World news | The Guardian

Russia’s foreign ministry says nuclear war ‘should never be unleashed’, as its forces regroup for battle for eastern Ukraine

Opposition leader also vows to make gender equity an objective of the Fair Work Act if ALP wins federal election on 21 May

Scott Morrison argues Labor is ‘looking to make money out of this’ as Anthony Albanese pledges to cut cost of some mortgages by up to $380,000

Killing of Israeli guard in Ariel and a Palestinian in nearby incident raise fears of escalating violenceIsraeli forces on Saturday arrested the suspected killers of a Jewish settlement guard shot in a West Bank attack claimed by a Palestinian armed group that linked it to violence in Jerusalem.Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, one of the main militant groups active in the Israeli-occupied territory, claimed responsibility for the shooting which, along with the killing of a Palestinian, brought a deadly conclusion to a Friday marked by clashes at Jerusalem’s flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound. Continue reading...

Strong winds pushed blaze across containment lines, threatening the small town of Las VegasMore than 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the US on Saturday after strong winds pushed it across some containment lines and closer to a town in northern New Mexico.Preliminary overnight mapping imagery indicated that the fire that has burned at least 166 homes grew in size from 103 square miles on Friday to 152 square miles by early Saturday, officials said. Continue reading...

Labour leader attacks Tory tax rises and inability to tackle the cost of living crisisBoris Johnson has been rendered “incapable of governing” by a series of scandals and rows that have left him unable or unwilling to tackle the cost of living crisis, Keir Starmer has warned.In a final pitch before Thursday’s local elections, the Labour leader said that voters were hearing “the dying groans of a clapped-out government” that was attempting to use “desperate attacks and deflections” to distract from inaction over rising bills and tax increases. Continue reading...

Daughters announced her death on Saturday, one day before the Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of FameNaomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer who formed the Grammy winning duo the Judds with her daughter Wynonna, and was also the mother of the actor Ashley Judd, has died. She was 76.Judd’s daughters announced her death in a statement on Saturday, one day before the Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Continue reading...

Hollywood actor and UN envoy met refugees in the western city of Lviv on Saturday, its regional governor said

The major parties have turned to internet jokes as they fight for attention, but some experts think it’s a big waste of time

Parish resigns over ‘moment of madness’, and claims ‘it was tractors I was looking at on the internet’Disgraced Tory MP Neil Parish, who resigned his seat on Saturday after admitting he had twice watched pornography in the House of Commons chamber, appeared to have committed a criminal offence which carried a maximum two-year prison sentence, Labour said.Parish, who had represented the safe west country seat of Tiverton and Honiton since 2010, said that on the first occasion he watched porn on his mobile phone next to other MPs, including women, he had done so by accident. Continue reading...

Sir Lindsay Hoyle says MPs should no longer employ staff directly, following revelations involving bullying and harassmentA radical overhaul of the working practices in Westminster is being demanded by the House of Commons Speaker, in the wake of a series of scandals over sexual harassment and bullying that have rocked parliament.After a week in which MPs and staff have spoken out over their treatment in the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle said that a review of how parliament functions was now “urgently needed” following the damaging revelations. Continue reading...

Prime minister had broached issue of asymptomatic transmission publicly with advisers long before testing rules were introducedBoris Johnson’s claim that a lack of knowledge about the asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 put care homes at risk has been further undermined after it emerged he openly discussed the potential scale of symptom-free transmission.The prime minister has already been accused of misleading parliament over the claim. He made it last week after the high court ruled that the government had acted unlawfully in ordering the discharge of patients to care homes without testing in the spring of 2020. Johnson told the House of Commons: “What we didn’t know in particular was that Covid could be transmitted asymptomatically.” Continue reading...

The MP for Tiverton and Honiton says he initially found the pornographic website while looking at tractors

UK dispatches minister after ex-leader charged with drug offences and inquiry finds serious governance issuesThe Foreign Office is risking a political backlash on the British Virgin Islands if it goes ahead with plans recommended by an independent commission of inquiry to impose a form of direct rule on the islands from London after allegations of maladministration and corruption.Natalio Wheatley, the acting BVI premier elevated to the office after the former premier Andrew Fahie, 51, was arrested on drug running charges in Miami on Thursday, said he opposed the plan for direct rule for two years, with the British appointed governor taking charge and being advised by a council of local politicians. Continue reading...

Hannah Kenny was subjected to sectarian and misogynistic abuse by three men in east BelfastA Stormont candidate was grabbed by the throat in a terrifying “sectarian and misogynistic” attack while out canvassing.Hannah Kenny, standing for the People Before Profit party, said the assault took place last Saturday while she was delivering election material in east Belfast. Continue reading...

Parish says an initial incident was accidental while looking at tractors, but a second time was deliberate

The 76-year-old former leader, jailed on corruption charges in 2018, is ready to run again and is ahead of incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the pollsFor weeks Hilton Acioli wrestled with the melodies and lyrics that would become the theme tune to one of the most remarkable political careers in recent history.Finally, one morning in the winter of 1989, something clicked. “Lula lá – a star is sparkling. Lula lá – the flourishing of hope,” the Cat Stevens-loving Brazilian songsmith sang as he sat before his computer with a guitar. Continue reading...

Forces to be redeployed over smaller areas with simplified command structure, says UK military report

Early years providers can’t attract qualified workers and the crisis will put prices up, increasing the burden on struggling familiesNurseries across the UK are being forced to close or reduce their services at an alarming rate because they are struggling to recruit and retain staff, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has warned.The crisis is only set to deepen as more childcare providers go out of business, increasing demand for places and pushing prices even higher for families struggling with the rising cost of living. Continue reading...

Sue Parish claims she was unaware of Tory MP’s suspension until a journalist asked her for a quote

Ease of finding accommodation and work lures 10 times the number who have made it to BritainWhen it became clear to Liliia Fomina that the war raging outside her hometown of Zaporizhzhia would continue not just for days, but months or even years, she decided that she wanted to flee to the UK. A sponsor in Windsor was found, and on 18 March the 29-year-old applied for a British visa for herself and her five-year-old son Lev.The pair sheltered with friends of friends in a village near Chernivtsi, in western Ukraine, and waited: one week, two weeks, three weeks. By the time her visa finally came through, after almost a month of uncertainty, the lawyer had changed her mind. Continue reading...

Footage shows injured man, who gives his name as Andrew Hill, being questioned by Russian forces

People in Devon town have little sympathy and say Tory should ‘admit what he’s done’ and resign

Anthony Albanese will unveil $329m Help to Buy housing initiative as the centrepiece of Labor’s campaign launch in Perth

Retiree Jim Fitton, 66, was detained when airport security found ‘valueless’ pottery shards in luggageThe family of a retired British geologist facing the death penalty in Iraq have called on the UK government to urgently intervene.Jim Fitton, 66, was detained by authorities in the Middle Eastern country, accused of smuggling, during a geology and archaeology trip. Continue reading...

With no Moneypenny and no M, a previously unpublished script reveals the author’s original ideas for MoonrakerIn the action-packed film Moonraker, James Bond escapes from Jaws, the metal-toothed villain, on a hang-glider that ejects from a speedboat just as he drives over the precipice of a waterfall. It is one of numerous outlandish scenes in the film that Ian Fleming never wrote in his original 007 novel. And it could not be more different to the author’s own version of the film, according to a previously unpublished script.In 1956, a year after the Moonraker novel was published, Fleming wrote his own 150-page film treatment with a plot that is as serious as the 1979 film is lightweight, despite Roger Moore’s charm as the fictional spy. Continue reading...

Thousands are without power after a suspected twister tore through parts of the state on Friday eveningA suspected tornado that barrelled through parts of Kansas damaged multiple buildings, injured several people and left more than 6,500 people without power, officials said.Officials said the suspected twister moved though parts of south-east Wichita and Andover on Friday evening. Andover fire chief, Chad Russell, said during a news conference on Saturday morning that 50 to 100 buildings were damaged in Sedgwick County, though it was not immediately known how many buildings were damaged in Andover. Continue reading...

Officers say they believe body discovered in Forest of Bowland area of Lancashire is that of KenyonOfficers searching for missing Katie Kenyon have found the body of a woman in an area of the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire police said.The force said although the woman’s identity had not been formally confirmed, they believed it to be Kenyon. Continue reading...

Tory MP says he did not mean to cause offence by suggesting they enjoyed ‘quiet drink’ at end of dayThe Tory MP Michael Fabricant has apologised for suggesting many teachers and nurses enjoyed a “quiet drink” at the end of the day in staff rooms during lockdown.In a letter published on the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union’s website after outrage from the education sector over his comments, Fabricant said it was not his intention to cause offence or to demoralise, “and I apologise if I have genuinely done so”. Continue reading...

Caroline Nokes said Tories took too long to take action against Neil Parish after complaints were made earlier in week

Gross misconduct panel rules against PC Khafilat Kareem, who was told not to appear in reality TV showA Metropolitan police officer has been given a final written warning after appearing on the Nigerian version of Big Brother without permission.A misconduct hearing found that PC Khafilat Kareem had breached the standards of professional behaviour in relation to “orders and instructions” and “discreditable conduct”, so a final written warning should be given after gross misconduct was proven. Continue reading...

The Northumberland village holds on to its title in a new Which? poll, fending off challenges from Llandudno and St AndrewsThe tiny village of Bamburgh in Northumberland, with its sweeping sandy beach overlooked by an imposing clifftop castle, has retained the title of Britain’s best seaside destination.The best beaches in the UK have been revealed in the annual survey from Which?, with the consumer watchdog surveying more than 4,300 visitors about recent trips to seaside towns, villages and resorts. Continue reading...

Parish rejects calls to immediately quit as MP and says he will cooperate with investigationThe senior Conservative MP under investigation for allegedly watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons chamber has suggested he may have opened it accidentally but has rejected calls to stand down as an MP immediately.Neil Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, had the whip suspended after becoming the fourth MP from his party since the last election to face claims of impropriety. Continue reading...

Health secretary says women will only be able to get three months of certain treatmentsWomen will be able to get only three months’ worth of certain hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products to improve general supply across the UK.The health secretary, Sajid Javid, has issued serious shortage protocols (SSPs) to limit the dispensing of Oestrogel, Ovestin cream and Premique Low Dose to three months’ supply per person to “even out” the distribution. Continue reading...

Prime minister announces a $10 cut to PBS scripts from next year in an attempt to tackle cost-of-living pressure, while Labor vows to hold a royal commission into the robodebt scandal. This blog is now closed

News of debate which will employ a panel of three journalists comes as Labor pledges robodebt royal commission and Coalition promises cheaper medicines

Marisha Wallace wants to inspire young girls and call out lack of diversity as she takes on role in Oklahoma!A professional career in theatre was not always on the cards for Marisha Wallace. The Broadway and West End star, who was born and raised on a pig farm in North Carolina, rarely saw people that looked like her on stage.As she takes on the coveted role of Ado Annie in the revival of Oklahoma! at London’s Young Vic theatre, Wallace is on a singular mission to call out the lack of plus-sized black actors on stage and to inspire young girls just like her. Continue reading...

Coates uses outgoing address to announce Australian Olympic Committee support for Ukrainian athletes to resettle in Australia

This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blogA checkpoint at the Russian village of Krupets in the Kursk region came under fire, according to Kursk’s governor Roman Starovoyt. The RIA news agency reports he said there were no casualties, and fire was returned. Krupets is close to the Ukrainian border, near the Sumy region in the north-east of the country.The UK’s international trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has been interviewed on Sky News in the UK. She stressed again that the UK government did not support British people going over to Ukraine to fight.The Foreign Office is working very closely with those in Ukraine, both to make sure that, you know, the identification is correct. And indeed to work with local authorities and to support families here. As we’ve set out right from the beginning, we don’t want British nationals to go and fight.But there are many, many ways in which so many people, and I think the heartfelt, genuinely heartfelt, anxiety and appalment that Putin has illegally invaded and is now continuing to bombard those areas where he had stepped away from, is something that quite rightly horrifies the British public. Continue reading...

People urged to be vigilant as fake flight and hotel adverts proliferate amid ‘national fraud epidemic’Britons should take extra care booking their summer getaway as new figures show an increase in online holiday scams, with travellers being cheated out of thousands of pounds by fake flight and hotel adverts.The number of scams linked to holidays was up by a third in the year to March 2022. Within that, fraud relating to flight bookings was 13% higher than in 2021, with victims, on average, losing £3,000, based on cases being reported to Lloyds Bank. Continue reading...

Single-parent households have savings pot 20 times smaller than average figure, analysis showsSingle-parent households are among the most exposed to the cost of living crisis, with a savings pot 20 times smaller than the UK average, analysis shows.The analysis by Labour, using Office for National Statistics figures depicting wealth in Great Britain, shows that single parents with dependent children had £400 in savings between April 2018 and March 2020, compared with all households, which had £8,000. Continue reading...

PM’s critics ‘deadly serious’ he could go to polls in the next few months to save premiership amid Partygate scandalRebel Conservative MPs fear Boris Johnson could gamble on a general election within months in a make-or-break bid to save his premiership – but the party chairman, Oliver Dowden, has privately dismissed the idea as electorally disastrous.One MP hoping to oust Johnson said they are “deadly serious” in their belief that the prime minister could seek to win himself another term by calling a vote this autumn, especially if he manages to buy time in No 10 by winning a confidence vote before the summer. Continue reading...

Travellers told to apply as soon as possible as MPs accuse agency of running ‘absolute shambles’A couple this week told how they face having to cancel their wedding because of continued delays at the Passport Office.Lucia Thompson and her partner, both British nationals who live in Australia, have been told they must allow 13 weeks for their newborn baby’s British passport to arrive. They are due to marry in the UK next month; the ceremony was twice postponed because of Covid. Continue reading...

Investigations under way following the death of the fourth-year students at Royal Military College campus in OntarioFour Canadian military cadets have died after their car drove into the water at their campus in Ontario.The incident happened early on Friday on the Royal Military College campus in Kingston, Canada’s Department of National Defence said. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese vows to find those responsible for the scheme as Morrison says ‘the problem has been addressed’

Ukraine claims Russia has suffered ‘colossal’ losses as Pentagon press secretary condemns Putin’s ‘cruelty and depravity’

Fartun Jamal, 25, will serve more than five years in prison for neglect of 11-month-old Nafahat Jamal, who died in squalid conditionsA mother has been jailed for causing her 11-month-old daughter’s death while keeping her in squalid conditions “surrounded by walls covered in faeces”, according to police.Nafahat Jamal died of a chest infection after weeks of neglect at the hands of Fartun Jamal at her flat in Brent Park, London. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard seeking permission from court of appeal to challenge ruling that Met’s decisions in run-up to vigil were ‘not in accordance with the law’The Metropolitan police is seeking a further attempt to challenge the high court’s ruling that officers breached the rights of organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard last year.High court judges earlier this month refused the Met permission to appeal against its ruling in March about the force’s handling of the planned event. Continue reading...

Chinese insurer Ping An discusses listing bank’s Asian operations separately in Hong KongHSBC is facing pressure to break up after one of its largest shareholders told the UK-headquartered bank to consider spinning off its profitable Asian operations centred on Hong Kong.Chinese insurer Ping An has discussed listing the Asian operations separately in Hong Kong, Bloomberg first reported. Ping An owns 8.3% of the bank, according to the latest public filings, a stake worth £8.2bn. Continue reading...