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Move comes after Keir Starmer tells cabinet to stop outsourcing' decisions to regulators

Pontiff makes first public appearance in the Vatican since his release from hospital two weeks agoPope Francis has made a surprise appearance in St Peter's Square during a special jubilee mass for the sick and health workers, marking his first public appearance at the Vatican since his discharge from hospital two weeks ago.The pontiff waved at the crowd that stood and applauded as he was appeared unannounced, assisted in a wheelchair to the front of the altar in the square. Continue reading...

Three detectives involved in the investigation speak of their relief at finally solving the puzzleDC Beth Colbourne was walking out of Chester crown court when she got the email that brought an end to one of the longest baby death mysteries in recent times. It started: Are you sitting down?"As an officer in Cheshire constabulary's major crime review team, Colbourne had been tasked with solving a puzzle that had confounded police for 25 years: who was Baby Callum? Continue reading...

Peter Reynolds, 79, detained with his wife, Barbie, since February, says prison is nearest thing to hell I can imagine'A Briton held captive by the Taliban for more than nine weeks has said he is living in dire conditions in a prison in Kabul, describing it as the nearest thing to hell I can imagine".In a recording of a phone call from Pul-e-Charkhi prison, Peter Reynolds, 79, also spoke of his fears for the safety of his wife, Barbie, who is being held in the women's section of the the maximum-security jail. Continue reading...

Servings of 250ml and 175ml are becoming rarer in restaurants and bars as customers opt for smaller tastingsIt may be a sign of changing tastes, of a health-conscious nation, or yet another example of the cost of living crisis encroaching on our few simple pleasures - but it seems the large glass of wine may soon be a thing of the past.While a 250ml option used to be commonplace, it is becoming harder to find on the menus of bars and restaurants up and down the country as venues increasingly favour smaller 125ml servings. Continue reading...

British-born painter Sarah A Boardman disputes US president's claim that she purposefully distorted' his imageThe British artist called truly the worst" by the US president, Donald Trump, after he derided a portrait she created of him, has said the criticism called her integrity into question" and is threatening her career.Sarah A Boardman painted Trump's official portrait for the Colorado state capitol building in Denver, where it hung for six years from 2019. Continue reading...

The film, combined with The Little Mermaid, created more carbon emissions than some major airports do in a yearAt a screening of the new Snow White movie in London last month, influencers walked through an artificial fairytale forest, complete with a full-size thatched cottage filled with models of furry animals. In the US, Disney paraded an actual bunny in a brown knitted jumper down the red carpet at the film's Hollywood premiere.But the film's theme of being at one with nature seems not to have extended to the real-life environment, with company documents showing the making of Snow White generated more greenhouse gas emissions in the UK than the latest Fast & Furious film, despite the latter's reliance on an array of gas-guzzling cars. Continue reading...

Australian federal police say the man, 46, allegedly tried to open the rear emergency exit door of the plane from Malaysia on Saturday

Ben Britton, who was running as the candidate for Whitlam in NSW, has been removed from the Liberal party's website

Unions urge energy giant EDF to take action as concerns mount over health of construction staffWorkers building the troubled Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor in Somerset have raised concerns that the construction site is overrun by rats.The Unite and GMB trade unions are understood to have warned the developer, the French energy giant EDF, that urgent action is needed because the rodents are everywhere". Continue reading...

White House welcome for key member of Russian president's inner circle raises fears over America's commitment to peaceKirill Dmitriev's meetings with US officials in the White House last week went largely below the radar. And deliberately so.The dapper investment envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who also serves as a key negotiator for Moscow on Ukraine, posted an image of his flight plan on social media to make the point that a senior sanctioned Russian official was being welcomed by the Trump administration. Otherwise, details of what was discussed remain opaque. Continue reading...

Police urge people to stay away, as helicopters try to extinguish flames in Galloway and surrounding regionFirefighters are dealing with a wild blaze that has spread over a large area of forest in Scotland with police urging people to stay away from the area.

Organisers say 150,000 joined protest in Madrid urging the government to end the housing racket' and to demand access to affordable housingTens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Spain in the latest protest against housing speculation and to demand access to affordable homes.Organisers claim that up to 150,000 joined the protest in Madrid while smaller demonstrations were held in about 40 cities across the country. Protesters from Malaga on the Costa del Sol to Vigo in the Atlantic northwest chanted end the housing racket" and landlords are guilty, the government is responsible". Continue reading...

Campaigners accuse racing industry of spouting empty rhetoric' about welfare after horses injured in dramatic raceAnimal rights organisations have criticised the Grand National after a horse that was leading the race suffered a grim fall, and a second collapsed shortly after the competition.Broadway Boy, a seven-year-old horse ridden by Tom Bellamy, took what was described by spectators as a sickening fall" at the 25th jump, appearing to land on his head and not moving immediately afterwards. Continue reading...

Fuelled by social media, a global boom is outstripping production of the powdered green teaThe appearance of the vivid-green powder elicits smiles and appreciative sounds, and anticipation among dozens of tea lovers. Their hand-milled batches now ready for whisking with hot water, they will soon be rewarded for their patience.The foreign tourists attending a matcha-making experience in Uji, near Kyoto in western Japan, are united in their love of the powdered, bitter form of green tea the Japanese have been drinking for centuries, and which is now at the centre of a global boom. Continue reading...

Group plans to hold demonstrations in London against UK arms sales to Israel every Tuesday and Saturday in AprilAbout 40 Youth Demand protesters were told to move on by the police during a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday.The campaigners began gathering at Lincoln's Inn Fields on Saturday morning and made their way to King's Cross station. Continue reading...

Livia Tossici-Bolt says she was disappointed' to be convicted of breaching Bournemouth clinic buffer zoneA woman who was given a conditional discharge after being convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth has claimed she was not there to express my views".Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner whose case has been cited by the US state department over freedom of expression" concerns in the UK, told the BBC's Today programme she was really disappointed" with the conviction because it's nothing to do with protesting" and said she would continue my fight for freedom of speech". Continue reading...

Israel says soldiers fired on terrorists' in suspicious vehicles' but footage shows clearly marked ambulancesMobile phone footage of the last moments of some of the 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers killed by Israeli forces in an incident in Gaza last month appears to contradict the version of events put forward by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).The almost seven-minute video, which the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Saturday was recovered from the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the men killed, appears to have been filmed from inside a moving vehicle. It shows a red fire engine and clearly marked ambulances driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights. Continue reading...

Police called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells in early hours of SaturdayTwo people have died after a caravan fire at a holiday park, police have said.Lincolnshire police said they were called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells at 3.53am on Saturday. Continue reading...

Artist says severe eye infection last year has left him unable to read, see TV or watch his sons playing sportsElton John has spoken of his distress at losing his eyesight and how he can no longer watch his young sons playing.John revealed in a social media post last year that a severe eye infection" had left him with only limited vision in one eye". Continue reading...

Measures hailed as lifeline for parents will allow people with sick babies to take up to 12 weeks' leaveParents with children in neonatal care will gain a day-one right to paid leave in a move hailed as a lifeline for parents" with sick babies.From Sunday, the measures will allow eligible parents to take up to 12 weeks of leave and pay, on top of maternity and paternity leave. Continue reading...

US and Europe criticised by head of Norwegian Refugee Council for neglect' of people living subhuman' existenceWorld leaders should be ashamed of their neglect of people whose lives were hanging by a thread" at a time of surging violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the international charity leader Jan Egeland has said.In a stinging attack on aid cuts and the nationalistic winds" blowing across Europe and the US, the Norwegian Refugee Council's head told the Guardian how people were living out in the open, in overcrowded, unsanitary displacement encampments around the city of Goma, where 1.2 million people have had to flee from their homes as the M23 rebels advanced through the DRC's North and South Kivu provinces. Continue reading...

Digital technology reveals incredibly modern' royal who lived 3,500 years ago in kingdom associated with Helen of TroyShe lived 3,500 years ago - but facial reconstruction technology has brought a woman from late bronze age Mycenae back to life.The woman was in her mid-30s when she was buried in a royal cemetery between the 16th and 17th centuries BC. The site was uncovered in the 1950s on the Greek mainland at Mycenae, the legendary seat of Homer's King Agamemnon. Continue reading...

Malian singer and guitarist, who sold millions of albums with his wife, Mariam Doumbia, had been ill for a while, say familyThe guitarist and singer Amadou Bagayoko of the Malian music duo Amadou & Mariam has died aged 70 after an illness, his family said, paying tribute to the Grammy-nominated blind musician.Amadou and his wife, Mariam Doumbia, formed a group whose blend of traditional Malian music with rock guitars and western blues sold millions of albums across the world. Continue reading...

Replica of world-famous train aimed at reviving glamour of the classic version makes debut journey from RomeA replica of the world-famous Orient Express made its debut journey from Rome on Friday, transporting well-heeled passengers into the heart of Tuscany's wine region.La Dolce Vita Orient Express, the first Italian-made luxury train, is aimed at reviving the glamour of the classic version as well as the romanticised notion of Italy's dolce vita, or sweet life", all the while promoting slow tourism. Continue reading...

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Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina - set in the troubled 1680s - can almost describe current events, say directorsA Russian political leader sings about war with Ukrainians and the need for a durable peace". The fractured political elite argues over whether they should pursue closer ties with Europe or embrace Russian traditions.The plot of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina was written in the 1870s and is set in the 1680s. But, as the characters lament the fact that their homeland is mired in an endless cycle of violence and unhappiness, the dark and brooding work can feel alarmingly contemporary. Continue reading...

Actor and comedian charged with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, say policeThe comedian and actor Russell Brand has been charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault.Brand will appear in court in London on 2 May, according to the Metropolitan police, which began investigating him in September 2023 after a range of allegations. Continue reading...

FoI release shows further evidence of Lord Evans of Watford's role in apparent cash-for-access ventureNew documents reveal the extent of a Labour peer's involvement in organising the attendance of a minister at a commercial event in parliament.Emails show how David Evans contacted officials working closely with Sharon Taylor, a housing minister in the House of Lords, who was to be the keynote speaker at an event on housing that Lord Evans of Watford was hosting in parliament. Continue reading...

Removed president says he is very sorry' to have not lived up to expectations. This blog is now closed

Hard-hitting internal investigation found roots of scandal lay in racist immigration legislationAt least 22,000 was spent by the Home Office on hiring lawyers in a failed attempt to prevent the release of a hard-hitting internal report that found that the roots of the Windrush scandal lay in 30 years of racist immigration legislation, officials have acknowledged this week.The government spent three years attempting to bury a report written by a Home Office commissioned historian, which described how the British empire depended on a racist ideology in order to function" and noted that immigration laws in the postwar period were designed to reduce the UK's non-white population. Continue reading...

Opposition leader shrugs off suggestions close relationship with mining magnate has cooled over gas and net zero policy

LSPH chief executive announces groundbreaking proposal' intended to grow international rail travel from the UKCross-Channel train services serving new destinations will be cheaper to run under a scheme to grow international rail travel from the UK.London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), which owns and operates the railway and stations from the capital to the Channel tunnel, said it would slash charges for operators planning new routes. Continue reading...

After a year off, the often controversial art festival returns, having signed a new three-year funding deal with the state government

More health-conscious young people take total to 11.5m memberships, report finds, as experts cite social aspect alongside fitnessRecord numbers of Britons are going to the gym, as the desire of many gen Zers to socialise while getting fit instead of drinking in the pub drives an unprecedented surge in membership, a report shows.In all, 11.5 million people aged 16 and over- a new high - now belong to a gym in the UK, a rise of 1.6 million from 2022. It means one in six people have taken out a membership. Continue reading...

Andrew Searle and Dawn Kerr were found dead in their home in Les Pesquies in Aveyron on 6 FebruaryThe deaths of a British couple who were found in their renovated rural home in Aveyron, south-west France, are being treated as a murder followed by a suicide.The bodies of Andrew Searle, 62, a retired fraud investigator, Dawn Kerr, 56, a project manager, were discovered on 6 February at their home in the village of Les Pesquies, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue. Continue reading...

AEC review finds content did not require authorisation statement after Liberal senators raised concerns

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese says no one has got a better deal' but adds that doesn't mean it's a good thing'

French president tells ministers that judges are independent and all litigants have the right of appeal'Emmanuel Macron has said the French judiciary is independent and must be protected as a judge was put under police guard after sentencing Marine Le Pen to an immediate ban from running for office.Speaking on Wednesday, two days after the far-right leader's conviction for the embezzlement of European parliament funds, the French president told ministers that judges must be protected" and that all litigants have the right to appeal." Continue reading...

A 26-year-old man was rescued from a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw, long after the disaster killed thousandsA man was pulled alive from the rubble of a hotel in Myanmar on Wednesday, five days after the country's worst earthquake in a century flattened entire neighbourhoods and tore through temples, bridges and highways.A joint team of rescuers from Myanmar and Turkey found the 26-year-old in the ruins of the building in the capital, Naypyidaw, after midnight, the fire service and the country's ruling junta said. Continue reading...

Funeral director Robert Bush, 47, charged after 35 bodies and suspected human ashes found at premises last yearA 47-year-old man has been charged with 64 offences in connection with the investigation into remains found at a funeral directors in Hull, Humberside police said.Funeral director Robert Bush, formerly of Kirk Ella, East Yorkshire, has been charged with 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and 30 counts of fraud by false representation after 35 bodies and suspected human ashes were found at his premises between 20 April 2023 and 6 March 2024. Continue reading...

Potential cuts expected to more than 25% of backroom staff, underlining challenge for state government crippled by debt but trying to bolster public safety

The US nonprofit, whose online community encouraged members to write a novel in a month, has been rocked by controversy in recent yearsNaNoWriMo, the US-based nonprofit organisation that challenged people to write a novel in a month, has announced it is closing down after 20 years.NaNoWriMo - an abbreviation of National Novel Writing Month - fostered an online community of participants aiming to write 50,000 words of fiction in November. It began informally in 1999 before becoming a nonprofit in 2006. Each year, tens of thousands signed up to the organisation's flagship programme. Continue reading...

Lucy Osborne tells high court she was taken aback' at number of people in contact over the actor's alleged sexual misconductA Guardian journalist who has worked on high-profile investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct by men said the volume of fresh leads received after writing about Noel Clarke was the most she had ever witnessed.Lucy Osborne, who, with Sirin Kale, carried out the Guardian's investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against the Doctor Who actor, told the high court that she was taken aback" by how many people got in touch after publication of the first article. Continue reading...

IDF says residents should evacuate Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Zayed, al-Manshiya and Tal al-ZaatarAt least 50,399 Palestinian people have been killed and 114,583 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.At least 42 bodies and 183 injured people have been received by hospitals in Gaza over the last day, according to the territory's health ministry, which said that at least 1,042 Palestinian people have been killed by Israeli forces since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas on 18 March. Continue reading...

Officers attended theatre in Southend after reports of altercation at end of Paul Chowdhry's showPolice were called to a comedy show in Essex after a fight broke out in the audience, which reportedly led to a man being assaulted.Inquiries are ongoing after the altercation at the end of standup comic Paul Chowdhry's performance of his Englandia tour at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend. Continue reading...

Source reportedly says no free trade without free speech' after US bureau holds meeting with anti-abortion campaigner

National Rally president says French electorate must be outraged' at judgment that would rob' them of a voice

Arizona allows testimony in the case of Donald Day who is accused of making threats to public figures and the FBI