WHO warns some hospitals in Khartoum short of blood and other critical supplies to treat wounded and clashes enter third day

Treasurer says he will engage with opposition and crossbench on legislative changes around central bank

Court told Alexander Csergo was paid to prepare reports on Australian defence arrangements, but lawyer says documents were ‘not necessarily sinister’

Brasília encounter, like Brazilian president’s recent trip to China and offer of peacemaking in Ukraine, is part of diplomatic resetRussia’s minister of foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, is due to arrive in Brasília on Monday for talks with his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, in the latest of a series of bilateral encounters likely to ruffle the US.Lavrov arrives just as Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, returns from a state visit to China, and both missions are part of a diplomatic reset Lula has pursued since returning to power this year, as he strives to recover Brazil’s international reputation after his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, dismantled Brazil’s established tradition of cooperation. Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews warns of ‘very difficult measures’ in May budget as government works to get state finances on track post-Covid

Anti-monarchy group Republic says issue is ‘urgent’ given forthcoming coronation of King CharlesThe campaign group Republic has accused the BBC of a lack of impartiality in its coverage before the coronation of King Charles, accusing the broadcaster of failing to hold the monarchy to account.In a letter to David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial and policy standards, the Republic chief executive, Graham Smith, said the complaint was “particularly urgent in light of the forthcoming coronation”. Continue reading...

Campaigners say underinvestment in NHS is forcing patients to seek private treatment if they can afford itOne in eight Britons have paid for private health services in the last year, amid frustration with delays in getting NHS treatment and a growing willingness to buy care using salary or savings.New research by YouGov found that another 27% of people had considered going private, for themselves or a loved one, but decided against it, often because they couldn’t afford it.33% of those who had used private healthcare instead of the NHS had done so for the first time.53% went private “so I could be seen more quickly”.most (48%) paid for non-urgent care, such as a diagnostic test or operation. Continue reading...

Bannau Brycheiniog national park also ditches fiery logo as it embarks on plan to tackle climate and biodiversity crisisThe name and logo is familiar to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit every year to climb the peaks, explore the fast-flowing streams and rivers and unwind in the towns and villages.But from Monday the Brecon Beacons national park is dropping its English language name and scrapping its logo of a fiery greenhouse gas-emitting beacon as it launches a plan designed to tackle issues in the park created by the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Continue reading...

Guardian investigation also reveals stark differences between forces in approaches to recording complaintsSexual misconduct and racism claims against officers are proportionally higher in some English forces than at the Metropolitan police, a Guardian investigation has found, as new figures also revealed starkly different approaches to recording.Three forces – Essex, Suffolk and Staffordshire – had, by proportion, more officers under investigation due to allegations of racism than the Met, according to the snapshot of investigations covering the period of late January and early February. Continue reading...

Premier says government will not proceed with public inquiry as it could affect investigation being conducted by commission

Relationship between ACT police and DPP ‘beset by tension’, first public hearing told

From fights at the Bodyguard musical to wild drunken antics at comedy clubs and even heckling at the opera, performers and theatre staff say crowds are getting out of hand. What’s going on?From drunken revellers singing over emotional ballads at jukebox musicals to an opera-goer heckling a child performer, there has been a growing number of news stories since the pandemic about people behaving badly at entertainment venues. Then came the headlines about the police being called to the Bodyguard musical to quell an actual fight.So what, exactly, is happening to British audiences, which are stereotypically seen as polite and even repressed? Theatre critic Alice Savile tells Nosheen Iqbal about her recent wild nights out at the theatre, and how front-of-house staff are finding it hard to cope. We hear from usher Bethany North on the abuse she’s experienced. Continue reading...

Li Shangfu travelled to Moscow where he said ties between the countries ‘surpass military-political alliances of the cold war era’Vladimir Putin and China’s defence minister Li Shangfu have vowed to deepen military cooperation between China and Russia after the men met in Moscow over the weekend.Li, who met the Russian president on Sunday on his first trip overseas in the role, said China was willing to work with Russia to have close strategic communications between their militaries. Continue reading...

The men have been charged with kidnapping offences after a couple was allegedly abducted in the Sydney suburb of Fairfield

Investment fraud amounts for biggest share at $1.5bn, followed by remote access and payment redirection rorts

Mark Lang died in hospital after being injured in incident on 28 March while out delivering parcelsA delivery driver who was allegedly hit by his own van that had been stolen has died in hospital, police have confirmed. Mark Lang, 54, suffered serious injuries following the collision in North Road, Cardiff, on 28 March.Lang, of Cyncoed, was delivering parcels in Laytonia Avenue in Cathays, Cardiff, before the incident. Continue reading...

Intense fighting in middle of eastern city as Russia claims advances; Sloviansk death toll rises to 11 while Russian shelling also kills two in Kherson

Animal Rising says 68 people still in custody, as RSPCA calls for review of three horse deaths at Aintree festivalMore than 40 animal rights activists have been de-arrested after protesters stormed the Grand National, according to the campaign group Animal Rising.Merseyside police said 118 people had been arrested following the disruption that caused a 14-minute delay to the world’s most famous steeplechase on Saturday. Continue reading...

Conference for sociologists hears how visitors often fail to challenge the police and can have limited access to detaineesOversight of how people who have been arrested and detained in custody cells at police stations in England and Wales are treated is inadequate to deter misconduct by officers, a conference has heard.The independent custody visitors scheme is supposed to allow members of the community to check on the treatment and welfare of detainees, 15 to 20 of whom die in police custody each year, a disproportionate number of them Black.Visitors failing to report back to detainees when asked to make enquiries on their behalf.Visitors not being permitted to monitor police interviews with detainees, nor monitor the welfare of detainees waiting to be booked in – the stage at which Sean Rigg died.Limited scope for their findings to be made public.Visitors not viewing themselves as independent, with many assuming detainees were guilty. Continue reading...

Head of insurance market floats idea of giving government bespoke flood and drought coverThe head of Lloyd’s of London has offered to strike a world-first deal with the UK government to help the NHS meet unexpected increases in costs triggered by major events such as another pandemic.John Neal, who runs the world’s largest insurance market, where 76 firms operate, floated the possibility of providing bespoke insurance contracts to the struggling health service, as well as government cover for floods or droughts caused by the climate crisis, when he met the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, for the first time last month. Continue reading...

Three of agency’s workers killed amid two days of violent clashes between army and paramilitariesViolence has been reported across Sudan for a second day as fighting continued in the capital and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it was temporarily halting all operations in the country after the deaths of three employees in the Darfur region.It followed a day of deadly battles between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that left at least 56 people dead and nearly 600 wounded in Khartoum. Sudan’s army launched airstrikes on a rival paramilitary force’s base near the capital in an effort to reassert control over the chaotic country. Continue reading...

Foreign minister says foreign and defence policies are both essential for making the country stronger and more influential

Ethically Enhanced website sold Hubba Bubba-flavoured vapes containing cannabidiol, as owner of bubble gum brand considers legal action

Turnitin claims its device is 98% accurate but some institutions are concerned about not having enough time to make a decision

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says latest attack brings the number of foragers killed since February to 200Suspected Islamic State fighters killed at least 26 people in Syria on Sunday, a war monitor said, the latest in a spate of attacks targeting people foraging for desert truffles.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “civilians and at least 10 pro-regime fighters” were among “the 26 people killed in an attack by Islamic State fighters while they were collecting truffles in the desert east of Hama”. Continue reading...

NHS Providers urges government to ‘come to the table’ as RCN union leader says stoppages could continue until ChristmasMinisters are facing pressure to tackle an escalating wave of NHS strikes, after the organisation representing NHS trusts warned that planned stoppages by nurses that could last until Christmas were “not sustainable” for the health service.With nurses due to be balloted on new strikes after voting to reject what the government called a “full and final” pay offer, the head of the main nursing union said Steve Barclay, the health secretary, did not seem willing to listen. Continue reading...

The longest-running production in Germany, restaged for a new generation of theatregoers, is a curious mixture of 80s nostalgia and politics … with great tunesThe four men dressed in widow’s weeds of black bombazine had hardly stepped on to the stage when the first yelps of delight rippled through the audience at Berlin’s Grips theatre, an intimate 360-seat venue in the west of the city. By the time the quartet in drag have locked arms to kick up their heels, the mixed-age crowd is clapping in time to the oompah beat.The Wilmersdorf Widows song is to Volker Ludwig’s musical Linie 1 (Line One) what All That Jazz is to Chicago, or Time Warp to The Rocky Horror Picture Show: the catchy showstopper that brings the house down. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts say sensitive information could potentially have been harvested and used for targeted election interferenceThe voting intentions of millions of Britons in local authority wards across the country could have been at risk of misuse as a result of a glitch in the Labour party’s main phone-banking system, the Guardian understands.Experts had warned that the sensitive data could potentially have been harvested via an automated programme and used for targeted election interference by campaign groups or even hostile states. Continue reading...

Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges jokes about prison food in letter homeEvan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, has said in his first direct communication to his parents in the US that he is not “losing hope”, and joked in the letter about the quality of the prison food.Gershkovich, 31, became the first American journalist to be detained in Russia on spying charges since the end of the cold war when he was detained in the city of Ekaterinburg, 1,100 miles (1,800km) east of Moscow, on 29 March. Continue reading...

Pressure mounts over health and economic pledges as Sunak campaigns to shore up Conservative heartlands in poll test• Read more: NHS crisis deepens as nurses plan ‘mega strike’A prolonged NHS crisis stoked by further strikes risks derailing Rishi Sunak’s local election plans amid Tory concern that the prime minister is already facing pressure over flagship pledges on health and the economy.The prime minister will head to the south-east this week as he attempts to shore up Tory heartland seats where traditional supporters had been put off by the chaos of the Johnson and Truss regimes. However, opposition parties have reported findings that the NHS remains the most salient issue among soft Tory voters. Continue reading...

Party’s leader says he wants a ‘strong showing’ in Scotland, where it holds just one Westminster constituencyLabour must win back significant numbers of parliamentary seats in Scotland if it is to be seen as a legitimate UK-wide government, Keir Starmer has said.Speaking on a BBC Radio 4 programme about politics in Scotland after the recent turmoil in the Scottish National party (SNP), including the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister, Starmer said this was an important aim for his party. Continue reading...

Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions remind many of first steps taken by ‘illiberal’ governments in Budapest and WarsawAt the height of the protests in Israel over Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial changes early last month, a Polish minister gave a revealing radio interview in Warsaw.“Of course, we are talking with Israel, and to some extent we shared our experiences in this regard,” said the deputy foreign minister, Paweł Jabłoński, when asked for his views on the proposed Israeli laws. Continue reading...

Buyers are being warned about the over-restoring or upgrading of furniture to make it appear more valuableDealers are over-restoring and upgrading furniture with modern additions disguised to make them look older and more valuable, a leading expert has warned.Yannick Chastang, former furniture conservator of the Wallace Collection, which boasts one of the world’s finest furniture holdings, can no longer turn a blind eye to what some dealers and restorers are doing. Continue reading...

Unsafe buildings could still be putting staff at risk of cancer through contact with the material, warn unions, experts and MPsFresh concerns have been raised about the amount of asbestos remaining in dilapidated schools and hospitals, after new analysis found that almost 150 health and education workers were recorded as dying from cancer related to the material in recent years.According to official data, there have been 147 deaths among health and education workers since 2017. Experts believe the figure is likely to be a significant underestimate because of the way someone’s profession is recorded on death certificates. Continue reading...

Police charged about 50 protesters after coal train was brought to a standstill for four hours

Welfare groups claim information could be used by Home Office to deport asylum seekersPolice have been collecting the sensitive data of unaccompanied child asylum seekers and sharing it with immigration enforcement, sparking fears it could be used against them for their deportation.As part of a government operation to prevent unaccompanied migrant children being trafficked from Home Office hotels, police officers meet them for what is described as a “welfare conversation” to create “a relationship of trust”. Continue reading...

Mikheil Saakashvili warned of Putin’s ambitions 15 years ago. Now he tells of torture by a regime that panders to MoscowLocked up in a Tbilisi hospital, Mikheil Saakashvili is slowly wasting away.“I am asking to be transferred to Poland, as it is crystal clear that in Georgian hospital I will die,” Georgia’s former president wrote in response to questions from the Observer last week. His answers were scrawled in blue ballpoint pen on sheets of paper, passed to his lawyers. Continue reading...

Authorities allege two youths assaulted a guard with a makeshift weapon and freed another 11 from their cells

Wagga Wagga and other towns on the inland rail route have been asking for a bypass and say that is supported by Dr Kerry Schott’s review

Two-storey development south-east of Brisbane at the centre of legal battle amid a housing crisis across the state

Councillor, who is currently sitting as an independent, says he is ‘disappointed’ by decision and will be appealingA Conservative councillor who said an alleged rape victim was probably a prostitute has been expelled from the party.Shaun Slator, who currently sits as an independent councillor on Bromley council, made the comments on Twitter in response to a news report about a rape inquiry in Plumstead, south-east London. Continue reading...

Fourteen smart motorways removed from government road-building plans over cost and safety fearsThe building of new smart motorways is being cancelled as Rishi Sunak acknowledged concerns about safety and cost.Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road-building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the lack of public trust. Continue reading...

Lack of shelters may be forcing victims to return to their violent partners or leaving them homelessMore than 10,000 women escaping domestic abuse across England were refused safe housing last year, amid warnings that many could be left homeless or driven back to dangerous partners as a result of a “woeful” lack of safe accommodation.Official figures seen by the Observer found that almost 8,000 households referred to a safe accommodation service did not receive support because there was no capacity. A further 3,000 were denied places because the shelter “could not meet the needs of the household”, with figures suggesting this was often due to mental health issues, drug and alcohol use or disability. Continue reading...

UK Ministry of Defence says Kremlin has made it harder for civilians to avoid being drafted into the army

Twenty-nine passengers also injured as vehicle slides off highway during journey from Pune to MumbaiA passenger bus carrying dozens of members of a music troupe slid off a highway and fell into a gorge in western India on Saturday, killing 13 people and injuring 29 others, police said.The bus was on its way to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, in Maharashtra state, from Pune city, where the musicians held a performance, said Atul Zende, a police officer. The exact cause of the crash was not immediately known. Continue reading...

Sources say Home Office apologised to Essex force over seizure of racist dolls but government denies claimThe row over Suella Braverman’s “rebuke” to Essex police for seizing racist golly dolls from a pub intensified yesterday after sources indicated the Home Office had apologised to the force over the episode.Last weekend, rightwing newspapers were briefed that Braverman had reprimanded the force for removing the golly dolls and that the home secretary’s displeasure had been made “very plain to Essex police”. In truth, no attempt was made by Braverman to contact Essex police over their decision to remove several offensive dolls displayed in the White Hart Inn in Grays. Continue reading...

A BBC Two documentary looks at the late designer’s life and finances through the eyes of his friendsThe legal fallout from the death of Karl Lagerfeld four years ago is still heavily draped in secrecy. But, ahead of a major exhibition of the great German clothes designer’s work in New York, a new BBC documentary is about to offer a glimpse of his unusual private life and shed light on his enormous financial legacy.While Lagerfeld’s vast Parisian apartment remains sealed and his £150m estate is tied up in protracted negotiations between lawyers in Monaco and Paris, it has emerged that the leading beneficiary of his will is set to be the 33-year-old French model Baptiste Giabiconi. Continue reading...

The former prime minister could swap constituencies now that his own might be in danger at next general electionDespite the threat of being subjected to a high-profile election night toppling, Boris Johnson has vowed to stand again in his precarious Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency. Yet should the former prime minister have a change of heart and decide to head for a safe seat that he knows well, plans are being made by rival parties to make life difficult for him.The tempting prospect of returning to Henley has emerged, after the sitting MP announced in the last few days that he would not be seeking re-election in the Oxfordshire constituency. John Howell has held the seat since 2008, inheriting it from Johnson when he left to become London mayor. Continue reading...

British public has yet to comprehend scale of party’s economic ambitions, says business chief Jonathan ReynoldsThe British public is yet to understand “the scale of Labour’s ambition on the economy”, one of Keir Starmer’s most senior shadow ministers has said, adding that the party needs to explain how it will be the most interventionist government for a generation.Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, said that the party had not yet fully communicated the “sum of its parts” in terms of how a series of technical policy fixes would translate into the ambitious transformation of the economy that the party will attempt to achieve. Continue reading...

Magnet for thousands of collectors of furry toys will close doors next weekNineteen-year-old Molly Bell arrived in London early last week from Brisbane. By Wednesday, she had found her way to a tiny toy emporium in a nondescript street in north London to fulfil a dream. She needed to move fast as the Sylvanian Families shop, selling the eponymous toy animals and their habitats, closes on 22 April after more than 30 years.Since 1992, the charming Highbury shop has been a magnet for thousands of collectors of the anthropomorphic animals – a magical grotto reminiscent of a bygone idyll. Continue reading...