World news | The Guardian

Ukraine president meets British prime minister in UK; Iran has sent more than 400 attack drones to Russia since August, US says

Damien Sartip Zadeh and his brother Dale used fraudulent website to trick people into paying for the cardsTwo brothers have been jailed for defrauding £2m from “unsuspecting, ordinary, busy” people who were tricked into thinking they needed to pay for European health insurance cards (Ehics).Damien Sartip Zadeh, 32, was jailed for nine and a half years and his brother Dale, 35, got eight years after being found guilty of fraudulent trading and laundering the proceeds between February 2013 and October 2019. Continue reading...

Former PC accused of failing to properly investigate two instances of flashing before murder of Sarah EverardA Metropolitan police officer allegedly “did not bother” to properly investigate Wayne Couzens over two incidents of flashing hours before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.Former PC Samantha Lee is accused of conducting an “extremely poor” investigation after Couzens exposed himself to female staff at a drive-through McDonald’s in Kent on 14 and 27 February 2021, a police disciplinary hearing was told. Continue reading...

Authorities posted photographs and video on Telegram channel after authoritarian ruler missed eventsBelarusian authorities have released photographs and video of Alexander Lukashenko, attempting to put an end to a week of speculation about the authoritarian leader’s health.The footage showed Lukashenko visiting an army control point, but the ruler’s heavily bandaged arm and hoarse, exhausted voice appeared to confirm rumours that he has been in poor health. Continue reading...

Survey finds caterers changing their menus and cutting back on choice because of supply issuesSome schools are substituting lentils and beans for meat while others are cutting pupils’ portion sizes because of rising costs, food shortages and problematic supply chains, according to caterers, who say they are “facing a precipice”.In a survey by LACA – the School Food People, which represents caterers in England and Wales, 77% of respondents said they had changed their menus because of supply issues, while 26% had cut back on choice. Continue reading...

Exclusive: consultant at Addenbrooke’s improperly accessed health history of woman who dated her ex-boyfriendThe UK medical regulator has launched an investigation into a “stalker” doctor who accessed intimate details of the health history of a woman who had begun dating the doctor’s ex-boyfriend.The General Medical Council (GMC) is investigating whether the doctor – a consultant at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge – breached their professional, ethical and legal duties to protect the woman’s personal information.“Doctors are under both ethical and legal duties to protect patients’ personal information from improper disclosure.”“Good doctors work in partnership with patients and respect their rights to privacy and dignity.”“You must make sure that your conduct justifies your patients’ trust in you and the public’s trust in the profession.” Continue reading...

Campaign to reform laws that shield royal family is now part of mainstream but making it happen will be difficult

Home secretary makes speech to National Conservatism conference and warns against following path in USQ: Would Labour repeal the Public Order Act?Starmer says Labour was opposed to it as it was going through. Continue reading...

Private equity owners hope to cash in on post-Covid trend for UK domestic breaks with sale of firm’s six resortsCenter Parcs’ UK and Irish business is being put up for sale with a price tag of up to £5bn – double the amount it was bought for in 2015 – as its private equity owners seek to cash in on the trend for domestic breaks kickstarted by the Covid pandemic.The potential sale comes after the group – whose five resorts in the UK and one in Ireland are known for their tropical-themed indoor pools, spas and activities for kids and their sometimes eye-watering fees – bounced back to a profit after being forced to close outlets under pandemic restrictions. Continue reading...

Two directors of scrap metal recycling plant were jailed for nine months after collapse of 45-tonne wall crushed five menTwo company directors have been jailed for nine months after five workers died when a wall collapsed at a scrap metal recycling plant in Birmingham.Wayne Hawkeswood and Graham Woodhouse were in charge of the site when the 45-tonne wall collapsed in July 2016 in the Nechells area of the city, and were each found guilty of four health and safety offences. Continue reading...

Former police chief, comedian and rescue dog Molly among those vying to replace John Tory, who resigned in February over an affairMore than 100 candidates, including a former police chief, a comedian and a dog, are all vying for the chance to be mayor of Canada’s largest city.One hundred and two prospective mayors formally registered before Friday’s deadline as candidates in the mayoral byelection at the end of June. Continue reading...

Akita, which refused to budge after climbing Scafell Pike, stayed ‘positively regal’ as it was carried down by mountain rescueA mountain rescue team has praised the “cool, calm and positively regal” demeanour of the subject of a weekend callout: an injured and exhausted dog who got up England’s highest peak but refused to come down.Rocky the akita and its owners successfully climbed Scafell Pike in the Lake District on Saturday. Continue reading...

James Allchurch, of Pembrokeshire, sentenced for distributing material to stir up racial hatredThe white supremacist host of a podcast that made “vile” racist attacks in an attempt to stir up hatred, divide communities and spread fear has been jailed for two and a half years.James Allchurch, 51, from Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, and his guests used extreme racial slurs and propagated racist ideology while discussing topics such as grooming gangs, immigration, slavery and crime. Continue reading...

High court deals blow to Guy Hands’s Annington Property with ruling that privatisation was ‘bad deal’The UK government has won the right to take back control of thousands of military homes worth £8bn after a court ruled that the previous privatisation was a “bad deal” for the government, in a significant blow to the private equity investor Guy Hands.London’s high court ruled on Monday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has the right to buy back the remaining 38,000 homes, which were bought in 1996 by Annington, a group of companies ultimately controlled by Hands, for £1.7bn. Continue reading...

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...