World news | The Guardian

Brahim Saadoun is a much-loved marine on active duty, they insist, and not a mercenary, as court in Donetsk claims

Far-right leader’s visit, which he called a ‘peace mission’, put on ice after criticism from government alliesMatteo Salvini has defended himself after the Russian embassy in Italy revealed it had funded the far-right League leader’s planned trip to Moscow last month.Salvini had intended to travel to the Russian capital on 29 May on what he called a “peace mission”, but the trip was put on ice after criticism from his allies in the Italian government, which had not been made aware of his plans. Continue reading...

John Penrose, who quit last week, says ethics adviser should also have more scope over any breaches by PMBoris Johnson’s former anti-corruption tsar, who resigned last week, has called for urgent reform of the standards rules around lobbying, as well as more scope for the independent adviser to hold the prime minister to account.John Penrose, a Conservative MP and former minister, said it was extremely important for democracy to fix problems with the UK’s standards regime affecting ministers, MPs, advisers and civil servants. Continue reading...

Warne and retired former world No 1 tennis player Ash Barty become officers of the Order of Australia

British Academy to feature large-scale project exploring prejudice based on how people speakDo you say bath as “barth”? Would you put a “plahster” on a cut? Does it matter if you don’t? Yes, it sadly does, say academics, who argue accent-ism is alive and well in England in 2022.A research team will next week set up shop at the British Academy’s grand headquarters overlooking the Mall in London, shining light on a large-scale project exploring prejudice against northern English accents and their speakers. Continue reading...

Head of union representing 80% of Border Force staff says policy is yet to be fully tested in courtsAsylum seekers should not be deported to Rwanda before the policy has been fully tested in the courts, a union leader has said, predicting the first removal flight will not take place as planned this week.An initial deportation flight under the plan to remove people who arrive in the UK via unofficial routes to the east African country is scheduled for Tuesday after a high court judge ruled on Friday that it could go ahead. Continue reading...

The journey to America, often via Nicaragua, has become more viable – and many are taking their chances at the borderOne morning last spring, 22-year-old Ernesto Hernández set out from the outskirts of Havana on a rickety boat hoping to cross the Florida Straits. The plan was to leave behind a dilapidating communist-ruled island in which he saw no future, and sail into an American dream.Nobody has heard from him, or the other six people onboard, since. Continue reading...

Fashion retailer’s suppliers in Pakistan have sacked hundreds without pay, as invoices for completed orders remain unpaidHundreds of garment workers in Pakistan making clothing for collapsed fast fashion brand Missguided say they have been left destitute and starving after not receiving salaries for more than four months.The workers, who typically earn between £100 and £160 a month, say that despite not being paid they have continued working even as the Manchester-based retailer went into administration, with suppliers claiming the company owes them millions of pounds for clothing already completed and shipped. Continue reading...

A report named hundreds of church leaders accused or found guilty of abusing children and says survivors were mistreatedAmerica’s largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination is being roiled by a sexual abuse scandal that casts a harsh light on one of the most politically powerful religious groups in the country as well as renewing a focus on its racist past.The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a collection of loosely affiliated member churches, boasting just under 15 million members, and is dominated by white members, who are usually deeply socially conservative. The convention has often been a powerful tool for rightwing organizing in recent years, especially on issues around abortion. Continue reading...

Railway Museum in quest to tell stories of the West Indian passengers caught on camera at Waterloo station as they began a new life in BritainSurrounded by luggage and fellow passengers, they were photographed arriving in smart clothes, high heels and fedoras, their faces tired and unsmiling as the underwhelming start of their new lives in the motherland is captured on camera.Now a museum is appealing to the public to identify the West Indians portrayed in the pictures, taken by Howard Grey at Waterloo station in London, which document the last boatload of Windrush generation arrivals to Britain in spring 1962 before a crackdown on the open-door policy for Commonwealth immigrants. Continue reading...

Judgment in the action against the Observer and Guardian’s Carole Cadwalladr will have huge implications for UK journalistsThe highly anticipated judgment in the libel action brought by multimillionaire Brexit backer Arron Banks against the Observer and Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr will be handed down this week. The landmark verdict will potentially have huge ramifications for press freedom and investigative reporting.Mrs Justice Steyn will deliver her judgment by email on Monday morning. The decision will be the culmination of an often rancorous three-year legal battle and could send a chilling effect throughout British journalism. Continue reading...

President’s centrists face challenge from historic leftwing alliance, while far right aims for greater visibilityFrance has begun voting in the first round of parliament elections key to Emmanuel Macron’s second term, determining his capacity to deliver domestic policy such as raising the retirement age and overhauling the benefits system.Macron, who was re-elected president in April against the far right’s Marine Le Pen, needs a majority for his centrist grouping in the lower house of parliament to have a free hand for his proposals to cut taxes and make changes to the welfare system. Continue reading...

After home secretary Priti Patel overcame a high court legal challenge, ‘vulnerable and at risk’ asylum seekers are among those who could be on the first flight to Rwanda this weekTorture victims who have been officially recognised by doctors as “vulnerable and at risk” are being told by the Home Office that they face being deported to Rwanda, the Observer can reveal.At least one asylum seeker who has been informed by the Home Office they may be on the first flight to the east African country, scheduled to depart this Tuesday, has been assessed as likely to have been a victim of torture. Continue reading...

Transport secretary also says workers could be banned from overtime, as rail industrial action loomsThe government is considering legal changes to allow agency workers to fill in for striking staff, to reduce disruption to services.It is understood the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has not ruled out the option, with travellers facing chaos on the railways and London tube due to widespread industrial action. Continue reading...

Marles brushes off suggestions former Coalition government was close to signing compensation deal with France; nation records at least 24 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Hotelier Rocco Forte demands PM changes course as Commons battle looms over tensions with EUA big Tory donor has said he cannot support Boris Johnson, after accusing him of overseeing an un-Conservative government, delivering a “pathetic” tax-cutting pledge and refusing to heed calls to change the course of his premiership.With the prime minister facing a split over Brexit within days and a mounting revolt among party backers after last week’s humiliating confidence vote, the hotelier Sir Rocco Forte said that he “will not put up” with the direction Johnson is taking the party. Continue reading...

Parents – more often mothers – are losing access to their children on the advice of unregulated therapists, an Observer investigation reveals

Analysis: The president could be forced to cohabit with his most fervent opponent, Jean-Luc MélenchonWeeks after Emmanuel Macron entered the Elysée for a second five-year term of office, French voters could decide to hamstring their newly re-elected leader by forcing him into a political “cohabitation” that would paralyse the country.The first round of legislative elections opens on Sunday to decide who will fill the 577 seats in the Assemblée Nationale. Continue reading...

Defence minister says the controversial interception of an Australian aircraft by a Chinese jet last month was discussed, as well as broader issues in the Pacific

Giorgia Meloni’s party hopes to gain ground as Italians go to polls to elect mayors and councillorsJust five years ago, Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist origins, barely scraped 4% of the vote. It now leads in opinion polls, and its leader Giorgia Meloni’s rabble-rousing speeches have filled squares up and down Italy before local elections beginning on Sunday.Italians will elect mayors and councillors in roughly 1,000 towns and cities, including Genoa, Palermo, Verona, Parma and a host of provincial capitals, in a vote that will test the strength of political parties before national elections next year. Continue reading...

Eight people became trapped on Mt Wellington’s summit, and another is missing, as blizzard-like weather causes ‘deadly’ conditions

Wei Fenghe says ties are at critical juncture and puts onus on United States to improve bilateral relationshipChina will “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwan from declaring independence, the country’s defence minister has vowed in a speech amid his counterparts from other countries including the United States.“We will fight at all cost and we will fight to the very end. This is the only choice for China,” Wei Fenghe told the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, where he called Taiwan “first and foremost China’s Taiwan”. Continue reading...

Experts say the world will be watching as the country becomes one of the first to experience Covid and a simultaneous influenza season spike

Authoritarian measures are widened to meet Chinese loyalty requirements, despite fears it will worsen teacher shortagesForeign English-language teachers working in Hong Kong government schools will need to swear allegiance to the city, officials have ordered, as fears grow about the territory’s ability to retain educators in the face of increasing restrictions.Hong Kong’s education bureau said on Saturday that native-speaking English teachers (NETs) and advisers working in government-run schools must sign a declaration by 21 June in order to continue working. Continue reading...

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‘Selfless’ Hywel Morgan, 47, recovered from sea at Poppit Sands after helping rescue group of children but could not be savedTributes have been paid to a father who died after rescuing a group of children caught in a rip tide.Hywel Morgan, 47, had helped save the children who had got into difficulty in the sea at Poppit Sands, St Dogmaels, Ceredigion. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Agency says decision to cut outsourced workload by 30% is due to reduced demand as unions warn of longer wait times

Experts say rulings in actions involving John Barilaro and PRGuy17 demonstrate existing law already achieves aims of former government’s proposed changes

Swings at federal election hint at shifts that could be replicated in state polls due in November and March

Labour ahead of Tories by two points, but Labour’s leader failing to make a personal breakthroughBoris Johnson makes a better prime minister than Keir Starmer would despite Partygate, the cost of living crisis and the confidence vote in Johnson held by his MPs, according to the latest Observer poll.The Opinium figures, which will raise further concerns within Labour over the party leader’s performance, shows that the prime minister has a two-point lead over his opponent. It also reveals that Starmer’s party holds a narrow two-point lead, compared with a three-point lead in the last poll a fortnight ago. Labour are on 36% of the vote, with the Tories up one point on 34%. The Lib Dems are on 13% with the Greens on 6%. Continue reading...

A US district judge in Las Vegas said the victim’s lawyer acted in ‘bad faith’ for use of leaked and stolen confidential documentsA Nevada woman has lost her bid in a US court to force the Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars more than $375,000 in hush money she received after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.A US district judge in Las Vegas, Jennifer Dorsey, kicked the case out of court on Friday to punish the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for “bad-faith conduct” and the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers. Continue reading...

Met police called to help enforcement officers get past crowd of demonstrators after Nigerian man detained for overstaying visaA man arrested for immigration offences was released on bail after protesters gathered in south-east London on Saturday for hours to block a van he was being transported in from leaving.

Jakub Szymanski was attacked during a domestic incident in Miles Platting, reportedly as he attempted to protect his motherA 15-year-old boy who died after he was stabbed in Miles Platting has been named by Greater Manchester police as Jakub Szymanski.A 44-year-old man was arrested in Kent on Friday night on suspicion of murder after the teenage boy was stabbed to death and his mother was injured at a Manchester home, police confirmed. Continue reading...

Defence secretary says US does not support Taiwan independence, which China says would prompt it to take island backThe US has warned of “especially stark” stakes in the Taiwan Strait if the status quo was unilaterally altered, as China reiterated its resolve to take the island back if it declares independence.Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington does not support Taiwan independence, and the Joe Biden administration “categorically” opposes any change of the status quo. Continue reading...

Sir Lindsay Hoyle unveils plans to ‘break the taboo’, and agrees to sign the Menopause Workplace PledgeThe House of Commons is to become a “menopause-friendly” employer, with Sir Lindsay Hoyle unveiling plans to “break the taboo” and offer practical adjustments for those affected.The Commons Speaker will sign the Wellbeing of Women charity’s Menopause Workplace Pledge, which will commit the House of Commons Service to supporting employees going through the menopause. Continue reading...

Transport secretary says Covid has ‘changed travel habits’ but Aslef cites data showing use above 90% of pre-pandemic levelsRail unions have dismissed the government’s claim that big savings are needed because of a permanent decline in use since the pandemic, citing official data that showed demand creeping above 90% of pre-pandemic levels during some days late last month.Aslef, the train drivers’ union, is demanding a meeting with transport secretary Grant Shapps to discuss the future of the industry, stating that ministers are opting for “grandstanding” over an acceptable, gradual plan to modernising the railways. Continue reading...

Tory tensions high over risk of illegality in imminent bill to improve trade between Northern Ireland and rest of UKBoris Johnson is being warned that he will repeat the mistakes of Partygate by backing “rule-breaking over the rule of law”, when he publishes plans on Monday that are expected to prompt a new Tory rebellion over Brexit.Frantic legal and political negotiations have been taking place this week among Johnson, his cabinet and MPs in advance of the government’s bill designed to improve trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. The legislation will be published on Monday. Continue reading...

Babis Anagnostopoulos claims he is living in fear from those he initially blamed for Caroline Crouch’s deathThe Greek helicopter pilot given a life sentence for the brutal murder of his British wife in Athens last year claims to be living in fear of those he initially blamed for the crime.Weeks after being found guilty of suffocating Caroline Crouch, Babis Anagnostopoulos has said his own life is in danger because he has become the target of a “contract killing”. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pushing for rapid admission, and says the decision will determine the future of Europe

Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips went missing in the western Amazon, but the search has been called inefficientIndigenous leaders in the area where a British journalist and Brazilian explorer went missing last Sunday have expressed increasing frustration at the lack of coordination in the search for the two men.Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips, a longtime contributor to the Guardian, were last seen on Sunday morning while traveling by boat on the Itaquaí River in the western Amazon. Continue reading...

Campaigners decry failure to extend free meals and budget of £250 per state school to teach healthy eatingThe government’s new food strategy offers a “paltry” budget of £250 for each English state school to teach healthy eating, and ignores most of Henry Dimbleby’s plans to improve child nutrition, campaigners say.They say that with children being fed microwaved and cold meals by schools struggling with the cost of living crisis, a stronger response is needed. Continue reading...

Shaun Pinner’s loved ones ‘devastated’ after he received verdict alongside Aiden Aslin in what UK calls a ‘sham’ sentence

Postal Museum show celebrates the Queen singer’s youthful passion for philatelyAll Queen fans know how much Freddie Mercury liked to ride his bicycle but fewer are aware of the flamboyant frontman’s other great childhood hobby: collecting stamps.Now, for the first time, the Postal Museum is to put one of Mercury’s “priceless” collector’s albums on show – its value enhanced by the fact that it is one of the late rock star’s rare personal possessions in museum ownership. Continue reading...

More than 2,400 barristers in England and Wales to be balloted amid warnings of crisis in justice systemBarristers are to be balloted this weekend on escalating industrial action over legal aid rates as figures reveal the number of crown court cases adjourned because of a shortage of lawyers has increased nearly fivefold over the decade.The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) is balloting more than 2,400 criminal barristers in England and Wales on options for action, including refusing new defence instructions and possible walkouts. A vote for further action is likely to increase the backlog of 58,271 cases in the crown courts. Continue reading...

Community health workers, cab drivers, couriers and van drivers are ‘paying to go to work’The record increase in fuel prices could spark a mass exodus of staff who rely on their vehicles for work, trade unions and drivers have warned.On Thursday, the price of a litre of unleaded petrol hit 182.31p, meaning the cost of filling an average family car hit £100 for the first time. Some employees who need to drive for their jobs are spending as much as £350 a week on fuel and others are “paying to go to work”. Continue reading...

UAE has become haven for superyachts, private jets and ‘dirty money’ since invasion of Ukraine, but has taken no actionCampaigners and politicians are calling for the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted over its failures to combat the flow of “dirty money” and to enforce sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs.The Gulf state has emerged as a key refuge for the Russian super-rich fleeing the impact of global sanctions, with private jets and superyachts linked to oligarchs heading to the UAE after the invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Tap & Run in Nottinghamshire, of which Broad is a co-owner, has closed after damage to the roofA pub part-owned by the England cricketer Stuart Broad has had to close after being badly damaged by a “significant fire”.Firefighters were called to the award-winning Tap & Run country pub in Upper Broughton, halfway between Nottingham and Melton Mowbray, at about 3.20am on Saturday. The blaze left the first floor and roof of the pub, co-owned by Broad and former cricketer Harry Gurney, destroyed. Continue reading...

After the half-term travel chaos, stranded families are refused redress while many online applications are left unresolvedSome of the thousands of people whose flights were cancelled or delayed during the half-term travel chaos have been told they will receive no compensation, leading to calls for a change to the way passengers are reimbursed ahead of what looks to be a chaotic summer for airlines.Others have spoken of claims being lost and having to resubmit forms as many as seven times, while passengers caught up in earlier disruption said they have waited months for airlines to talk to them. Continue reading...

One runway closed after ‘operational disruption’ on Friday afternoon and evening, but has now reopenedFlights at East Midlands airport were diverted and a runaway was closed on Friday night after drones were sighted nearby.Eight services were diverted on Friday evening, after disruption earlier that day as passenger flights were rerouted to other airports. Drones had previously been spotted on Friday afternoon near Donington Park in Leicestershire, about one mile (1.6km) from the airport, where the three-day Download festival is taking place. Continue reading...

US president says there was ‘no doubt’ Putin was planning to ‘go in’, while former British army head says leaders have no long-term plan