World news | The Guardian

The grande école, or ENA, has been the pathway to power for top civil servants and four presidentsEmmanuel Macron has announced the closure of the École Nationale d’Administration, the elite French finishing school for the country’s leaders, where he himself studied.Known as ENA, the grande école has been the hothouse for France’s top civil service and a pathway to power in the public and private sectors. Four French presidents, including Macron, have passed through its doors as have dozens of ministers and business leaders. Continue reading...

Sir Richard Sutton, who owned hotels in London, died during incident on Wednesday eveningTributes have been paid to a millionaire hotelier who died after suffering stab wounds at his home.Sir Richard Sutton, who owned a string of top hotels in London, died during an incident at a property near Gillingham, Dorset. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dr Catherine Smallwood says there is potential for surge unconnected to increases in EuropeThe success of Britain’s vaccine programme is not enough to protect it from another wave of coronavirus unconnected to rising cases in Europe, a senior World Health Organization expert has said.Dr Catherine Smallwood, a senior emergency officer at WHO Europe, also said confidence in vaccines may have dipped after changes to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab rollout, with under-30s to be offered alternative options amid concerns over rare blood clots. Continue reading...

Bottles and petrol bombs have aggravated a political crisis and leave some deeply disheartenedIt is not hard finding the next riot spot in Northern Ireland. You can check Facebook or other social media platforms for locations and times. You can follow young people who visit petrol stations to fill up jerry cans. Or you can tag along with older people who gather, phones in hand, to watch and record the show.One older woman came to Lanark Way off the Shankill Road on Wednesday in a coat and bathrobe for what promised to be a long, cold, eventful evening. “Not long now,” said a man to no one in particular. Continue reading...

A new exhibition celebrates the work of three Austrian artists who escaped their country as Nazis took over and created daring work in the years afterIn 1938, Nazi troops invaded Austria, subsuming the country into the Third Reich in an event known as the “Anschluss”, bringing official antisemitism, along with political violence, to the small, German-speaking nation.A new exhibition in New York features artworks by three Jewish artists who fled Vienna during the Anschluss, survived and flourished as commercial artists. Armed with their pens, they used their wit, talent and resilience. Their best works are on view in a group exhibition, Three With a Pen, at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York, proving that art can be used as a weapon against fascism. Continue reading...

Anna Bettozzi was found with €300,000 in cash when her Rolls-Royce was pulled over in 2019Dozens of people have been arrested, including an oil heiress and singer who was found with €300,000 (£260,000) in cash when her Rolls-Royce was pulled over in 2019, as Italian police disrupted a massive fuel fraud by mafia groups.Police also seized nearly €1bn in assets linked to mafia money laundering and tax fraud through oil products in a series of scams known as “Operation PetrolMafias”. Continue reading...

BBC documentary to examine incidents that led to setting up of unit on which Line of Duty’s AC-12 is basedOne of London’s most senior police officers, described by a colleague as “the greatest villain unhung”, was believed to be involved in major corruption in the 1970s but never prosecuted, according to a new documentary on police malpractice.Former officers who exposed corruption at the time describe how they were threatened that they would end up in a “cement raincoat” if they informed on fellow officers and were shunned by colleagues when they did. Continue reading...

Though a return to the JCPOA seems likely, both Washington and Tehran have complex internal obstacles to overcomeThe United States and Iran are in a staring contest, and neither wants to blink first – at least that’s how the BBC Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, described the current political impasse.Since president Joe Biden took office on 20 January, the countries have been locked in a stalemate over the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA), which the Donald Trump administration withdrew from in May 2018, reimposing sanctions on Iran – despite the country not having violating the multilateral accord. These actions prompted Iran to speed up its nuclear programme after May 2019 by incrementally breaching aspects of the JCPOA. Continue reading...

Dr Alison Astles says her brother, Neil Astles, was ‘extraordinarily unlucky’ because risk of dying from vaccine is tiny

Home Office letter says new arrivals will reside at controversial site for at least 60 to 90 days despite legal fightAsylum seekers being moved into the Napier barracks site in Kent have been told they will reside at the former military facility for at least two to three months, the Guardian understands, as a number of legal challenges are poised to be heard.Men who are being held in hotels, as well as some new arrivals in the UK, have received letters from the Home Office telling them they will be moved into the barracks on Friday and that “it is anticipated you will reside at Napier for between 60 and 90 days”. Continue reading...

‘Despicable’ incident happened as boy was celebrating sister’s birthday with family

PM provides vaccine rollout update after meeting to discuss possible blood clotting link; NSW to keep border open to NZ despite new Auckland Covid case. This blog is now closed

Government statement comes after widespread confusion, and criticism from tourism industry

The star of hit films in the 80s and 90s has since moved into TV. She discusses life with 10 siblings, #MeToo and why she couldn’t ask for a better lifeVeering from horror to joy and back again, Elizabeth Perkins is contemplating what it would be like if her adult children moved back home. “The thing is, you miss them so much, then they’ll come back for a holiday and within a week there’s dirty dishes everywhere, there’s wet towels on the floor, they’ve eaten all the food. After a couple of weeks, you’re like: ‘Will they ever leave?’”This is the timely theme of Perkins’ show The Moodys, the first season of which, in 2019, saw three grownup children return home to Chicago for Christmas. Perkins plays Ann Moody, their mother; Denis Leary plays her husband. In the new season, all three children are living at the family home, with predictably messy consequences. “It really explored that dichotomy of: you love them to death, but, man, they get on your nerves,” says Perkins. Continue reading...

Coalition accepts most of the Respect@Work report recommendations but pushes back on key advice on private sectorMembers of parliament have been put on notice that there will be “consequences” for sexual harassment, as the government announces it will overhaul federal laws to try to stamp out sexual misconduct in Australian workplaces.Responding to the Respect@Work report completed by sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins in March 2020, the government announced on Thursday that it had accepted most of the report’s 55 recommendations either in full, in part or in principle. Continue reading...

Indonesian campus aims to grow within decade to 2,000 masters students, 1,000 ‘executive education students’ and 100 PhD students annuallyMonash University in Melbourne has signed a formal agreement with the Indonesian government to strengthen ties between the two countries as Australian universities try to diversify from their reliance on China.On Thursday, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia’s ministry of research and technology to “forge solid and institutionalised partnerships”. Continue reading...

Typhoon planes and cruise missiles used in biggest air raid against group in two years, ‘probably killing dozens’ says forceRAF and other coalition planes last month engaged in the biggest air raids against Isis in two years, in a 10-day mission that attacked up to 100 cave hideouts in Iraq and is likely to have caused dozens of casualties.The attacks concluded on 22 March, the Ministry of Defence said. Continue reading...

EU governments divided over whether and what restrictions if any should be imposed on its use

Belgium to restrict AstraZeneca jab use after EMA concludes blood clotting should be listed as ‘very rare’ side effect of AstraZeneca jab

The American poet will grace Vogue’s May issue and spoke about being conscious of ‘taking commissions that speak to’ herAmanda Gorman, the 23-year-old American poet who drew widespread acclaim for her reading at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration, has revealed she has turned down millions in endorsements because the companies do not “speak to” her.The poet signed with IMG Models days after her high-profile Washington appearance and told Vogue that she had since said no to “around” $17m worth of deals. Continue reading...

A bus was hijacked and set on fire at the junction of Lanark Way and Shankhill Road in west Belfast, the PSNI said. Stones were thrown at police while a press photographer was assaulted while working on Wednesday evening. The bus driver was reportedly uninjured. Police advised the public to avoid the areas and said: 'We would appeal to those with influence in the area to use it to help restore calm.'

Kyaw Zwar Minn says ‘it’s a kind of coup’, while sources say deputy has taken charge on behalf of militaryMyanmar’s ambassador to London has been locked out of the country’s embassy – apparently by his deputy, who was reported to have taken charge on behalf of the military.Since a military coup in February, Myanmar’s army has launched a harsh crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and has been accused of hundreds of extrajudicial executions as well as torture and illegal detentions. Continue reading...

Thursday: Besieged MP gave a grant to a rugby club connected to one of his staffers. Plus: genetic sequencing sheds light on ancient human migration into EuropeGood morning. A besieged federal parliamentarian faces fresh scrutiny over a $550,000 grant, doctors reject the Australian government’s vaccine rollout claims, while the UK decides under 30s should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca jab. Those stories and more.Federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming gave a $550,000 grant to a sporting club closely connected to one of his staff members, Guardian Australia can reveal. The money was allocated from the heavily criticised $150m female facilities and water safety initiative, and was presented to the secretary of the Southern Bay Cyclones rugby union club, James Eaton – the husband of Laming’s electorate officer Stephanie Eaton. Laming is now on leave from parliament after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards several women, with the Australian Electoral Commission also investigating the member for Bowman over more than 30 Facebook pages he operates under the guise of community and education groups. Continue reading...

Monarch says authorities foiled an act of sedition with arrests of former crown prince and othersJordan’s king has claimed authorities foiled an act of sedition with the weekend arrests of a former crown prince and 17 other people, describing the events as the “most painful” ordeal of his reign.“Nothing can come close to the shock and the pain and anger I felt, as a brother, and head of the Hashemite family, and as a leader to this dear people,” the king said in a written statement on Wednesday. Continue reading...

List celebrating authors under-35 includes Cubans for first time and more authors of colourA mystical murder story set to the rhythms of Inca ritual dancing, a tale of quotidian corruption in Equatorial Guinea, and a psychedelic musing on exile in outer space are among the stories in an eclectic new collection intended to showcase the best young writers of Spanish-language fiction.Eleven years after publishing its first collection of the finest up-and-coming authors in Spanish, Granta magazine is releasing a second volume that brings together 25 writers aged under 35 and currently at work on four continents. Continue reading...

No new properties have been purchased under the Queensland government program since 2017, a report findsCape York Indigenous groups have warned that a successful Queensland government program to return land to traditional owners is on the verge of stalling, potentially leaving large and significant swathes of the peninsula at the mercy of mining speculators.The Cape York land tenure resolution program has returned more than 4m hectares of land to traditional owner groups since 2007, including about 2m hectares that is designated as national park. Continue reading...

Cheng Jingye hosted a media event at his residence in Canberra that included a two-hour video conference with officials in XinjiangChina’s ambassador to Australia has warned that Beijing would respond “in kind” if Canberra followed other countries in imposing sanctions against its officials over human rights abuses in Xinjiang.The ambassador, Cheng Jingye, said people should not be under the illusion “that China would swallow the bitter pill” of meddling in its internal affairs, nor attempts to mount a “pressure” campaign. Continue reading...

Local leaders call for Public Health England to rescind guidance issued after attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in 2018

Outdoor Swimming Society app provides swim programme ending with long-distance crawl at solsticeWith gyms in Britain shut for much of last year almost a million people downloaded an NHS-backed fitness app over three months in an attempt to get up off the sofa and out for a run.In subsequent lockdowns wild swimming converts have been evangelising about the healing powers of cold water. Continue reading...

There are many reasons people regret an encounter with a stranger, including fear of pregnancy or disease – and feelings of disgust

Sir Michael Marmot says racial disparities report underplays impact of structural racism in health outcomes

With palace summer opening cancelled because of coronavirus, visitors will be able to pay to picnic from July to SeptemberThe paying public can picnic at the palace this summer as the Queen throws open her private 39-acre London garden for visitors to explore by themselves for the first time.With pandemic restrictions forcing the cancellation of Buckingham Palace’s traditional summer opening for a second year, self-guided tours of the landscaped grounds will be on offer from July to September. Continue reading...

Country reports 115,000 fresh infections in 24 hours, the highest single-day total anywhere in world

Hot Water says its reputation has been damaged after ‘very unclear’ vaccine certificates announcementA comedy club has said it suffered “significant damage” to its reputation after being wrongly linked to the government’s proposal for coronavirus health certificates.Paul Blair, a co-owner of the Liverpool-based Hot Water comedy club, said it faced a backlash after several newspapers reported it would be involved in vaccine passport trials after a “very unclear” government announcement. Continue reading...

Last February, Sissoko’s historic instrument was disassembled on a flight home to Paris. Bolstered by a new kora, his latest album revives their borderless journeyIn the Malian language Bamanankan, djourou – the title of Ballaké Sissoko’s forthcoming album – means string. “It’s the string that connects me to others,” he says. For this master of the kora, it is also the string that broke.Last February, Sissoko returned to Paris after a US tour with his trio 3MA to find that border officials in New York had dismantled his kora. The neck, bridge, strings and custom-built pickup had been removed from the body, made of calabash and parchment. The instrument was beyond repair, and made headlines around the world. Continue reading...

Election of Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi would serve to validate UAE’s record on human rights, ex-prosecutor saysAn Emirati general linked to human rights abuses is unsuited to head Interpol and his possible appointment may be seen as a “reward” for donations to the agency, according to a report by the UK’s former director of public prosecutions.The process of electing a president of Interpol, which is due to happen later this year, is “shrouded in secrecy and opaque”, Sir David Calvert-Smith wrote. Continue reading...

Government criticised over bill that will in effect withdraw country from key international convention

Sputnik V order that led to PM’s resignation cannot be used owing to incomplete or inaccurate informationA 200,000-dose order of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine that triggered a political crisis in Slovakia should not be administered yet because of incomplete or inaccurate information from the manufacturer, the national medicines agency has said.The Dennik N news site quoted the agency as saying it could not properly assess the shots, which it said were different from the vaccine whose favourable peer-reviewed late-stage trial results were published in The Lancet medical journal in February. Continue reading...

Awkward moment as EC chief consigned to sofa at meeting where women’s rights was on agendaUrsula von der Leyen, the European commission’s first female president, was “surprised” after being left without a chair during a meeting of the EU’s two presidents and Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and has demanded such a snub is never repeated.The German head of the commission was left visibly irritated at the start of the talks in Ankara with her two male counterparts, Erdoğan and Charles Michel, the former Belgian prime minister who is president of the European council. Continue reading...

Andy Marsh, chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, will not seek to renew contract in JulyThe head of a police force that has faced criticism of its handling of Black Lives Matter and “kill the bill” protests is stepping down.Andy Marsh, the chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, said he would not seek to extend his contract when it expires at the beginning of July. Continue reading...

Lee Cheuk-yan says he and fellow accused Jimmy Lai and Yeung Sum did nothing wrongA prominent Hong Kong activist, Lee Cheuk-yan has declared “history will absolve” those on trial, after he pleaded guilty with the media mogul Jimmy Lai to taking part in an unauthorised assembly.The two were facing charges alongside former Democratic party chairman Yeung Sum over a pro-democracy protest on 31 August 2019, which was not authorised by police. Continue reading...

Five people thought they were taking MDMA but instead swallowed lethal combination of synthetic hallucinogenic and stimulantA Victorian coroner investigating the deaths of five young men who consumed a potent psychoactive substance has called on the state government to introduce illicit drug testing and a warning program.The coroner, Paresa Spanos, said on Wednesday the men – aged between 17 and 32 – died in a six-month period starting in mid-2016. Continue reading...

The minister, who has already extracted an apology from Greens senator Larissa Waters, is taking a more aggressive stance over online postsThe defence minister, Peter Dutton, has begun issuing defamation threats to social media users for claiming he is a “rape apologist”.Dutton has decided to take a more aggressive stance against false and defamatory statements posted about him online, and has already extracted an apology from the Greens senator Larissa Waters. Continue reading...

The Oscar-nominated film-maker behind I Am Not Your Negro returns with Exterminate All the Brutes, a dense new HBO docuseries about a horrifying historyTruly, what else was there left to say about race in America after the words of James Baldwin? This is what Raoul Peck found himself contemplating after the success of his 2016 documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won an Emmy, a Bafta and a César award. He was confounded and disappointed to realize that some audiences, particularly in Europe, weren’t fully comprehending the work of what he calls “one of the best, if not the best analyst of what racism is”, believing it to be primarily an American concern.Related: 'We're all part of the story': behind Will Smith's 14th amendment docuseries Continue reading...

Advocates call for for self-testing as another path to regular screening for the HPV virus that causes nearly all cervical cancerWomen’s health advocates in New Zealand are calling for the government to improve the country’s cervical cancer screening programme following minister Kiritapu Allan’s shock diagnosis.Allan, the 37-year-old minister for conservation and civil defence, shared that she had stage-three cancer in a Facebook post on Tuesday, in which she wrote that she had felt uncomfortable about the invasive screening test. Continue reading...

Train hit vehicle at more than 120km/h, about a minute after the truck rolled onto the tracks, crash experts sayThe runaway truck that caused Taiwan’s worst rail disaster in decades slid onto the train tracks just over a minute before an express train came through at more than 120km/h, investigators have said, as newly released footage revealed the drivers’ attempts to brake.At least 50 people were killed and around 200 injured on Friday last week when the eight-car train hit a construction vehicle that had rolled down an embankment, derailing the carriages as they entered a stretch of tunnel just outside the east coast city of Hualien. Continue reading...

Covid failings, crackdown on protest, police discrimination and resumed arms trade with Saudi Arabia all listed in annual reportAmnesty International has published a stark rebuke of the UK government’s stance on human rights, saying that it is “speeding towards the cliff edge” in its policies on housing and immigration, and criticising its seeming determination to end the legal right for the public to challenge government decisions in court.In its annual report on human rights around the world, Amnesty International says the UK’s increasingly hostile attitude towards upholding and preserving human rights legislation raises “serious concerns”. Continue reading...

Besieged MP to be investigated by Australian Electoral Commission for potential breaches of electoral laws over dozens of pages set up under the guise of community and news groups

Lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto despite criticism that the measure would harm an already vulnerable communityArkansas has become the first state to ban gender-affirming treatments and surgery for transgender youth, after lawmakers overrode the governor’s objections to enact the ban on Tuesday.The state’s governor, Asa Hutchinson, had vetoed the bill on Monday following pleas from pediatricians, social workers and the parents of trans youth who said the measure would harm a community already at risk for depression and suicide. The ban was opposed by several medical and child welfare groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Continue reading...

Wednesday: The European Union denies Morrison government claims Covid vaccine doses have been blocked from being shipped to Australia. Plus: Kiwi creatives share their local travel tipsGood morning. What has happened to 3.1m AstraZeneca vaccine doses that were meant to be administered to Australians by now? That’s one of several big unanswered questions about Australia’s slower-than-expected vaccine rollout. It seems not much has changed after the banking royal commission, according to employees. And if the New Zealand Covid bubble news was music to your ears, don’t miss our yarn on Kiwis’ top tips for your trip.The European Union says it hasn’t blocked further shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia, contradicting Scott Morrison’s claim that international supply issues are chiefly to blame for missing rollout targets. Overnight an EU spokesperson said the only export request rejected out of nearly 500 received has so far been a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia in March. The federal government is under fire for the slow pace of the rollout and a lack of transparency about how many doses have been manufactured locally and administered. Crucial data is missing on the government’s vaccine program, including local manufacturing volumes, available doses and herd immunity targets. Now disability services are taking Covid vaccinations “into their own hands”, approaching GPs directly to secure supplies for vulnerable residents, rather than waiting for deliveries to arrive at their facilities. The National Disability Services chief executive, David Moody, said the slow rollout meant they were unable to get the vaccines where their clients lived. Continue reading...