World news | The Guardian

Campaign group accuses Holyrood of intolerable' delays to new policies required after landmark caseThe Scottish government has been given a deadline to implement the UK supreme court's ruling on biological sex across all public bodies or face further legal challenges.Sex Matters, the UK-wide gender-critical campaign group, has threatened legal action in 14 days if ministers continue intolerable" delays to new policies and guidance required by April's landmark ruling that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 does not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates. Continue reading...

Head of monitoring boards urges justice secretary to suspend rollout of Pava in England and WalesThe rollout of synthetic pepper spray for use to incapacitate jailed children is wholly irresponsible" while black and minority prisoners are more likely to be subjected to force than white inmates, a watchdog has said.Elisabeth Davies, the national chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards, whose members operate in every prison in England and Wales, said the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, should pause the use of Pava spray in youth offending institutions (YOIs) until ministers had addressed the disproportionate use of force on minority prisoners. Continue reading...

In letter to culture secretary, carnival's chair says more money essential' to event's future, but does not give a figureThe future of the Notting Hill carnival could be in jeopardy without urgent funding" from the government, according to a leaked letter from its organisers.The carnival's chair, Ian Comfort, has written to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, to request public money, the BBC reported on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Jennifer Abbott, 69, was found dead in her Camden flat with tape on her mouthA missing diamond-encrusted Rolex watch may be linked to the stabbing of a 69-year-old woman who was found dead in her north London flat, the Metropolitan police have said.Jennifer Abbott, who was known professionally as Sarah Steinberg, was discovered fatally injured with tape on her mouth. Continue reading...

UK continues to urge de-escalation as concerns grow about possible US intervention in Middle East

We want freedom on our own terms,' says one Tehran resident, while another writes, Someone is helping us'Despite a substantial internet blackout, news spread quickly in Iran on Tuesday night: the US was considering joining Israel in its war on Iran.

Known as Sam the Wheels, he filmed aspects of community life in south London, including Brixton riots of 1981Clovis Salmon, regarded as the first black documentary film-maker in the UK, has died at the age of 98.His family said he died at King's College hospital in Camberwell on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

UK Foreign Office causes confusion as it urges British nationals to register their presence but not to leave

Work and pensions secretary publishes her welfare reform bill, but concessions do little to placate angry Labour MPsBritain's benefits system faces collapse without cuts to disability payments, Liz Kendall has said, as the government published plans that put it on a collision course with dozens of angry Labour MPs.Kendall published her welfare reform bill on Wednesday, confirming it would lead to benefit cuts for 950,000 people by 2030. She said the country's 326bn social security net might cease to exist if costs continued to escalate. Continue reading...

Donald Trump initially appeared to discourage attacks but Israeli officials claim they always had his supportAlong the Ayalon highway, in the centre of Tel Aviv, two huge illuminated signs have appeared, portraying Donald Trump against a billowing stars-and-stripes backdrop and bearing the blunt appeal: Mr President, finish the job!"Israel's attack on Iran may have been carried out with Trump's approval, as government officials in Israel claim, but it appears to have been unleashed only in the expectation - rather than any certainty - that the US will ultimately be drawn into the war. Continue reading...

Forensic scientist says strong evidence' links Ryland Headley, 92, with murder and rape of Louisa DunneA forensic scientist was able to produce a full DNA profile for the suspected murderer of a woman who died in 1967 after examining her skirt and hair that had been kept in police storage for almost 60 years, a jury has been told.Andrew Parry told the court there was strong scientific evidence" to link the skirt Louisa Dunne was wearing when she was found and hair police took from her body with 92-year-old Ryland Headley, who is on trial for her rape and murder. Continue reading...

Regulators say online retailer not doing enough to prevent sale of counterfeit clothes and unsafe children's toysThe European Commission has accused the online retailer AliExpress of a systemic failure" to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous goods on its platform, as Brussels steps up its case against the Chinese company.Issuing formal findings of an investigation launched in March last year, EU regulators said on Wednesday that AliExpress was failing to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit clothes and dangerous children's toys, among other items. Continue reading...

Annabel Rook, 46, who helped refugees and women fleeing domestic violence, described as profound force for good'A woman found fatally stabbed in her home after a gas explosion has been described as a profound force for good" who dedicated her life to supporting women.Annabel Rook, 46, was found with stab wounds at a house in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, north London, just before 5am on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Truro coroner concludes Ben Corser unlawfully killed as he sat in car outside supermarket in Colima in 2022A British traveller and keen skateboarder shot dead alongside two friends in Mexico was in the wrong place at the wrong time", his inquest has heard.Ben Marshall Corser, 36, from St Just in Cornwall, was killed while sitting in the back of a car outside a supermarket in Colima, in western Mexico. Continue reading...

Change is part of general business shift away from working from homeJohn Lewis is asking head office staff to spend at least three days a week in the office or out on the road in the latest shift away from working from home.The department store group said members of its commercial teams - which include those working in buying and merchandising - should work no more than two days a week from home from July. Previously they were allowed to work up to three days a week at home. Continue reading...

Cheering crowds greet Liam Og O hAnnaidh outside London court after lawyers challenge validity of caseKneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who is facing a terrorism charge, has been released on unconditional bail after his lawyers challenged the validity of the case.O hAnnaidh, 27, from Belfast, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, and chanting up Hamas, up Hezbollah" at a gig in north London on 21 November last year. Continue reading...

IDF looking into' incident in central Gaza, as over a hundred die in recent days near or along routes to distribution sites

PM managed to successfully balance foreign and domestic political considerations during his three days in Canada

This blog is now closed

Transport secretary will also accuse Conservatives of wasting billions on project with poor management

Murder accused's barrister also warns jurors against using dangerous and seductive' hindsight reasoning to find mushroom lunch cook guilty

Qatar Airways is named best airline for the second year, which will benefit Qantas's main domestic competitor, Virgin Australia

This blog is now closed

The death of Turki al-Jasser was the first high-profile killing of a journalist since the 2018 murder of Jamal KhashoggiThe tweet posted by Saudi journalist Turki al-Jasser in 2014 was chillingly prescient: The Arab writer can be easily killed by their government under the pretext of national security'," he wrote.On Saturday, the Saudi interior ministry announced that al-Jasser had been executed in Riyadh, for crimes including high treason by communicating with and conspiring against the security of the Kingdom with individuals outside it". Continue reading...

While Ana Luiza Cabral Gouveia and Hugo Barbosa can remain, letter says sons, 11 and eight, must go back to BrazilA Brazilian mother and father have been left distraught after being told by the Home Office that their young children have no right to stay in the UK and should return to Brazil alone.Guilherme Serrano, 11, and Luca Serrano, eight, have spent most of their lives living in the UK with their mother, Ana Luiza Cabral Gouveia, a senior NHS nurse, and father Dr Hugo Barbosa, a senior lecturer in computer science at the University of Exeter. Continue reading...

Treasurer says Labor has a responsibility to move beyond its election mandate and consider tax reform

The Israeli strikes came after the IDF issued a warning for an area of Tehran' US president says Ayatollah Khamenei is easy target'

Aviation journalist Jeff Wise on the crash of flight AI171, in which at least 270 people died, and how one passenger in seat 11A managed to surviveAir India flight AI171 took off from Ahmedabad airport on the afternoon of 12 June with 242 people on board. Less than a minute later, it had crashed into a medical college about 1km away.Including those on the ground, at least 270 people were killed. But one passenger miraculously survived. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national sat in seat 11A, was able to walk away from the scene - though, as he found out soon after, his brother had died on board. Continue reading...

Media mogul faces allegations of creating coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' in lawsuit seeking $260m in damagesTyler Perry has been accused of sexual harassment, workplace gender violence and sexual assault in a lawsuit from an actor who said the media mogul used his influence and power to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic".In the suit filed in Los Angeles last week and first reported on Tuesday, Derek Dixon, who worked on Tyler Perry's shows Ruthless and The Oval, said Perry promised career advancement but subjected him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery". Dixon alleges he was subjected to harassment and abuse by Perry while he held direct control over his employment, compensation, and creative opportunities" and that he faced retaliation when he did not respond favorably to his advances. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Video and documents give rare glimpse inside daily life of the imprisoned civilian leader as she nears her 80th birthdayRare footage of Aung San Suu Kyi inside a Myanmar courtroom and detailed records of her daily prison routine have been seen by the Guardian, offering a glimpse into the life of the country's ousted civilian leader as she nears her 80th birthday.Since the military seized power in February 2021, little has been seen or heard of Aung San Suu Kyi, who led Myanmar for six years before her arrest. She is held in solitary confinement with access to the outside world strictly controlled and only rare supervised visits from her legal team. Continue reading...

Scathing review finds significant shortcomings' in force's investigation of teenage motorcyclist's death and how case was handledPolice investigating the death of the teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have apologised for clear and significant shortcomings" after a scathing review found the force failed his family on a number of fronts".The 118-page report, which examined every aspect of Northamptonshire police's investigation, found a failure in senior leadership meant a critical incident was not declared when it should have been. Continue reading...

Parliament votes on biggest shake-up to reproductive rights in England and Wales in 60 years

Sources say party should have focused on the moral case for reforming the benefits system

Experts warn that scrapping survey in favour of administrative records risked fragmented population dataPlans to scrap the 2031 census in England and Wales are expected to be overturned after a backlash from senior statisticians over proposals to replace it with a patchwork of alternative data sources.The UK government said in 2014 that its ambition" was to abolish the mandatory national survey after 2021 and instead rely on piecing together administrative data" collected by other bodies and surveys. Apart from a wartime gap in 1941, a census has been conducted every 10 years in Britain since 1801. Continue reading...

Man, 44, arrested on suspicion of murder after incident in Stoke Newington that police believe was domestic-related'A woman found fatally stabbed at her home in north-east London has been named by police as Annabel Rook.A man, 44, has been arrested on suspicion of her murder. Rook, 46, was found after a gas explosion a property in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, shortly before 5am on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Speaking at the G7 summit, the prime minister laid out plans to penalise countries that refuse to take back refused asylum seekersThe UK will look into penalising countries that refuse to take back people who are refused asylum by making visa applications for their nationals harder, Keir Starmer has said at the G7 summit in Canada.Asked during a media Q&A about ways to reduce the number of people arriving irregularly, the prime minister said it would have a more transactional" approach to granting visas for countries depending on their cooperation with returns. Continue reading...

The energy secretary was speaking at the launch of a 1bn investment scheme to bolster jobs in offshore windEd Miliband has said the government will win this fight" against critics of Britain's net zero plan, in part by creating more offshore wind jobs in the country's former industrial heartlands.The energy secretary appeared to take aim at his political opponents in the Conservative and Reform UK parties as he launched a 1bn investment scheme to bolster job opportunities in the offshore wind supply chain. Continue reading...

UK prime minister says it would not have been good' for anyone else such as member of media to try to help

Police say the man tested negative for alcohol but did not divulge whether or not he had been using a satnavAn 80-year-old man drove a car down the Spanish Steps in Rome early on Tuesday before getting stuck part way, municipal police said in a statement.The man tested negative for alcohol, police said. They did not identify the driver or say if the car, a Mercedes-Benz, was his. Nor did they say whether or not he had been using a satnav. Continue reading...

The former president has denied wrongdoing as federal police accuse him of overseeing a spy ring targeting rivalsFederal police have formally accused Brazil's former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, of presiding over an illegal spying network which allegedly snooped on political rivals, journalists and environmentalists during his administration.Bolsonaro is already facing the prospect of jail time over his alleged role in masterminding a military coup plot designed to help him keep power after losing the 2022 election to the leftwing veteran Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. There is broad consensus among analysts that Bolsonaro's conviction is a foregone conclusion and the 70-year-old populist is expected to face arrest in the coming months once a supreme court trial concludes. Continue reading...

Fariba Vancor, former boss of Think Pink waste management company, convicted of 19 serious environmental crimesA Swedish entrepreneur who once called herself the queen of trash" has been sentenced to six years in prison for illegally dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of toxic waste in the country's biggest environmental crime case.Fariba Vancor, previously known as Bella Nilsson and the former chief executive of waste management company Think Pink, was convicted on Tuesday of 19 counts of serious environmental crimes. Her ex-husband Thomas Nilsson was found guilty of 12 counts of serious environmental crimes and sentences to three years and six months in prison. Continue reading...

Statements taken from neighbours at the time read out as Ryland Headley, 92, accused of attack on Louisa Dunne, 74Neighbours of a Bristol woman raped and murdered in her own home almost 60 years ago told police they heard screams and moans on the night of her death, a jury heard.However, they said they did not think the noises were coming from the house of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne and went back to sleep, the court was told. Continue reading...

This year's edition to be last held in country after Belgrade withholds funding over support of anti-corruption activistsOne of Europe's largest music festivals will no longer be held in Serbia and could go into exile" in Germany or a neighbouring Balkan state after Belgrade withheld funding over its support of the country's anti-corruption student protesters.Exit festival, which is held every July in a medieval bastion fortress in Serbia's second city, Novi Sad, was founded in 2000 by student activists from the protest movement that helped topple Slobodan Miloevi. Affordable ticket prices and starry lineups mean it has acquired a reputation as Europe's premier music event with a social conscience, with 210,000 people from more than 80 countries attending in 2024. Continue reading...

Sebastian Bond named as publisher of site known as trolls' paradise, which was ordered to pay out to couple in 2023The previously anonymous operator of an online gossip forum described as a trolls' paradise has been unmasked after losing a defamation case.Sebastian Bond, also known as Bastian Durward, has been confirmed as the man behind Tattle Life after an Irish couple successfully sued the publisher, according to reports. Continue reading...

Six killed and hundreds injured in weeks of unrest, as supporters demand former president be allowed to runFatal clashes between police and supporters of former president Evo Morales have deepened Bolivia's political and economic crisis, heightening tensions in the Andean country just two months before the presidential election.Six people have been killed and more than 300 injured in weeks of unrest. The dead include four police officers, one of whom was reportedly killed by dynamite which had been strapped to his body. Continue reading...

Alan Stockdale and Richard Alston axed from panel after recent controversies and replaced with six new members from NSW, including chair Nick Greiner

Fifty-three Britons were onboard, among them young families, students and business people on their way homeTributes are being made to the passengers who died on the Air India flight bound for London Gatwick airport that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India.There were 242 passengers and crew onboard the plane, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian. Continue reading...

TV presenter who found fame with show about banishing household dirt died after short illness, her manager saysTV star Kim Woodburn, who rose to fame presenting How Clean Is Your House?, has died at the age of 83 after a short illness, her manager said.A statement said: It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness. Continue reading...

PM urged to ensure 1.6bn trade agreement does not undermine industry with influx of lower-welfare meatA trade deal with Gulf states could severely undermine British farmers by allowing the importation of low-welfare meat, the National Farmers' Union has said in a letter to the prime minister.The UK is close to signing a 1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - amid deep dissatisfaction from farming and animal welfare groups over an expected deal for food imports. Continue reading...

Proposed clergy conduct measure hoped to improve existing rules criticised for failing to tackle misconduct allegationsChurch of England proposals for church courts to automatically be held in secret should be reconsidered, a parliamentary committee has warned.The clergy conduct measure is intended to propose the existing clergy disciplinary measure, which has been extensively criticised for failing to tackle allegations of serious or sexual misconduct against clergy.In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...