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Left and Green parties say nationalists can be beaten as Netherlands is first to vote in four-day electionLeft and Green parties in the Netherlands have said the far right can be beaten, after exit polls showed a progressive alliance narrowly ahead of their nationalist rivals on the first day of European elections.Dutch voters were the first to be called to the polls in the four-day democratic exercise where citizens in 27 EU member states are electing 720 representatives to the world's only directly elected transnational parliament. Continue reading...

Amid news about Baby Elsa in London, Liz Deutsch reflects on her own life since being abandoned as a babyDog walkers found Liz Deutsch, just six weeks old, in a basket in a hedge in Birmingham. It was a beautiful wicker basket, she learned a long time afterwards, and her clothes were hand-knitted. An ivory brooch had been left with her as a memento. It couldn't have been more romantic," she says, wryly.She was found in good health - the police report at the time noted she was a beautifully looked-after baby". Deutsch was named Elizabeth Richmond, after the road where she was discovered and the hospital to which she was taken. The parents who left her never came forward and she was put into care.Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace is on Monday to Wednesday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Continue reading...

Party of far-right populist predicted to take 11 seats against six for challenger who is building a centrist movementCeline, a civil servant and administrator in several French government ministries, used to keep quiet about the fact that she voted for the far-right, anti-immigration party of Marine Le Pen. I couldn't talk about it at work; people would say: You're a fascist.' It was frowned upon - it was almost a sackable offence," said the 68-year-old, who retired three years ago.But today, even in her hometown of Boulogne-Billancourt, west of Paris, where the largely well-off residents have been historically closed to the far right, and voted 83% for the centrist Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential final round, Celine has noticed a shift in the public mood. Continue reading...

Women at risk' amid increasing number of femicides but assistance including emergency helpline will be cutJavier Milei, Argentina's far-right president, is poised to dissolve the government department responsible for tackling gender violence, prompting a furious backlash from human rights activists.Claudia Barcia, the head of the undersecretariat for protection against gender violence, resigned on Thursday with a warning that the agency will soon be shuttered. The Undersecretary of Protection against Gender Violence... will cease to exist," Barcia wrote on Twitter, later confirming to the Guardian that she had received the news the previous day. Continue reading...

UN secretary general makes plea for nuclear states to agree on mutual pledge not to be first to use nuclear weaponsThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has warned that the spread of artificial intelligence technology multiplies the threat of nuclear war, and that humanity is now on a knife's edge" as dangers to its existence coalesce.Guterres's warning is due to be shown on a recorded video to be played on Friday morning at the annual meeting of the US Arms Control Association (ACA) in Washington. Continue reading...

Refugee camps under fire across region, according to reportsAt least nine Yemeni employees of UN agencies have been detained by Yemen's Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances, authorities said on Friday, reports the Associated Press (AP). The news agency adds that others working for aid groups are also likely to have been taken.The detentions come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital nearly a decade ago and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly after, have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Infowars host dropped his petition for bankruptcy protection, now opting instead for liquidation of companyInfowars host Alex Jones has asked a court to sell off his assets to help meet a $1.5bn defamation judgment against him and his companies over public comments he made claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was faked.In a court filing, Jones dropped his petition merely to go into bankruptcy, admitted that he has to pay the Sandy Hook families, and asked the judge to convert the bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation. Continue reading...

Amid heavy criticism, the PM denies he had planned to skip commemorations entirely

Dame Victoria Sharp says judge was wrong to pause trial after prosecutors declined to call Georgia Barton as a witnessJoey Barton faces a new criminal trial over an allegation he assaulted his wife, judges at the high court have ruled after proceedings against him were previously paused.The former footballer was accused of assaulting Georgia Barton in a drunken row - which he denied - and was due to face trial at a magistrates court in 2022. Continue reading...

Celebrations cancelled due to low uptake as people go off public nudity in country known for liberal attitudesAn organisation promoting nudity and a self-confident approach towards the body in Germany has sounded the alarm over the future of naturism in the country.The German Association for Free Body Culture (DFK), an umbrella organisation for myriad naturist interest groups, has told its members that celebrations in August marking the anniversary of its creation will no longer go ahead owing to a lack of interest. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak under pressure to give up money from party's biggest donor after further allegations of racist behaviour

Three men were convicted and fined $500 for deliberately and intentionally' performing the salute

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Liz Kendall, shadow work and pensions secretary, tells pensioners in Essex repayment demands unforgivable'Unpaid carers being left with crippling debts and threatened with prosecution after Department for Work and Pensions overpayments is unforgivable" and would be investigated by a Labour government, the shadow work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, told the Guardian.Speaking on a visit to meet pensioners in the Labour target seat of Thurrock in Essex, Kendall urged voters who felt the party was not being bold enough to view the party's promises as just the steps in a 10-year plan. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Star's Windrush ITV show cut after just one series as TV industry loses funding streamsLenny Henry says many black dramas" are being axed after one series, with his Windrush ITV drama Three Little Birds becoming the latest victim.Henry said he would turn Three Little Birds into a book instead as he had stories planned out for the characters for a second series. Continue reading...

Official says no sign of permit in Ottoman archives, in blow to British Museum, which defends legal right to statuaryGreece has won an unlikely ally in its campaign to retrieve the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum after Turkey publicly rejected the claim that Lord Elgin had received permission from Ottoman authorities to remove antiquities from the Acropolis.In a move hailed by officials in Athens as a hugely important" admission, Zeynep Boz, the Turkish culture ministry's top anti-smuggling official, this week said there was no evidence to prove the peer had been given a permit to strip the fifth-century BC monument of the sculptures. Continue reading...

Record number of far-right candidates on the ballot as polls show almost two-thirds of voters want tougher controls on immigrationVoters in Ireland are going to the polls in local and European elections that have been dominated by a housing shortage and a backlash against immigrants and refugees.A record number of far-right candidates are on the ballot for local councils and the European parliament but it is unclear if many will get elected and join an expected far-right surge across Europe. Continue reading...

Czech billionaire's long-time business partners linked to controversial global property dealsOn Prague's exclusive Paiska Street sits a nondescript brown door.Lodged between a designer clothing shop and a luxury luggage store, it is the gateway into a discreet sixth-floor office from where one of the Czech Republic's richest people runs his empire. Continue reading...

Democracy campaigners welcome move by Lord Sumption and Lord Collins, who cited political situation in statementTwo of the last remaining British judges to sit on Hong Kong's top court have resigned, with one citing the political situation in the former colony.Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption, former UK supreme court justices, announced their resignations on Thursday. I have resigned from the court of final appeal because of the political situation in Hong Kong, but I continue to have the fullest confidence in the court and the total independence of its members," Lord Collins said. Continue reading...

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

The man, 37, was arrested in relation to November 2022 fire at Jordan Shanks-Markovina's Bondi home

PM skipped late afternoon ceremony at Normandy commemorations so he could focus on electioneeringRishi Sunak has been criticised for leaving the D-day commemorations in Normandy early on Thursday, with reports that he returned to the UK to do a prerecorded TV interview.The prime minister attended an event at Ver-sur-Mer in northern France, which was also attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

Millions of Americans are sweltering as experts warn early heat could herald next record-smashing summerWith the official start of summer still weeks away, a record-setting heatwave is cooking the south-western US, causing dangerous conditions far earlier than normal.More than 34 million people were under heat alerts on Thursday afternoon, as warnings were issued from the southern tip of Texas across Arizona and Nevada, and up through the center of California to the northern part of the state. Continue reading...

ANC leader and president accepts he will need help of opposition parties to tackle serious problems facing countrySouth Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said that his African National Congress (ANC) would seek to form a government of national unity with a broad group of opposition parties.The purpose of the government of national unity must be, first and foremost, to tackle the pressing issues that South Africans want to be addressed," Ramaphosa said late on Thursday after a marathon ANC meeting. Continue reading...

Threshold would apply to households instead of individuals under plan that party says would cost 1.3bn a yearThe Conservatives have pledged to double to 120,000 the pay threshold at which child benefit payments start to be taxed, amounting to an average annual saving of 1,500 for families.Under the proposed changes as the Tories try to focus the election battle on taxation, the threshold would apply to entire households rather than individuals, and people would receive at least some child benefit up to an income of 160,000. Continue reading...

Laurent Vinatier is an adviser at Swiss NGO Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, which aims to resolve conflictsRussia has detained a Frenchman working for a Geneva-based conflict mediation NGO, accusing him of gathering military information and failing to register as a foreign agent".Under Russian laws used to crack down on Kremlin critics, anybody who receives foreign support or who is under foreign influence" must register as a foreign agent". Continue reading...

The villain, who first appeared in 1993's The Wrong Trousers, will play key role in Vengeance Most FowlThe evil penguin Feathers McGraw, who terrorised audiences in the 1993 Bafta and Oscar-winning short The Wrong Trousers, will return to play a central role in the Wallace and Gromit film series.A teaser released on Thursday for the BBC's Vengeance Most Fowl shows the villain's fish keychain and keys, comb, tape measure and glove being put in a prison tray before he enters a cell while a guard looks and cracks his neck. Continue reading...

Civil rights organization also called for Hamas to return Israeli hostages and to stop all terrorist activity'In a rare move Thursday, the NAACP issued a call to the Biden-Harris administration to halt weapons shipments to Israel and to push for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. The 115-year-old civil rights organization also called for Hamas to return Israeli hostages and to stop all terrorist activity". The statement comes as the Biden campaign struggles to stir enthusiasm among Black voters.One recent poll showed that only 33% of Black voters aged 18 to 40 said they would vote for Biden if the election were held today. Only 15% of Black voters thought Biden could handle Israel's war in Gaza. Continue reading...

Over 80 dairy herds across 11 US states - and three workers - reported to have been infected since MarchThe outbreak of avian flu in US cattle herds was reported to have reached Minnesota on Thursday when the state's board of animal health said a farmer had reported more than 40 cows with signs of fever.The animals were tested on Monday and the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) national veterinary services laboratories confirmed the positive test. Continue reading...

Duke of Sussex allowed to challenge high court judgment upholding official decision on level of protection he getsThe Duke of Sussex has been granted permission to appeal against the dismissal of his high court challenge over a change to his level of personal security when he visits the UK.Prince Harry took legal action against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country. Continue reading...

Leaders rally behind Zelenskiy to make clear to Putin that, as in 1944, freedom in Europe is worth fighting forJoe Biden and Emmanuel Macron have marked the 80th anniversary of D-day with a rallying cry for support for Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelenskiy was embraced by western leaders in Normandy.The US president used his address at the American commemorative event to send a message to Moscow that the US and its allies will not bow down" and will stand for freedom". Continue reading...

Labour policy likely to irritate Israel, whose prime minister reacted angrily when Ireland, Spain and Norway officially recognised Palestine in MayKeir Starmer is planning to use the Labour manifesto to make his strongest commitment yet on Palestinian statehood in a move to shore up the party's core support on the left, sources have told the Guardian.People with knowledge of the document say the Labour leader is expected to include a pledge to recognise Palestine before the end of any peace process, and to make sure such a move does not get vetoed by a neighbouring country. Continue reading...

World leaders attend international commemorative ceremony as French president draws comparisons with Ukraine conflict

Emergency ban on prescribing the drugs was put in place before dissolution of parliament last weekThe UK government has until Friday to respond to a letter from campaigners who are mounting a legal challenge against the ban on puberty blockers for young people that came into force this week.The non-profit legal organisation The Good Law Project and the transgender advocacy group TransActual have instructed senior lawyers to challenge a ban on the drugs, which campaigners say could lead to the criminalisation of healthcare providers. Continue reading...

Philip Jansen announced sweeping job cuts during same financial year covered by pay and bonus packageBT's former chief executive Philip Jansen has been awarded his largest pay and bonus package, a 3.7m reward for the same year in which he announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs at the telecoms company by 2030.The pay deal for Jansen, who was nicknamed Food Bank Phil after the company set up a community pantry" for call centre staff struggling to make ends meet, was revealed in BT's latest annual report. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Hester allegedly used term token Muslim', imitated people of Chinese descent and said a person was attractive for a black womanThe Conservative party is facing questions over its decision to keep more than 15m given by its biggest ever donor, Frank Hester, after former employees made a series of fresh allegations.Hester is alleged to have referred to a staff member as the token Muslim", imitated people of Chinese descent and remarked that one individual was attractive for a black woman, according to former employees who spoke to the Guardian. Continue reading...

Agent says columnist and presenter has been missing since he went for a coastal hike on Greek island of SymiA search is under way for the TV doctor and newspaper columnist Michael Mosley, who went missing after going on a coastal walk on the Greek island of Symi.The 67-year-old, known for his appearances on The One Show and This Morning, was last seen when he set off hiking along St Nicholas beach at 1.30pm local time (1130 BST) on Wednesday. His wife, Dr Clare Bailey, alerted authorities after he failed to return by 7.30pm, but they were unable to locate him overnight. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann, 60, now charged with six murder counts, planned out his kills'The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been indicted on new charges in Long Island, New York, of second-degree murder in the killings of two women.The charges were brought by the Suffolk county district attorney, Ray Tierney, and come in addition to charges Heuermann faces in the killings of four women whose remains were discovered in scrub and marshland on the Long Island coast nearly 14 years ago. Continue reading...

Centrist party says political discourse has hit serious low' as intimidation of politicians rockets before electionsNearly all of the minority candidates running for Ireland's centrist Fine Gael party have been targeted by threats and racists abuse, the party has said, in what it described as a very serious low" in the political discourse before local and European elections.This is appalling and must be called out for what it is - wrong, sexist and racist," Damien English, the party's director of elections, said in a recent statement. Sixteen of the party's 339 candidates for upcoming elections have a migration background. Continue reading...

Thinktank says at least half of houses are in the wrong band' with those in the north of England and Midlands paying too muchAnneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, has said the revelation that the Tories are still taking money from Frank Hester shows Rishi Sunak has no integrity". In a statement she said:Rishi Sunak has proven he is a man with no integrity.He is too weak to return the money donated by a man who has made violent, misogynist, and racist remarks which belong nowhere near our politics. Continue reading...

Border Force and others respond to boat in difficulty, as high court hears case over Rwanda deportation policyAbout 80 people, including a baby and two other children, have been rescued after a boat got into difficulty while crossing the Channel.Some of the group are thought to have been pulled from the water, with coastguard and lifeboat crews called to help Border Force off the Kent coast on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Chancellor says violent, foreign-born criminals, even from Syria and Afghanistan, may be forced to leaveThe German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has told parliament he backs the deportation of violent, foreign-born criminals even if they come from Syria or Afghanistan, as he signalled a more hardline stance three days before Germans vote in European elections.In a heated debate days after an Afghan asylum seeker allegedly killed a police officer at a far-right rally, Scholz responded on Thursday to accusations by the conservative opposition and the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) that his government was lax on deportations. Continue reading...

Local members voice anger in Basildon and Billericay, where Richard Holden was put forward as only candidate at last minuteThe Conservative chair, Richard Holden, has been selected at the last minute for a safe seat 300 miles from his former constituency, triggering anger among members.Holden was chosen to stand in Basildon and Billericay in Essex on Wednesday night after being the only candidate on the list. Continue reading...

Voting in the EU elections begins Thursday and ends on Sunday with turnout slightly up as polls open in the NetherlandsTurnout in the Netherlands stood at 7% at 10:30am, according to Ipsos, NOS reported.This is in line with turnout during the time in the previous election.I made a concept called Europe first, instead of made in China. This was trying to focus on industrial production in Europe and to ramp it up and to become more independent ... So we need more investment in our future, meaning also in industry and in production, in green projects, saying we need solar panels on our roofs, but not imported from China, but to produce them in Europe and to put it on our European roofs.Secondly, social Europe: defending what we achieved, for minimum age, platform workers, pay transparency, working time limitations for truck drivers, but also asking for abolishing unpaid internships, and also having something like Erasmus for the elderly, and fair taxation. Continue reading...

Unrwa chief says 6,000 displaced people were sheltering at school when it was hit and at least 35 have been killed

Insults and arguments show the social divisions opened up by recruitment drive and years of warWhen Pavlo Pimakhov and Yuriy Pikhota walk through the suburbs of Kyiv, men who spot them approaching from afar often turn on their heels and scurry off. The military uniforms, the police escort and the black folder tucked under Pikhota's arm combine to make the pair immediately recognisable: they are one of the Ukrainian army's mobilisation squads.These officers roam streets across the country checking the papers of men and handing out military summons, as Ukraine tries to boost the ranks of its army to continue the fight against Russia. Continue reading...

Claims of looting as dozens injured during Rapid Support Forces clash with Sudanese army in Gezira provinceAt least 100 people were killed and dozens more were injured after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked a village in Gezira province in Sudan on Wednesday.Women and children were among the victims in the RSF attacks on Wad al-Noura village in Gezira, Mini Arko Minawi, the governor of Darfur province, said on X. Continue reading...

Reunite Families UK applies for judicial review of policy it says discriminates against women and minoritiesOne of Rishi Sunak's measures for cutting net migration is being challenged in the high court on the grounds that it is separating children from their parents and discriminates against women and minorities.The Home Office has raised the minimum income requirement (MIR) so that anyone applying for a visa to bring a loved one from overseas must earn 29,000 a year, which will increase to 38,700 next year. Continue reading...

Artistic director's departure opens up one of fashion's top jobs at brand hoping to become a talking point againVirginie Viard, the artistic director who replaced Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel after his death in 2019, is to exit the French luxury brand, leaving open one of fashion's top jobs.Viard was just the third artistic director at the 114-year-old brand after Lagerfeld and its founder, Gabrielle Coco" Chanel. She will leave after five years in the role and three decades with the fashion house. Continue reading...

Douglas Ross says he will lead from the front' after David Duguid not selected in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East