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Leader warns against using issue as ‘excuse to interfere in internal affairs of other countries’ as Michelle Bachelet goes to XinjiangChina’s leader, Xi Jinping, has spoken with the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, as she visited the Xinjiang region, warning against the politicisation of human rights as an “excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries” and defending his government’s record.It comes amid renewed defensiveness in Beijing after the publication of a significant data leak from Xinjiang’s security apparatus, including mugshots of thousands of detained Uyghurs and internal documents outlining shoot-to-kill policies for those who try to escape. Continue reading...

Below is the full report into illegal gatherings at Downing Street during Covid lockdowns. Compiled by senior civil servant Sue Gray, its initial publication was delayed by the Met Police inquiry which led to 126 fines being issued, including one each to the prime minister and the chancellor

As China pursues Pacific-wide security pact, foreign minister says ‘after a lost decade we’ve got a lot of work to do to regain Australia’s position’

This live blog is now closed. For all the latest updates on the Texas school shooting, follow today’s live blog here

Met’s Neil Basu says ‘positive discrimination’ should be introduced to boost minority ethnic numbers in ranks

Federated States of Micronesia wants deal rejected because it could spark new cold war between China and west while Penny Wong admits ‘we’ve got a lot of work to do’China will pursue a Pacific-wide deal with almost a dozen island nations covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when the foreign minister, Wang Yi, hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents show.A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers meeting on 30 May has prompted pushback from at least one of the invited nations, which said it showed China’s intent to control the region and “threatens regional stability”. Continue reading...

Labor says deficit could blow out further while accusing the Coalition of failing to disclose budgetary pressures

Eligibility for fourth dose of Covid vaccine extended; ‘don’t think we’ve got a better choice’ for Liberal leader, Dave Sharma says of Peter Dutton; at least 41 coronavirus deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s developments

George Eustice in cautious defence of PM as government awaits Sue Gray’s full report

Some MPs argue against blocking Labor on climate, integrity and women’s issues as conservatives push to stay on ‘sensible centre right’

Friend of the girl, who Dawson later married, tells court ‘it was molestation’ and their interactions were weird

Prime minister says after 2019 Christchurch massacre, country made a ‘pragmatic’ decision to get guns off streets: ‘We saw something that wasn’t right and we acted’

South Korea calls missile launches a ‘grave provocation’ and detects an experiment conducted in preparation for possible nuclear testNorth Korea has fired a three missiles, including one believed to have long-range capabilities, into the sea off its east coast, the South Korean military has said, a day after Joe Biden ended his first to Asia as US president.Hours after the missile tests, South Korea’s presidential office said it had detected signs the North had “conducted an experiment” in preparation for a possible nuclear test, according to the Yonhap news agency. Continue reading...

Exclusive: mother of Emily Whelan hopes tests that helped prove Stewart was murdered may shed light on daughter’s deathThe mother of a woman with epilepsy who died in 2016 hopes the high-profile murder of Diane Stewart could hold the key to establishing her daughter’s cause of death.Emily Whelan, 25, was found unresponsive in her bedroom in Leeds on 7 November 2016 and pronounced dead the next day at Leeds general infirmary. Continue reading...

Humanitarian crisis grows as Ukrainian Roma families stuck at Czech train station say they are not treated like other refugeesPrague’s central railway station seems a picture of normality amid warm spring sunshine and the return of legions of tourists, who had been largely absent at the height of Covid. On the platform one weekday morning, two German sightseers gaze curiously at the statue of Sir Nicholas Winton, the British stockbroker who helped 669 mostly Jewish children escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the second world war.Yet just yards away, hundreds of Roma people are sheltering in the only place available to them since they joined the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. Continue reading...

After an error on a visa application form, Sarah slipped into immigration limbo

Exclusive: panel says organisers have failed to engage city’s diverse groups in a meaningful wayOrganisers of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham have left diverse communities feeling “largely ignored” and have failed to engage them in a meaningful way, according to a report.The Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG) commissioned a panel of race equality practitioners and consultants to assess the Games in a number of areas including legacy, community engagement and procurement. Continue reading...

Staff member allegedly told colleague: ‘We aren’t here to show them respect or dignity. We are here to get money from them’

‘Bible of the bush’ urges party to concede global heating is real as Darren Chester compares Joyce’s boast about retaining seats to a surgeon saying an operation succeeded when ‘the patient died’

Rumours spread online that the aircraft had crashed, but authorities said it was simply being delivered to its new ownerA plane that was towed along the side of a busy expressway in Lagos on Tuesday night has caused widespread confusion and amusement to commuters – and rumours it had crashed – before Nigerian authorities said that it was being delivered to its new owner via the busy road.Several videos of the aircraft posted on social media showed it at various points along the side of a major road, within a mile of the international and domestic airport terminals and plane storage facilities in the Ikeja area of Lagos. Continue reading...

People in the UK and Poland rated their governments worst on matters of trust and legitimacy in an EU-funded studyPeople in the UK are more likely than those in other European countries to say that their government ignores rules, according to a large six-state survey, with ‘Partygate’ probably to blame.The EU-funded study found that 62% of people in the UK think their government ignores rules and procedures, compared with an average of 44% and well above the next highest, Poland (50%), where the administration has been accused of authoritarianism. Continue reading...

Latest updates: insiders express fury to BBC that Boris Johnson escaped fine for events junior staff were penalised for attending. This blog is now closed, read our full report here.

Influenza cases rise amid ongoing high Covid infections and hospital pressure sparking calls to increase vaccination rates

Mary Simon, first Indigenous person to hold post, attends service at Kamloops school to honor thousands of children who diedCanada’s governor general has described the country’s residential schools as places of unimaginable cruelty, in a eulogy to honour the thousands of Indigenous children who died while attending the institutions.“Today, we make ourselves heard across the country. Although it is hard, we are telling Canadians and the world about our wounds and pain,” Mary Simon, the Queen’s representative in Canada, told hundreds gathered on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian residential school. Continue reading...

12-year-old went out with friends on night of Christmas lights switch-on and did not come home

Teenager stabbed 12-year-old in neck in Snapchat video row on night she went to see Christmas lightsA 14-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering the 12-year-old Liverpool schoolgirl Ava White after he stabbed her in the neck in a row over a video posted on Snapchat.The boy stabbed her and then showed a “callous disregard” for his actions, seeming “rather pleased with himself, as if he feels big”, Liverpool crown court heard during a 12-day trial. Continue reading...

Auction of fire-resistant edition comes ahead of an expected US supreme court ruling reversing the right to abortionAmid political firestorms over books deemed by rightwingers to be unsuitable for school libraries, the author Margaret Atwood has announced an “unburnable” edition of her most famous novel, The Handmaid’s Tale.The Canadian author, 82, appeared in a short YouTube video to announce the project, attempting to flambé the one-off tome with a flame-thrower. Continue reading...

Online fashion retailer says settlement agreed ‘without admission of liability’Boohoo has reached a settlement in a $100m (£80m) US lawsuit that alleged the online fashion retailer used fake promotions to mislead shoppers.The Manchester-based company said the settlement had been agreed “without admission of liability” and within its existing provision for legal costs of £18m, a figure that included costs from other more run-of-the-mill cases such as trademark infringements or employment claims. Continue reading...

Spaniard alleged to have conspired with cryptocurrency expert to help Pyongyang evade US sanctionsThe FBI has issued an arrest warrant for a Spanish man who claims to be a “special delegate” working for the government of North Korea, accusing him of recruiting a cryptocurrency expert in an attempt to help Pyongyang circumvent US sanctions.Alejandro Cao de Benós, a 47-year-old Spanish national who describes himself as Pyongyang’s special delegate for the committee for cultural relations with foreign countries, is alleged to have conspired with Virgil Griffith, a US cryptocurrency expert, to “illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain services to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)”. Continue reading...

Regulator says accountants’ audit of jet engine maker failed to report payments to Indian intermediariesKPMG will pay a fine of £3.4m to the accounting regulator after accepting failures in its audit of Rolls-Royce, the British jet engine manufacturer that paid a £500m settlement after bribery allegations.The accountancy firm received a severe reprimand from the regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), and the firm will have to commission an independent review into the effectiveness of its policies. Continue reading...

Labor pushed the conservative Coalition out of office for the first time in almost a decade. Here’s what it could mean for BritainAustralia’s Labor party has come to power, pushing the conservative Coalition out of office for the first time in almost a decade. Voters also delivered big wins for the Greens party and a group of independents promising action on climate change. Here are 10 takeaways for political strategists in the UK to consider.Well-crafted campaigns defeated rightwing populism … Continue reading...

Race action plan for England and Wales includes apology and history lessons on policing of black peopleBlack police officers should not be expected to solve racism in forces and must be allowed to “get on with their job”, the head of the body scrutinising a plan for England and Wales to combat racism has said.Compulsory anti-racism training will be given to all police officers alongside the targeted recruitment of black staff as part of a strategy released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to tackle prejudice among forces. Continue reading...

BBC Concert Orchestra residency aims to inspire children and improve wellbeing in Norfolk townTen-year-old Fabian usually listens to pop and rock music at home in Great Yarmouth, but watching the BBC’s Concert Orchestra live on stage, it was the calming notes of the violin that were his favourite.Like many of the 200 pupils in the audience, it was his first experience of live orchestral music, and he was thrilled by it. From Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture – with plenty of interactive elements thrown in – the year five pupils listened intently to over an hour of music. Continue reading...

Former police officer pleads not guilty to four counts of exposure in weeks before murderWayne Couzens, the killer of Sarah Everard, has denied indecently exposing himself in the weeks before he kidnapped her.The 49-year old made a brief court appearance by video link on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to four counts of exposure over alleged incidents of flashing on four occasions in 2021, while he was a police officer Continue reading...

Dominic Perrottet insists government will respond shortly to the ‘complicated issues’ raised by 2018 inquiry into ice addiction

Prime minister confirms Australia to host Quad summit in 2023 after Tokyo meeting; 68 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Big disparities in the informal vote across the nation spark fresh questions about compulsory preferential voting

Acting prime minister says information released by Liberal party about Sri Lankan boats being intercepted should not have been made public

The RMT has balloted about 40,000 members for industrial action over pay and cutsAs the biggest rail union, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), ballots its members over a strike that could bring the railways to a standstill, we explain what the dispute is all about – and whether the government can stop it. Continue reading...

Election of Colin Boyce to federal parliament leads to a series of taunts from state Labor frontbenchers

Six men arrested after Pakistani-Spanish women were strangled and shot after being tricked into travelling to GujaratTwo sisters with dual Pakistani and Spanish citizenship were allegedly killed by their husbands, uncle and brother in a so-called “honour” killing a day after they were tricked into travelling to Pakistan.Aneesa Abbas, 24, and Arooj Abbas, 21, were strangled and shot dead on Friday after arriving in the eastern city of Gujarat with their mother, Azra Bibi. Continue reading...

Rapid rise in cases prompts some pathology providers to include influenza tests as part of Covid PCR tests

Analysis of nearly 100,000 samples found residues in a third of apples and half of blackberriesContamination of fresh fruits by the most hazardous pesticides has dramatically increased in Europe over the past decade, according to a nine-year study of government data.A third of apples and half of all blackberries surveyed had residues of the most toxic categories of pesticides, some of which have been linked to illnesses including cancer, heart disease and birth deformities. Continue reading...

Dr Neville Lawrence says senior officers fail to listen and are doomed to repeat the same mistakesThe father of Stephen Lawrence has criticised police chiefs for their new race plan, accusing them of failing to listen and saying they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.Dr Neville Lawrence was speaking after police chiefs unveiled a scheme they claim will repair relations with Britain’s black communities. Continue reading...

City centres are gradually getting busier, but it is likely some degree of remote working is here to stay

Environmental Protection Authority says Yarra Valley Dairy failed to stop ‘unreasonable’ smell escaping premises

Six people taken to hospital are in stable condition as all lanes of Pacific Motorway closed for up to 25 minutes after 12-car pile-up

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereThe RIA news agency reports that Russia’s defence ministry says its forces destroyed a Ukrainian unit of US-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon.The claim has not been independently verified. Continue reading...

Sir Philip Barton castigated along with Dominic Raab in damning report by MPs into UK’s chaotic exitThe senior civil servant in charge of the Foreign Office should consider his position after presiding over a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that betrayed UK allies, put lives in danger, showed a total absence of planning and was chaotically managed, MPs have concluded in a damming report.The report from the foreign affairs select committee said the absence of leadership – both ministerial and official, including the permanent secretary, Sir Philip Barton – when Kabul fell was inexcusable and a grave indictment on those supposedly in charge. It added that Barton failed to give candid evidence to the committee, and says as a result it had lost confidence in him. The committee also accused him of covering up political interference in the fast-tracking of some individuals out of Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Mother says she believes ‘racial stereotyping’ was a factor in her mixed-race daughter’s caseA 14-year-old girl of mixed white and black ethnicity was so traumatised after being strip-searched by Metropolitan police officers that she tried to kill herself, her mother has said.Olivia, not her real name, was menstruating when she was handcuffed and searched in front of male officers after more than 20 hours in custody.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...