World news | The Guardian

Viral star one of 12 ‘ordinary yet opinionated Brits’ to feature in Make Me Prime MinisterShe became a viral superstar for her calm control of an eye-poppingly chaotic parish council meeting, and now Channel 4 wants to know if people think Jackie Weaver should be prime minister.The channel has announced Weaver as one of 12 “ordinary yet opinionated Brits” who will feature in a six-part series called Make Me Prime Minister. Continue reading...

Nurse and her daughter who fled Mykolaiv have had to go back despite offer of accommodation from British man

Coalition claims scrapping cards could lead to ‘tsunami of trauma’ but federal department analysis of available data paints a different picture

Minister says some personnel have been removed from RAF’s display team for this seasonA defence minister has confirmed that members of the Red Arrows have been removed from the RAF’s elite aerial display team as allegations of “unacceptable behaviour” are investigated.The Times reported that more than 40 personnel, including young female recruits, had provided 250 hours of evidence to an inquiry that began this year, describing the aerobatic display team as “toxic”. Continue reading...

Sally McManus says industry-level bargaining across workplaces essential to address Australia’s wages crisis

Train dispute continues while nurses and midwives will walk off the job on 1 September

Ex-Yekaterinburg mayor Yevgeny Roizman charged under laws that ban criticism of armed forces

Prof John Blaxland says China’s navy expansion is ‘in stark contrast’ to trajectories of other countries including Australia

Police appeal to ‘criminal fraternity’ as hunt continues for gunman behind ‘shocking’ killing of Olivia Pratt-KorbelThe people of Liverpool have been urged to turn in the masked gunman who killed a nine-year-old girl as he chased his intended target into her home.The chief constable of Merseyside police, Serena Kennedy, said the “shocking” killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel “crosses every single boundary” as the force appealed to the “criminal fraternity” in Liverpool for information. Continue reading...

Inquiry told of NSW police-ordered ban at The Star in Sydney in 2007 due to alleged involvement in crime

Campaigners hail landmark decision as a ‘huge paradigm shift’ in attitudes towards sexualityBeing gay, bisexual or transgender should not be considered an illness and cannot be treated, the Vietnam government has announced in “a huge paradigm shift” in LGBTQ+ rights in the country.The Ministry of Health said medical professionals should treat LGBTQ+ people with respect and ensure they are not discriminated against. Continue reading...

Call for new hosts comes as refugees minister says monthly payments should double amid rising costsThe government has called on more people to take in Ukrainian refugees on the sixth month anniversary of the Russian invasion of the country.But ministers have not announced any additional financial support for UK hosts who take part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, despite warnings that the cost of living crisis is deterring people from signing up or continuing to participate. Continue reading...

AimBig one of 52 providers to lose market share in $1bn a year Disability Employment Services program

US military says strikes on Deir Ez-Zor were needed to ‘protect and defend US personnel’ after drone attacks on its forcesThe US military has said it has carried out airstrikes in areas of eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militias.The US military’s Central Command spokesperson, Colonel Joe Buccino, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Today’s strikes were necessary to protect and defend US personnel”, and were in response to an attack on 15 August targeting US forces. Continue reading...

MPs tackling crisis of 165,000 staff vacancies hear of managers dreading Aldi opening nearby ‘as I know I will lose staff’Half of care workers employed in independent care homes would earn more if they took an entry level job in a supermarket, according to new research into a staffing crisis that has left thousands of vulnerable people suffering inadequate care.In June nearly 400,000 care staff earned less than the minimum wages paid in most of the major supermarket chains, while a third of workers would have received an immediate 6.3% pay increase, plus staff benefits, by moving to the best-paying supermarkets, according to the research by the King’s Fund health thinktank. Continue reading...

Coffee production in the country is dominated by small-scale farmers, who produce close to 85% of the country’s annual cropThe Papua New Guinean prime minister has announced his cabinet, which contains not only some new faces, but some new positions as well, including a minister for coffee.The post – believed to be a world first – shows the government’s commitment to expanding key agriculture industries, said the prime minister James Marape, who won re-election earlier this month after an election plagued by violence and allegations of voter fraud. For the first time Marape also named a minister for palm oil. Continue reading...

Rightwing fight against ‘LGBT ideology’ switches focus to transgender people as homophobia recedesPoland’s transgender people are bracing for an onslaught of hate speech from politicians before parliamentary elections next year after the chair of the ruling party used several meetings with supporters to launch attacks on them.Jarosław Kaczyński, the chair of Law and Justice (PiS), first touched on the topic in late June, on the same day as Poland’s largest Pride parade took place in Warsaw, when he met supporters in the town of Włocławek. Continue reading...

Analysis of 17th-century masterpiece by Dulux scientists revealed several ways of creating the perfect impastoThe secrets of Rembrandt’s painting technique on The Night Watch remain lost to time for now. But researchers tasked with solving the mystery believe they may at least have gleaned some clues as to the perfect recipe for wall filler.Scientists at AkzoNobel, the Dutch owners of Dulux paints, have been working since 2019 with conservators at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum on the restoration of Rembrandt’s masterpiece, building a better picture of how the 17th-century painter worked. Continue reading...

Lawyers lodging a defamation claim for Murdoch say an ad in the New York Times sought to ‘humiliate’ the Fox Corporation chief executive

The Victorian court’s decision had been sought before a civil case brought against Cardinal George Pell and the church could proceedA Victorian judge has dismissed a claim by lawyers for the Catholic church that they were not liable to pay compensation to the father of a choirboy who alleged he had been sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell.The father of a deceased former choirboy is suing Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, claiming he suffered psychological injury after learning his son had allegedly been sexually abused by Pell. Continue reading...

The production changed lyrics, added a ‘repentance’ scene and was followed by a sermon saying God would save homosexualsA church in Texas has apologised to Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and agreed to pay legal damages after staging an unauthorised production of the hit Broadway musical whose songs and dialogue had been changed to include Christian themes.Produced by nondenominational church The Door McAllen, the production was followed by a sermon stating that God could help people struggling with homosexuality. Continue reading...

About 900 education staff across the state could see their weekly pay docked by between $25 and $90

Milton Dick found there was not enough evidence to suggest former PM deliberately misled parliament

Travellers had to leave their vehicles and walk through the emergency tunnelEurotunnel passengers were stranded for nearly five hours at subsea level after the train broke down beneath the Channel, leaving hundreds of passengers to be ushered to a service tunnel.The incident happened late on Tuesday, affecting the 3.50pm Eurotunnel Le Shuttle service from Calais to Folkestone. Continue reading...

Association of School and College Leaders predicts grades will be uneven across England and Wales due to Covid disruptionGCSE results will be uneven across the country due to the varying impact of the pandemic, according to the headteachers union, which described the government’s Covid recovery programme as “lacklustre and chaotic”.The number of top grades at A-level fell sharply this year and a similar decline is anticipated for GCSE grades as the government seeks to reverse the grade inflation caused by teacher-assessment during the pandemic. Continue reading...

Move opens new policy gap between unions and Labour party, which is reluctant to commit to specific figure under Keir Starmer

Tory leadership hopeful says there is no need for independent body as she has ‘always acted with integrity’Liz Truss has refused to commit to appointing an ethics adviser if she became prime minister, saying she has “always acted with integrity”.At the Conservative leadership hustings in Birmingham on Tuesday night, Truss declined to directly answer whether she would appoint someone to the role, instead saying she would “ensure the correct apparatus is in place so that people are able to whistle-blow”. Continue reading...

The vessel was seized in March under sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in UkraineA $75m superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian steel billionaire has been auctioned in Gibraltar, in what is understood to be the first sale of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.The 72.5-metre Axioma was seized in March under sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Analysis: as city reels from fatal shootings and stabbings, focus will now fall on its organised crime gangsA week of shootings, stabbings, sorrow and anger has left people in Liverpool wondering whether it is safe to leave their homes.On the same night that nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was killed by a masked gunman who had forced his way into her home in Dovecot, five miles away, a woman in her 50s was found with a fatal stab wound in her chest in a pub car park in Kirkby. Continue reading...

Britain’s only Black police commissioner urges Conservatives to engage with African-Caribbean communitiesBlack communities are more aligned with the values of the Conservative party than Labour, according to Britain’s only Black police and crime commissioner.Speaking to the Guardian, Festus Akinbusoye, who recently co-founded an organisation aimed at improving the Conservative party’s “toxic” brand and its relations with the UK’s African-Caribbean communities, said the party was doing “nowhere near enough” to tap into the Black British electorate. Continue reading...

Marin Eugen Sabau granted right to assisted death due to chronic pain he felt after shootout with policeSpanish prison authorities have euthanised a man who had shot and wounded four people in December and was subsequently wounded in a shootout with the police, rendering him paralysed and begging to be allowed to die while awaiting trial.Courts allowed the man’s assisted death after rejecting several appeals by his victims, who argued that he should face justice. The case reached the constitutional court, which refused to deliberate on it, saying there had been no violation of fundamental rights. Continue reading...

Exclusive: former ballet student Joe Powell-Main will take part in a duet at Greenwich and Docklands festivalThe Royal Ballet is staging a performance in which one of its dancers performs a duet with a disabled dancer, recognising that being inclusive is “not just about diversity of race, but also about diversity of physical ability”.Joe Powell-Main, who uses a wheelchair and crutches to perform and describes himself as a “differently abled dancer”, will appear with the Royal Ballet dancer Isabel Lubach in a lyrical piece created for the Greenwich and Docklands festival next month. Continue reading...

Liam O’Prey, 21, arrested after Rico Burton was stabbed to death in Goose Green area of Altrincham on SundayA man has been charged with murder in relation to the death of a cousin of the heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.Liam O’Prey, 21, was arrested after 31-year-old Rico Burton was stabbed to death outside a bar in the Goose Green area of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Continue reading...

Student nurse found in Hampshire after being last seen on 7 July in Croydon, south London

Attempt to stop union from voting has prompted the soft left to threaten to divide the faction

NSW court found there had been a miscarriage of justice when evidence from the man’s former partners was not heard

‘Temple of Boom’ will be covered in murals, and host performances and music through Melbourne’s summer

An employee at the Château Laurier in Ottawa spotted something amiss with ‘Roaring Lion’ portrait by photographer Yousuf KarshPolice in Canada are investigating the “brazen” heist of a famed Sir Winston Churchill portrait after the original photograph was mysteriously swapped for a fake.Last week, an employee at the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa, noticed something amiss with a portrait known as the “Roaring Lion” which was taken after the wartime leader addressed the Canadian parliament in 1941 . Continue reading...

American was allegedly driving car that fatally struck 15-year-old boy near Italian airbaseThe mother of a 15-year-old boy killed when he was struck by a car allegedly driven by a US servicewoman in northern Italy has called for the accused to be tried in Italy and not the US.The 20-year-old woman was allegedly behind the wheel of a car that crashed into the curb at the edge of a roundabout about 2.30am on Sunday in the town of Porcia, about nine miles from Aviano airbase, in northern Italy, local media said. Continue reading...

Higher figure fuelled by Omicron subvariants and contrasts with lower figure for year to date but death rates are now decliningTwice as many deaths involving Covid occurred this summer compared with last summer, according to analysis of new data but rates have fallen in recent weeks as the latest wave decreases in severity.Although the overall number of deaths of people with Covid in 2022 remains far below last year, the summer months have bucked that trend. Continue reading...

Jon Scriven suspended by party after apparently posing with rifle in social media post saying he was checking for ‘English people’Police are investigating a social media post from a Plaid Cymru councillor apparently posing with a rifle near a Welsh beach and commenting that he was checking “there wasn’t any English people trying to cross.”Jon Scriven, a Plaid councillor in Caerphilly, south Wales, has apologised and deleted the Facebook post. He has been suspended from the party pending an investigation. Continue reading...

Production opening in October portrays US evangelical star who challenged views on Aids and HIVThe colourful life story of an American Christian superstar who became a gay icon because of her empathy for people with Aids/HIV is the subject of a new stage musical with a score by Elton John.Rehearsals began this week for the world premiere of Tammy Faye at the Almeida theatre in north London in October. As well as Elton John’s music, the show’s script was written by James Graham, the author of the television dramas Sherwood and Brexit: The Uncivil War, and the play Ink. Continue reading...

Kate McKenzie from Northampton receives letter opposing name of device created for people with dyslexiaIt is one of the biggest companies in the world, valued at more than $1tn (£840bn) and feted for completely changing the face of technology in the office and the home.But that has not stopped Microsoft from getting flustered over a small plastic reading tool created by a teacher from Northampton. Continue reading...

Fredid Román, who ran an online outlet focused on state-level politics, gunned down in his car in state capitalA local journalist who ran an online news program has been shot to death in southern Mexico, making him the 15th media worker killed so far this year nationwide.Prosecutors in the southern state of Guerrero said on Monday that Fredid Román was gunned down in the state capital, Chilpancingo. Continue reading...

Judge rules Lewis Haines killed Lily Sullivan, 18, to silence her and left her body in a pond in PembrokeA 31-year-old man murdered an 18-year-old woman to silence her after she rejected his sexual advances and left her partially naked body in a town millpond, a judge has ruled.Lewis Haines, an oil refinery worker, punched and strangled Lily Sullivan before pushing her into the water in Pembroke, south-west Wales, hours after meeting her in a nightclub. Continue reading...

Jurors have begun deliberating their verdicts over claims of domestic abuse and assault against ex-footballerJurors in the Ryan Giggs trial have been told they are not overseeing “a court of morals” as they began deliberating their verdicts over claims of domestic abuse and assault.The former Manchester United and Wales footballer is charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville and her younger sister at his home on 1 November 2020. He is also accused of using coercive and controlling behaviour against Greville over a three-year period from October 2017 to November 2020. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Jagtar Singh Johal say he was given electric shocks after unlawful arrest in Punjab in 2017A British Sikh campaigner is facing a possible death sentence after the UK intelligence services passed on information about him to the Indian authorities, according to a high court complaint.Lawyers for Jagtar Singh Johal from Dumbarton, Scotland, say he was tortured, including being given electric shocks, after his unlawful arrest in the Punjab in 2017 where he had travelled for his wedding. Continue reading...