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At least two people killed and seven wounded, officials say after attack in capital claimed by Islamic StateGunmen have stormed a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital, killing at least two people and wounding seven more, officials say.The interior ministry said the attacker used at least one grenade during the attack on Saturday, setting off a blaze in the complex. Minutes later, a car bomb was detonated in the area but caused no casualties, it added. Continue reading...

The exile who once led a military dictatorship is in hospital and a spokesperson has said his wish to come home should be grantedThe possible return to Pakistan of its former president Pervez Musharraf for the first time since he left the country in 2016 has reopened a bitter debate about the military dictatorship he led for more than a decade.Musharraf came to power in a coup in 1999 that toppled Nawaz Sharif’s government, and went on to hold the presidency from 2001 to 2008, when he resigned to avoid impeachment. Since then he has spent most of his time in self-imposed exile in the UK and the Middle East. Continue reading...

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More than 60 NSW firefighters dispatched to the scene at Yallah, near Wollongong, to contain the fire

‘Without a local government voice’ in national cabinet ‘our communities risk being left behind’, Linda Scott says

Exclusive: Financial services minister Stephen Jones wants complex funds to provide the same data already required of simpler funds

Datablog: experts say an increase in testing means high cases have not translated into high hospitalisations

Czech police searching more stores on same delivery route while contacting overseas counterparts about shipment from Central AmericaEmployees at a supermarket in the Czech Republic found 840kg of cocaine worth 2bn Czech crowns (£68m) inside boxes of bananas that were delivered to the store.The delivery, which was sent to supermarkets in the towns of Jicin and Rychnov nad Kneznou in the northern region of the country, is believed to have been sent to the stores by mistake. Continue reading...

Exclusive: new visa scheme to attract staff to ease the chronic shortages in the sector has left many open to exploitationRead full story: Migrant workers trapped in debt bondageCare workers recruited from overseas to look after elderly and disabled people in Britain are being charged thousands of pounds in illegal fees and forced to work in exploitative conditions to pay off their debts.An Observer investigation has uncovered a network of agencies supplying workers to care homes and homecare agencies that charge recruitment fees to candidates. Continue reading...

Ex-Beatle turned 80 on Saturday, days after a brief US tour which saw him joined on stage by Bruce SpringsteenSir Ringo Starr, Bruce Springsteen and Ronnie Wood were among stars who have been wishing Sir Paul McCartney a happy 80th birthday.The ex-Beatle turned 80 on Saturday, days after finishing a brief US tour. The milestone comes the weekend before McCartney becomes Glastonbury’s oldest solo headliner, when he takes to the Pyramid stage on Saturday. Continue reading...

Investigation: Britain called out to workers around the world to ease a staff crisis. But many have to pay thousands in illegal fees to recruitment agenciesRead exclusive story: Migrant care workers charged thousands in illegal feesMeera Stephen came to Britain with a big suitcase and even bigger dreams. The 27-year-old had left Kerala in south India to work at a care home in Manchester, one of thousands of migrant workers to come after a government recruitment drive to fill more than 100,000 vacancies in social care.The job would pay £10 an hour – just above minimum wage. But it came at a price. In exchange for securing her employment, she would pay a recruitment agent 1.3m rupees – about £13,700. Continue reading...

Labour leader warns against byelection complacency but hopes to regain seat that ‘could be birthplace of next Labour government’The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has urged supporters not to be complacent in advance of the Wakefield byelection, adding that a victory “could be the birthplace of the next Labour government”.With Labour now odds-on favourites to win back the seat, Starmer shared a message of hope and optimism with supporters at a city centre rally on Saturday, as his party seeks to reverse the Tories’ “red wall” takeover of formerly Labour majority constituencies across the north of England. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy gives medals to Ukrainian troops in southern city as war with Russia grinds on in east

As property prices in the Cornish town soar, residents are dismayed that a landmark policy to curb investment buyers has proved ineffective“Holiday let, holiday let, holiday let,” says Leo Walker ruefully, as he leads the way through the historic fishing quarter of St Ives in Cornwall, pointing to successive properties.As the afternoon sunshine breaks through the clouds and gaggles of tourists devour ice-creams at the nearby harbour beach, Walker is reminiscing about how this area – known locally as “downlong” – was once affordable for young renters and was populated with traditional B&Bs. Continue reading...

A doctor, a teacher and a railway worker explain why they decided to take part in the demonstrationFrom midwives to firefighters, thousands of people gathered in central London on Saturday to protest against the government’s response to the cost of living crisis. Some are calling for pay increases, while others say they fear the devastating impact of public services being chronically underfunded. Here, we hear from three people on why they chose to demonstrate on Saturday. Continue reading...

Robert Smigel, the voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, was among the employees detained by Capitol policeSeven staff members from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert were arrested for allegedly trespassing in a Capitol Hill building on Thursday night, authorities have said. All seven were each charged with unlawful entry.The employees, including Robert Smigel, the voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, were found by US Capitol police (USCP) officers inside the Longworth House Office Building, which houses offices for members of the House of Representatives. Continue reading...

A new documentary takes viewers back down the rickety stairs to the trailblazing Gateways in ChelseaThe Gateways is back. The longest-running lesbian club of all-time – the one whose actual clientele appeared in the 1968 film The Killing of Sister George; the one where Mick Jagger tried to talk the owner into letting him crash in a frock; the one that was a sanctuary to every class and sort of woman, from well-known figures such as the writer Patricia Highsmith and the artist Maggi Hambling (then an art student) to swimming-pool attendants at the Tooting Bec lido – has been given a new lease of life in the first full-length documentary film to celebrate its history, and ensure that it is not erased.Behind a dull green door on the corner of King’s Road and Bramerton Street in Chelsea, down some rickety steps to the basement lay the dive, a former strip club. The lease had been won in a bet at a televised boxing event at the Dorchester hotel by course bookie Ted Ware in 1943, and initially he offered it as a hang-out to a group of his lesbian pals who had been kicked out of their old Soho haunt the Bag O’ Nails pub after new owners took over and banned them. Continue reading...

Demonstration organised by TUC calls on government to make ‘better deal’ for people struggling to cope with soaring inflationThousands of people have gathered in London to protest against the government’s lack of action in tackling the cost of living crisis.Protesters marched from Portland Place to Parliament Square for a rally with speakers including Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, which organised the event. Continue reading...

Documents obtained by BBC show 160 staff encountered problems with East of England ambulance service vehiclesStaff at an ambulance service have claimed they are unable to drive a new fleet of vehicles because of their height and body shape.The East of England ambulance service (EEAST) rolled out the £54m converted Fiats to replace its deteriorating Mercedes vans, as part of an effort to standardise NHS ambulances. Continue reading...

Sister-in-law hid one dedicated to Gauguin because of ‘anger at the French artist’s attacks on his former friend’Shortly before Vincent van Gogh cut off his left ear and had a breakdown after quarrelling with his fellow artist, Paul Gauguin, in the French city of Arles in 1888, he created a pair of extraordinary paintings. One, Gauguin’s Chair, depicts a couple of books and a lit candle discarded on an ornate armchair. The other, Van Gogh’s Chair, shows a tobacco pipe and pouch on a rustic wooden chair and is instantly recognisable as one of the most famous paintings in the world.Now, the mystery of how the diptych of paintings came to be split up – and why the picture of Gauguin’s chair was kept in the family collection while Van Gogh’s Chair was sold off – has finally been solved. Continue reading...

Gang members given 23-year terms for shooting dead Paraguayan anti-corruption prosecutor Marcelo PecciFour people who confessed to taking part in the murder of a Paraguayan prosecutor who was on his honeymoon have each been sentenced to 23 years in jail.Marcelo Pecci, 45, known for fighting organised crime, was shot dead on the island of Barú near the Caribbean city of Cartagena, in Colombia, on 10 May. Continue reading...

Rights campaigners say ‘appalling’ pilot scheme treats those fleeing conflict and persecution as criminalsRefugee rights campaigners have described a new Home Office scheme to electronically tag asylum seekers as “appalling”, saying the move treats people fleeing conflict and persecution as criminals.Under a 12-month pilot, which began on Wednesday, some people arriving in the UK in small boats or in the back of lorries will be electronically tagged. Continue reading...

Comments come after Ukrainian criticism of organiser EBU’s decision to move contest to UKBoris Johnson has said Ukraine deserves to host next year’s Eurovision song contest and that he hopes it will be able to do so despite the ongoing war with Russia.The BBC is in talks with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about hosting the event in the UK, which came second in the 2022 contest, after the body ruled it could not go ahead in Ukraine as planned. Continue reading...

NSW premier says John Barilaro’s new role ‘no surprise’ to him; government ministers say Assange case ‘should be brought to a close’. This blog is now closed

Parliamentary leader Samantha Ratnam says she acted under party rules to overturn the recent election of Linda Gale

Labour MP Luke Pollard says Covid-19 has ‘turbo-charged’ housing crisis in rural and coastal townsCoastal communities are being “hollowed out irretrievably” by a surge in holiday homes, an MP has warned, as new figures showed more than 17,000 properties in England have been “flipped” into short-term lets since Covid-19.The poll came as MPs and campaign groups warned that vital public services – including schools, trains and buses – were in danger of vanishing from tourist hotspots due to a shortage of affordable homes. Continue reading...

Matt Black says his claim the reality TV star and her boyfriend Pete Davidson had dined at restaurant had gotten twisted

Scholars respond to author’s explanation for his new book appearing to copy some parts of classic texts

Differences between Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet are part of their successful relationship

Appeal likely after Priti Patel gives green light to extradition of WikiLeaks co-founderPriti Patel has approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US, a decision the organisation immediately said it would appeal against in the high court.The case passed to the British home secretary last month after the UK supreme court ruled that there were no legal questions over assurances given by US authorities on Assange’s likely treatment. Continue reading...

More than 100 MPs write to Boris Johnson saying guidance will lead survivors to avoid seeking therapyMore than 100 female Labour MPs have written to Boris Johnson calling on him to scrap new guidance on pre-trial therapy for rape victims, which they say will make it less likely they will get the vital therapy they need.Led by the shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, MPs including Yvette Cooper, Angela Rayner and Jess Phillips argue that the new rules “will cause many survivors to avoid seeking therapy, and make it more likely that cases will collapse when the prolonged stress of waiting for trials becomes too much”. Continue reading...

Analysis: after cash injections during Covid, local councils now face a world of precarity and painIt was only a year ago that the national spending watchdog was praising the government for injecting billions into council budgets in England to help them cope with Covid-19. Ministers are never happy to splash the cash, but without it, the National Audit Office said, local government would have collapsed.We are now in, if not quite system-failure territory, then at least a world of mass municipal precarity and pain. Rampaging inflation, fuelled by soaring energy and fuel costs, have left councils with their own cost of living crisis, and a budget hole of almost £2bn. Once again, they are asking ministers for financial help. Continue reading...

Spider monkey dressed up as gang mascot killed in shootout, and man dies in Michoacán after trying to pet captive tigerMexican narcos’ fascination with exotic animals has been on display this week after a spider monkey dressed up as a drug gang mascot was killed in a shootout, a 200kg tiger wandered the streets in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, and a man died after trying to pet a captive tiger in a cartel-dominated area of western Michoacán state.Eleven suspected gang members died in the shootout on Tuesday in the state of Mexico, which surrounds the capital. Photos from the scene showed a small monkey dressed in a tiny camouflage jacket and a tiny “bulletproof” vest sprawled across the body of a dead gunman. Continue reading...

PM’s former ethics adviser says reason given by Downing Street for his resignation was a ‘distraction’Boris Johnson’s former ethics adviser has said the reason given by Downing Street for his resignation was a “distraction” and doubled down on claims that the government wanted to break international law.After he dramatically quit this week, Christopher Geidt said his explanation had used too much “cautious language” leading to “some confusion about the precise cause of my decision”. Continue reading...

UN working group rules that Ryan Cornelius has been held arbitrarily and subjected to rights violationsUN officials have called on the United Arab Emirates to immediately release a British businessman who has been detained in the country since 2008.The UN’s working group on arbitrary detention has ruled that Ryan Cornelius has been held arbitrarily in the UAE since 2008 when he was arrested at Dubai airport. He has contracted tuberculosis while in detention. Continue reading...

Hazel Pearson’s condition not signposted by her bed as coroner deems Wrexham Maelor’s plan of response ‘amateurish’An 80-year-old woman with coeliac disease died within days of being fed Weetabix in hospital, an inquest has heard.Hazel Pearson, from Connah’s Quay in Flintshire, was being treated at Wrexham Maelor hospital and died four days later on 30 November from aspiration pneumonia. Although her condition was recorded on her admission documents, there was no sign beside her bed to alert healthcare assistants to her dietary requirements, BBC News reported. Continue reading...

Tory MPs in north of England warn the PM he cannot take seats won from Labour’s ‘red wall’ for grantedBoris Johnson has been accused of showing “total contempt” for the north of England as a senior Tory MP warned him it was an “illusion” to think the party would comfortably hold seats that it won for the first time in 2019 at the next general election.Anger erupted after the prime minister pulled out of a conference in Doncaster at the last minute, with those in “red wall” seats turning on the prime minister. Continue reading...

President claims Russia can ‘cope with any challenge’ in address delayed by cyber-attack, but largely avoids discussing Ukraine

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Macron favours land routes to Romania from Odesa whereas Ankara wants to use shipping lanes through Black Sea

Rachel Keke, who coordinated successful strike for better pay and conditions, could be first cleaner to sit in parliamentA hotel housekeeper who led a strike for better pay and conditions at one of the biggest hotels in Paris could become the first cleaner to be elected to the French parliament on Sunday, as a left alliance challenges Emmanuel Macron’s centrists.Rachel Keke, 48, said years of gruelling work cleaning up to 40 rooms a day at the Ibis hotel in Batignolles would enable her to speak up for workers in parliament. Her aim was to “make visible those who are invisible”, she told one rally. Continue reading...

President is accused of trying to cover up theft of millions of US dollars hidden at his game farmThe South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is facing the most serious personal challenge of his four years in power after claims he tried to cover up the theft of millions of US dollars hidden at his game farm.The scandal – labelled Farmgate by South African media – could potentially derail Ramaphosa’s efforts to win a second term in power and destabilise Africa’s most developed economy. Continue reading...

London mayor says appointee must understand extent of ‘cultural and organisational problems’ in MetThe London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has warned the candidates wanting to lead the Metropolitan police they must publicly admit the force’s systemic failings, with formal interviews due to begin next week.Two senior police figures have reached the final stages of the process to be the commissioner of Britain’s biggest and most controversial force. Continue reading...

Andy Inglis ran BP’s exploration and production division before leaving after Deepwater Horizon disasterThe executive who oversaw BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster has landed a $6.2m (£5m) payout at his new employer despite the death of a worker on an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico.Andy Inglis ran BP’s exploration and production division before leaving in the wake of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, which killed 11 workers in one of the worst ever environmental disasters. Continue reading...