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PM accompanied by senior ministers and business leaders as Labor’s regional diplomatic offensive continues amid growing China assertiveness

Former Brexit negotiator criticises Irish government’s focus on ‘all-island’ economyBoris Johnson’s former Brexit negotiator David Frost has said the “weakness” of the UK’s position shaped the negotiations for the Northern Ireland protocol but blamed a lack of pragmatism in the EU’s approach for the current difficulties.Frost said the deal he negotiated while in Johnson’s government would have run smoothly only if it had never been fully applied by the EU. Continue reading...

Revellers near Davidstow Moor shelter in cars as rainfall turns the ground into mudAn illegal rave on Cornish moorland has gone into its third day, with several hundred people still at the site, according to police.Thousands of partygoers arrived at the site on Friday before the jubilee weekend. Residents complained about loud noise and music playing throughout the night near Davidstow Moor, near Camelford. Continue reading...

‘While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all,’ Queen’s statement says

In a message at the climax of celebrations, monarch acknowledges her fragility but commits to continue her reignThe Queen crowned her historic platinum jubilee celebrations with a last-minute appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Sunday, bringing to a close four days of festivities that revealed not only the contents of her handbag, but a nation’s undiminished appetite for a party.The 96-year-old monarch waved to cheering crowds gathered in the Mall for the carnival climax of the four-day bank holiday weekend. Continue reading...

PM will launch last-ditch attempt this week to win over critics in Tory ranks with health and housing policy announcementsBoris Johnson’s allies will switch their focus to winning a vote of no confidence, after conceding that they now have little chance of stopping one being triggered.The prime minister will this week launch a health and housing policy fightback in a last-ditch attempt to win over his critics. He is widely expected to face a vote on his leadership as soon as this week, with some MPs predicting that the threshold of 54 letters asking for one has already been exceeded. Continue reading...

Residents on Lancashire’s coast see event as opportunity to win visitors back to a town that tourists have largely forsaken“I’ve got my gin, so I’m all right now,” said Chez Ferdinand, a retired office manager in a crown and cape as she took a break from handing out plastic union-flag bowler hats and bow ties.“We’ve got all sorts here. We’ve got ploughman’s, Eton mess, jubilee cake, scones and clotted cream … We’ve got pink gin, we’ve got vodka, we’ve got wine, beer, Pimm’s. What would you like? Continue reading...

The Australian Tax Office is auditing Brazilian meat processor JBS over tax restructure

Peak rights group for older Australians demands urgent change after 530 incidents of sexual abuse reported in last quarter of 2021

Research shows many Australians find medical records not uploaded and clinicians fail to see benefits of using the national online database

Guardian photojournalists share their jubilee experiences – including beach, street and park parties from Glasgow to CornwallDriving around Cornwall on Saturday, you’d have thought the Queen’s Jubilee had been cancelled. Bunting was hard to find, fancy dress was nowhere to be seen and, due to the grim weather, only a smattering of people braved the street lunch in Falmouth where free Cornish pasties were being doled out. Continue reading...

At least 50 people killed and dozens more injured in assault during Sunday mass in Ondo stateGunmen launched an assault on a Catholic church in Ondo state in Nigeria during mass on Sunday, killing more than 50 people in a “satanic attack”, local officials and volunteers said.The attackers targeted the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the town of Owo as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, according to local officials. They gunned down parishioners and detonated an explosive device, local media reported. Continue reading...

IOPC watchdog launches independent inquiry into incident on Chelsea Bridge in west LondonA man who shot with a Taser by police in London and had to be rescued from the River Thames has died, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said.Police were called to Chelsea Bridge Road in west London on Saturday morning after receiving reports that a man was armed with a screwdriver and shouting. Continue reading...

Force claimed it approached groups before launch of Project Alpha which scours social media sitesYouth violence experts have said they had no involvement with a police scheme that collects children’s personal data, despite the Met claiming to have consulted them.Project Alpha, involving more than 30 staff and launched in 2019 with Home Office funding, scours social media sites looking at drill music videos and other content. It has prompted concerns about racial profiling and potential privacy violations. Continue reading...

More holidaymakers caught up in travel chaos as nearly 200 flights are cancelled and roads clog upUK holidaymakers have faced yet more travel chaos as easyJet cancelled another 80 flights on Sunday and roads began to clog up with drivers returning from half-term and jubilee weekend breaks.Tens of thousands of British travellers are estimated to be stranded at airports across Europe after close to 200 flight cancellations over the weekend. Continue reading...

Huge blaze breaks out at container storage facility 40km from country’s main sea port, Chittagong, with toll expected to rise furtherAt least 49 people died and hundreds have been injured after a fire tore through a shipping container depot in Bangladesh, sparking a huge chemical explosion that engulfed many of those who had rushed to the scene to help. The death toll is expected to rise.More than 300 people were injured in the incident, many of whom sustained life-threatening burns, and many bodies remain unrecovered as the fire continued to blaze for a second night in Sitakunda, near the busy southern port of Chittagong. Continue reading...

Revival of Puccini classic seeks to be ‘both true to the spirit of the original and authentic in its representation’It’s a dramatic masterpiece and a key component of any opera house’s core repertory – but Madama Butterfly was also a product of its time, riddled with stereotypes and racist depictions of Asian people.So what does it mean to stage Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 classic in 2022? That’s the question the Royal Opera House set out to answer when it launched a year-long consultation on how to better respect Japanese culture in its production. Continue reading...

In Africa, celebrations in honour of the Queen stir nostalgia in some, resentment in othersThe jubilee has met with a muted response in much of sub-Saharan Africa, with commentators evoking the troubled history of the British empire, London’s diminished influence and the distraction of deepening economic problems on the continent to explain the apparent apathy.Buckingham Palace listed 18 official beacons lit in commemoration across Africa last week, and Seychelles president Wavel Ramkalawan described the Queen as “a remarkable global personality whose legacy transcends national borders” who was “loved and respected by the entire world”. But such sentiments are not universal. Continue reading...

TfL warns of severe disruption, while union sources call for entire network to be shut down over safety concernsLondon’s transport operator has warned people to expect “severe disruption” on the tube on Monday when 4,000 station staff are due to walk out in a 24-hour strike that will shut down much of the network.Transport for London said there would be problems across all lines from the start of service on Monday to 8am on Tuesday, with a limited number of stations open. It advised against travel on the tube throughout that period “unless necessary”. Continue reading...

Exhibition to show items the artist experimented with before larger wrapped pieces that defined himLong before scaling the heights of the Reichstag in Berlin or the Pont Neuf in Paris, the artist known as Christo started on a much smaller scale.Having fled communist Bulgaria for Paris and working in a maid’s room, the impoverished refugee began creating his first wrapped sculptures using everyday objects such as cans, bottles and – when he found a bigger studio – old oil barrels. Continue reading...

Carl Otto von Eicken, an ear, nose and throat specialist, treated Nazi dictator for 10 years from 1935The Swiss descendent of one of Adolf Hitler’s doctors has released details of letters that show how he treated the Nazi dictator for voice problems, the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported on Sunday.The letters show Hitler’s fear of serious illness. “If there is something bad, I absolutely have to know,” Hitler told the doctor after their first consultation in May 1935, according to the letters. Continue reading...

Jane Morris’s creative influence on her husband’s design empire has finally been revealed in a new bookRevered for his textiles, his art and his socialism, William Morris is the celebrated leader of the Arts and Crafts movement, a renowned intellectual who revolutionised decorative art and design in Britain. His wife, Jane, meanwhile, has been relegated to the status of a silent muse.Now, the first joint biography of the couple will shine a light on their personal and creative partnership, and reassert the rightful place of Jane Morris – a skilled embroiderer and talented designer – in the history books. Continue reading...

Minister says government shouldn’t be distracted by clips such as that of PM arriving at jubilee serviceThe transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has said “politicians don’t expect to be popular all the time” and people are “over-interpreting” the boos directed at Boris Johnson when he attended a service for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.Shapps, one of the prime minister’s closest cabinet allies, also argued that the government should focus on running the country rather than be distracted by short clips. Continue reading...

One person injured as Putin warns of more strikes if western weapons deliveries continue

Many more people injured as thunder and hail lead to flooding, power cuts and flight delaysOne woman has been killed and 14 people injured in France as thunder and hailstorms hit the country, ravaging vineyards and delaying flights.Residents of south-west France posted photos online of hail the size of tennis balls, and drivers in the Paris region shared images of flooded roads and daytime skies blackened by thunder clouds. Continue reading...

Transport secretary says he wants scheme similar to delay repay, as he rules out sending in army amid half-term travel chaosTravellers should get automatic reimbursement for cancelled foreign holidays like the delay repay scheme for trains, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has said.Shapps ruled out sending in the armed forces to help process holidaymakers after scenes of travel chaos over the half-term break, saying it was up to airlines and airports themselves to hire and train more staff. He said there should be a campaign “to attract people to the sector and make sure that people are properly paid”. Continue reading...

Exhibition brings together portraits, many held in private collections, of queens from Tudor times onwardsSeven queens of these islands have been gathered this month in an extraordinary grouping to mark the unrivalled length of Elizabeth II’s reign.Sotheby’s auction house has assembled portraits of all the regnant queens from the Tudors onwards, with the exception of Lady Jane Grey, the teenager who claimed the throne for just nine days. Continue reading...

‘Time is running out’ for blogger and activist who was given UK citizenship last yearInside Alaa Abd El Fattah’s cell in the Wadi al-Natrun prison complex – once nicknamed “the valley of hell” for its location in the middle of the desert – fluorescent lights stay on 24 hours a day, along with CCTV to monitor his every move. Now 65 days into a hunger strike, the blogger and activist has become a symbol of resistance against Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s regime.But despite becoming a British citizen last year, he is no closer to being released. His family fear that foreign secretary Liz Truss is failing to do enough to free him. “You would think that the moment he became a British citizen, something would change, not just because of the leverage of another citizenship but also the good relations between Egypt and the UK,” said activist Mona Seif, Abd El Fattah’s sister, who also acquired British citizenship last year. Continue reading...

If 54 Conservative MPs have turned against him, the PM will soon face a survival test. But it may be about more than winningMuch as the British people and their elected representatives may have wanted a break from politics during the platinum jubilee celebrations, the issue of the country’s political leadership has cropped up at many a street and garden party.“I would say that at all the events I have been to – and it is a lot – the vast majority have tried politely to avoid it where they can,” said one Tory MP with a southern constituency. Continue reading...

Increase in violence prompts protests and biggest exodus of Kashmiri Pandit families for two decadesHundreds of minority Hindus have fled from Indian-administered Kashmir, and many more are preparing to leave, after a fresh spate of targeted killings stoked tensions in the disputed Himalayan region.Three Hindus have been killed by militants in Kashmir this week alone, including a teacher and migrant workers, prompting mass protests and the largest exodus of Hindu families from the Muslim-majority region in two decades. Continue reading...

Simon Birmingham says Australian foreign policy should work with ‘one voice’; Anthony Albanese says Australia has ‘raised concerns’ with China after P-8A Poseidon intercepted by Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft; at least 30 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Angus Taylor becomes shadow treasurer, but Alex Hawke gets no position in a shadow cabinet with 10 women

Oscar-winner John Bright will put his vast collection of antique puppets, dolls and trains on show at new venue in East SussexJohn Bright is an Oscar-winning film costume designer whose talent for creating period clothing is well known to the likes of Emma Thompson and Judi Dench, or fans of Downton Abbey and Pirates of the Caribbean. But it is his collection of antique toys and puppets that is about to take centre stage.This week hundreds of highlights from the 82-year-old’s vast personal collection – including rare wooden dolls from the 1800s, a Steiff ride-on elephant and a train set last seen on the BBC’s adaptation of The Borrowers – will go on display for the first time at a museum and nearby puppet theatre he has founded in East Sussex. Continue reading...

Ahead of Jakarta trip, PM flagged push for deeper ties with neighbours while ‘recognising the challenges’ of China’s involvement in region

The row over the Greenfields recreation ground in could be a test case on selling English public land for housingIn the Greenfields recreation ground in Shrewsbury, a yoga class is wrapping up while, nearby, people walk their dogs and children play before school. It’s a peaceful scene … but away from the park a fierce battle has been waging between residents and the council, and it is now heading for the supreme court.In 2017, a section of the park was sold by Shrewsbury town council to a developer for high-end housing, but without consulting the community or even advertising the proposed sale, despite there being a legal requirement to do so. Continue reading...

Pyongyang’s 18th round of missile tests this year comes after US aircraft carrier leads exercises in the Philippine SeaNorth Korea has fired eight short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, a day after South Korea and the US wrapped up military exercises involving an American aircraft carrier.Possibly setting a single-day record for North Korean ballistic launches, the missiles were fired in succession over 35 minutes on Sunday from at least four different locations, including from western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas north of and near the capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said. Continue reading...

Residents urged to avoid travel as cold front brings frigid temperatures, rain and damaging winds to several states

Police said the man lost consciousness after they deployed pepper spray while struggling with the man near the Moorebank Avenue off-ramp

Defence reports J-16 jet released ‘chaff’ including aluminium shards in front of Australian flight in South China Sea region

US embassy in Kyiv says ‘those responsible for war crimes must face justice’

British anaesthetist pleads for doctors and nurses to be allowed naps and limited night shifts, as in other critical workplacesAbout half of all hospital doctors and nurses have had accidents or experienced near misses while driving home after a night shift.The risks they pose to themselves and other road users have been calculated as the same as those posed by drivers who are over the legal alcohol limit, delegates at a European medical conference were told last week. Continue reading...

Survey puts Labour 20 points ahead in the constituency amid reports Boris Johnson could face no confidence voteThe Conservatives are heading for a potentially catastrophic defeat in the Wakefield byelection amid reports Boris Johnson could face a vote on his future next week, according to a new poll.A survey by JL Partners and reported in the Sunday Times gives Labour a 20-point lead over the Tories in the Yorkshire constituency. Continue reading...

‘We’re standing up for UK institutions,’ says shadow minister, pointing to booing of Boris JohnsonLabour has staked a bold claim to be the true party of patriotism and the best of British values, as four days of nationwide celebrations to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee draw to a close on Sunday.Senior Labour party figures said Boris Johnson – who was booed outside St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday – was no longer seen by the public as a leader who upholds the British standards of integrity, decency and honesty that the country has long been admired for across the world. Continue reading...

Australia’s new minister faces difficult challenges fixing laws, creating an EPA and curbing an extinction crisisThere was surprise last week when Tanya Plibersek was announced as Australia’s new environment and water minister. The portfolio, which had been held by Terri Butler in opposition before she lost her seat, comes with a long list of unaddressed challenges.Here are five that Plibersek will face as she gets up to speed in her new role. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Union-commissioned study finds cap will see wages fall by thousands of dollars a year

Pre-recorded segment features the Queen acting opposite the CGI bear, voiced by Ben WhishawPaddington Bear was the secret special guest for the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations on Saturday night, appearing alongside the monarch in a sweet-natured video segment.Just as she did at the 2012 London Olympics, when she appeared with Daniel Craig’s James Bond in a pre-recorded video, the Queen proved a good sport as she acted alongside the CGI bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, who joined her at Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea. Continue reading...

Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers, says monarch’s image stems from time before ‘great media age’The Queen’s iconic “mystique” is a result of her reign beginning before the “great media age”, and will not be something her successors are able to emulate, the author of The Palace Papers has said.

Russians ‘suffering huge losses’, region’s governor claims, amid heavy fighting

Dozens of police officers remove six female campaigners wearing sashes reading ‘Animal Justice’Six female protesters from the Animal Rebellion campaign group ran on to the track before the Epsom Derby on Saturday afternoon and were removed by police.Dozens of police officers could be seen working to remove the protesters, who were wearing sashes reading “Animal Justice”. Continue reading...

Call predicted airlines would fail to cope with huge demand as hostilities between government and industry deepen over appeal for special visas for EU workersThe aviation minister was warned at the start of the year that the widespread flight chaos witnessed last week was “inevitable” and government intervention was urgently required to prevent such disruption, union sources say.During a telephone call with aviation unions in late January, Robert Courts was told that the industry wouldn’t be able to cope with high demand unless it received help to offset chronic staff shortages. Continue reading...