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Ministers warned that millions owed after alleged fraud by ex bosses of National Bank Trust could help fund Putin’s war effortIn one of Russia’s most high-profile marketing campaigns, film star Bruce Willis appeared in cinematic advertisements with a car chase and a rooftop rescue, ending with the slogan, “Trust is just like me, but a bank.”The campaign for National Bank Trust in 2011 – which included cardboard cutouts of Willis popping up in 400 branches across Russia – was credited with raising the bank’s profile and boosting business. Continue reading...

Mary Lou McDonald says Tories in ‘cahoots’ with DUP in threatening to tear up post-Brexit protocolThe leader of Sinn Féin has accused Boris Johnson of playing games with Ireland and using it as a “pawn” in the UK’s continual trade battle with the EU, ahead of the prime minister’s visit on Monday.Johnson is due to touch down in Belfast on Monday for talks after the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) blocked the election of a speaker in the Stormont assembly, a week after Sinn Féin topped the polls in elections. Continue reading...

The Italian glam rock band have had three UK Top 40 singles and opened for the Rolling Stones since their win last yearIt wasn’t so long ago that Måneskin were busking on the streets of Rome, performing for four hours straight even if only one person was watching. So the 2021 Eurovision song contest winners couldn’t believe their luck when the Rolling Stones invited them to open a concert in the US in November, giving them their first opportunity to perform in front of an audience of thousands.“We thought, fuck yeah, we’re not going to decline that,” bassist Victoria De Angelis said in an interview with the Guardian alongside her three bandmates in Turin before the Eurovision 2022 final. Continue reading...

Further intense unrest puts more pressure on the presidency of Gotabaya RajapaksaThey have called it “Gota Go Village”. Here, on what was once an empty stretch of lawn outside the office of the Sri Lankan prime minister, on Colombo’s seafront Galle Face promenade, a thriving community has sprung up. There are tents, food stalls, a library, a memorial, art installations, stages for music and speeches, and even the beginnings of a small farm growing vegetables and fruit from recently planted trees. Nearby, a patch has been set aside to cultivate rice.It began as the focal point of the anti-government protests that have engulfed Sri Lanka for months as the country goes through the worst economic crisis since independence. As fuel, food and medicine have run short, the blame has been placed firmly at the feet of one man, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, widely known as Gota, who stands accused of economic mismanagement and corruption pushing the country to the brink of bankruptcy. The calls from the majority of the population have been clear: Gota must step down. Continue reading...

Russian president tells Finnish counterpart the move would be an error and ‘negatively affect’ ties

Regulator removed 5,311 physiotherapists after failing to renew licences, raising concerns about patients and loss of incomeThousands of patients have been left without vital healthcare after nearly one in 10 physiotherapists was prevented from practising after their regulator removed them from its register.Exactly 5,311 physiotherapists were deregistered by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 May because they had not renewed their registration after the HCPC decided not to send out reminder letters. Continue reading...

Demonstrators demand release of two students held after murder of Christian woman in SokotoHundreds of people in Nigeria’s north-western city of Sokoto demonstrated on Saturday over the arrest of two students after the murder of a Christian student accused of blasphemy, residents said.Africa’s most populous country is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians but religious tensions and deadly clashes are not uncommon, particularly in the north. Continue reading...

Stansted and others launch hiring drive, but staff talk of 4am starts, low pay and hours on their feetAntisocial work hours, long days on your feet, and dealing with impatient and sometimes unpleasant passengers. Such is the life of an airport security officer.Their role is to check passengers and their luggage before boarding, and they are key to ensuring safety and the smooth running of an airport. But the work is not well paid, and airports are struggling to recruit enough people to staff the X-ray machines and metal detectors as air travel rebounds after Covid. Continue reading...

Move imposed with immediate effect in attempt to control prices after heatwave damages cropsIndia, the world’s second largest producer of wheat, has banned all exports with immediate effect after a heatwave affected the crop.A notice in the government gazette by the directorate of foreign trade, dated Friday, said a rise in global prices for wheat was threatening the food security of India and neighbouring and vulnerable countries. Continue reading...

Six weeks after start of vaccine rollout, fraction of young children have had first dose as parents question usefulnessOnly 7% of primary schoolchildren in England have received a first dose of Covid vaccine six weeks after it was rolled out to all 5- to 11-year-olds, as parents grapple with the decision about whether to take up the offer.That rate compares with 24% of 12- to 15-year-olds who had received a first dose in the first six weeks after they became eligible in September 2021. Continue reading...

Speed of transition, one day after death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, appears designed to show unityRulers in the United Arab Emirates have unanimously appointed Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the president of the hereditarily ruled nation on the Arabian peninsula.The state-run WAM news agency said the rulers of the country’s seven sheikhdoms made the decision at a meeting held in Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi. Continue reading...

As Covid crisis eases, official guidance says people cannot obtain relief if they choose to avoid officeA popular tax break for working from home that gave many people’s finances a small boost during the pandemic has become harder to claim, and most employees will no longer be eligible.With millions of people back in the office for at least part of the week, experts say you can now claim tax relief for working from home only if you meet strict conditions. Continue reading...

In 1633 the Bavarian village vowed to stage its play every 10 years if it survived the plague. It did then and has againFrom his perch in the orchestra pit of the Oberammergau stage, Christian Stückl nods and points to his players above, trying to offer them helpful instructions as their dress rehearsal to a half-full house of mainly local people gets under way.“It is hard to believe we’ve got this far. I keep waiting for something to go wrong, but apart from a couple of older men forgetting their lines there’s really nothing to complain about,” the director says at the end of the five-and-a-half-hour show. Continue reading...

Dozens injured as official says building had no fire exit and most died ‘due to asphyxiation’At least 27 people have died and dozens more were injured in a huge fire in a commercial building in India’s capital, Delhi.The large fire broke out at the four-storey building near a railway station in the western suburb of Mundka in the late afternoon on Friday, but its cause was not immediately clear. Continue reading...

From sourcing window glass to sharing online lectures, British institutions are helping war-torn campuses to survive

Recent collapse of funeral company Safe Hands left 46,000 customers facing lossesThe government has been urged to set up an emergency fund to help victims of failed funeral companies, after a recent collapse of a firm left 46,000 people facing losses.In March, Safe Hands collapsed into administration, in a blow for customers who had used it to cover their funeral costs. Continue reading...

US-based thinktank claims Russian troops are being pushed back eastwards from Ukraine’s second city, and aiming to use mercenaries

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blogHere are some of the latest images we have been sent over the newswires showing the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and beyond.British foreign secretary Liz Truss said it was vital to keep up the pressure on Russia by supplying more weapons to Ukraine and imposing further sanctions.

Authorities are urging Queenslanders to monitor alerts and avoid flooded roads as rivers expected to peak

Warm weekend weather could lead to heavy rain in parts but more fine days are expected in the next weekMost of Britain can expect to be bathed in sunshine in the coming week as temperatures climb to a possible high of 27C in what would make the warmest spell of the year.Saturday could be “16-19C widely – with 24C the possible high in the south-east”, according to Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern. Continue reading...

Pyongyang reports 21 more deaths as it scrambles to slow spread of the virus across unvaccinated populationNorth Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has declared the country’s first Covid-19 outbreak a “great disaster” as it reported 21 more deaths.State media said 174,440 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Friday alone as the country scrambles to slow the spread of Covid-19 across its unvaccinated population. Continue reading...

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said he was ‘seriously concerned’ by reports of alleged antisemitism within the organisationMinisters have banned official contact with the National Union of Students over long-running allegations of antisemitism within the organisation, despite the NUS’s pledge to work with Jewish students in an internal investigation.The allegations have become a focus for the government since the election of Shaima Dallali as the next NUS president, with groups including the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) raising concerns after alleged historic comments resurfaced. Continue reading...

Parents want life support to continue for Archie, who has been unconscious since he suffered ‘catastrophic’ brain damageSpecialists should use a brain-stem test to try to establish whether a 12-year-old boy who has not regained consciousness since suffering “catastrophic” brain damage is dead, a high court judge has ruled.Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded that the test would be in Archie Battersbee’s best interests at a hearing in the family division of the high court in London on Friday. Continue reading...

With prominent independents creating unusual contests in some seats, voters may be confused about how to allocate preferences. But there is a simple solution

In lawsuit brought by victims, Catholic order disputes extent of its knowledge of Gregory Vincent Coffey prior to his appointment

South Ossetia, focal point of Russia-Georgia war of 2008, will decide whether to subsume itself into larger neighbour in JulyGeorgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia will hold a referendum on joining Russia on 17 July, the region’s leader announced on Friday.“Anatoly Bibilov signed a decree on holding a referendum in the Republic of South Ossetia,” his office said in a statement, citing his people’s “historic aspiration” to join Russia. Continue reading...

People accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defenseCanada’s supreme court has ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women’s advocacy groups.The supreme court said on Friday a law passed by parliament in 1995 that prohibits the defense was unconstitutional and violates the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Continue reading...

Rebekah Vardy’s lawyer tells trial there was not ‘a shred of evidence’ she leaked Rooney’s private Instagram stories to the SunColeen Rooney has been told she cannot provide “one shred of evidence” that Rebekah Vardy leaked stories from a private Instagram account to the Sun – but insisted she has strong reason to “believe” Vardy was responsible based on circumstantial clues.Rooney told the “Wagatha Christie” libel trial that leaks from her private Instagram account to the Sun caused issues when she was dealing with difficulties in her marriage to former footballer Wayne Rooney. She said one private Instagram post in 2017 made its way to the tabloid at a time she and Rooney were “trying to figure out our relationship” and were spending time apart, after he crashed his car while drink-driving with another woman in the vehicle. Continue reading...

PCS leader says members have reached ‘tipping point’ after PM’s combative moveThe biggest civil service union has warned of strike action over Boris Johnson’s “P&O-style” approach to cutting 91,000 Whitehall jobs, with ministers also seeking to reduce staff redundancy terms by up to a third.The plan to cut one in five civil service jobs caused alarm and dismay across government departments, after Johnson told his cabinet to spend the next month finding ways to cut the civil service back to pre-Brexit levels within three years. He claimed it was necessary to shrink the size of central government to tackle the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can find read our full report on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s meeting with the PM hereJacob Rees-Mogg has become the second minister to distance himself from the comments connecting food bank usage with an inability to cook made on Wednesday by Lee Anderson in the House of Commons.

Government may allow one adult to look after five two-year-olds in England, in effort to reduce costsMinisters have been accused of cutting corners and endangering children after the government confirmed it would consult on cutting childcare staffing ratios so that one adult can look after five two-year-olds.The education minister Will Quince announced that the government would consult on what he called “mirroring the Scottish model”, which allows a maximum of five two-year-olds, instead of four in England, to be cared for by one adult. Continue reading...

Landlords of Star Inn at Vogue says it ‘wouldn’t have taken five minutes’ to find out pub is named after hamletStanding seven storeys tall in Mayfair’s Hanover Square – a short walk from Savile Row, Oxford Street and Michelin-starred restaurants – there is little mistaking Vogue House for what it is: the home of the fashion bible’s British edition.However, a six-hour drive away, a pub in the Cornish countryside has become a site for concern for bosses at the fashion giant. Despite the pub having stood for hundreds of years, the landlords have been asked to rename it. Continue reading...

PM accused of ‘playing politics’ with children’s health after measures postponed due to cost of living crisisThe government is to delay a ban on “buy one get one free” deals on junk food and a pre-9pm watershed for TV advertising, as Boris Johnson puts the cost of living crisis before a promise to tackle the UK’s growing obesity problem.The prime minister is understood to have decided to delay the implementation of the policies by at least a year – and potentially scrap them altogether – after chairing a ministerial meeting seeking ideas to help alleviate the cost of living crisis on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Volunteers in Sloviansk – like the troops they support – make do with limited equipment as terrors of war draw closerThe call came at about midday on Wednesday. There had been “chemical poisoning” after a blast and patients needed collecting.Fears of a Russian chemical weapons attack have haunted Ukraine almost since the war began, and as the volunteer medics in Sloviansk pulled on the ageing gas masks and plastic overalls that were their only protection, they wondered if this was it. Continue reading...

Zaghari-Ratcliffe recalled ‘training journalists’ comment in meeting with Boris Johnson, says Tulip SiddiqNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told Boris Johnson that for four years she lived in the shadow of his mistaken statement as foreign secretary that she had been in Iran to train journalists.Zaghari-Ratcliffe, released by Iran just over a month ago, told Johnson in a face-to-face meeting in Downing Street that his remarks had had a big impact on her life, according to Tulip Siddiq, her MP and close ally. Continue reading...

Colombian reggaeton star is latest to be hit by backlog in immigration system, made worse by Ukraine warThe hit Colombian singer J Balvin had to abandon recording sessions and filming in London with Ed Sheeran last month because his visa never arrived.The reggaeton star, who has sold 35m records worldwide, is the latest musician to be caught out by long delays at UK visas and immigration. Continue reading...

Factors from Brexit to lower production in China to war in Ukraine linked to issues with securing supplies of pool chemicalsA shortage of chlorine is forcing some public swimming pools to close, with operators blaming factors ranging from a production fall in China to Brexit and the war in Ukraine.Saxon Pool in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, has been closed to general swimmers since 6 May, with the operator and Central Bedfordshire council cancelling almost all sessions, apart from swimming lessons and a swimathon event. Continue reading...

Ken Murphy is awarded the highest annual bonus by the supermarket since 2016 amid bumper profitsTesco has been criticised for paying its chief executive £4.75m last year, including the highest annual bonus awarded by the supermarket since 2016, as families struggle with rising food costs.Ken Murphy’s package included a £3.21m bonus while the finance director, Imran Nawaz, earned a £1.24m bonus – taking his total to £5.4m for the year including a £3.5m “golden hello” relating to bonuses he lost out on leaving his former employer, Tate & Lyle. Continue reading...

Analysis: policy aims to save money, but also chimes with government’s suspicion of a public sector stuffed with pettifogging remainers

Lengthy background checks and a tight labour market are hampering the replacement of thousands of workers axed during CovidAre you unfazed by heights, able to swim, not visibly tattooed, either taller than 5 ft 2in or possessed of extraordinarily long arms, and able to survive on £16k basic a year? Then there is a pretty good chance an airline needs you.Cabin crew are just a few of the roles the aviation sector has been desperately trying to fill after the bounceback from Covid. Employees were axed en masse as the pandemic hit and flights were grounded, with British Airways alone shedding 10,000 people. Continue reading...

Turkish president says he is ‘following developments’ as two Nordic nations plan applicationsThe Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has cast doubt on Finnish and Swedish membership of Nato, saying he does not have a positive opinion on the two Nordic nations joining the military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.His remarks came as a Swedish parliamentary security review said membership would reduce the risk of conflict in northern Europe and a day after neighbouring Finland said it aimed to join the alliance. Continue reading...

UK says failed Russian crossing of river shows pressure on troops; first war crimes trial begins in Kyiv

Analysis: Labour did well in local elections and providing the leader avoids that FPN there may be opportunities aheadHours after he stepped off stage with his political future in the balance, Keir Starmer decompressed with some of his closest friends and advisers for beers and prosecco in the garden of his former chief of staff, Jenny Chapman.“He looked better than he had in ages,” one said. “Sometimes you just have to let go.” Continue reading...

Tory chair of Commons committee says government lacks will to foster fairer societyA group of MPs has accused the government of lacking the “will or care” to create a fairer and more equal society, after it rejected calls to force companies to reveal the pay gap between white employees and others.On Friday the government stated its intention to instead accept the recommendation of its controversial report on racial disparity, which was widely condemned by MPs, unions and equality campaigners as “divisive” and a missed opportunity for systematic change when it was published in March. Continue reading...

Artwork’s appearance fuels fears family will use return to power to further stifle efforts to recover ill-gotten wealthThe glimpse of a possible Picasso in the home of Imelda Marcos filmed during a visit by her son, Ferdinand Jr, after his election win has set off a flurry of speculation in the Philippines, where the family that once plundered billions is set to return to power.Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the late dictator, won a landslide victory in Monday’s presidential election, an outcome that has appalled those who survived his father’s regime. Continue reading...

TV images show Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh’s coffin falling as police grab Palestinian flags from crowdIsraeli forces have attacked a funeral procession for a Palestinian American journalist shot dead this week, kicking and hitting people with batons and causing mourners carrying her coffin to lose balance and drop it to the ground.Police said mourners were “disrupting public order”. Footage showed the coffin of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh on mourners’ shoulders outside St Joseph’s hospital in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem as police rushed in and attacked people, several of whom held Palestinian flags. The sound of a stun grenade could be heard. Continue reading...

Lawyer for the Phoenix Mercury center expects the case will be tried soon as the extension is relatively shortThe lawyer for American basketball star Brittney Griner said on Friday that her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month.Griner’s lawyer, Alexander Boikov, told the Associated Press he believed the relatively short extension of the detention indicated the case would come to trial soon. Continue reading...

Liz Truss says move is aimed at exposing ‘shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle’

International law experts say ‘this is not an act of aggression and is in fact fairly standard activity for navies’The defence minister, Peter Dutton, has called the presence of a Chinese spy ship off the coast of Western Australia “an aggressive act” but his department was far more sober in its assessment and international law experts have poured cold water on the claim.It is not the first time such Chinese vessels have been in Australia’s exclusive economic zone. So, given we are a week out from an election and the Coalition wants the narrative refocused through a “we live in uncertain times” lens, let’s put the politics aside and step through the facts. Continue reading...

Mixing classical and urban styles, works reflect 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s cultural influenceCorgis and horses are out; tattoos and shades are in. Portraits of the Queen by 52 contemporary artists to mark her platinum jubilee depict the monarch in ways rarely seen since the days of the Sex Pistols.Among the works are Queen of the Hood, by ballpoint artist James Mylne, which shows a “majestic and stunning” young Elizabeth in regal Order of the Garter robes accessorised with designer sunglasses. Continue reading...