World news | The Guardian

Exclusive: EHRC insiders believe process could drag on until after its chair is replaced in November

The Kremlin says giving Ukraine long range missiles is a dangerous move' as German chancellor says Kyiv can now hit Russian targetsKremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has held his regular media briefing with journalists. When asked for reaction to Donald Trump's criticism of Vladimir Putin (see post at 08.41) by the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, Peskov thanked the US for its role in trying to bring an end to the war through its mediation efforts, which have so far faltered, but suggested Russian strikes against Ukraine are being launched for security and self-defence. He said in the conference call with reporters:It's a very important achievement. Of course, at the same time this is a very important moment which is connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved and emotional reactions.We carefully monitor all the reactions. However, President Putin takes those decisions which are necessary for the security of our country.Only a sense of total impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale. There is no real military logic to this, but there is significant political meaning.In doing this, Putin shows just how much he despises the world - the world that spends more effort on dialogue" with him than on real pressure. Like any criminal, Russia can only be constrained by force. Continue reading...

Scotland's first minister criticises byelection campaign video that claims his rival will prioritise Pakistani community'The SNP leader John Swinney has demanded that the owner of Facebook act on Reform UK's racist" byelection advert that attacks the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar.The Facebook video, which incorrectly claims Sarwar has promised to prioritise Pakistani communities, is now subject to formal complaints from Scotland's two main political parties. Scottish Labour contacted Meta, Facebook's parent company, about the video two weeks ago and has yet to receive a reply. Continue reading...

French president denies quarrelling with Brigitte Macron after footage is seized on by Russia and far-right accountsEmmanuel Macron has denied he and his wife, Brigitte, had an altercation after a viral video promoted by Russian state media and French far-right accounts appeared to show her pushing him in the face as they prepared to get off a plane in Vietnam.The video, shot by an Associated Press camera operator, shows the French president appearing in the doorway of the plane at the start of a visit to Hanoi. His wife's hand appears to shove him, causing him to step back before recovering and waving. Continue reading...

At least six people die in what Kyiv claims is largest drone attack since Moscow launched full-scale invasion in February 2022

Critics say phallic' 38-storey commercial tower next to state parliament is the wrong building in the wrong place'

Exclusive: Heidi Clutterbuck's public campaigning after anonymity breach cited in argument for reduced damagesA police force that admits negligently breaching the anonymity of an alleged victim of child sexual abuse has been accused of victim shaming" after citing her subsequent public campaigning as reason for reduced compensation.The identity of Heidi Clutterbuck, 53, was revealed in error to a witness by a West Mercia police detective in 2015 as the officer carried out an investigation into her claims of being abused by her late brother. Continue reading...

Exclusive: A majority of females currently want to avoid pregnancy but survey reveals very few use most effective birth control method

Exclusive: Whitehall sources say model in early planning after criticism of schemes to redress victims of scandalsA proposal by the Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates for an independent body to oversee future public sector compensation schemes is being worked on" in government, after criticism of the treatment of victims of scandals.Whitehall sources said a model was in planning in light of the traumatic experiences of those who had struggled to secure redress after scandals such as Horizon, contaminated blood and Windrush. Continue reading...

Exclusive: They consult only with those who have contracts with them,' Megan Davis says as Reconciliation Week begins

Airlines including Ryanair and easyJet have been accused of exploiting consumers' and ignoring a ruling over chargesCampaigners are calling for EU lawmakers to intervene in the row over whether budget airlines should be allowed to charge customers who want to take hand baggage on to a flight.Last week European consumer groups called for Brussels to investigate the pricing policies of seven airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air. Continue reading...

Strike targeted Fahmi al-Jarjawi school, where families have been sheltering, says Gaza's civil defence as Israeli military says militants were operating from schoolUS homeland security secretary Kristi Noem has been in Israel in the wake of the killing of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington last week. Today she has visited the Black Arrow memorial site and an overlook on the Israel-Gaza border.Reuters has a quick snap reporting that Germany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he is to speak to Benjamin Netanyahu later this week, and will tell him that Israel should not take its attacks on Gaza too far. Continue reading...

Tanaiste to announce draft legislation on Tuesday, covering trade in goods such as olives, oranges and datesThe Irish government is to unveil a bill to ban imports from the occupied Palestinian territories in the first move by an EU member to curtail trade in goods produced in Israeli settlements illegal under international law.Simon Harris, the tanaiste (deputy prime minister), confirmed he would unveil draft legislation on Tuesday. Continue reading...

High pressure and hot, dry air from north Africa to bring temperatures 5-10 degrees above normal for time of yearSpain is bracing for another sweltering end to May, with the mercury in southern parts of the country set to hit 40C (104F) as high-pressure areas and a mass of hot, dry air bring temperatures more than 10C above the seasonal norm.The high temperatures come almost exactly three years after some areas of Spain experienced their hottest May since records began and the temperature at Seville airport reached 41C. Continue reading...

Firm accused of inflating billing costs for staff working on high-speed rail route's West Midlands sectionThe company building the high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham is investigating claims that one of its labour suppliers on the project charged overinflated rates for staff.HS2 Ltd launched an investigation into a subcontractor providing workers to build the West Midlands section of the line, which has been beset with delays and cost overruns, amid allegations about its billing practices. Continue reading...

Analysts say US and Israeli attacks failed to weaken rebels and are only pushing the country to the brink of famineLate last month, a suspected US airstrike levelled four homes on the fringes of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, killing at least 11 people. A video posted by an eyewitness shows a frightened man carrying a young child on his back as they run through the darkness, warning people away, before the roar of a jet and the white flash of a blast.Local people quickly circulated notifications of funerals for the many killed in the airstrike on the outlying Thaqban neighbourhood, listing the whole families that had died in an instant. Continue reading...

Leftwingers say the shallow initiatives that now define DEI have diluted more radical attempts to achieve equality

Charles to open parliament in show of support at a crucial time - but that has not quieted a chorus of critical voicesThe decision by King Charles to formally open Canada's parliament on Tuesday reflects his role as a steadfast defender" of the country amid threats to its sovereignty, says prime minister Mark Carney.But Indigenous leaders say the rare visit is also a reminder that Canada's founding relationship between the monarchy and the country's first peoples cannot ever be forgotten or displaced or broken". Continue reading...

Medicine shortages plus limited testing and hospital capacity exacerbated by withdrawal of USAID as outbreak gathers pace across countries in the regionMalawi's ministry of health has announced three new cases of mpox in the capital, Lilongwe, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 11 since the country's first was reported in April.Malawi is one of 16 countries in Africa reporting mpox outbreaks as health officials battle with vaccine shortages as well as limited testing and hospital capacity. Continue reading...

Health department witness tells Victorian supreme court of efforts to glean information from Patterson in days after fatal mushroom lunch

Jury in case of Lewis Johnson, who died in 2016 when his scooter collided with a van after a high-speed police chase, found failings by officersThe mother of a gifted young footballer who died after police chased him at high speed while he was riding his moped has welcomed the findings of an inquest jury that found there were multiple failings by officers involved in the case.Lewis Johnson, 18, a former Crystal Palace youth player, died in February 2016 when the white Vespa scooter he was riding collided with a van in Clapton, east London, after a three-minute high-speed police chase. Officers were pursuing him after reports that he had been snatching mobile phones. Continue reading...

Nationals leader says he is relaxed about leadership speculation and denies the party is divided. Follow today's news live

Figures revealed by Lib Dems also show cancellations not rescheduled within required 28 days doubled in nine yearsAlmost a quarter of elective operations in NHS hospitals in England that were cancelled at the last minute took longer than the required 28 days to rearrange, figures show.They also reveal that the number of cancellations breaching the 28-day standard for a new date has more than doubled within a decade, from 9,000 in 2015-16 to 19,400 in 2024-25. Continue reading...

Two-year-old died after doctors assumed she had an acute viral illness, rather than bacterial infection that resulted in her death, a coronial inquest has heard

Campaigners say homes with RTS meters could be left with heating that is permanently off, or on, from 30 JuneThe adverts featuring Lorraine Kelly paint a worrying picture of people left without heating or hot water or, perhaps worse in mid-summer, their radiators on full blast.Either outcome could be possible when the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), which controls an old type of electricity meter found in almost 400,000 homes across Great Britain, is switched off from 30 June. Continue reading...

Steve Webb says long-term plan is needed as experts warn 8% of earnings is not enough for decent retirement incomeA former minister says the UK government needs to think big" about retirement saving amid growing calls for minimum pension contributions to be increased.Under the auto-enrolment regime, an employee and their employer must pay into a pension and the government has set mandatory minimum contribution levels. But experts argue that for most people, the current figures are not enough to fund a decent retirement income. Continue reading...

Glad Group CEO says the company's security staff now wear stab-proof vests as uniform' at shopping centres

Concerns over patient care at the Healthscope-run Northern Beaches hospital sparked criticism of public-private health sector partnerships

Chancellor hopes investment in homes, transport and energy will stave off pressure from MPs and discontent among publicRachel Reeves will put 113bn of new capital investment at the forefront of the spending review and argue that the billions of investment in homes, transport and energy would only have happened under Labour.The billions unlocked by the change to the fiscal rules, which will be spent over the next parliament, will be at the centre of the government's narrative in a fortnight's time in an acknowledgment that Labour MPs need a better economic story to address rising discontent among the public. Continue reading...

The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel by Ryo Tatsuki, declared a major disaster would occur on 5 July 2025A grim prediction made in a manga first published a quarter of a century ago is being blamed for a dramatic fall in holiday bookings to Japan from several Asian countries.Flight reservations to Japan from some of its key tourism markets have reportedly plummeted, with some linking the fall to The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel based on the prophetic" dreams of its author, Ryo Tatsuki. Continue reading...

Police say further arrests imminent' after Sunday's clash between alleged rival youth gangs'

Exclusive: Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, coming to West End, imagines rival dramatists working togetherA Guardian report on William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe being literary rivals and collaborators has inspired a play that will be staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in London's West End this summer.The RSC's co-artistic director Daniel Evans will direct Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, an Irish-American playwright, who has imagined two of the greatest dramatists of all time working together, wrestling creatively, both envious and admiring of each other. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of households in line for electricity bill increases with NSW customers on standing offers facing steepest rise

New Zealand singer makes impromptu decision' to turn up at Mary's Underground, singing along, soaking it up' with fans

Government expected to sell last shares in banking group this week, drawing a line under 2008 financial crisis bailoutFred the Shred" Goodwin, the disgraced ex-boss of Royal Bank of Scotland, is estimated to be receiving an annual pension worth nearly 600,000, as the government prepares to declare a 10bn loss after selling its final stake in the bank as early as this week.The banking group, now known as NatWest, is expected to return to full private ownership within days, drawing a line under a 45bn state bailout that saved the bank from the brink of collapse at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Continue reading...

Lenders' routine purging after six years means details of some car buyers due compensation may have been lostConsumers are at risk of losing 1bn of compensation over inflated car loans because high street banks and specialist lenders deleted their data, claims lawyers have warned.Borrowers, banks and the government are anxiously awaiting a ruling from the supreme court that could spark one of the biggest redress schemes since the 50bn payment protection insurance (PPI) saga. Continue reading...

EU Staff for Peace letter accuses institution bosses of failing to exert influence to help PalestiniansA group of EU officials has written to the leaders of the European institutions criticising the bloc for little or no meaningful action" in response to the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.The group EU Staff for Peace said that more than 2,000 officials working for the European Commission, European parliament and EU agencies had signed a letter drafted in May 2024 which accused the EU of apathy to the plight of Palestinians. Continue reading...

Country at top of education charts aims to equip students and teachers with world-class artificial intelligence skills'While many schools in England have banned smartphones, in Estonia - regarded as the new European education powerhouse - students are regularly asked to use their devices in class, and from September they will be given their own AI accounts.The small Baltic country - population 1.4 million - has quietly become Europe's top performer in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's programme for international student assessment (Pisa), overtaking its near neighbour Finland. Continue reading...

Jake Wood's resignation comes after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation faced criticism from the UN and other aid groupsThe head of a US-backed private humanitarian organisation that is tasked with distributing aid in Gaza using an Israeli-initiated plan resigned on Sunday, saying that the operation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to humanitarian principles".Executive director Jake Wood announced his resignation in a statement from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), adding fresh uncertainty to the operation's future. Continue reading...

Flood waters have receded but authorities concerned about impact of severe' cold front on stranded livestock

Anthony Albanese says Netanyahu government excuses' for stopping critical food and medical supplies are completely untenable'

With cases expected to rise again this year, analysis from Cancer Research UK finds men's torsos more susceptible, while for women it's the lower limbsAreas of the body most likely to develop skin cancer vary between men and women, research has found, as cases of melanoma are expected to rise this year.According to analysis by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), four in 10 melanomas in men are found on the torso, including the back, chest and stomach, the equivalent of 3,700 cases a year. Continue reading...

Royal College of Psychiatrists and British Medical Association among those saying risks mean police must always attendPlans for NHS staff to restrain and detain people experiencing a mental health crisis, instead of the police doing so, are dangerous", doctors, nurses and psychiatrists have warned.The former prime minister Theresa May has proposed legislation in England and Wales that would change the long-established practice for dealing with people who may pose a risk to themselves or others because their mental health has deteriorated sharply. Continue reading...

At least 12 killed including three children after Kremlin launches 298 drones and 69 missile strikes against neighbourUkraine has condemned US silence" after Russia carried out its largest air raid in three years of war, with a second straight night of massive drone and ballistic missile strikes killing at least 12 people, including three children.Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the US to speak out against the Russian attacks, after Ukrainian officials confirmed Moscow had launched 298 drones and 69 missiles in multiple waves on sites across the country. Continue reading...

Marilyn's Mater Paddle, now in its second year, held at Balcarrick beach to raise funds for women's cancer careAlmost 200 Marilyn Monroe lookalikes have made a splash by taking part in a themed charity swim at an Irish beach.Sporting retro swimsuits and blond wigs, swimmers dressed as the film star took the plunge at Balcarrick beach in Donabate, County Dublin, for Marilyn's Mater Paddle. Continue reading...

Dr Alaa al-Najjar was at work when Israeli strike destroyed her home, leaving one son and her husband as survivorsIn the early hours of Friday, as she did every day, Dr Alaa al-Najjar said goodbye to her 10 children before leaving the house. The youngest, Sayden, six months old, was still sleeping. And like every day, with war raging in Gaza and Israeli strikes landing just metres from her neighbourhood in Khan Younis, Najjar worried about leaving them at home without her.But Najjar, 35, had little choice. One of Gaza's dwindling number of medics, a respected paediatrician at the Nasser medical complex, she had to go to work to care for injured babies who had barely survived Israeli attacks. She could never have imagined that that farewell to her family would be her last. Continue reading...

Nusrat Usman, 43, Maryam Mikaiel, 15, Musa Usman, eight, and Raees Usman, four, were pronounced dead at scene in BrentFour people who died after a fire in north-west London on Saturday have been named by police.Nusrat Usman, 43, and three of her children, Maryam Mikaiel, 15, Musa Usman, eight, and Raees Usman, four, died at the scene of the fire which gutted two homes in the Stonebridge area of Brent in the early hours of Saturday. Continue reading...

Civil defence agency says some people are still under rubble after attacks on Deir al-Balah and JabaliyaIsraeli strikes over the past 24 hours have killed at least 38 people in Gaza, health officials in the Palestinian territory have said, bringing the death toll to more than 100 in less than three days.An attack on a tent housing displaced people in the central city of Deir al-Balah killed a mother and her two children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Another strike in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza killed at least five, including two women and a child, it added. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis exposes lack of action taken despite major reports published over the past 40 years

At least 45,000 people affected by malicious act' in Nice, a day after Cannes film festival disrupted by similar outageFrench authorities have launched an investigation into a power blackout blamed on sabotage that affected at least 45,000 people, just a day after a similar outage disrupted the final day of the Cannes film festival.Authorities in Nice said an electrical transformer had been set on fire in the west of the city in the early hours of Sunday, with power restored later in the day. A day earlier, a separate blaze, believed to have been started by arson, contributed to a power cut that hit Cannes. Continue reading...