Parent company IDS posts loss of £748m as it blames industrial action and failure to increase productivityRoyal Mail has reported a £1bn loss, with bosses blaming strike action by workers and a failure to increase productivity for its poor performance during a year in which it cut 10,000 jobs.The poor performance led International Distributions Services (IDS), which owns Royal Mail, to report an overall loss of £748m for the year to 26 March. That compares with a profit of £577m a year earlier. Continue reading...

Bank customers can no longer make payments to the cryptocurrency exchange, in a move to reduce scams

The woman was taken to Cooma district hospital and family say they do not expect her to survive as police launch internal investigation

In a speech to the Queensland Resources Council, billionaire mining magnate says more mines are the solution to country’s economic woes

Tweets from Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine wrongly claiming Stewart Lingiari was the grandson of the land rights activist remain online

PM also says Japanese businesses have invested £18bn in UK as he visits country for G7 summitRishi Sunak has arrived in Tokyo to announce a new defence partnership with Japan and support £18bn of private business deals, ahead of the G7 summit aimed at addressing the threats of Russia and China.Before the gathering of world leaders in Hiroshima on Friday, Sunak is meeting Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, to discuss more defence cooperation in the face of China’s increasing belligerence towards Taiwan. Continue reading...

Election will fill 462 seats in Northern Ireland’s 11 councils and shape battle lines between parties

Ukraine and China’s Taiwan ambitions are expected to dominate summit discussions, but Fumio Kishida will have a powerful backdropThe war in Ukraine and Chinese aggression towards Taiwan will dominate G7 discussions this week, but host Fumio Kishida is expected to carve out time to push for a pledge on nuclear weapons when leaders meet in Hiroshima, the first place on Earth targeted by an atomic bomb.The leaders began to arrive on Thursday, ahead of an expected visit on Saturday to the city’s Peace Memorial Museum, which contains exhibits showing the scale of the tragedy that unfolded after the US dropped a nuclear bomb on the morning of 6 August 1945, killing 140,000 people by the end of the year. Continue reading...

Xiao Qian suggests improvement in Australian relationship with Beijing possible but would take ‘mutual respect’

Climate activists face large penalties and three-month jail terms in bipartisan move which appears to have been hashed out on talkback radio

President spoke of ‘joy for the country’ after four children had been found two weeks after crash, but military sources say they have no confirmation of the newsThere was confusion over whether four children from an Indigenous community in Colombia had been found alive following a plane crash, after claims from the country’s president that they had been located were contradicted by military sources.The children have been missing for more than two weeks after the plane they were travelling in crashed in the dense jungle of Colombia’s Caqueta province, president Gustavo Petro has said. Continue reading...

Triumphal arch in Cinquantenaire park ‘linked to exploitation of Congo’, says cultural group in Belgian capitalFor many Belgians, the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels evokes memories of childhood visits to see the stuffed horses of the military history museum, or vintage cars at Autoworld, two institutions on the edge of the park.The much-loved green space’s cheerful flowers and whimsical follies contrast with the steel canyons and beeping traffic of the adjacent EU quarter, but above all it is an expression of national pride, with a giant Belgian tricolour often suspended underneath a massive triumphal arch. Built in 1880 to mark 50 years of the Belgian state, Belgium’s federal government last month launched a redevelopment plan for the 200th anniversary in 2030. Continue reading...

Some of the big figures on the political right, including two cabinet ministers, have been speaking this week at the National Conservatism conference in London. How much sway does this vocal group have over government? The Guardian’s John Harris is joined by the former Tory minister David Gauke and the Observer’s Sonia Sodha to discuss Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews says it is important to see if rules around wearing of restraints need to change

Former Coalition minister had been under pressure from Labor after failing to attend parliament during budget week, despite still being an MP

The 32-year-old was facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, but the public prosecutor withdrew three of the charges on Thursday

Alexander Rodnyansky and theatre director Ivan Vyrypaev, both vocal critics of Putin and the invasion of Ukraine, have been accused of ‘spreading false information’ about the Russian armyA Moscow court has ordered the arrest of prominent film producer Alexander Rodnyansky and theatre director Ivan Vyrypaev for “spreading false information” about the Russian army.The initial court hearings against Rodnyansky and Vyrypaev were held on 27 April, but not reported by the court until Wednesday. Continue reading...

The labour market has remained tight since Covid curbed the influx of migrants and foreign students

ACT government spokesperson says director of public prosecutions is on leave at his request

Li Hui, the highest-ranking Chinese diplomat to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion, is on a European tour to promote Beijing’s peace planUkraine’s foreign minister has met China’s special envoy to Kyiv and insisted that the war-torn country would not accept a peace plan that relied on giving up territory after Russia’s invasion.In the Ukrainian capital, China’s envoy Li Hui is seeking to promote Beijing-led negotiations to resolve the conflict. He is the most senior Chinese diplomat to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. Continue reading...

Legal experts say those at the heart of the allegations could escape the Nacc’s scrutiny on a technicality

Higher education regulator asks 23 institutions for contingency plans in case of sudden interruption of incomeEngland’s higher education regulator has warned universities against over-reliance on tuition fees of students from China, as Rishi Sunak backtracked on his earlier pledge to close UK branches of the Beijing-sponsored Confucius Institute.The Office for Students (OfS) wrote to 23 universities with high numbers of Chinese students on Thursday, asking to see their contingency planning in case of a sudden interruption to overseas recruitment. Continue reading...

BBC claims online listening increase offsets live decline, while Rajar figures show Greatest Hits and LBC gaining audienceRadio 4’s Today Programme has lost 800,000 listeners in the past year as they switched to podcasts and rival talk radio shows.The agenda-setting breakfast discussion programme has been trying to reinvent itself in recent months, adopting a more informal tone for parts of the show. It has also had to deal with Rishi Sunak’s government cutting access to government ministers as part of a deliberate communication strategy. Continue reading...

Independent NSW MP asks lawyers to proceed after state’s One Nation leader declines ultimatum to apologise

Report says giving semaglutide once a week gave ‘historically unprecedented’ resultsNearly half of children who were assigned the “skinny jab” lost enough weight to no longer be classed as clinically obese, according to research.The study, led by Dr Aaron Kelly, the co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, looked at 201 adolescents who were classed as clinically obese. Continue reading...

Investigation into premature deaths of more than 450 people at community hospital will be ‘decisive’, say Kent and Essex policePolice investigating the deaths of hundreds of patients at a community hospital say they have identified 19 suspects.An independent police investigation was launched into Gosport War Memorial hospital, in Hampshire, after inquiries found that hundreds of patients had their lives shortened through the use of opioids. Continue reading...

Cabinet reshuffle to see health minister and attorney general swap portfolios as Palaszczuk government dips in polls

PM expected to unveil Hiroshima accord at meeting with Japan’s Fumio Kishida amid fears of China’s rising militarisationRishi Sunak will seek to build a stronger defence with Japan amid fears of China’s rising militarisation as he travels to Tokyo and Hiroshima for the G7 summit.The prime minister will be accompanied by his wife, Akshata Murty, on their first official visit since he entered No 10 for the meeting of leaders from the US, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy and the EU. Continue reading...

On flight to Japan for G7, PM says ‘economic optimism is increasing’ and insists Brexit is workingRishi Sunak has been accused of being out of touch with ordinary families after claiming the economy was looking up and people’s household incomes were “hugely outperforming” expectations despite the cost of living crisis.On a flight to Japan for the G7 summit of world leaders, the prime minister said that despite consumers struggling with high inflation and the cost of food and energy, there were “lots of signs that things are moving in the right direction” with the economy. Continue reading...

In the US, the Sussexes are just another celebrity couple – but intense UK tabloid interest means wherever they go, paparazzi will followThe latest tangle between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and a gaggle of paparazzi photographers on the streets of New York has highlighted their struggles with celebrity in the US.Their journey toward a new – and potentially lucrative – life in America has had a mixed reception in US media, where they are seen as just one famous couple in a country with an already large celebrity quotient. Continue reading...

Labour leader accuses Conservative government of killing the dream of home ownershipHouse prices need to fall in relation to people’s incomes, Keir Starmer has said, in a sign the Labour leader is willing to take on the objections of existing homeowners to get more people onto the property ladder.Starmer told the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference on Wednesday that he believed prices should come down to make homes more affordable as he accused the Conservatives of killing the dream of home ownership. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereRussia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said the war in Ukraine may end due to the US abandoning its allies, as he said it had done before in Afghanistan.Tass reports that in an interview with the Tsargrad TV channel, the head of Russian diplomacy recalled the US “abandoned the Afghan leadership on which they had relied during the 20-year US occupation of that country.”At night, Russian troops launched a rocket attack on Mykolaiv: one person was injured. A shopping centre, a car showroom and an industrial facility were partially destroyed; residential buildings and shops were damaged.In the morning, the Russian Federation shelled a hospital in Beryslav, Kherson region. There is damage, no one was hurt. Yesterday, the Russian army fired more than 400 projectiles in the Kherson region – seven people were injured. Continue reading...

Chair of Hinduja Group and his family had estimated collective fortune of more than £28bnSP Hinduja, the billionaire patriarch of Britain’s richest family and chair of the globe-spanning Hinduja Group conglomerate, has died in London at the age of 87, his family have confirmed.Srichand P Hinduja, who was known as SP or Sri, had dementia, according to reports. Continue reading...

Incident happened after couple attended awards ceremony in New York on TuesdayThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the duchess’s mother were involved in a “near catastrophic” two-hour car chase in New York after being followed by “a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi”, the duke’s spokesperson has said.The incident is said to have happened after Prince Harry, Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, attended an awards ceremony on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Peter Nash sentenced to minimum term of 40 years for killing Jillu and Louise at home last SeptemberA man who murdered his wife and their 12-year-old daughter has been jailed for life and told he will probably die in prison.Peter Nash, 47, was given a minimum term of 40 years in prison for the double murder last September at the family’s home in Great Waldingfield near Sudbury, Suffolk. Continue reading...

Court established 32-year-old man had joined forces of Moscow-led separatists in Donbas

Boris Johnson ally says he would not accept peerage while still an MP but will stand down at next electionAlister Jack, the Scottish secretary, has spared Rishi Sunak a byelection by ruling out taking the peerage he is understood to have been offered by Boris Johnson.The Dumfries and Galloway MP, a close ally of the former prime minister, became the latest Conservative to confirm he would stand down from his seat at the next election. Continue reading...

Carmakers call on Britain to change rules on batteries that they say threaten electric vehicle production

Carlos Soria forced to abandon ascent of Nepal’s Dhaulagiri, one of two 8,000-metre summits he is still to conquerAn 84-year-old Spanish mountaineer has been forced to abandon his 15th attempt to reach the summit of Nepal’s Dhaulagiri – one of the two “8,000ers” he had left to climb to claim the title of the oldest climber to conquer the world’s 14 highest mountains.A Sherpa fell on Carlos Soria, injuring his leg, a message posted on his behalf on his Twitter and Facebook accounts said. Continue reading...

Employees attack ‘impossible situation’ as they face losing hundreds of pounds a week in payPizza Express is facing a rebellion from employees after announcing a cut to hours for hundreds of waiting staff before 5pm – handing their duties over to restaurant managers.The changes, poised to be implemented this week, will mean a reduction in pay for as many as 400 hourly paid waiting staff in up to 90 of the group’s 360 restaurants while salaried managers will have an added workload for no extra pay. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage here.Keir Starmer has confirmed that Labour would seek to improve the Brexit deal that the UK has with the EU. Asked about the reports that the car manufacturer Stellantis wants the trade and cooperation agreement renegotiated because it believes that in its current form it puts manufacturing jobs in the UK at risk, Starmer told BBC Breakfast the UK needed “a better Brexit deal”. He said:Look, we’re not going to re-enter the EU. We do need to improve that deal. Of course we want a closer trading relationship, we absolutely do. We want to ensure that Vauxhall and many others not just survive in this country but thrive.Keir Starmer is absolutely right to say developers and landowners need to be prevented from deliberately slowing the rate at which they build houses to drive up prices – local authorities need more control to direct housebuilding where it is most needed.And he’s bang on when he says targeting the green belt for ‘expensive executive housing’ upsets local communities because that’s not the homes that are needed. We’re facing a bona fide housing crisis, with an entire generation effectively priced out of home ownership. What’s more, far too many people are barely able to afford their rent. Continue reading...

International academics join effort to highlight crackdown on freedom after jailing of opposition leader, Rached GhannouchiEuropean powers must stand by pro-democracy Tunisians resisting a fierce onslaught designed to take the country back to the darkest days of dictatorship, a letter from more than 70 academics has urged.The letter, designed to shine a light on the Tunisian crackdown, was in part collated by Soumaya Ghannoushi, whose father, the Tunisian opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, was sentenced to a year in jail on Monday. Continue reading...

Comedian apologises after some critics said gag about dogs chasing a squirrel drew parallels with country’s armyOne of China’s leading comedy show companies has been fined £1.68m after a joke by one of its comedians at a standup show in Beijing about stray dogs went viral over the weekend.In his routine, Li Haoshi, known by the stage name House, told of watching two stray dogs he had adopted chase a squirrel. The phrase that came to mind, he said, was: “Fight well, win the battle” – a punchline based on an eight-character slogan that is associated with China’s People’s Liberation Army. Continue reading...

Ministry’s tweet appearing to blame police for ‘fishing expedition’ withdrawn after Met deputy complainedThe Ministry of Justice has withdrawn a tweet that appeared to blame the police for going on a “fishing expedition” pressuring rape victims to hand over notes on the therapy they had after an attack.The deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Lynne Owens, attacked the tweet, which was trumpeting government changes to the law. Continue reading...

Northumbria force says sorry to George Heron after David Boyd was convicted of seven-year-old’s murderA police force has formally apologised to a man who three decades ago was wrongly accused of killing a seven-year-old girl, after the real murderer was finally convicted.George Heron was 24 when he was charged with the 1992 murder of Sunderland girl Nikki Allan. Continue reading...

International human rights champions and LGBTQ+ campaigners appeal to MPs to vote against bill proposed by rightwingersSlovakian MPs are under mounting international pressure to reject a bill that would see the country follow Hungary in effectively putting a stop to decades of legal gender recognition for transgender people.A vote is expected in parliament within days on a law proposed by conservative and far-right parties that would require someone to have the “correct” set of chromosomes to match their legal gender. Continue reading...

Announcement to take decision away from councillors comes after local party called ‘dysfunctional’

Letting Australians opt out of all targeted advertising under privacy reforms would go further than any other proposal globally, Facebook’s parent company says

Teachers and witnesses first on the scene were described as heroic after an accident that left students with ‘life-changing’ injuries

Apartments and townhouses most affected, as developers opt for detached housing builds that offer ‘much less uncertainty’