After NSW became the last state to pass euthanasia laws, advocates say they will fight to overturn ban preventing ACT and NT from passing their own laws

Silver relic will go on public display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh this weekAn exquisitely decorated silver casket believed to have played a role in the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots has been acquired for the nation for £1.8m.The National Heritage Memorial Fund contributed £810,000 towards the cost of the casket, along with £200,000 from the Scottish government and donations from other organisations and individuals. Continue reading...

Commissioner issues notices to eight sites, four of which have removed material associated with the attack

Kit Malthouse says police watchdog’s suggestion that cost of living will trigger more crime is ‘old-fashioned’The policing minister, Kit Malthouse, has disputed the chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke’s suggestion that the cost of living crisis will trigger an increase in crime, branding it “old-fashioned” thinking.As inflation hit a 40-year-high of 9%, Cooke told the Guardian that officers should use their “discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute people who steal in order to eat. Continue reading...

AFLW players have had their pay almost doubled under a new deal, an important step toward the goal of full-time professionalism by 2026AFLW players have had their pay almost doubled under a new one-season deal struck with the AFL. The deal covers the seventh season of the AFLW competition, which has been brought forward to start in late August.Top-tier players will be paid $71,935, while the minimum AFLW wage will increase from $20,239 to $39,184. The average increase across the four pay brackets is 94 per cent. The pay rise, while welcomed, still leaves AFLW players behind Super Netballers who this year were paid an average of $74,000 with the best-paid earning $91,500. Minimum salaries in Super Netball also grew this year by 17 per cent to $43,000. Continue reading...

Performer Daniel Thompson tells defamation trial the media reports shattered McLachlan and he worried the actor would take his own life

Move comes in response to significant increase in disorder at games, much of which, police say, is driven by class A drugsFootball fans convicted of selling or taking class A drugs such as cocaine at matches could face five-year bans, the government has announced, in a bid to tackle rising violence and disruption.The new rules, announced on Thursday by the policing minister, Kit Malthouse, could also see anyone convicted ordered to surrender their passports when their team is playing abroad. Continue reading...

Those fleeing combat were internally displaced 14.4m times, with biggest toll in sub-Saharan Africa, report revealsConflict and violence forced people from their homes a record number of times last year, a report has found, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing the brunt of mass internal displacement caused by “huge spikes” in fighting.People fleeing violence were internally displaced 14.4m times in 2021, an increase of 4.6m on 2020, according to figures published by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Continue reading...

Survey finds many feel overwhelmed as their children express interest in jobs they know nothing aboutWhen Leon Martin asked for his parents’ advice on how to pursue his dream of becoming a UX designer, they were flummoxed. “I literally didn’t have the first idea what he was talking about,” said Anne, his mother. “I didn’t know whether he was talking about designing clothes, computer programmes or a fancy new brand of mountain bike.”Even when 18-year-old Leon explained that the role was to do with “behind the scenes” online design, his mother floundered. “I felt like I’d totally failed as a parent,” she said. “My job as a parent is to open doors so my children can achieve their potential, but how can I do that when I don’t even understand what their ambitions are?” Continue reading...

Review follows the deaths of at least 12 Victorians kept waiting for ambulances after emergency calls weren’t answered on time

Make sure you are maximising the cash you have coming in with a few simple checks and things you can doThe cost of living is rising rapidly. There is not much you can do to beat the squeeze, but it’s worth checking that you are getting as much coming in as you can.Get what you are entitled to: Check that you are claiming any, and all, payments that you are entitled to. There are lots of benefits that go unclaimed: attendance allowance is one that is often overlooked, and can make a real difference to your income – it’s for people who have reached state pension age and need some kind of help to live independently. Age UK has more information on attendance allowance. The website Entitledto.co.uk has a free calculator which you can use to find out if there are any benefits you can claim. Continue reading...

Decades of disrepair reversed at Marble Hill, home built on the Thames for king’s mistress and court society figure“There is a greater court now at Marble Hill than at Kensington,” the poet Alexander Pope wrote in 1735. Now, the historic Georgian villa in west London belonging to Henrietta Howard, the Countess of Sussex, is to reopen following decades of ruin.Though mainly known as King George II’s mistress, Howard was a remarkable woman in her own right, overcoming personal adversity to become a looming figure in Georgian court society and a member of a dynamic circle of writers and wits. Continue reading...

Government says child poverty is easing in all areas but those on the ground say the dial has barely shifted in the past five yearsThe budget neglects poor New Zealanders in favour of the “squeezed middle”, inequality experts have said, despite promises by Jacinda Ardern’s government to combat child poverty.Budget 2022 offered up a swathe of short-term sweeteners to soften the rising costs of living, including a $350 payment for people earning less than $70,000 but not on other benefits. Continue reading...

After having his swimming dream ‘sidetracked’ by fame in America, the Gold Coast prodigy has now qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth GamesCody Simpson always had a dream. It wasn’t to be a global pop star and heartthrob. Or date models and celebrities, perform on Broadway and act on television. All that has happened to the Gold Coast-born Simpson.But his dream was to swim for Australia - just like his parents. Continue reading...

Bank says it will pause rollout of app-based trading of assets like bitcoin and Ethereum pending further regulation

Building work is quiet, for now, on £200m project that pits different visions of South Africa’s future against one anotherSmoke curls into the air, a drum beats, the dance begins, a chant is raised. Ten metres away, cars howl past on a busy road, drivers unaware of the sacred ritual taking place in the centre of a bustling South African city.Francisco Mackenzie, a chief of the Cochoqua community of the Khoi people, talks of ancient beliefs and battles five centuries ago, against invaders from overseas. He points to the iconic skyline of Table Mountain, and then to a nearby building site. Continue reading...

New Zealand PM remains in isolation but tried to uphold budget breakfast tradition with finance minister via InstagramNew Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern says she has lost her sense of taste after testing positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.Thursday was budget day in New Zealand, when traditionally the prime minister has an early morning breakfast with finance minister Grant Robertson. Typically, the two share cheese rolls – a South Island New Zealand delicacy involving cheddar cheese and powdered soup rolled inside a piece of toasted white bread. This year, the breakfast took place via Instagram live stream – and the prime minister said the cheese rolls were missing their usual flavour notes. Continue reading...

Hi-vis workwear and cute dogs have come to dominate politicians’ 2022 Australian federal election campaign photos, but giant cheques are out of fashion

The labour force figures are the final piece of economic data before the federal election and will be welcomed by the Coalition

Woman known only as JC tells Dawson’s murder trial he told her Lynette Dawson left in January 1982 and ‘she’s not coming back’

Each week of the campaign we ask experts to break down a political advertisement: who are the candidates trying to reach, and are they succeeding?

UAP uses full-page print ads to perpetuate baseless claim about a possible pandemic treaty as calls grow for uniform election media blackout rules

PM says budget, which includes major spending on climate and health care reform, aims to ensure long term ‘economic and social security’Weekly $27 cash payments, fuel discounts and half-price public transport are among the short-term sweeteners offered up by New Zealand’s government in its latest budget, as it tries to juggle the cost-of-living crisis with big-ticket spending commitments, including $11.1bn of healthcare system reform and $2.9bn responding to the climate crisis.“While we know the current storm will pass, it is important we take the hard edges off,” prime minister Jacinda Ardern said in remarks accompanying the budget’s release. Continue reading...

Police allege the 43-year-old man broke into St Marys Senior high school numerous times, allegedly assaulting sheep and goats

Industry Super Australia finds returns to members would decrease as funds would have to keep more cash on hand, reducing amount that can be invested

Governments have long ignored a fast-growing cohort of people who live with illness or disability that prevents them from working

US president pledges support for Finland and Sweden while Nato applications are considered; Russian soldier in war crimes trial pleads guilty

Unions call for action on ‘gender pensions pay gap day’, when women in Great Britain effectively start getting paidUnions have called on the government to take urgent action to fix a “whopping pensions gap”, as research showed women working in many industries have half the retirement savings of men.The TUC said Thursday was “gender pensions gap day”, when female pensioners in Great Britain start getting paid after effectively going four and a half months without retirement income. Continue reading...

Rajar figures reveal changing listening habits as people move from breakfast to pre-lunchtime showsKen Bruce has retained his title as the most listened-to radio presenter in the UK, as the Radio 2 host continues the trend of mid-morning programmes attracting more listeners than breakfast shows.The pre-lunchtime 10am slot was traditionally seen as a radio backwater, as mocked by Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge presenting a show called Mid Morning Matters. By contrast, the breakfast show tended to be the biggest show on any station’s lineup, with people tuning in as they got ready for work, headed to school or drove their car. Continue reading...

Regulator could fine banks failing to offer withdrawal and deposit facilities within ‘reasonable’ distanceThe City watchdog will be handed powers to ensure local communities across the UK have access to cash and could ultimately fine banks that fail to comply.Under the government’s pending financial services bill, the Financial Conduct Authority will be in charge of making sure the UK’s largest banking and building societies give consumers access to withdrawal and deposit facilities such as ATMs within a “reasonable” distance from their community. Continue reading...

The BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace on 4 June will also feature Alicia Keys, Duran Duran and Diana RossTwenty years after he famously blasted God Save the Queen from the roof of Buckingham Palace, guitarist Brian May and his Queen bandmates will join the UK’s Eurovision star Sam Ryder among headline acts at the platinum jubilee concert, it has been announced.Queen and Adam Lambert will open the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace concert with a special performance marking the actual Queen’s 70 years on the throne. Continue reading...

National security adviser Jake Sullivan says intelligence reflects ‘long-range missile test or a nuclear test, or frankly both’The White House is braced for a North Korean missile or nuclear test while Joe Biden is on a trip to South Korea and Japan, which begins on Thursday.The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Wednesday: “Our intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly both in the days leading into, on or after the president’s trip to the region. Continue reading...

Glazed porcelain piece, created for Qianglong imperial court in the 1700s, had been purchased for a few hundred pounds in the 1980sAn extremely rare 18th-century Chinese vase bought by a surgeon in England for a few hundred pounds in the 1980s has sold at auction for almost £1.5m.The 60cm (2 ft) blue-glazed, silver and gilt vase, decorated with cranes and bats, was created for the court of the Qianlong Emperor in the 1700s. Continue reading...

People in crisis can’t wait 18 months, says Bernard Sumner at suicide prevention event in parliamentThe lead singer of New Order has attacked “ludicrous” NHS waiting lists for mental health support, as he spoke out about his anguish at being unable to help his former bandmate Ian Curtis in the days before he took his own life 42 years ago.Speaking at a suicide prevention event in parliament, Bernard Sumner – who was a member of the post-punk band Joy Division, whose singer, Curtis, killed himself at home in Macclesfield on 18 May 1980 – described the suicide of a friend’s daughter who had been told she would have to wait 18 months for help. Continue reading...

Labour and unions call for suspension of man bailed over alleged offences including one connected to someone under 18Conservative officials are coming under increasing pressure to remove the whip from an MP arrested over claims of rape and sexual assault, or ensure he does not come to Westminster, as it emerged one alleged offence is connected to someone under 18.The man in his 50s has been bailed after being arrested on Tuesday over a series of alleged offences spanning seven years from 2002. One accusation concerns alleged abuse of position of trust, under a law that forbids sexual activity with anyone under 18 by an adult who is in a role of trust or authority over them. Continue reading...

A Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape has been released on bailAs a Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape is released on bail, we take a look at sexual misconduct allegations made against MPs and their outcomes. Continue reading...

Personal fire evacuation plans were in public inquiry’s proposals, which ministers had said they would ‘accept in full’Ministers have rejected a key recommendation from the Grenfell Tower public inquiry that all disabled tenants should be given a personal evacuation plan in the event of a fire, sparking anger from survivors and disability campaigners.Fifteen of the 37 disabled residents perished in the 2017 fire and Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the chairman of the inquiry, recommended in October 2019 that the “owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans [Peeps] for all residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised (such as persons with reduced mobility or cognition)”. Continue reading...

Sky Atlantic series follows PM’s tumultuous first months in No 10 as he grapples with pandemicKenneth Branagh’s depiction of Boris Johnson has been revealed in a clip from the upcoming drama series This England, which follows the prime minister’s tumultuous first months in Downing Street as he grapples with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.The series, formerly known as This Sceptred Isle, is co-written and directed by Michael Winterbottom and is due to air on Sky Atlantic later this year. Continue reading...

Analysis shows more than 1,400 deaths reported by providers so far in 2022, dwarfing the first two years of pandemic

Accommodation fundraising campaigns quadruple in past year, including appeals for rent and alternative housing like caravans

Move comes hours after the Nordic nations officially launched their bids to join the alliance

Tank commander Vadim Shysimarin, 21, admits shooting dead a 62-year-old civilian who was on a bicycleA Russian tank commander has pleaded guilty to shooting dead 62-year-old man as he rode his bicycle down a village road, in Ukraine’s first trial for war crimes committed during the Russian invasion.Vadim Shysimarin, 21, sat emotionless as prosecutors detailed charges that he had fired his AK-47 at the unarmed cyclist from the window of a car in the north-eastern Sumy region in late February. Continue reading...

New chief inspector of constabulary says crimes of poverty should be ‘dealt with in the best way possible’The cost of living crisis will trigger an increase in crime and officers need to use their “discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute people who steal in order to eat, the new chief inspector of constabulary has said.“The impact of poverty, and the impact of lack of opportunity for people, does lead to an increase in crime. There’s no two ways about that,” Andy Cooke said as inflation hit a 40-year high of 9%.Every burglary victim should get a visit from the police.Forces may be marked down by the inspectorate if they fail to do so.The charging rate should more than treble, from the current 6% to at least 20%.The criminal justice system is failing victims of rape.Policing is still recovering from cuts inflicted by the Conservative governments from 2010. Continue reading...

Items including a handwritten letter from David Bowie and Peel’s horn gramophone will be up for sale next monthRecords and music memorabilia once owned by the celebrated former BBC DJ John Peel, including a signed mono pressing of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1968 album Two Virgins, is to be sold at auction in June.Peel’s family said in a statement: “John/Dad was in a position to have access to many of the most celebrated people and events in the history of popular music. This is reflected in a wealth of souvenirs he collected. In going through the accumulation of 40 years of pop music moments, we decided that some of the most interesting items might find a home, with fans of his programme or of the artists whose music he played.” Continue reading...

Pascal Lamy says row is solvable if PM stops using emotional Brexit politics to solve ‘technical problem’Boris Johnson’s row with the EU over Northern Ireland’s Brexit arrangements is “absolutely solvable” but only if the UK accepts that a border is inevitable, the former head of the World Trade Organization has said.But Pascal Lamy said the prime minister could only achieve a breakthrough if he stopped mixing “oil and vinegar” and throwing emotional Brexit politics on to what he said was essentially a technical problem. Continue reading...

Shrewsbury and Telford trust admits failing to provide safe care to Mohammed Ismael Zaman and Max DingleAn NHS trust has been fined over £1.3m after it admitted breaking the law by failing to provide safe care in two cases where patients died after serious mistakes were made by hospital staff.The Shrewsbury and Telford trust pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Telford magistrates court to three criminal charges brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the NHS care regulator in England. Continue reading...

Labour leader says Boris Johnson U-turn on tax ‘inevitable’ and he must act now, as cost of living dominates PMQsKeir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to “make up his mind” and impose a windfall tax on North Sea energy firms, adding that the prime minister is “choosing to let people struggle” by delaying any further action.During yet another prime minister’s questions dominated by the cost of living, Starmer used all six of his questions on the single subject. He lambasted Johnson over his refusal to use a windfall tax to reduce energy bills, saying this would inevitably happen, and the “vacillation” was causing significant harm. Continue reading...

Couple had a narrow escape after bringing home what they thought was an old gas canisterTwo litter pickers unwittingly drove half a mile home with a live first world war bomb in the car as their weekly good deed turned into a scene from a Hollywood thriller.Rachel Wills and Simon Briscombe thought they had found an old gas canister while they were collecting rubbish from the River Nidd in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, on Monday. Continue reading...