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Gambling Commission made wrong decision to name Allwyn as ‘preferred applicant’ for next 10-year licence, claims CamelotCamelot’s legal fight to avoid losing its licence to operate the national lottery has failed but the Canadian-owned company will press ahead with a damages claim that could cost the government £600m.The company launched a high court challenge in April, claiming the Gambling Commission had got its decision “badly wrong” by naming the rival firm Allwyn as its “preferred applicant” for the next 10-year licence to operate the national lottery. Continue reading...

The three Bethnal Green police officers also allegedly shared homophobic, sexist, ableist and Islamophobic contentThree Metropolitan police officers have appeared before a misconduct hearing accused of sharing racist and offensive messages, including likening the Duchess of Sussex to a golliwog toy and calling a black boy a monkey.The officers, who worked in a unit at Bethnal Green police station in east London, allegedly shared videos that were “explicitly racist, homophobic, sexist, ableist and Islamophobic”. Continue reading...

Campaigners and bowel cancer sufferers pay tribute to late podcaster who raised £7m and publicised symptoms of diseaseWhen Dame Deborah James revealed that she was receiving hospice-at-home care for terminal bowel cancer, she admitted that she had hoped to be an outlier who would live for ever.That was not to be. But James’s legacy will live on: one that will give countless other Deborahs across the country more time to live than she was able to have herself. Continue reading...

Vladimir Potanin latest oligarch to be subjected to sanctions as ministers target ‘Putin’s inner circle’Vladimir Potanin, known as the “Nickel King” and Russia’s second richest person, has become the latest Russian oligarch to be subjected to sanctions by the UK as ministers target “Putin’s inner circle”.The government on Wednesday announced sanctions against Potanin, who was deputy prime minister under Boris Yelstin; Anna Tsivileva, a cousin of Putin and president of the prominent Russian coal mining company JSC Kolmar Group; and Said Gutseriev, son of the already blacklisted Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev. Continue reading...

Jordan McSweeney also accused of attempted rape of aspiring solicitor near her Ilford homeA man charged with murdering Zara Aleena in east London on Sunday has appeared in court and also faced charges that he tried to rape her and robbed her.Jordan McSweeney, 29, was remanded into custody after a short hearing at Thames magistrates court. Continue reading...

Coroner will write to health secretary after finding neglect led to death of 14-year-old Robyn Skilton in West SussexA coroner has said Britain is failing young people and more will die because of under-resourced mental health services, as she ruled that neglect led to the death of a 14-year-old girl.Penelope Schofield, the senior coroner for West Sussex, said she would write to the health secretary, Sajid Javid, to raise concerns after the case of Robyn Skilton, who killed herself after being let down by “gross failures” in NHS mental health services.In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Trial hailed as crucial step for France in facing its collective trauma over 2015 terror attacksIt was the biggest criminal trial ever held in France, where hundreds of people who survived the deadliest peacetime attack on French soil gave shocking details of their ordeal – from crawling past corpses at Paris’s Bataclan concert hall, to being held hostage by gunmen or ducking Kalashnikov fire at restaurant pavement tables.Now, after 10 months of harrowing testimony from the victims and the bereaved, judges will return their verdicts on Wednesday. But beyond the sentencing, the trial’s platform for survivors to speak out has been hailed as a crucial step in France facing its collective trauma over the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, which killed 130 people and injured more than 490. Continue reading...

Poll set for October after collapse of short-lived coalition that ousted Benjamin Netanyahu from officeIsrael is set for its fifth election in less than four years after the approval of a bill to dissolve parliament, following the collapse of a short-lived coalition government that banded together to oust the longtime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office.Members of the Knesset voted unanimously on Tuesday in favour of the bill, with a deadline of midnight on Wednesday for it to be finalised as law. Continue reading...

Trade should be directed at countries who can be trusted, says British foreign secretary Liz TrussChina would be making “a catastrophic miscalculation” if it invaded Taiwan, Liz Truss has said, telling the Nato summit that the UK and other countries should reconsider trading relationships with countries that used economic power in “coercive” ways.In a sign of how far UK government attitudes towards China have shifted since the self-declared “golden decade” under David Cameron, the British foreign secretary said trade should be directed at countries who could be trusted. Continue reading...

Defence secretary denies that No 10 told him to rewrite speech to remove call for higher military spending

Mark Dreyfus ‘cannot have confidence’ in current make-up of Administrative Appeals Tribunal, but won’t be drawn on recommendation to scrap body

UK Finance figures show a near-40% rise in push payment scams in which criminals pretend to be a trusted contactMore than £1.3bn was stolen by con artists last year, figures reveal, with authorised push payment fraud (APP), where victims are tricked into making a payment, rising sharply as pandemic restrictions eased.The amount lost to APP fraud hit £583.2m in 2021, a 39% increase compared with 2020, according to the research from the banking industry organisation UK Finance. Continue reading...

Aspiring solicitor killed while walking in Ilford described as a ‘rock’ who ‘glued community together’Zara Aleena’s family have said she “believed that a woman should be able to walk home” in a moving tribute to “a beloved human, child, niece, cousin, granddaughter, friend to all”.

Hannah Clarke’s ‘astounding’ bravery recognised by coroner; defence minister blames Coalition for submarine delay; Chris Bowen addresses National Press Club; nation records 59 Covid deaths. Follow live

More than 2m households already going without ‘heating or eating’ says Joseph Rowntree FoundationAbout 7 million struggling families in the UK are living through a “frightening year of financial fear”, going without food, heating, toiletries and even showering as they try to cope with the cost of living crisis, a leading charity has said.Many people are falling deep into debt as they try to stay afloat, using credit cards or cash from loan sharks to pay for food and other basics and building up arrears on energy bills, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), an anti-poverty charity.Debt is increasingly taking the strain for low-income households, which have borrowed £12.5bn of new debt in 2022, including £3.5bn from doorstep lenders and illegal loan sharks.Arrears on all personal debt have more than doubled from £1.8bn to £3.8bn since October last year. As interest rates continue to rise, JRF expects this figure to soar.Average household arrears across all bills were £1,600. An estimated 2 million low-income families were currently in arrears on energy bills, a rise of more than a quarter since October. Continue reading...

Greens and LNP call for royal commission in light of new report into government culture and accountability

Biden due to meet Japanese PM Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon for talks amid escalating missile tests by PyongyangNorth Korea has accused the US and its allies of launching a “sinister” attempt to form an “Asian Nato” to contain the regime, hours before Joe Biden and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts meet for security talks.“The US is hellbent on the military cooperation with its stooges in disregard of the primary security demand and concern by Asia-Pacific countries,” North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA said, on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Lead investigator says they were cautious with the reliability of witnesses who had appeared on or listened to podcast about Lynette Dawson’s disappearance

Queen’s representative says decision was made ‘on the spur of a happy moment’ and his words were not intended to be used in advertising

The ‘kill’ order, which seeks to revoke the company’s certificates of incorporation, was made in the final days of Rodrigo Duterte’s ruleThe Philippine government is affirming a previous order to shut down the news website Rappler, according to its co-founder, the Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa.Rappler, which has been praised for exposing abuses of power and growing authoritarianism under the outgoing Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has faced a series of legal charges over recent years. Continue reading...

President Zelenskiy has urged G7 leaders to urgently send more heavy weapons to Ukraine to bring the war to an end before winter. But, as Dan Sabbagh reports, there is no clear resolution in sightWorld leaders are gathering in Madrid today for the Nato conference, and one issue will loom above all else: the war in Ukraine. The conflict has been described as the biggest security challenge to the west since 9/11 and, alongside practical considerations of military aid, leaders are desperate to project an image of unity.The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh, who is in Madrid for the conference, has just returned from eastern Ukraine, where he witnessed the relentless shelling of Ukrainian troops. He talks to Michael Safi about a frontline that has come to resemble the battlefields of the first world war. Continue reading...

Truth commission’s report, touted as a chance to heal after half a century of bloodshed, called for a ‘substantial change in drug policy’The punitive, prohibitionist war on drugs helped prolong Colombia’s disastrous civil war, the country’s truth commission has found, in a landmark report published on Tuesday as part of an effort to heal the raw wounds left by conflict.The report, titled “There is a future if there is truth” was the first instalment of a study put together by the commission that was formed as part of a historic 2016 peace deal with the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). Continue reading...

Internet downtime for the city averages 70 hours a year, with 11m Britons losing almost two days a yearAlmost 11 million consumers have suffered a broadband blackout lasting more than three hours over the last year, with Nottingham named Britain’s “outage capital”.The average UK household lost a total of almost two days of internet time as a result of loss of service, power cuts and maintenance, figures show. Continue reading...

Demand continues to outstrip supply, report shows, as Albanese government seeks to increase public housing stock nationally

The presenter of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C ‘saved many lives’ and raised millions of pounds for cancer researchDame Deborah James has been hailed as an “inspiration” and an “extraordinary campaigner” of “unbelievable tenacity” as tributes poured in for the podcaster and cancer campaigner, who has died at the age of 40.The mother-of-two had been receiving end-of-life care since May at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, after stopping active treatment for the disease. In her final weeks, the presenter of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C raised millions of pounds for research and was made a dame for her “tireless” work improving awareness. Continue reading...

Creasy shared a photo on Twitter showing multiple cracks on the front door of her office in Walthamstow, north-east LondonStella Creasy has appealed for witnesses after her constituency office in north-east London was targeted by vandals.The Labour MP for Walthamstow posted a photo on social media showing multiple cracks on the front door of her office. The incident is believed to have taken place between 5.30pm and 8pm on Tuesday on Orford Road. The Metropolitan police said officers are investigating. No arrests have been made yet. Continue reading...

The tournament is understood to have made a rare exception to its dress code, with some players wearing ribbons in solidarityWimbledon is abandoning its strict all-white rule for players who want to show solidarity with Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, it is understood.Poland’s Iga Świątek, the women’s world No 1, wore a blue and yellow ribbon on her cap today in a sign of unity with Ukraine. The Ukrainian players Lesia Tsurenko and Anhelina Kalinina are also expected to wear ribbons when they come up against each other on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Ankara had previously blocked the Nordic countries from joining the alliance over concerns about arms exports and terrorismA last minute agreement has been reached between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to allow the two Nordic countries to become Nato members on the eve of the military alliance’s summit in Madrid.Nato said a trilateral deal had been reached at a meeting between Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president Sauli Niinistö of Finland and Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson in the Spanish capital. Continue reading...

Mother of Essex tennis player who sailed through to second round on debut describes him as a ‘determined fighter’He endured cancer at the age of one, spending eight months in hospital while undergoing surgery and two gruelling rounds of chemotherapy. But Wimbledon wildcard Ryan Peniston, 26, continued to defy the odds after sailing through to the second round of the championships on his debut.His mother, Penny, called him a “determined fighter”, saying he had “worked so hard” to achieve his dreams. Continue reading...

Sir Bob Neill attempts to force Boris Johnson to require parliamentary approval before bringing provisions into forceA leading Conservative rebel has launched an attempt to force Boris Johnson to seek permission from parliament before using powers in the Northern Ireland protocol bill.Sir Bob Neill, the chair of the justice committee, tabled an amendment on Tuesday that would require “parliamentary approval for bringing into force any provisions” of the legislation, which would unilaterally rip up Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland at the risk of a trade war with the EU. Continue reading...

First minister tells MSPs she wants to hold second independence referendum on 19 October 2023

Two suspects arrested at the Kleine-Brogel base in northeast Belgium over the production of ecstasyBelgian police have raided an illegal lab producing the rave drug ecstasy on an airbase that reportedly houses part of the US nuclear arsenal in Europe.Two suspects – not military personnel – were arrested during the raid, according to a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office in the Belgian province of Limburg. Continue reading...

Holyrood aims to open up opaque mechanism after Guardian revealed secret influence on draft legislationScottish ministers have been told to open up the opaque mechanism in which the Queen gives her approval to draft bills that affect her personal property and public powers.Parliamentary authorities at Holyrood have instituted changes after a Guardian investigation revealed that proposed laws have almost certainly been secretly altered to secure the monarch’s approval. Continue reading...

New South Wales government’s growing voucher programs are ‘very strange’ alongside rising inflation, economists say

Only when Moscow confirmed missile strike did most Russian media begin coverageThe horror that unfolded when a Russian missile struck a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk was shown around the world. But if you were watching Russian television that day, you would probably have seen nothing about it.The Russian media blackout on the attack, which left at least 18 people dead according to the Ukrainian government, is part of a playbook on how similar attacks have been handled as the Kremlin tries to present itself as a liberating force that does not harm civilians. Continue reading...

Steve Bray has sound system seized outside parliament on day new measures came into forceThe activist known as “Stop Brexit Man” has had equipment seized by police officers attempting to shut down his regular protest near parliament, as a new protest law came into force.Steve Bray, a former coin dealer and failed Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, posted videos on Twitter showing police officers approaching him near Parliament Square on Tuesday. His sound system was seized. Continue reading...

Prisons agency boss says fire broke out after inmates lit mattresses during protest at jail in TuluáForty-nine inmates have died during a riot in a prison in the Colombian city of Tuluá in one of the worst recent incidents of its kind in the country, according to the head of the national prisons agency.The director of the agency said a fire started during a protest by prisoners overnight. Continue reading...

Manufacturers hit by energy cost rises of up to 50% as well as Covid lockdowns and chip shortagesThe British car industry has called for help from the government with spiralling energy costs, with the prospect of further Brexit-related bills to hit the sector.The rising price of energy, persistent shortages of computer chips, delays in parts caused by Covid lockdowns in vital supply markets such as China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have combined to affect manufacturers. Continue reading...

Mayor of town near Bologna says thousands of litres of water wasted due to double-shampooing of customers’ hairThe mayor of an Italian town has banned hairdressers and barbers from shampooing their customers’ hair twice in an attempt to conserve water during one of the most severe droughts in decades.Carlo Gubellini, the mayor of Castenaso, near Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region, said thousands of litres of water was squandered each day through double-shampooing, which many hairdressers believe is beneficial, and hence double-rinsing. Continue reading...

Saifuddin Abdullah points to risk of regional arms race but pledges increased trade and cooperation on cybersecurity with Australia

Union claims postal workers are facing a massive pay cut because of soaring inflationRoyal Mail workers have begun voting on whether to walk out in a dispute over salary rises that could become the biggest strike this summer, while tram drivers have begun a 48-hour strike in south London in a separate row over pay.About 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have received ballot papers and will vote in the coming weeks on whether to stage a campaign of industrial action. The result of the vote is expected on 19 July. Continue reading...

G7 leaders say missile strike on mall in Kremenchuk was a war crime, as rescue efforts continue

Defence secretary’s leaked letter to PM warns of shortfalls in military personnel and long-range rocket artilleryBen Wallace has reportedly written to the prime minister to call for the defence budget to be lifted to 2.5% of GDP by 2028, as newly released figures from Nato show the proportion spent by the UK has fallen for a second year running.The defence secretary also called for increases in personnel numbers, despite recent cuts to the army, and warned of future shortfalls in naval and air force crews, as well as in long-range rocket artillery. Continue reading...

New MPs will hear from clerks, whips, former MPs, the outgoing speaker, the federal police and Asio on the inner workings of Parliament House

Customers ‘tightening their belts’ amid economic uncertainty, says outgoing operatorCamelot, the outgoing UK national lottery operator, has warned that players have “tightened their belts” in the face of soaring living costs, as it reported lower sales of tickets and instant win games.The company, which has launched legal action against the Gambling Commission after losing the lottery’s next licence to the Czech-owned newcomer Allwyn, posted a 3% drop in sales to £8.1bn in the year to 31 March. It said most of that fall was caused by a 7% decline in sales of National Lottery Instants to £3.4bn. Continue reading...

Contenders for the £10,000 video art prize offer up a range of work, from explorations of the UK prison system to surreal skin cream advertsFrom Agatha Christie novels to montages of gay porn, the source material for the 2022 Film London Jarman award nominees list is as varied as the work itself.This year’s contenders for the £10,000 prize include British-Kenyan filmmaker Grace Ndiritu, whose 2021 film Black Beauty sets an advert for factor 5,000 skin cream against a hallucinatory television interview with the writer Jorge Luis Borges. And Onyeka Igwe, a London-based artist whose 2022 film The Miracle on George Green tells the story of the children who tried to save an ancient sweet chestnut tree in Wanstead, east London by writing letters addressed to the treehouse inside it. Continue reading...

Government increasingly annoyed by broadcaster’s tactics in ‘phoney war’ before potential saleChannel 4 is preparing to sign a deal to keep its news programme on air for the next five years, meaning any new private sector owner could be locked into producing a show that has repeatedly angered Conservative ministers.It comes as the broadcaster’s management team engage in an uneasy dance over its future, with the government increasingly annoyed that they are openly fighting attempts at privatisation. Continue reading...

Six forcibly recruited men speak out about brutal illegal pushbacks involving threats, beating and lootingIn a militarised border zone, in the dead of night, asylum seekers say they have been coerced into violent, illegal pushback operations run by Greek police.Kept locked up between operations, the asylum seekers claim they were forcibly recruited or lured there by a Syrian man living in a container in the yard of a Greek police station, and then used as boatmen to ferry other migrants back to Turkey. Continue reading...

Dominic Perrottet insists he had nothing to do with hiring process and ‘no recollection’ of being asked for approval