World news | The Guardian

Scientists warn that BA.4 and BA.5 are more contagious forms that could escape immunity from past infections and vaccinationsTwo new sub-variants of Omicron are spreading throughout the US, leaving experts concerned about their transmissibility amid America’s ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Tuesday, sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 now account for almost 13% of all new Covid-19 cases in the US between 29 May and 4 June, making up 5.4% and 7.6% of cases, respectively. Continue reading...

Cambodia says facilities at Ream naval base will not be for exclusive use of Chinese military, while Beijing denounces ‘malicious conjecture’Chinese and Cambodian officials attended a ceremony for a controversial naval port expansion on Wednesday, dismissing reports that the base will provide a crucial strategic foothold for Beijing.Officials broke ground at the Ream naval base, turning over shovels of dirt as work commenced on a China-funded renovation of Ream, Cambodia’s biggest naval base. Continue reading...

Building in upstate New York New had its windows smashed and premises allegedly firebombedPolice are investigating a suspected arson attack at an anti-abortion clinic in upstate New York in which a facility describing itself as a “pro-life medical office” had its windows smashed and premises allegedly firebombed.The fire broke out early on Tuesday morning at the CompassCare “community medical facility” in Amherst, New York. Extensive damage was caused that will take months to repair, the group said. Continue reading...

Incident at world heritage site comes fortnight after another tourist drove a Maserati down the stepsAn American tourist has caused €25,000 (£21,000) worth of damage after hurling her electric scooter down Rome’s Spanish Steps.The incident was filmed by a passerby in the early hours of Friday. Police later caught up with the 28-year-old and fined her and a 29-year-old male companion, who had wheeled his e-scooter down the 18th-century marble steps. Continue reading...

Inditex experiences ‘significant rebound in traffic’ to stores that offsets 6% decline onlineThe owner of Zara has revealed a 36% jump in sales this spring as shoppers flooded back to its high street outlets after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.Inditex, which also owns Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka, said total sales rose to €6.7bn in the three months to 30 April as there was a “significant rebound in traffic” to stores that offset a 6% decline online. Continue reading...

Health secretary says ‘I don’t think it’s right’ after reported amendments to advice pages about ovarian cancerSajid Javid has said he disagrees with the NHS reportedly removing the word “women” from some of its online guidance, after campaigners criticised the health service for its choice of wording on a webpage about ovarian cancer.The health secretary said “common sense and the right language” should be used to “give people the best possible patient care”. Continue reading...

Government must make clear whether it has power to legislate for another poll, say opposition partiesThe Scottish government has been urged to “come clean once and for all” about whether it has the power to legislate for a second independence referendum at Holyrood.A limited selection of legal advice was published on Tuesday after a lengthy freedom of information battle with the Scotsman newspaper, but the key question of whether the SNP government has been advised that putting forward a bill for a second independence referendum is within the powers of the Scottish parliament is not included in the disclosure. Continue reading...

People will be allowed to grow it at home but smoking for recreational purposes is still forbiddenThailand will soon ease its rules on cannabis and allow people to grow the plant at home – but smoking for recreational purposes is still forbidden, and officials have warned that anyone who creates a smell by doing so in public could be charged.From Thursday, Thailand will remove cannabis and hemp plants from its narcotics list, part of a drive to tap into the growing interest in infused drinks and medical treatments. Continue reading...

Shadow foreign secretary says UK government ignoring catastrophe as millions of Afghans go hungryThe shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, has flown to Kabul to see at first-hand the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.Lammy is the first senior British politician to visit the country since the west’s chaotic pullout last August. He is being accompanied on his visit by Preet Gill, the shadow minister for international development. Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt questions ‘morally dubious’ recruitment as thousands hired from poorer countriesThe NHS is hiring more doctors from outside the UK and the European Economic Area than from within for the first time, setting off a moral argument over the health service’s growing mentality of “poaching” from the developing world.Unpublished figures from the General Medical Council (GMC) show that 7,377 (37%) of the 19,977 doctors who started work in the NHS in 2021 had a British qualification. Continue reading...

Covid and crackdowns also blamed as researchers find half of pills sold as MDMA at festivals in England contained none of the drugSummer festivalgoers are being warned that an “unprecedented shift” in the drug market caused by a combination of Brexit, Covid lockdowns and police operations against supply chains has led to a sharp and potentially harmful increase in fake MDMA.Criminologists and chemists have found that almost half of substances sold as MDMA (ecstasy) at festivals in England last year did not contain any of the drug. Continue reading...

Advocates call for NDIA to be led by person with disability after Martin Hoffman steps down as chief executive

Communications industry peak body and watchdog sees telcos block more than 549m scam calls since inception of code

Anthony Albanese says he is proud to see Tamil family returning home, but their long-term status remains unresolved

Police say deaths appear suspicious after bodies found at Canterbury apartment

Ukrainian forces fight to stave off Russian attacks in Sievierodonestk as 800 civilians reportedly take refuge in a chemical factory in the city

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereA Fiji court has ruled Russian-owned superyacht Amadea be removed from the Pacific island nation by the United States because it was a waste of money for Fiji to maintain the vessel amid legal wrangling over its seizure. The yacht is linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.The FBI has said the $300m luxury vessel had running costs of more than $25m per year, and the US would pay to maintain the vessel after it was seized. However, the Fiji government has been footing the bill while an appeal by the vessel’s registered owner, Millemarin Investments, worked its way through Fiji’s courts.

Department of Health and Social Care press release cited negative behaviours but not findings of political pressureBullying, discrimination and shifting the blame when things go wrong are rife in the NHS, a government-commissioned inquiry into health service leadership has found.But NHS England bosses are fearful that Sajid Javid will use the report’s findings selectively to paint an unfair picture of the behaviour of senior managers. Continue reading...

Research by Royal College of Nursing suggests racism is ‘endemic’ in health and careWhite nurses are twice as likely as black and Asian colleagues to be promoted in the NHS, with minority ethnic staff overlooked due to structural racism, according to research.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said its study suggests racism is “endemic” in health and care. A survey of almost 10,000 nursing staff found that those who are white or of a mixed ethnic background are more likely than black and Asian colleagues to have received at least one promotion since the start of their career. Continue reading...

Former German chancellor claims her opposition to Ukraine’s Nato membership helped countryAngela Merkel has said she feels no regrets for her handling of Vladimir Putin during her time in power, arguing that Russia’s president would have perceived a 2008 Nato membership plan for Ukraine that was blocked by her government as a “declaration of war”.The former German chancellor also claimed that an oligarch-run and democratically immature Ukraine would have been less prepared for an invasion then than it is now. Continue reading...

Binding targets for boardroom gender equality come 10 years after proposals first madeThe EU has agreed that companies will face mandatory quotas to ensure women have at least 40% of seats on corporate boards.After 10 years of stalemate over the proposals, EU lawmakers hailed a “landmark” deal for gender equality. As well as the legally binding target, companies could also be fined for failing to recruit enough women to their non-executive boards and see board appointments cancelled for non-compliance with the law. Continue reading...

High-profile MPs back demand from Adam Smith Institute to reduce tax burden and ease cost of living crisisSenior Conservatives from across the party have renewed calls for Boris Johnson to implement urgent tax cuts as Downing Street played down the prospects of a shift in policy.A string of high-profile MPs, from Steve Baker on the party’s right wing to Damian Green on its left, have backed a fresh demand from the Adam Smith Institute for the government to reduce the tax burden. Continue reading...

Wednesday: Labor government urged to provide $1,000 emergency payments to those on low fixed incomes hit by power price rises. Plus: Selwyn Cobbo’s incredible rise

Mayor of Cuernavaca was inaugurating structure when it gave way, injuring eight people, many with broken bonesThe mayor of the Mexican city of Cuernavaca was proudly inaugurating a footbridge over a scenic stream on Tuesday when the bridge collapsed, sending him and about two dozen other people plunging into a gully.The hanging bridge made of wooden boards and metal chains had recently been remodeled. Video of the collapse suggested the boards separated from the chains supporting them. Continue reading...

Daughter of Peter R de Vries tells his alleged killers ‘I hate you’ and says her father was a heroThe children of a Dutch crime reporter who was fatally shot last year have confronted his alleged killers in court.Peter R de Vries, 64, was shot in the head outside an Amsterdam television studio in July 2021 in a crime that prosecutors say was linked to his role in the trial of a Dutch drugs mafia kingpin. Continue reading...

Non-stop street fighting and bombardments as Kremlin seeks full control of Luhansk provinceRussian forces are bombarding Ukrainian positions in the symbolic eastern city of Sievierodonetsk with intense artillery barrages, airstrikes and non-stop street-by-street fighting, according to the governor of Luhansk province.After a Ukrainian counterattack over the weekend, Russian soldiers were seeking to regain the initiative. They were trying to move forward to dislodge Ukrainian fighters from their last stronghold in an industrial zone. Between 10,000 and 11,000 civilians remain in the city. Continue reading...

The lead vocalist of the pair known for 1970s hits like Summer Breeze and Diamond Girl has diedJim Seals, of music duo Seals and Crofts, has died at the age of 80.The lead vocalist of the pair, known for hits such as Summer Breeze and Diamond Girl, died on Monday. The cause of death is unknown. Continue reading...

Workers to strike on 21, 23 and 25 June over possible job cuts at Transport for London and national rail networkRail workers are to strike for three days in late June, in a move that is likely to halt much of the national rail network across Britain for a week.The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has told members to prepare to “shut down the rail system” with strikes on 21, 23 and 25 June, after a ballot of 40,000 members last month resulted in staff at Network Rail and 13 train operating companies voting overwhelmingly for full-scale industrial action. Continue reading...

US authorities claim vessel is beneficially owned by sanctioned oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, one of Russia’s richest men

Russia claims control of 97% of Luhansk as UN warns war is creating a human trafficking crisis

Actor thanks his ‘most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters’ following his defamation trial against Amber HeardJohnny Depp has posted a message to his “most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters” on Instagram and TikTok on Tuesday, days after winning a defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.In the post, the 58-year-old actor wrote to his fans: “We’ve been everywhere together, we have seen everything together. We have walked the same road together. We did the right thing together, all because you cared. And now, we will all move forward together. You are, as always, my employers and once again I am whittled down to no way to say thank you, other than just by saying thank you. So, thank you. My love & respect, JD.” Continue reading...

Alex Davies was found guilty of being a member of banned group National ActionThe founder of a violent neo-Nazi group created with the aim of inspiring a race war in the UK has been jailed for eight and a half years.Alex Davies, described in court as the “biggest Nazi of the lot”, was found guilty of being a member of National Action (NA) after it was proscribed by the UK government. Continue reading...

Turkish offer to escort ships through Black Sea blockade would face six-month wait for mine clearance, says UkraineA plan mediated by Turkey amid a global food crisis to open shipping corridors out of Ukrainian ports has been dealt a blow as officials in Kyiv said it would take six months to clear the coast of Russian and Ukrainian mines.As Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Ankara on Tuesday, Turkey’s defence minister, Hulusi Akar, said in a statement that his government was making progress with the UN, Russia and Ukraine on reopening ports under Russian blockade in the Black Sea. Continue reading...

The man reportedly fled to the UK after being sentenced to five years in prison for refusing to fire at Iranian protestersPriti Patel has been accused of trying to deport a former senior Iranian police officer who fled to the UK after giving first-hand testimony of potential human rights violations by the Iranian government.Counsel for the Iran Atrocities Tribunal –also known as the Aban Tribunal – in London has written to the home secretary saying that a named former officer in the Iranian police has been detained in the UK and been told he will be sent 4,000 miles to Rwanda next week. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson says ministers should focus on ‘cutting costs of government’ after William Hague says his position is ‘untenable’. This live blog is now closed

Family of Spanish national Ignacio Echeverría and Madrid Catholic church campaign for canonisationFive years after Ignacio Echeverría used his skateboard to take on the London Bridge attackers, the Catholic church in Madrid has joined forces with his family in an effort to have the Spanish “skateboard hero” recognised as a saint.Echeverría, a Spanish national living in London, was among the eight people killed in 2017 when three terrorists rammed into pedestrians in a hired van before attacking passersby in the Borough Market area with 12in knives. Continue reading...

Nationalist party New Hope threatens to exit arrangement after vote on West Bank settlersIsrael’s coalition government is teetering on the brink of collapse after a dramatic Knesset showdown over legislation to extend legal protections for settlers in the occupied West Bank.In what was variously described by Israeli media as “one of the most surreal votes in Israeli history” and “political suicide”, the first reading of a bill renewing civilian legal rights for Jewish settlers in the West Bank failed to pass on Monday night. Members of the Knesset had weighed up their positions regarding whether it was more important to strengthen or weaken the ideologically-diverse government, which recently lost its razor-thin majority. Continue reading...

Local swimmer aims to open chemical-free outdoor pool – plus sauna to warm up in – near OxenhopePlans are being drawn up for the UK’s highest-altitude lido, a chemical-free, “natural” outdoor pool perched up on the West Yorkshire moors.Conceived during the lockdown boom in open water swimming, it is hoped the Yorkshire Swim Works acan be built near Oxenhope, a small village close to Haworth, which was once home to the Brontë sisters. Continue reading...

Online car seller says ‘business realignment’ needed to protect profits in face of tougher economic timesThe online car seller Cazoo announced it is cutting about 750 jobs across the UK and elsewhere in Europe, as it warned of recession and consumer cutbacks.The British company, which opted to make its stock market debut in New York rather than London last year with a value of $7bn (£5.5bn), is looking to cut costs by more than £200m by the end of next year. Continue reading...

Beijing warns Australia of ‘serious consequences’ if it does not stop ‘provocations’ after incident Canberra called ‘very dangerous’Beijing has accused Australia and Canada of “spreading disinformation” over allegedly dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese military pilots in international airspace.China also warned Australia to stop “provocations” or face “serious consequences” after the Albanese government said a Chinese jet intercepted an RAAF plane in a dangerous manoeuvre in late May. Continue reading...

Cineworld cancels all showings of The Lady of Heaven after branches were picketed by Muslim activistsA UK cinema chain has cancelled all screenings of a “blasphemous” film about the daughter of the prophet Muhammad after branches were picketed by Muslim activists.Cineworld said it took the decision to cancel all showings of The Lady of Heaven to “ensure the safety of our staff and customers”. Continue reading...

Another Partygate inquiry, two byelections, a possible reshuffle … life isn’t about to get any easier for the PM

M&S to pay Steve Rowe £1.6m annual bonus atop £1m salary with 4,500 staff also gaining first bonus in five yearsMarks & Spencer’s former boss more than doubled his pay to £2.63m last year after getting his first bonus since 2017 as the cost of living crisis intensifies for customers.Steve Rowe, who stepped down as chief executive last month, will not receive a pay-off but will continue to be employed as a consultant being paid up to £843,000 for up to a year after ceasing full-time employment for M&S after the group’s annual shareholder meeting on 5 July. Continue reading...

Doctors treating 12-year-old boy say ventilator should be switched offDoctors believe a 12-year-old boy at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute is “very likely” to be “brain-stem dead”, a high court judge has heard.Archie Battersbee has been treated by medics at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, after suffering brain damage two months ago. Continue reading...

Actor alleges that Jolie sold her share in their wine company to a rival investor ‘in secret, knowingly and purposefully violating his contractual rights’Brad Pitt has claimed that former wife Angelina Jolie deliberately “sought to inflict harm on” him by selling her share of their wine company to a rival investor.People magazine reports that Pitt has filed legal papers with Los Angeles County Superior Court as part of a long-running legal dispute between the pair over Chateau Miraval, located in south-east France, which the pair acquired in 2008 before their marriage in 2014. Continue reading...

Analysis: 211-148 suggests about two-thirds of backbenchers are against him, and even his fanbase may be crumblingFor Boris Johnson, Monday evening’s win was “decisive”, and his allies were out immediately, briefing that it would “draw a line” under the chaos of the past few months. But faced with the raw numbers – 211 votes to 148 – even his former employer the Daily Telegraph called it a “hollow victory”.It was less convincing than the 63% to 37% victory of Theresa May over her detractors in 2018 – and even at the time that wasn’t really judged to be a resounding win. Continue reading...

Former Alicante mail carrier charged by police after bags of letters dating back to 2012 discovered at sold homeFrom Monday to Friday, he clocked in dutifully at the central post office in the Spanish city of Alicante, picking up bags and bags of mail to be delivered.But exactly what the former letter carrier did next is now under investigation after more than 20,000 undelivered letters – dating back to 2012 and 2013 – were found crammed into bin bags in his home. Continue reading...

Prime minister says there is significant opportunity for Australian companies in Indonesia’s growing economy

Disciplinary action against members of BJP fails to quell growing anger in Muslim world over comments insulting the prophetSix more countries have joined diplomatic protests across the Muslim world over derogatory remarks insulting the prophet Muhammad made by spokespeople for the party of Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.Indonesia, the UAE, the Maldives, Jordan, Bahrain and Libya have joined Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Afghanistan in lodging official complaints over comments from representatives of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party. Meanwhile hardline party members have reacted angrily to disciplinary action against the pair after their comments went viral in the Middle East. Continue reading...

President says result is ‘great news’, while adviser says ‘the world needs such leaders’Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has declared himself “very happy” at Boris Johnson’s confidence vote win, hours after one of his senior advisers tweeted a picture of the two men and thanked the UK prime minister for helping to protect “the free world from barbaric invasion”.Zelenskiy described Johnson’s narrow victory on Monday evening as “great news”, in remarks via video link to an event hosted by the Financial Times on Tuesday. “I’m glad we haven’t lost a very important ally. This is great news,” he said. Continue reading...