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TikTok trend is inspiring tourists to seek out cheaper locations such as Montenegro and Bosnia and HerzegovinaIt will take more than a TikTok trend to break Britons' love affair with Mediterranean beaches. But latest figures show travellers are increasingly swapping Malaga for North Macedonia and Benidorm for the Balkans as part of a social media craze for destination dupes".Flights from the UK to Bosnia and Herzegovina soared by 284% in 2024 compared with the previous year, while trips to Montenegro increased by 164%. Getaways to Albania - billed by some as the new Croatia" - rose by 61%, according to an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data. Continue reading...

Rightwing opposition party claims some artists will receive benefits having contributed little to the stateSlovenia's populist opposition has mounted a campaign against degenerate" artists as it seeks to topple government plans for special pension top-ups for award-winning artists in a referendum on Sunday.Voters in the central European country will cast their verdict on a government bill that details the conditions and terms under which certain artists can claim an allowance to be added to their pensions. Continue reading...

The 66-year-old appeared at Parramatta court on Saturday after being charged with murdering her grandsons aged six and seven

Investigators believe the deceased man, 65, who was found at a Homebush West property, and the arrested man, 31, were known to each other

New guidelines call for non-invasive test methods to be offered to patients to avoid long waits for surgical diagnosis

These seven architects hope to show First Nations design and connection to Country at the world's most prestigious architecture exhibition

Dutchman, 39, had been working underwater in Sicily during operations to raise British tech tycoon's vesselA diver who was working on preliminary operations to raise the late tech tycoon Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht, Bayesian, has died during underwater work in Sicily.The 39-year-old Dutch diver died on Friday while working underwater in preparation to cut the ship's mainmast. Continue reading...

Josep Borrell also criticises EU response to what he calls largest ethnic cleansing operation since second world warThe former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has launched a blistering attack on Israel, accusing its government of committing genocide in Gaza and carrying out the largest ethnic-cleansing operation since the end of the second world war in order to create a splendid holiday destination".Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister who served as the EU's top diplomat from 2019 to 2024, and president of the European parliament from 2004 to 2007, also criticised the bloc's failure to use all the means at its disposal to influence Israel, saying expressions of regret were simply not enough. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and Donald Tusk to make symbolic visit day after Putin paradeThe leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland are due in Kyiv on Saturday for a symbolic visit to Ukraine, a day after Vladimir Putin hosted a set-piece military parade on Red Square. The visit comes as the US warned of intelligence about a big impending air attack on Ukraine.Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and Donald Tusk are expected to arrive in Kyiv early on Saturday and will meet the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a show of support for Ukraine, Downing Street said in a statement issued late on Friday. Continue reading...

Adm Sir Ben Key has been asked to step back' as first sea lord, after MoD said he had departed for private reasons'The head of the Royal Navy has been suspended pending an investigation.Adm Sir Ben Key has been asked to step back" as first sea lord, sources at the MoD confirmed on Friday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The intervention to marginalize Ricky Buria is aimed at insulating the Pentagon from any more misstepsExasperated by the turmoil that has dogged Pete Hegseth's office in recent weeks, the White House will block the US defense secretary's choice of chief of staff and select a candidate of its own, according to two people familiar with the matter.Hegseth had suggested giving the chief of staff position to Marine Col Ricky Buria after the first person in the role, Joe Kasper, left last month in the wake of a contentious leak investigation that brought the ouster of three other senior aides. Continue reading...

Officials float idea of compact of free association (Cofa), used by US to keep close ties with Pacific Island nationsUS officials are discussing a plan to pull Greenland into America's sphere of influence using a type of agreement that the United States has used to keep close ties with several Pacific Island nations, according to two US officials and another person familiar with the discussions.Under the plan being considered, the Trump administration would propose to Greenland's leaders that the island enter into a so-called compact of free association, or Cofa, with the United States. Continue reading...

Move to speed up appeals of people in government-funded hotels could be challenged on discrimination grounds, officials warnA plan to fast-track the appeals of asylum seekers living in government-funded hotels could face multiple legal challenges on the grounds of discrimination, the government has said.A 24-week legal deadline on appeal decisions for those staying in hotel rooms is being introduced in an attempt to fulfil a Labour manifesto promise to end a practice that costs the taxpayer billions of pounds a year. Continue reading...

Former SAS officer led a group of 70 who attempted to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's presidentSimon Mann, an Eton and Sandhurst-educated ex-SAS officer, who led a botched coup involving Margaret Thatcher's son to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea, has died.Mann, who was 72, led a group of 70 fellow mercenaries who were arrested in Zimbabwe in 2004 for attempting to topple Equatorial Guinea's despotic president, Teodoro Obiang. Continue reading...

FAA says radar went black due to malfunction at key control facility as officials promise that system will be modernizedNewark airport, one of the main hubs serving the New York City area, suffered another blackout of its air traffic control system, early on Friday morning, according to US aviation regulators - the second in recent weeks of disrupted flights that have become a major concern for passengers.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that a key air traffic control facility in Philadelphia that guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty international airport in New Jersey had a malfunction. Continue reading...

Two addresses in north-west London searched after three other Iranians detained in same investigation last SaturdayA 31-year-old Iranian man has been arrested in north-west London under the National Security Act 2023 as part of a counter-terrorism policing investigation in which three other Iranian men were detained, the Metropolitan police have said.The man was detained on Friday morning and searches were carried out at two addresses in the area. Continue reading...

In a new interview, the new pope's brother reveals he knew how to behave' because he had seen the 2024 hit thrillerVatican watchers weren't the only ones consulting the movie Conclave before the pivotal election of a new pope.The new pontiff himself - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV - watched the 2024 movie dramatizing the Vatican's selection process ahead of the sequestration of cardinals that chose him to lead the Catholic church, according to his older brother. Continue reading...

Trump administration understood to have pushed for requirements to be attached to deal in effort to freeze out Chinese steelThe US deal on steel tariffs imposes conditions on the nature of ownership" of British plants as part of its efforts to freeze out Chinese steel, it has emerged.It is understood Donald Trump's administration pushed for requirements to be attached to the steel deal to ensure that the Chinese-owned British Steel plant in Scunthorpe was not used by Beijing as a backdoor to circumvent US tariffs. Continue reading...

Any Trump administration efforts to send non-Libyans to the north African country would violate a prior court orderImmigrants in Texas who were told they would be deported to Libya sat on a military airfield tarmac for hours on Wednesday, unsure of what would happen next, an attorney for one of the men has said.The attorney, Tin Thanh Nguyen, told the news agency Reuters that his client, a Vietnamese construction worker from Los Angeles, was among the immigrants woken in the early morning hours and bussed from an immigration detention center in Pearsall, Texas, to an airfield where a military aircraft awaited them. Continue reading...

Prince Albert Jacob feels disappointed in continued ignorance of role many non-whites played in war effortMost black people went overboard and tried hard to make sure that they did their best for Britain," says Prince Albert Jacob, a 99-year-old veteran from Trinidad who joined the RAF in 1943.In a London hotel lobby, after a busy week of VE Day celebrations, Jacob describes feeling disappointed at findings from a recent survey that showed British people remained largely unaware of the black and Asian contribution to the second world war. Continue reading...

Jim Mackey says state of public finances means country can no longer afford big spending risesMinisters have maxed out" the amount of money they can give the NHS and it must learn to live with smaller annual budget rises, the health service's new boss in England has said.The parlous state of the country's finances means the government can no longer afford to hand the service big uplifts every year, despite the huge pressures it is under, Jim Mackey added.Promised to tackle completely unacceptable" variation in the quality of care patients receive, depending on which part of the NHS treats them.Voiced alarm that situations that previously would not have been tolerated, such as old ladies being on corridors next to an emergency department for hours on end", have become normalised".Said ministers had come to see the existence and independence of NHS England as a complication", because of tension" and frustration" over not being able to order it to do what they wanted, before they decided to abolish it. Continue reading...

The Polish prime minister criticised anyone seen applauding President Putin' at today's Moscow paradeLet's bring you some more pictures from the Moscow parade earlier today, a not very subtle attempt as showing off the Russian military power.French president Emmanuel Macron posted a social media update on his last night's phone call with US president Donald Trump.I spoke several times last night with @POTUS.I commend his strong call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, as did our British and Nordic partners earlier this morning. Continue reading...

Moscow stages largest Victory Day parade since start of Ukraine war with Putin using celebrations to justify invasionRussian troops fighting in Ukraine have marched with Chinese forces on Moscow's Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in a Victory Day celebration marked by greater spectacle than in recent years.After several scaled-back Victory Days - with reduced military displays and few foreign guests - Vladimir Putin on Friday addressed the largest parade since his 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Martyna Ogonowska was sentenced in 2018 to 17 years in prison for stabbing Filip Jaskiewicz to death in a car parkA woman who stabbed a man to death as he sexually assaulted her has lost an appeal against her 17-year jail term.Martyna Ogonowska was handed a life sentence aged 18 after being convicted of the 2018 murder of Filip Jaskiewicz, 23, in a Peterborough car park, using a knife she said she carried for self protection. Continue reading...

Robert Fico and Aleksandar Vui accepted Vladimir Putin's invitation to attend Victory Day celebrations

Site likely to create 1,000-plus jobs as AESC wins 680m from UK government plus 320m in private finance and equityJapan's AESC has announced it will build a second gigafactory in Sunderland to produce electric vehicle batteries, after it secured a 1bn debt funding deal backed by a 680m guarantee from the UK government.The National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, both state bodies, will provide financial guarantees that unlock the 680m in financing for the battery maker. A further 320m in debt funding will come from private financing as well as new equity from the business. Continue reading...

Katrin Ivanova's barrister says her sentence should reflect her admin duties and not equate her with classic spy cases'A woman said to be chief minion" in a ring of Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in Britain should not be treated like George Blake, the double agent sentenced to four decades in jail in the 1960s, the Old Bailey has heard.Katrin Ivanova was said by her barrister, Rupert Bowers KC, to have been manipulated by her partner, Biser Dzhambazov, and to then have endured the discovery of his affair with a fellow member of the spy ring while in prison. Continue reading...

Groups say plan to resume limited humanitarian assistance under strict Israeli rules risks enabling war crimes'

Airline assesses options but there is no automatic form of recovery from insurers or the airport

Exclusive: University College London acquires Gollancz archive that was in danger of being dispersed foreverGeorge Orwell's correspondence, contracts and readers' reports relating to his earliest novels are among historic papers that have been saved for the nation after an outcry over their initial dispersal.University College London (UCL) said it had acquired the archive of the Nineteen Eighty-Four author's publisher as a valuable piece of Britain's cultural heritage". Continue reading...

Two Ukrainians arrested as authorities claim operation had one eye on a possible future military incursion

First woman and first African American to hold post dismissed in terse email on Thursday night

Dylan Tippetts of Plymouth resigns from party that does not support my fundamental rights'

Pope held mass for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning

Crowning of country's first world champion set to give fresh boost to sport that has boomed in popularity in ChinaChain smoking under the fluorescent lights of a cavernous billiards hall in Beijing, Brother Yuan can't stop smiling. The previous day, along with 150 million other people across China, he had been at home watching the snooker world championships final. Now he's with his fellow cue-heads, celebrating the win of China's first snooker world champion, Zhao Xintong.He's a great role model for young people in China," Yuan, 55, says of the generation Z upstart who on Monday claimed snooker's top prize. He's bringing the excitement back." Continue reading...

Supplier says deal is its cheapest fixed tariff since 2021 amid ongoing volatility in the gas and electricity marketHouseholds in Great Britain have been grappling with high energy bills for four years but attractive fixed deals that are 300 cheaper than the current price cap are now available.This week, EDF launched its cheapest fixed tariff since 2021", describing it as the best energy-only deal available from a big six" supplier. The 12-month tariff, Simply Fixed Direct May26, is priced at 1,549 for an average dual-fuel customer paying by direct debit. This is 300 below the regulator Ofgem's latest price cap. Continue reading...

Man, who police say is a family member, granted bail after being charged nearly two years since boy's death

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Former Coalition minister Dan Tehan rules himself out of Liberal race as Jacinta Nampijinpa Price insists she wanted to defect from Nationals in a respectful way'

This blog has now closed. Our live updates coverage on Pope Leo XIV's first full day in office has moved here.Historically, some of the conclaves were really drawn out: in 13th century, they needed three years, over 1,000 days, to choose Gregory X.There was also one that ended on the first day, when Julius II in 1503 was elected after just 10 hours. Continue reading...

Local mayor says inner west GreenWay and new Metro line will be truly transformative', getting people out of cars on to bikes, scooters and walking

Decision announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where all finalists will be exhibited to the public from Saturday

Melbourne was barely on the ALP's radar as a seat it could win - but a sparsely funded campaign proved powerful

Leo XIV is a fan of Tim Tams but not Vegemite, one church leader says, and is humble' and gentle'

Announcement makes UK the first country to agree deal with US since Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April

Trusts having to think the previously unthinkable' to make savings demanded by new NHS England bossHospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make eye-watering" savings demanded by NHS bosses.Rehabilitation centres face being shut, talking therapies services cut and beds for end-of-life care reduced as part of efforts by England's 215 NHS trusts to comply with a financial reset".47% were cutting services and another 43% were considering doing so.37% were cutting clinical posts and a further 40% may follow suit.26% were closing some services and 55% more may do so. Continue reading...

Lai Ching-te says message of history is clear' as Taiwan for first time officially commemorates end of second world warTaiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, has compared his nation to the European countries heading for conflict with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, in a punchy speech commemorating the end of the second world war in Europe.Eighty years after the end of the European war, the message of history is clear. Today, 80 years later, we share the same values and face similar challenges as many of the democracies that participated in the European war," Lai said to a group of foreign dignitaries gathered in Taipei. Continue reading...

Leo XIV celebrated as second Latin American pope having spent many years in Peru's churchThe election of Pope Leo XIV has been celebrated across Latin America, where many hailed him as the second pontiff from the region, following his Argentinian predecessor, Francis.The news prompted particular elation in Peru, where he lived and worked for more than 20 years and was granted citizenship in 2015. In the capital, Lima, the bells of the cathedral rang in celebration.

Charles says sacrifice of second world war heroes must not be in vainKing Charles called for a renewal of global commitments to restoring a just peace where there is war, to diplomacy and to the prevention of conflict", as the UK marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.Westminster Abbey was the focal point for national commemorations with a service of thanksgiving weaving poignant reminders of wartime deprivation and loss with the hopes for the future that historic day had promised. Continue reading...

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