten lyrics to paintings and beautiful objects collected on his travels – are to go on show in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong ahead of being sold at auction. Continue reading...

European Environment Agency says Ukraine crisis cannot be used to justify delayThe EU’s environmental watchdog has hit back at calls to stall a 50% cut in the use and risks of synthetic pesticides and a 20% cut in fertiliser use by 2030, arguing that the Ukraine crisis provides scant justification for delay.EU states with the backing of powerful farm unions and centre-right parties have blocked the proposed pesticide reform unless the European Commission completes a second impact study by 28 June to assuage food security fears. Continue reading...

Exclusive: First audit of spaces reveals people visited to due to loneliness as well as to keep warmMore than half a million people visited community “warm rooms” to escape freezing homes and escalating poverty during the winter, according to the first audit of the impact of these potent symbols of the UK’s cost of living crisis.Warm space projects sprang up in their thousands across the UK in the autumn, as charities, libraries and faith groups responded to soaring energy poverty by opening venues to provide cash strapped people with warmth, free food and a cup of tea. Continue reading...

Folbigg and her two daughters found to carry a rare genetic variation, which could cast doubt on her convictions, inquiry hears

It would be first time a UK union wins formal negotiation rights and comes after GMB-organised strikes at warehouseAmazon workers at the delivery firm’s Coventry depot are demanding formal union recognition, after membership more than doubled during strike action.If granted, it would be the first time a union in the UK has won the right to negotiate with the American tech firm. Continue reading...

Jaclyn Symes urges other jurisdictions to follow state after announcing ‘staged approach’ to ensure support services are in place

Dennis Barnes’s offers from 125 colleges and universities approach a national recordA high school student in Louisiana has received more than $9m in scholarship offers, an amount that leaves him at least close to clinching what is believed to be a US record.Dennis Barnes has been offered aid from 125 colleges and universities, after maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 4.98, among other academic accomplishments, at International high school in New Orleans. Continue reading...

The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, which is openly homophobic, is a direct recipient of UK aid moneyThe UK government is helping to fund the work of a virulently homophobic religious organisation in Uganda, whose leaders have backed a proposed law that would make identifying as gay a criminal offence, a report has found.Analysing official data given to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), the report by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC) found a “staggering” number of connections between anti-LGBTQ+ organisations in Uganda and international aid donors, including the UK. Continue reading...

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