Funding will repair seawalls and buildings, improve wharf access and remove contaminants over the next four years

Prime minister says he will treat Peter Dutton with respect: ‘I never underestimate my opponents’

Army and Red Cross said the notorious Allied Democratic Forces were behind the attack in the country’s eastAt least 27 civilians have been killed by members of a notorious rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the army and Red Cross said.The Kivu Security Tracker (KST), which monitors violence in the region via a team of experts on the ground, posted on Twitter to say that at least 27 civilians were killed in Saturday’s attack by the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Continue reading...

Senior civil servants allegedly urged Gray to omit names and some details of Covid rule-breakingDowning Street officials have been accused of attempting to dilute Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal, with demands to anonymise staff who broke coronavirus rules and to change how the so-called “Abba party” was reported.Partial drafts of the findings were allegedly circulating in No 10 the day before the final report was handed over on Wednesday, the Sunday Times reported. Continue reading...

Russia’s defence ministry says town of Lyman is now under full control of its forces, after days of fighting

Met assistant commissioner will ask Home Office why he was overlooked for top jobNeil Basu has said he will be demanding an explanation from the government about why he was overlooked to be the next leader of the National Crime Agency (NCA).The Met assistant commissioner, 53, said he would not be reapplying to be director-general after the application process was reopened. Continue reading...

With the Nationals now out of power, we examine the Albanese government’s promises and priorities for the bush

Open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures urges end to entertainment industry’s ‘entrenched’ ageismActors including Juliet Stevenson, Meera Syal, David Tennant and Zawe Ashton have called for better onscreen representation of women older than 45 to fight against the “entrenched” ageism of the entertainment industry.In an open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures, the Acting Your Age Campaign (AYAC) called for equal representation in the UK between men and women over 45 and urged immediate action on a “parity pledge”. Continue reading...

As support among some European allies appears to waver, Kyiv calls for advanced rocket systems to hit Russia’s supply lines

Laboratory chief blames Brexit for closure as money for corvid brain power research dries upOne of Britain’s most important, and unusual, centres for studying cognition is facing imminent closure as a result of Brexit. Set up 22 years ago to study the minds of crows, rooks and other birds noted for their intelligence, the Cambridge Comparative Cognition Laboratory is set to cease operations in July.Its director, Professor Nicola Clayton, told the Observer she was devastated by the prospect of ending her research there. Nor was she in any doubt about the prime reason for the centre’s closure. Continue reading...

Animal Justice Project protesters who scaled roof at expo in County Durham say they were confronted by angry farmersAnimal rights activists have scaled the roof of a national beef industry event in protest against the meat industry.The demonstration, which began in the early hours of Saturday, is said to have resulted in one protester being taken to hospital after chaos unfolded outside Darlington Farmers Auction Mart (DFAM) in County Durham. Continue reading...

Minister says PM in ‘yellow card territory’ after Sue Gray’s Partygate report as more MPs hand in letters of no confidence

The great poet’s newly released missives to his lost love put the lie to his aloof image – but were dismissed by the man himself as fantasyTo many who knew him, TS Eliot was considered a remote and intellectually aloof man, as perhaps befitted the author of the bleak and foreboding epic The Waste Land. His contemporary, the poet Siegfried Sassoon, went as far as to describe him as “cold-storaged humanity”.But previously unpublished letters show that the great modernist writer was actually an intensely emotional and passionate man. Continue reading...

Strategic town in eastern Ukraine was bombarded by missile and aircraft strikes before being taken on Saturday

Public health authorities are following up with those who have had close contact with the personThe first confirmed case of monkeypox in Ireland has been identified, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has said.The infection was reported in the east of the country on Friday night and the person affected was not kept in hospital. Continue reading...

Ferry was carrying 43 people when it capsized after running out of fuel in bad weather in the Makassar StraitTwenty-six people are missing after a ferry ran out of fuel and sank in bad weather off the coast of Indonesia, officials have said.The country’s search and rescue agency said the vessel was carrying 43 people when it capsized on Thursday in the Makassar Strait, the sea separating the islands of Sulawesi and Borneo. Continue reading...

Vincente Gomes is a cousin and former colleague of Emanuel Gomes, who died after going into work with a feverA government cleaner has described how he and his colleagues feel powerless to refuse difficult situations such as clearing up after parties, amid alleged maltreatment and low pay.Sue Gray’s report on the Partygate scandal disclosed that government cleaners and security guards were subjected to a “lack of respect and poor treatment” while officials drank excessively, spilled wine on the walls and partied into the small hours. Continue reading...

Dr Omar Khorshid calls on commonwealth to work with states as union protests ambulance ramping and staffing shortages in NSW

Scant details released apart from promises of infrastructure support, amid western concerns that China is seeking to expand its security presence in regionSamoa signed a bilateral agreement with China on Saturday, promising “greater collaboration”, as Beijing’s foreign minister continues a tour of the Pacific that has sparked concern among western allies.The deal’s details are unclear, and come midway through a Chinese delegation’s eight-nation trip – but an earlier leaked draft agreement sent to several Pacific countries outlined plans to expand security and economic engagement. Continue reading...

Higher education leaders say ministers think departments are full of ‘Marxists’, as top universities fail accreditation processLeaders in higher education said this week they believed the government was trying to push universities out of teacher training for political reasons because ministers thought their education departments were “hotbeds of leftwing intellectualism” and full of “Marxists”.Under changes announced last summer, all initial teacher training providers in England must be re-accredited by the Department for Education to continue educating teachers from 2024. However, two-thirds of providers, including some top universities, were told this month that they had failed the first round of the new accreditation process. The DfE said last week that just 80 providers, out of 216 who are understood to have applied, had made the cut. Continue reading...

Councils say they have received a ‘huge number of applications’ to celebrate 70 years on throneMore than 16,000 street parties are expected to be held over the Queen’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend.Councils across England have received a “huge number of applications” from residents to celebrate the monarch’s 70-year milestone, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). Continue reading...

Royalties company PRS for Music has announced a major funding cut for its charitable arm. Artists such as Black Country, New Road explain why it could damage the UK music sceneOne of the UK’s biggest funders of new and emerging music, responsible for fostering the careers of artists including Sam Fender, Little Simz and 2021 Mercury prize winner Arlo Parks, has this week seen its budget slashed by 60%.The PRS Foundation, which funds hundreds of aspiring artists and music organisations across the country – including a number of artists from groups underrepresented in the music industry – announced on Wednesday that its income would be cut from £2.75m to £1m from 2024 onwards, citing financial necessity. The decision was taken by its parent company and primary funder PRS for Music, which collects royalties for musicians when their music is streamed or played in public. Continue reading...

Unions criticise Gray report for ‘outrageous’ failure to censure cabinet secretary and top officialsOne of the firmest predictions before the publication of Sue Gray’s report was that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, would “do the honourable thing” and resign. As it turned out, he did not.Instead, Case and the entire No 10 top team appear to have avoided any sanction or even reprimand at all, and it is fair to say not everyone is happy – particularly more junior officials, dozens of whom were fined. Continue reading...

Fusako Shigenobu, who served 20 years for French embassy siege, believed to have masterminded deadly Tel Aviv attackThe founder of one of the most feared terrorist organisations of the 1970s has walked free from a Japanese prison after completing a 20-year sentence for the siege of the French embassy in the Netherlands.Once described as “the empress of terror”, Fusako Shigenobu founded the Japanese Red Army, a radical leftist group that carried out armed attacks worldwide in support of the Palestinian cause. Continue reading...

US president says Putin trying to eliminate people’s identity, as governor of Luhansk says retreat in Sievierodonetsk may be needed to avoid becoming surrounded.

Russia to seek to justify invasion of Ukraine by staging show trials of war prisoners, conflict scholars fear

Tourist boat is believed to have capsized at Talbot Bay, about 250km north-east of Broome

Project backed by the National party is expected to top $162,000 per megalitre if cost recovery is pursued

Video shows incident in which driver says he had to kick his way out because the doors and windows wouldn’t openCanadian authorities are investigating an incident in which a Tesla caught fire in Vancouver, reportedly forcing the driver to smash his way out of the vehicle.Transport Canada, the Canadian auto safety agency, said in a statement on Friday that it had learned of the incident in Vancouver on 23 May and that it had “notified Tesla … and is currently making arrangements for a joint inspection of the vehicle in an effort to determine the cause of the fire”. Continue reading...

Moscow planning ‘full-scale victory in Ukraine by autumn’ and besieged Sievierodonetsk almost completely surrounded by Russian forcesRussia is planning a “full-scale victory in Ukraine by autumn” and may again try to take the capital city of Kyiv, according to independent news source Meduza. Officials close to the Kremlin have said confidence has spread to the leadership of United Russia, the country’s ruling party, that a full-scale victory in Ukraine is possible before the end of the year.The besieged Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk appears to be almost completely surrounded by attacking Russian forces. “The Russians are pounding residential neighbourhoods relentlessly,” the governor of Ukraine’s eastern region of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, wrote in a Telegram post on Friday. The Kremlin continued to make incremental gains in its offensive in the Donbas region, backed by withering shell fire.The Luhansk governor has said Ukrainian forces may be forced to retreat from the zone to avoid being captured. “The Russians will not be able to capture Luhansk region in the coming days as analysts have predicted,” Haidai posted on Telegram, adding: “However it is possible that in order not to be surrounded we will have to retreat.”The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the situation in Donbas is “very difficult”. In a short video address, he said Russian forces are concentrated in the coastal region of Ukraine and using “maximum artillery” reserves.The Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, has stated that Vladimir Putin is “prepared to discuss a prisoner swap with Ukraine”, after holding talks with the Russian president. Nehammer also said Putin had “given signals that he is quite willing to allow exports via the seaports”, adding: “The real willingness will only become apparent when it ... is actually implemented.”Russia expects to receive 1tn rubles ($14bn) in additional oil and gas revenues this year, the country’s finance minister announced, noting that the additional income will be spent on Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.The US president, Joe Biden, accused Putin of attempting to “wipe out” Ukrainian culture and identity during a speech. Biden also said that Putin inadvertently “Nato-ized all of Europe” after Sweden and Finland sought out membership in the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The US is expected to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine that could be announced as early as next week, reports CNN. The rocket systems, multiple launch rocket system or MLRS, have been a top request of Ukraine officials who say it is necessary to ward off Russia’s advancements.More than 100 Russian national guardsmen have been fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine, court documents show. The cases of the 115 national guardsmen, a force also known as Rosgvardia, appear to be the clearest indication yet of dissent among some parts of Russia’s security forces over the invasion ofNew UN figures have revealed that 4,031 civilians have died since Russia first invaded Ukraine in February, including 261 children. Continue reading...

Closing arguments ask jurors to consider what their verdict in defamation case will mean for domestic abuse victimsThe Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial headed toward its conclusion on Friday as the dueling parties offered closing arguments after a seven-week trial that has gripped public attention and become something of a litmus test for the state of gender relations.Seven of 11 impaneled jurors selected for the trial when it started in April spent a couple of hours beginning to deliberate a verdict after the conclusion of those closing arguments, but they won’t return a verdict for a few days at least. They were sent home Friday afternoon until Tuesday in advance of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday. Continue reading...

Five local schools were placed under lockdown after several 911 calls about a man walking with a rifle in Canadian cityInvestigators have recovered a pellet gun from the scene where Toronto police shot and killed a man suspected of carrying a rifle, an incident that prompted five nearby schools to be placed under precautionary lockdowns.Police went to the Scarborough neighbourhood on Thursday after receiving several 911 calls about a man walking with a rifle and located him shortly after, Ontario province’s special investigations unit (SIU) said in a statement on Friday. The man, 27, was pronounced dead about 20 minutes later. Continue reading...

Analysis: with a state election on the way, the clock is ticking for the Coalition to define themselves

MP reveals prime minister’s office urged Joyce to stay off national and metro media, but Nationals leader disputes he is unpopular

Moscow gaining the ‘upper hand’ in Donbas … the horrors endured by Mariupol’s survivors … Russia’s use of cluster bombs and unguided missiles

Researchers estimate the city, which features the Mayan Puuc style of architecture, to have been occupied from AD600 to 900Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of an ancient Mayan city filled with palaces, pyramids and plazas on a construction site of what will become an industrial park near Mérida, on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.The site, called Xiol, has features of the Mayan Puuc style of architecture, archaeologists said, which is common in the southern Yucatán peninsula but rare near Mérida. Continue reading...

Laurence Knight, 33, who has now been suspended to appear at Brighton magistrates court on 23 JuneA serving Metropolitan police officer has been charged with rape after an alleged incident on Brighton beach last year. Laurence Knight, 33, was arrested on 28 July 2021 after a woman reported being raped 11 days earlier.Sussex police said the officer has been summoned to appear at Brighton magistrates court on 23 June. The force added that Knight was not on duty at the time of the alleged offence. Continue reading...

Report by 30 internationally recognised scholars finds ‘reasonable grounds to conclude’ Moscow in breach of Geneva ConventionRussia is guilty of inciting genocide and having the intent to commit genocide in Ukraine, legally obliging other countries to stop it, according to a new report by more than 30 internationally recognised legal scholars and experts.The report, compiled by two thinktanks, the New Lines Institute in Washington and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Montreal, found that there were “reasonable grounds to conclude” that Russia is already in breach of two articles of the 1948 Genocide Convention, by publicly inciting genocide, and by the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, which the report notes is itself a genocidal act under article II of the convention. Continue reading...

The singer is only the third-ever artist to occupy the whole Top 3 of the singles chart, and has outsold the rest of the Top 40 combined in the vinyl-album chartHarry Styles has dominated the UK charts with the release of Harry’s House, the fastest-selling album of 2022 so far.Harry’s House reached No 1 with 113,000 copies sold – a number derived from streams and physical sales – and with Styles outselling the rest of the Top 40 combined in the vinyl chart. His previous album Fine Line returns to the chart at No 8, and his self-titled debut is at No 29. Continue reading...

Senior Conservatives fear that, whether the PM stays or goes, the opinion poll deficit is not now recoverableIt’s supposed to be make-up-your-mind time for Conservative MPs. But having waited six months for Sue Gray’s report into law-breaking parties across Westminster, many are still grappling with whether to clear Boris Johnson’s path to the next general election – or oust the man who won them an 80-seat majority.What is already clear is that boastful proclamations from Johnson’s supporters this week claiming the prime minister’s position was safe have proved premature. Continue reading...

Britain lagging behind in race to build vital large-scale and local battery factoriesBritain is locked in a battle to hold on to production of Jaguar Land Rover’s future range of electric vehicles as concerns grow that the UK is falling behind in the race to build vital large-scale battery factories.The company, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, said it continued to “explore all options” for battery supply amid reports it could build electric cars in eastern Europe. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Boris Johnson changes ministerial code to axe need to resign for rule breachesThe Conservative MP Paul Holmes, who represents Eastleigh, has announced that he is resigning as a parliamentary private secretary in response to the revelations in the Sue Gray report.Holmes, who was elected in 2019, was PPS to Priti Patel, the home secretary. A PPS – an unpaid ministerial “bag carrier” – is not a member of the government, but is considered part of the “payroll vote” and obliged to support the government in all divisions. Being a PPS is normally a stepping stone towards becoming a minister.Revelations from the Sue Gray report that staff and cleaners were not treated properly is both disappointing and unacceptable. It is right that the prime minister apologised to staff. It clearly showed a culture in No 10 that was distasteful, and I am glad that there have been several reforms that Sue Gray has welcomed.It is clear to me that a deep mistrust in both the government and the Conservative party has been created by these events, something that pains me personally as someone who always tries to represent Eastleigh and its people with integrity. Whether that is taking up your issues in parliament or helping people with their problems closer to home, since 2019 we have completed over 12,000 pieces of constituency casework. It is distressing to me that this work on your behalf has been tarnished by the toxic culture that seemed to have permeated No 10.I’m not going to pretend that this is going to fix everything for everybody immediately. There are still going to be pressures. But it’s a very, very substantial commitment by the government to getting us through what will be, I’m afraid, still a bumpy time with the increase in energy prices around the world. Continue reading...

Analysis: smaller encirclements that are pounded with artillery are forcing exhausted Ukrainian forces to yield

Brian Wilson tells tribunal he tossed overmantel from Seighford Hall on to a pile of firewood, before giving it to an antiques dealerThe caretaker of a stately home in Staffordshire gave away a rare Tudor carved panel worth up to £5m because he thought it was rotten, an employment tribunal has heard.Brian Wilson took the 450-year-old overmantel from the Grade II-listed Seighford Hall and tossed it on a pile of firewood, before giving it to an antiques dealer who later tried to sell it. Continue reading...

Cameron Bailey used his car ‘as a ‘weapon’, sending victims ‘flying like skittles in a bowling alley’, court toldWarning: video contains distressing imagesA serving British soldier who left two teenagers needing hospital treatment and suffering lasting psychological trauma when he deliberately ploughed into them in his sports car following a drunken row has been jailed for eight years.Cameron Bailey, who has since been dismissed from the army, drank about six pitchers of spirits mixed with energy drinks and cocktails, as well as beers, before getting into a row with a group of young people in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Continue reading...

Prime minister says MLRS rockets can help embattled forces but stops short of UK offering M270 system

London magistrates sentence Michael Strubel to more than six years for failing to pay compensationA fraudster who conned people out of more than £70m in a “Ponzi-style scheme” claiming he was supplying services to the London 2012 Olympic village and large hotels has been given more than six years in jail for failing to hand back more than £1.4m of illicit profits.City of London magistrates court committed Michael Strubel to prison for six years and seven months for failing to pay his confiscation order. Continue reading...

New rules say ministers can apologise or temporarily lose pay for breaking code, which PM is accused of doing