Lord Geidt implies to Commons committee he did not have power to investigate Boris Johnson’s potential breach of lockdown rulesBoris Johnson’s ethics adviser has said it was “reasonable” to suggest the prime minister may have breached the ministerial code when he was fined during the Partygate scandal.Giving evidence to MPs, Christopher Geidt suggested he did not have the power to investigate Johnson’s potential breach linked to lockdown parties and that he had not requested an investigation, but instead had required a statement from the prime minister – who cleared himself of any breach. Continue reading...

Theary Seng receives six-year sentence in ongoing mass trial of government critics in Phnom PenhA prominent Cambodian-American lawyer has been sentenced to six years in jail for treason in an ongoing mass trial against critics of the ruling party.Theary Seng and dozens of activists, many of whom are members of the dissolved opposition group the Cambodia National Rescue party (CNRP), were found guilty at Phnom Penh municipal court on Tuesday. The trial is one of four covering nearly 130 defendants, seen by many as prime minister Hun Sen’s attempt to stamp out growing dissent to his 37 years of rule. Continue reading...

Patrick Grady should be suspended from Commons for ‘unwanted physical touching with sexual intent’, watchdog saysThe SNP MP Patrick Grady should be suspended from the Commons for two days for breaching parliament’s sexual misconduct policy, a report by the Independent Expert Panel has said.The watchdog concluded: “An unwanted physical touching, with sexual intent, from a senior MP to a junior member of staff, even on a single occasion, is a significant breach of the policy. It must be marked by some period of suspension from the house. Continue reading...

Five-member crew was detained after they found a bag of cocaine on 5 April and spent nine days in jail in a ‘hellish situation’A five-person Canadian airline crew caught up in a drug-trafficking investigation is begging their government to repatriate them after two months trapped in the Dominican Republic.“It’s absolutely horrendous – terrible, terrible stuff we’re going through,” said captain Robert Di Venanzo, who said he and his crew could be held for up to a year while an investigation proceeds. Continue reading...

Margot Robbie played the character in the Suicide Squad movies, but Gaga’s version is expected to ‘exist in a different universe’Lady Gaga is to play Harley Quinn in the sequel to the multi-award-winning Joker, which is due to see Joaquin Phoenix return to his lead role.According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gaga is in line to take the role of Quinn, the former Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who has regularly appeared in Batman-related narratives as the Joker’s sidekick and love interest. Margot Robbie played the character in a high-profile outing in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, as well as its 2021 sequel The Suicide Squad. Robbie’s version of the character was also the central figure in the 2020 superhero film Birds of Prey. Continue reading...

Liza Begum said confusion with Apsana Begum who was acquitted of fraud charges ‘reflects notion all people of colour look the same’The BBC has agreed to pay £30,000 in damages to a British Bangladeshi Labour councillor after it mixed her up with Apsana Begum in a news item about the MP facing housing fraud charges.Pictures of Liza Begum at an event to launch Labour’s 2019 race and faith manifesto were broadcast on BBC London News during an exchange on 29 October 2020, in which the BBC London political correspondent said: “This is Apsana Begum … she faces three charges of dishonesty.” Continue reading...

Advocates hope other states will follow suit with reforms to help lift workforce participation

Liberty Victoria president says addressing emerging rightwing extremist groups must be balanced with freedom of speech

Fatal shooting of Shireen Abu Aqleh in May raises fresh concerns over military inquiries into deaths of PalestiniansIn August 2020, 23-year-old Dalia Samoudi was killed when a bullet came through the window of her home in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, during an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) raid on a nearby house.Al Jazeera reported on the incident, in which witnesses said she had been killed by an IDF soldier firing in the direction of Palestinians throwing stones. Two years later, the television network would report on the death of its longtime correspondent, Shireen Abu Aqleh, in nearly the same spot. Continue reading...

Move to restrict sales of new-build properties is not legally binding but organisers hope to influence planning decisionsWhitby has become the latest tourist hotspot to vote for a limit on the sale of second homes as residents sounded a “very loud message that enough is enough”.Families in the Yorkshire fishing port said they had been priced out of the housing market as wealthy incomers paid exorbitant prices for holiday boltholes. Continue reading...

State government accuses New South Wales Teachers Federation of breaching orders from Industrial Relations Commission

Benchmark ASX200 index closes 246 points lower, after falling 360 points in the first 15 minutes of trading on Tuesday.

Chris Dawson’s murder trial hears audio recordings of Ross Hutcheon telling police of alleged Sydney sighting

One Nation senator’s chief of staff told court he didn’t ‘want to appear evasive’ and eventually said Senate speech was a warning to Brian Burston after presiding justice accused him of avoiding the question

Former NSW minister who ran as star candidate in ultra-marginal seat comes up just short against Labor’s Fiona Phillips

Probe follows inquiries into casino operators in other states and comes as parliamentary committee examines new gaming bill

Pop star says she ‘never want[ed] to promote derogatory language’ and re-releases song, removing offensive term for spastic diplegiaLizzo has removed an offensive term for disabled people from her latest song after days of public criticism, saying she “never want[ed] to promote derogatory language”.GRRRLS, the latest track from the musician’s upcoming album Special, was released on Friday. In the opening verse, the pop star – who has become well-known for her lyrics championing acceptance and self-love – used a derogatory term for cerebral palsy, also known as spastic diplegia. Continue reading...

Southern right whale populations were severely depleted by whaling but may be bouncing back in Geographe Bay

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereAn industrial zone where about 500 civilians are sheltering is under heavy artillery fire from Russian forces, Reuters reported the regional governor saying.Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine that includes Sievierodonetsk, said on Facebook that Russian forces controlled about 70% of the city and fighting there was fierce. Continue reading...

The UK government hopes a little-known legal principle will overturn parts of the post-Brexit agreementIn justifying its attempt to unilaterally overturn parts of the post-Brexit agreement with the EU, the UK government has invoked a little-known legal principle known as the “doctrine of necessity”. The loophole is allowed by the UN’s International Law Commission to be used by a state facing “grave and imminent peril”.But the government’s ex-legal adviser Jonathan Jones said the EU would find the use of the doctrine “completely unpersuasive”. Continue reading...

Mounting violence in the north of the country linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State groupGunmen killed at least 55 people over the weekend in northern Burkina Faso, in the latest attack in the west African country, which is seeing mounting violence blamed on Islamic extremists.Suspected militants targeted civilians in Seytenga in Séno province, government spokesman Wendkouni Joel Lionel Bilgo said at a news conference. While the government put the official toll at 55, others put the figure far higher, with some saying as many as 100 had died. Continue reading...

EU, legal experts and some Conservative MPs warn that Northern Ireland protocol bill is illegal under international law

Home Office source says individual legal cases mean too few people may be able to board plane anywayTwo last-ditch legal challenges that attempted to halt the inaugural flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda have been rejected by judges.The court of appeal upheld a previous decision to reject an injunction blocking the first flight, which was due to take off for the east African state on Tuesday. Continue reading...

President faces a messy scramble if he cannot achieve absolute majority in second round of electionsA new alliance of the French left is putting pressure on Emmanuel Macron’s grouping in the second round of the parliament election, as the president tries to hold on to his parliamentary majority.Macron’s centrists could lose dozens of seats in France’s national assembly in the final next Sunday after a strong showing by a historic alliance of parties on the left, led by the hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed with the Socialists and the Greens. Continue reading...

HBOS, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, was involved in major fraud at its Reading branch in early 2000sVictims of one of Britain’s biggest banking frauds will each be offered £3m compensation packages, according to a source familiar with the proposed deal expected to be announced later this week.Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) – which is now part of Lloyds Banking Group – was involved in a major fraud at its Reading branch in the early 2000s. Continue reading...

The acclaimed character actor reportedly died peacefully ‘surrounded by loved ones’Actor Philip Baker Hall, known for films such as Magnolia and Boogie Nights, has died at the age of 90.The news was initially shared by his neighbour and Los Angeles Times writer Sam Farmer on Twitter. “My neighbor, friend, and one of the wisest, most talented and kindest people I’ve ever met, Philip Baker Hall, died peacefully last night,” he wrote. “He was surrounded by loved ones. The world has an empty space in it.” Continue reading...

Russian artillery bombarding industrial area of Sievierodonetsk; Finnish president says Russia using ‘weapons of mass destruction’

Data suggests exits after invasion of Ukraine, while UAE predicted to overtake US and UK as top destination for world’s wealthyMore than 15,000 millionaires are expected to flee Russia this year, as wealthy citizens turn their back on Vladmir Putin’s regime after the invasion of Ukraine, according to an analysis of migration data.About 15% of Russians with more than $1m (£820,000) in ready assets are expected to have emigrated to other countries by the end of 2022, according to projects based on migration data by Henley & Partners, a London-based firm that acts as matchmaker between the super-rich and countries selling their citizenships. Continue reading...

Liz Truss says bill will ‘fix’ post-Brexit trade problems but legal experts and some Tory MPs say move is illegal under international law

Announcement of closed trial coincides with uproar over unrelated assault at restaurant in TangshanThe Chinese Canadian pop star Kris Wu has gone on trial for alleged rape and other offences in Beijing, as China was in uproar over a video showing a group of men physically assaulting four women in the city of Tangshan.Wu’s closed trial on Friday at the Chaoyang people’s court was reported late on Friday night by Chang’An Net, which belongs to China’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, in turn controlled by the ruling Communist party. Continue reading...

Actor charged with four counts of sexual assault to appear at Westminster magistrates court on ThursdayKevin Spacey will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men, the Metropolitan police said.The Oscar-winning actor has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men, Scotland Yard added. He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. Continue reading...

David Venables accused of killing wife, Brenda, in Worcestershire in 1982 in order to continue affairAn 89-year-old retired pig farmer who killed his wife so he could continue a longstanding affair hid her remains in a septic tank for nearly 40 years, a court has heard.David Venables is on trial for the murder of his wife, Brenda Venables, whom he reported missing on 4 May 1982. Continue reading...

Martin Hibbert, 45, reaches 5,685-metre summit in wheelchair as he aims to raise £1m for Spinal Injuries AssociationA man left paralysed by the Manchester Arena bomb has conquered the summit of Africa’s highest mountain in his wheelchair.Martin Hibbert, 45, broke into singing and dancing as he reached the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro with his support team of helpers and local guides. Continue reading...

Actor says she doesn’t blame jurors for ruling against her in defamation trial but criticizes online commentatorsAmber Heard doesn’t blame jurors for ruling against her in the defamation trial pitting her against her fellow actor and former husband Johnny Depp over domestic abuse allegations, but she did dismiss the social media commentary surrounding the case as “unfair” to her, she said in her first remarks since the blockbuster verdict.Heard made the statements during a sit-down interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, a preview of which aired on Monday morning on the network’s Today show. Continue reading...

Suleman Altaf, 44, accused of killing Jakub Szymanski and attempted murder of teenager’s motherA man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 15-year-old boy and the attempted murder of the teenager’s mother.Jakub Szymanski was fatally stabbed while reportedly trying to protect his mother during the attack in Manchester on Thursday. Continue reading...

Bereaved relative says ‘justice is not being given to us’, five years on from disaster that killed 72 peopleBritain should be ashamed of its response to the Grenfell disaster, survivors and bereaved relatives have said as they prepare to mark the fifth anniversary with memorial services at Westminster Abbey and beside the ruined tower in west London.Community leaders warned of a “great sense of anger” at the government and frustration at the lack of progress on criminal charges that could lead to those found responsible for the spread of the fire, which killed 72 people, being jailed. Police have made only one arrest despite evidence disclosed at the public inquiry of what the bereaved allege is fraudulent behaviour by companies that made combustible materials that led to deaths. Continue reading...

Judge rules Guardian journalist successfully established public interest defence under Defamation ActThe multimillionaire Brexit backer Arron Banks has lost his libel action against the Observer and Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, in a significant decision for public interest journalism.Banks, who funded the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign group, sued Cadwalladr personally over two instances in which she said the businessman was lying about his relationship with the Russian state – one in a Ted Talk and the other in a tweet. Continue reading...

Thinktank highlights ‘worrying trend’ among nuclear-armed states at time of heightened tensionsThe world’s nuclear arsenal is expected to increase in the coming years for the first time since the end of cold war at a time that the risk of such weapons being used is the greatest in decades, a leading conflict and weapons thinktank has said.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and western support for Kyiv have heightened tensions among the world’s nine nuclear-armed states, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said on Monday. Continue reading...

New Queensland Cancer Centre at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital to add 150 beds to health system

Extra funding comes after state government, SES and Bureau of Meteorology were criticised for response to region’s deadly floods

SMH columnist admits mistakes after complaining about being gazumped on story about Wilson’s new girlfriend Ramona Agruma

Groups set up to help out neighbours in 2020 are now helping people cope with cost of living, say campaignersFour in 10 of the mutual aid groups that were set up at the start of the pandemic to make it easier for neighbours to help each other are still active and many have become established charities helping local people cope with the cost of living crisis, analysis suggests.When the pandemic began, an estimated 4,000 mutual aid groups sprang up to offer assistance to those in need with a range of essential activities, from food shopping to collecting prescriptions and providing Covid information. Continue reading...

Protesters march in city centre as anger grows over Priti Patel’s refugee schemeHundreds of Mancunians – many of them from charities, campaign groups and religious organisations – gathered in the city’s St Peter’s Square on Sunday to protest against the government’s plan to deport refugees to Rwanda.With just two days to go before the first refugees are due to board flights to the central African country, the protest was one of a number taking place across the UK, and was happening amid further legal challenges after the high court ruled last week that the flights can go ahead. Continue reading...

Business secretary says people ‘rightly frustrated’ over 5p-a-litre cut not being passed onThe business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has asked the UK’s competition watchdog to urgently review petrol station operators, amid concerns that retailers have not passed on the recent cut to fuel duty.In a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Kwarteng wrote that people were “rightly frustrated” that the 5p-a-litre reduction had not stopped prices from soaring to record levels at forecourts. Continue reading...

Brendan Murphy, Kerry Chant, Jeannette Young and Mary-Louise McLaws among recipients recognised for their work on Covid

Nearly half of the companies have under a third of board roles occupied by women, with three-quarters entirely whiteHalf of the smaller 252 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange have no female executive leaders such as chief executives and chief financial officers despite the push for boardroom diversity, research shows.Nearly half of these smaller firms are also missing the target of having a third of their board roles occupied by women, and three-quarters of their boards are entirely white. Continue reading...

PM could join lecture circuit and rejoin paper where he complained of ‘chicken feed’ £250,000 salaryBoris Johnson could make more than £5m a year after he leaves Downing Street, experts have estimated.The figure will be welcome news to a prime minister who is said to regularly complain to friends that he is hard up, citing his second divorce, several children and his reduced income since entering No 10. Continue reading...