World news | The Guardian

Owner of property in Chinatown, Soho and Covent Garden returns to profit as rents increaseThe central London landlord Shaftesbury anticipates a rise in visitors and spending in the West End now that the Elizabeth line has finally opened, as it hailed a swing back to profit after the value of its 16-acre property portfolio was boosted by rising rents.The central section of the new line originally known as Crossrail opened on Tuesday morning, running between Paddington in the west through central London to the new station at Abbey Wood in the east. A full service incorporating the outer legs out to Shenfield in the east and to Reading and Heathrow in the west is expected by next spring. Continue reading...

Expert says collective bargaining is a ‘minefield’ for employers and simplifying it should be a focus of the forum

Analysis: The presence of cooler water can have wider-ranging impacts on global weather patternsIt’s not the first time recently that chilly conditions have gripped parts of southern South America in the lead-up to the southern hemisphere winter. Over the past couple of days, an area of low pressure has positioned itself just south-east of the continent and allowed cold air to filter northwards into southern Chile and Argentina. This process will continue over the coming days with temperatures 5-10 degrees below normal in Argentina from Thursday.In fact, the western side of South America, including farther north into Peru, has experienced almost perpetually cool conditions of late linked to an ongoing La Niña event in the Pacific Ocean. During these events, which usually occur every few years, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the south-eastern Pacific cool significantly as colder waters from the deep upwell to the surface. Current observations suggest SSTs just off the coast of Peru are between 1.5 and 3.5C colder than normal and they have been cooler than normal since last autumn. The presence of cooler water has an often moderating impact on temperatures in South America but can have wider-ranging impacts on global weather patterns too. Continue reading...

Sources reveal frustration at likely delay of package to help households hit by squeeze on budgetsCabinet ministers are frustrated that a “mano a mano” standoff between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak is holding up measures to help people through the cost of living crisis.Downing Street denied there was a rift between No 10 and No 11, with one source insisting that the prime minister and the chancellor were on the same page but simply taking time to find the right way to “target help at the most vulnerable”. Continue reading...

Law firm believes thousands could join suit against emergency calls operator after reports of errors that led to deaths

Cluster bombs, fléchettes and unguided missiles on residential areas: as prosecutors investigate alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, our reporters reveal the evidence they discovered on the groundAt about midnight on 1 March 2022, a Russian air force jet dropped a series of 250kg Soviet-era explosives over Borodyanka, north of Kyiv. They were powerful FAB-250 bombs, designed to hit military targets such as enemy fortifications and bunkers. There were no such structures, however, in this quiet town of 13,000 people.The bombs fell on at least five residential buildings, splitting them in two. Dozens of bodies were found under the rubble when the Russians withdrew from the Kyiv region in early April, leaving in their path a gigantic crime scene that Ukrainian prosecutors investigating alleged war crimes by Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, have been working on for weeks. Continue reading...

Exclusive: researcher calls for sale of marble head of Greek philosopher Antisthenes to be haltedAn archaeologist is calling for a US auction house to withdraw a monumental Roman sculpture from sale, claiming he has photographic evidence of its direct link to a dealer involved with illicit trade.Prof Christos Tsirogiannis, whose academic research focuses on antiquities and trafficking networks, said Hindman Auctions in Chicago should cancel its auction of the portrait head of Antisthenes, the Greek philosopher, scheduled for Thursday. Continue reading...

Bernie Finn will be forced to sit on crossbench and is unlikely to be preselected ahead of November election

Boris Johnson shown raising a glass at event during a national Covid lockdown, in newly released photosImages have emerged of Boris Johnson raising a glass at a No 10 party during a national Covid lockdown, sparking fresh acrimony across the UK front pages on Tuesday.The prime minister is facing fresh claims of lying to MPs after four pictures, first published by ITV News, showed him toasting a senior aide at a Downing Street leaving drinks event. Continue reading...

Activists say woman’s death is an example of people with serious mental health problems being detained without adequate care

President says US’s responsibility to protect island is ‘even stronger’ after Russia’s invasion of UkraineJoe Biden has said the US would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if it came under attack from China, in an unusually forceful presidential statement in support of self-governing that drew a defiant response from Beijing.Speaking in Tokyo on the second day of his visit to Japan, and against the backdrop of growing concern over Chinese military activity in the region, Biden said the US’s responsibility to protect the self-ruled island – which China considers a renegade province – was “even stronger” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Black Equity Organisation, whose trustees include David Lammy and Dame Vivian Hunt, aims to dismantle systemic racism in UKA national civil rights group to advance justice and equity for black people in Britain has been created by some of the country’s most influential black figures.The first of its kind, the Black Equity Organisation (BEO) aims to dismantle systemic racism nearly two years after George Floyd was choked to death by a US police officer in 2020. The killing spurred large protests around the world – including in the UK, where the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was toppled into Bristol harbour. Continue reading...

Pupils and bus driver taken to hospital as a result of after-school collision in Llanfair CaereinionFive children were injured when they were struck by a school bus while waiting to go home after classes in a Welsh village.The incident happened at about 3.25pm outside the high school in Llanfair Caereinion, Powys. The children are believed to be aged between 11 and 16. Continue reading...

Images obtained by ITV News reveal table strewn with bottles at leaving do for a senior aide in November 2020Boris Johnson is facing fresh claims of lying to MPs after photos emerged of him toasting a senior aide at a Downing Street leaving drinks event during a national Covid lockdown.The Metropolitan police later fined staffers for attending the event on 13 November 2020 – but did not sanction Johnson, who is clearly seen raising a glass in a room full of alcohol. Continue reading...

Max Mendoza has been arrested after a judge said his 32-year enrollment at university on a government salary may be a crimeMax Mendoza has been a remarkably persistent student – and a profitable one: he has been enrolled at a public university in Bolivia for 32 years but never graduated, much of it while being paid a government salary to serve as a student leader.On Monday, though, he was detained and sent to jail after a judge ordered a six-month investigation into allegations his tenure as a state-paid student leader constituted a crime. Continue reading...

Michelle Bachelet begins trip amid fears that authorities will use Covid restrictions as cover to limit her accessChina has said the UN rights chief’s visit to the country this week will be conducted in a “closed loop” as previously agreed with the UN, referring to the Chinese model of isolating people inside a “bubble” in order to contain the spread of Covid-19.The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, embarked on a six-day trip to China on Monday. She will be visiting the southern city of Guangzhou and two locations in the Xinjiang region, where Chinese authorities have been accused of human rights abuses against Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim ethnic group. Continue reading...

The approach backfired at a federal level, with the party facing the possibility of holding just two Melbourne seats

Diversity advocates welcome new additions but say there is still a long way to go before parliament reflects Australian society

Data prior to current outbreaks suggested resurgence of the disease, with waning immunity from smallpox vaccination contributing to spread

Labor leader in tight position after China said dialogue with US, India and Japan would be test of new Australian prime minister’s ‘political wisdom’

Survivors who reported abuse to executive committee were ‘ignored’ as leaders were ‘singularly focused on avoiding liability’Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations, according to a scathing 288-page investigative report issued Sunday.These survivors, and other concerned southern baptists, repeatedly shared allegations with the SBC’s executive committee, “only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some” leaders, said the report. Continue reading...

More than four in five workers want to continue flexible model despite government push for return to officeMore than a third of working adults in Great Britain spent at least part of their time working from home this spring, an official survey of working patterns shows, with the proportion of people hybrid working growing even as Covid restrictions eased.More than four in five workers – 84% – told the Office for National Statistics (ONS) they wanted to continue splitting their time between home and the office after the pandemic, while the ONS also found hybrid working patterns had shifted towards employees spending more working hours at home. Continue reading...

Boris Bondarev issues public statement saying: ‘Never have I been so ashamed of my country’A veteran Russian diplomat in Geneva has resigned over his country’s invasion of Ukraine in a rare political protest from within the Russian foreign policy establishment.Boris Bondarev, a counsellor at the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva, wrote in a public statement: “Never have I been so ashamed of my country.” Continue reading...

Ex-MP jailed after being expelled from Tory party following conviction for groping teenager at party in 2008The former Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy after plying him with gin at a party in 2008.The 48-year-old was expelled from the Conservative party and later resigned from the Commons, triggering a byelection in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, after he was convicted last month following a trial at Southwark crown court. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health leaders call for uplift for lowest-paid staff, to prevent ‘mass exodus’ to pubs and supermarketsThe NHS faces a “mass exodus” of thousands of staff to better-paid jobs in pubs, shops and supermarkets as a result of the cost of living crisis, ministers have been warned.Health leaders fear significant numbers of lower-paid workers will leave for higher wages in the private sector amid rising food and heating bills and soaring inflation. The NHS already has 110,000 vacancies, and there are fears that a further deepening of the workforce crisis will “jeopardise” the ability of hospitals to tackle record-high waiting lists. Continue reading...

A number of ministers have spoken out against the policy in highly unusual displays of dissentThe clearest signal yet that a windfall tax might be imposed on energy companies has come from a Treasury minister who said the UK government “cannot rule out” such a move.Amid reports that No 10 is holding out against plans by Rishi Sunak to introduce a levy, Tory figures have been weighing in for and against it. Continue reading...

Anneka Rice, who was helicoptered in to complete a good cause on original show, urges fans to ‘dig out your lycra’Anneka Rice is to dust off her jumpsuit and relaunch Challenge Anneka, a reality TV hit from nearly 30 years ago involving her flying into an area to complete a good cause against the clock.Announcing a reboot of the programme on Channel 5, Rice urged her fans to “dig out your lycra from the 1990s … there will be more instructions soon.” Continue reading...

Liz Pemberton says she has received offensive emails after John Hayes criticised her anti-racism workAn early years trainer has said she received a torrent of racist emails after a Conservative politician described her work as “brainless nonsense” and called for her to be “defunded”.Liz Pemberton, who runs an anti-racist training and consultancy company called the Black Nursery Manager, said her inbox had been flooded with abuse since the comments, by the former education minister Sir John Hayes, were reported this month. Continue reading...

Households experience faster inflation than official statistics indicate, analysis suggestsThe cost of basic goods and services needed by the average two-child household in the UK has risen by £400 a month, according to an analysis that suggests families are experiencing faster inflation than official figures indicate.Costs for families with two children have risen by an annual rate of 13%, according to the research from Loughborough University, faster than the 9% rate of inflation found in official statistics – itself a 40-year high. Continue reading...

Vadim Shishimarin shot dead Oleksandr Shelipov in village in late February

It is first time second in line to throne has appeared alone on an official coinAn engraving of the Duke of Cambridge, firm of gaze and strong of jaw, will appear on a new £5 coin struck by the Royal Mint to mark his 40th birthday.The design, unveiled ahead of his milestone on 21 June, also incorporates his royal cypher featuring the letter W and the number 40, created by designer and engraver Thomas T Docherty. Continue reading...

An anonymous worker shares their experience, as study shows half of UK MPs’ staff have clinical levels of psychological distress

Exclusive: Calls grow for culture change as aides say they are at ‘breaking point’ after years of crises

Sussan Ley or Jane Hume likely to be deputy Liberal leader as Coalition continues to grapple with election fallout

New foreign affairs minister tells Pacific leaders Australia ‘will listen because we care’ after reports China may be seeking security agreement with Kiribati

Northern NSW continues to be hammered by rain and Queensland’s south-east back on flood watch

West Midlands police arrest woman, 27, after sudden death of infant at Birmingham children’s hospitalA nurse at Birmingham children’s hospital has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison after the death of an infant last Thursday.West Midlands police said the 27-year-woman was later released while investigations continued. Continue reading...

Major polling companies changed methods after 2019 failure but two-party preferred measure misses Greens and independents

Anastasiya Tikha and her husband, Arthur Lee, fought their way through bombs and gunfire to save the array of animals in their care

Researchers are investigating possible links to Covid-19, which has already been shown to cause liver problems in some patientsA dangerous and mysterious illness continues to spread among children, and so do questions over what’s causing it, including possible links to Covid-19. But it’s too soon to tell what is behind the cases, experts say.More than 600 cases of hepatitis with no known cause have been identified around the globe since October 2021, and many of the cases are in previously healthy children now stricken with severe illness. Continue reading...

Residents of Pir Koh say poor water provision and a dirty water tank led to 26 deaths, the majority among children under sevenTwo weeks ago, Ruqiyya Bibi fell sick. The two-year-old was vomiting constantly; her father, Mohammed Iqbal, took her to a basic health unit in Pir Koh, a impoverished town with a population of 40,000 in the mountains of Balochistan, south-western Pakistan.Iqbal was told at first that his daughter had malaria but when treatment did not help, he took her to another doctor who said she had a blood condition. Continue reading...

NGO takes down photos of girl, 16, from DRC from website after critics call them unethical and racistMédecins Sans Frontières has removed photographs of a teenage rape survivor from its website after criticism that the images were unethical and racist.MSF took down two photos of a 16-year-old girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who was gang-raped by three armed men afterphotographers, activists and human rights lawyers condemned the images on Twitter. Continue reading...

Former minister Gareth Ward, who has professed his innocence, has already been suspended from parliament

State media photos show Kim carrying Hyon Chol-hae’s coffin and throwing earth into his grave as country battles ‘fever’ cases amid Covid outbreakKim Jong-un attended the funeral for a top North Korean official, state media reported on Monday, helping carry his coffin, as the country maintained the much-disputed claim that its coronavirus outbreak is subsiding.The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim attended the funeral on Sunday of Hyon Chol-hae, a Korean People’s Army marshal who reportedly played a key role in grooming him as the country’s next leader before Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011. Continue reading...

Prime minister said it was helpful that new Australian leader had already acknowledged issues causing frictionNew Zealand will continue to push the conversation on Australia’s “problematic” deportation policy with the incoming government under Labor leader Anthony Albanese, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said.“There is obviously a really strong relationship, regardless of leader, regardless of party,” Ardern said at a post-cabinet briefing on Monday. “The very nature of New Zealand and Australia’s relationship is strong and enduring.” Continue reading...

Health minister says hospitalisations are doubling every week, with people aged 10-39 most at risk of severe illness

The newly sworn-in PM has confirmed Australia’s parliament will meet before the end of July – what is at the top of his post-election agenda?

One-off performance in London brings together people who have experienced vocal loss with professional singersIn March 2020, Tanja Bage, a singer and performer, made a phone recording of herself for her children, then aged four and coming up to two. “I’m going to sound a little bit different,” she told them. “You’re not going to remember.”Poignantly, she added: “I like my voice, I like the way I sound.” Continue reading...