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Nicholas Cullinan, head of National Portrait Gallery, replaces Hartwig Fischer who resigned over loss of hundreds of objectsThe British Museum has appointed the National Portrait Gallery head, Nicholas Cullinan, as its new director, after it emerged last year that hundreds of objects had been allegedly stolen from the museum's collection.He replaces the interim director, Sir Mark Jones, the former head of the Victoria and Albert Museum, who stood in for the former director Hartwig Fischer. Fischer resigned last year over the scandal. Continue reading...

Labour deputy leader says she can provide tax advice given at time after Tory complaint to Manchester force

Deal to send hundreds of officers to Caribbean country amid spiraling gang violence is facing intense public and legal scrutinyHaiti's raging gang insurrection has prompted growing concern in Kenya over plans to deploy hundreds of paramilitary police officers from the East African country on a UN-backed multinational mission to counter the violence.If they come back in body bags, what will [Kenyan President William Ruto] tell the nation?" said Ekuru Aukot, leader of the opposition Thirdway Alliance, who last year filed a legal challenge against the deployment. Continue reading...

The party whip says she plans to stay in the Senate as an independent after Lambie suggested she should go it alone'

Exclusive: Dfat official said there was precious nothing in the public domain' on claims against aid agency hours before pause announced

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says China's duties on Australian bottled wine will come to an end from Friday

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Admission of girls to the private school will proceed despite almost 800 former students voting out alumni union president Alexander Pagonis

Decision announced on eve of Easter long weekend following weeks of controversy over Jackson's former work as a journalist

Retailer's action taken to avoid cash shortage if the money-moving company were to reduce or cease deliveries

Exclusive: Man who has now given party at least 10m copied Steve Barclay into email about problems with bid, documents showThe Conservative mega-donor Frank Hester complained to the NHS and the health secretary last year over problems his IT business had bidding for a contract, documents show.The Leeds businessman, who owns a healthcare tech firm responsible for 60m UK medical records, raised a complaint about procurement in December 2022 with the chair of NHS England, copying in Steve Barclay, the then health secretary, saying he was an interested party". Continue reading...

Victoria McCloud wants leave to join litigation in supreme court appeal brought by For Women ScotlandThe UK's first transgender judge is seeking leave to join the litigation in a crucial supreme court case that could significantly affect legal protections for transgender women, the Guardian has learned.Victoria McCloud, a senior civil judge who became the youngest person appointed as master of the high court in 2010, will make an application to intervene in the supreme court appeal brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland about the legal definition of woman". Interveners can put a case without being among the main parties to the litigation. Continue reading...

On 5 Live's 30th birthday, Heidi Dawson says more of the BBC should be based outside London to reflect the national conversationMore of the BBC needs to be based outside London to reflect the conversation of the nation" and secure its future, according to the controller of BBC Radio 5 Live.As the station celebrates its 30th birthday on Thursday, with a series of shows and tributes, Heidi Dawson says 5 Live is well placed to see off the multiple headwinds buffeting its HQ in London, including a further 200m in annual cuts announced by the BBC's director general this week. Continue reading...

Bill being laid before Scottish parliament could, if approved, allow people in Britain to take their own lives within the lawUK membership of Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying association, has jumped to 1,900 people - a 24% rise during 2023 - as an assisted dying bill is laid before the Scottish parliament.People from the UK now make up the second largest group who have signed up to the organisation, which is based near Zurich and helps people take their own lives. The largest group is currently Germans, although they can now get help to end their lives at home after a 2020 court ruling. Continue reading...

Martin Lewis among those encouraging consumers to make a note so they do not overpay when cap reducedMillions of households are being urged to submit meter readings to their energy supplier this weekend to ensure they do not overpay when cheaper prices come in on Monday.The consumer champion Martin Lewis is among those urging people to get their phones, pens and notepads out so that they benefit fully from the 12.3% cut to the Ofgem energy price cap, which is altered quarterly. Continue reading...

Les Jeux Olympiques: Miroir des Societes opens ahead of Paris Olympics and puts previous games in context of conflicts and injusticesFrom the Nazi stadium propaganda in 1936 Berlin to the 1968 Mexico City podium protest of medal-winners Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who were expelled from the competition after raising their gloved fists in a Black Power salute against racial injustice, the Olympic Games have held a mirror up to some of the darkest moments of 20th-century history.Now, as the Paris Olympics prepares to open this summer against a backdrop of war from Ukraine to the Middle East - with Emmanuel Macron saying Russia will be asked to observe a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Games - a new exhibition in Paris takes an unflinching look at the social and geopolitical impact of the Games over the last century. Continue reading...

Suzannah Henty says the spray-painting of monuments shows they continue to have a damaging impact on Indigenous people

Haiti has erupted into violence after gangs laid waste to the capital and forced the prime minister to resign. But Haitians are wary from bitter experience of outside forces intervening to find a solution to the crisisA few weeks ago, two of the main criminal gangs in Haiti joined forces, staging a full-scale insurrection while the prime minister, Ariel Henry, was travelling abroad. Thousands of gang members took over government buildings, police stations and hospitals and broke into prisons, where they released thousands more gang members into their ranks. Before long, it was clear that the Haitian government and the police had lost control of the capital, Port-au-Prince.Widlore Merancourt, the editor-in-chief of Haiti's Ayibo Post, tells Michael Safi that for the first time he fears for his life while reporting from Port-au-Prince, such is the violent chaos there. Continue reading...

Justice Michael Wheelahan orders cases of Moira Deeming, Kellie-Jay Keen and Angie Jones to be held concurrently in September

Bodybuilder Stefan Kohut's account shut after Guardian Australia report, but others continue to showcase the controversial products

UK does not solicit, encourage or condone' inhumane treatment, but critics say ministerial approval system contradicts thisThe number of requests for UK ministerial approval of intelligence-sharing where there was a real risk of torture, unlawful killing or extraordinary rendition has more than doubled in a year.The investigatory powers commissioner's report outlining the rise comes after a parliamentary debate on Monday in which MPs from across the political divide questioned the adequacy of the UK's policy on torture under the Fulford principles. Continue reading...

Pre-recorded message for Maundy service in Worcester Cathedral will be played as Camilla stands in for monarchKing Charles will highlight the importance of friendship in a time of need" on Thursday in his first public comments since the Princess of Wales announced that she was receiving treatment for cancer.In his second Easter message as king, Charles will say how Christ set an example of how we should serve and care for each other", and how as a nation we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need". Continue reading...

Dublin joins South Africa's case in the international court of justice, arguing that stopping delivery of essentials may constitute genocidal intent'Ireland is to seek to widen the definition of genocide to include blocking humanitarian aid in a landmark international court of justice (ICJ) case against Israel.The Irish government will intervene in the case taken by South Africa and argue that restricting food and other essentials in Gaza may constitute genocidal intent, the foreign minister Micheal Martin said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Former Parole Board chair resigned in 2018 when judges overturned a decision to release serial rapist John WorboysNo 10 has been accused of blocking the appointment of a new health ombudsman, after a panel proposed Nick Hardwick, a former Parole Board chair who resigned when judges overturned a decision to release serial rapist John Worboys.The prime minister was sent Hardwick's name for approval in January, after a six-month process by a House of Commons-appointed recruitment panel in which he was selected as the top contender on a shortlist of three. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Baltimore bridge collapse, you can read our coverage here.A retired Coast Guard officer has said he expects the focus in Baltimore to shift to two main objectives: investigating what happened and reopening the channel as quickly and safely as possible.Divers and remote equipment will likely be used to survey debris on the channel floor both as part of the investigation and in preparation for clearing the channel, Aaron Davenport, a senior researcher with the Rand corporation, told AP.We have this big, giant ship. You don't want the ship to sink. You don't want it to leak fuel oil all over the port.My friends were working on that bridge. Continue reading...

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MP James Daly asked Greater Manchester police to examine claims Labour's deputy leader did not declare main residence accuratelyThe police are reviewing a decision not to investigate Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, over claims she may have broken electoral law.The move to reassess" a decision not to launch an investigation earlier this month was confirmed by Greater Manchester police (GMP) on Wednesday after a complaint by the Conservative MP James Daly about the force's handling of the issue. Continue reading...

Former PM says multibillion-pound fund would be transitional arrangement' to give struggling families breathing space

ATE Farms had been issued with enforcement notice for unlawful demolition after fire gutted buildingThe owners of the Crooked House pub in Himley have appealed against an order to rebuild the 18th-century building, which was demolished days after a fire last year.The blaze on 5 August, which is being treated by police as arson, and the subsequent demolition of the famously wonky Staffordshire pub prompted a national outcry. Continue reading...

Union claims up to a quarter of all academic roles at financially pressed London institution face the axePlans for mass redundancies at Goldsmiths, University of London, have been called a horrifying act of cultural and social vandalism" and the biggest assault on jobs at any UK university in recent years".The job cuts, which are now subject to a consultation, are the latest in a series of redundancies at Goldsmiths and elsewhere in the higher education sector, as universities struggle with financial pressures. Continue reading...

Oscar-winning director teaming up with conservative news channel's streaming service for new series about saintsThe Oscar-winning film-maker Martin Scorsese is teaming up with Fox News for a new docuseries.The director, who recently scored his 16th Oscar nomination for Killers of the Flower Moon, is set to host and produce a series for the conservative channel's streaming service Fox Nation. Continue reading...

Ex-president makes remarks after backlash prompted McDaniel's firing four days after hiringDonald Trump mocked the former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel, for her firing by NBC days after being hired as a political analyst.Wow!" the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, who ejected McDaniel from the RNC in favour of his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, wrote on his Truth Social platform. Continue reading...

Former Manchester United star says his near-30-year silence on subject has been his revenge on the pressIt was one of the most baffling utterances ever made by a footballer.When Eric Cantona said at a 1995 press conference: When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea," everyone was left scratching their heads. Continue reading...

Former schoolboys at the private school gave raw testimonies about abuse meted out by John Brownlee

Russian officials have repeatedly cast doubt over who was behind attack despite IS claiming responsibility and Western intelligence evidenceHere are some of the latest images from Ukraine:Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to look at how to organise the production of homegrown gaming consoles, state news agency TASS reports. Continue reading...

Met Office says unsettled conditions could disrupt travel and pose danger to life in parts of Northern Ireland and southern EnglandHeavy rain and strong winds could disrupt travel and pose a risk to life in the run-up to the Easter weekend, forecasters have said.The Met Office issued yellow warnings across parts of Northern Ireland and the south of England. Continue reading...

High court judge to rule on level of compensation awarded to woman sexually abused by pop starOne of Gary Glitter's victims is seeking about half a million pounds from the disgraced musician in damages, the high court has heard.The woman is suing Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, after his 2015 conviction for abusing her and two other young people between 1975 and 1980. Continue reading...

Attacks around Rafah come despite growing pressure for ceasefire. This live blog is closed

Greens attack the legislation, now the subject of a Senate inquiry, as a Trump-style travel ban'

Publishers and politicians are siding against Meta and urging the government to force the company to pay for news

Some Labor MPs are eyeing the LNP's tough policy on detention in bid to sway anxious voters in October election

Five reported killed and numerous others injured after FlixBus carrying 55 people overturned on A9 motorwayMultiple people were killed and more injured in a coach crash on a motorway near the eastern German city of Leipzig on Wednesday, police said.Several people were fatally injured in the serious accident on the A9 motorway. There are numerous casualties," said Saxony police in a statement on X. Continue reading...

Lawmakers overwhelmingly vote to make country the first in south-east Asia to recognise same-sex unionsLawmakers in Thailand's lower house of parliament have overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in south-east Asia to legalise equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.Four hundred of 415 lawmakers present voted for the bill on Wednesday and footage from inside parliament showed people standing and applauding afterwards. Continue reading...

Taylen Brooks, 21, was mauled to death and his brother Wyatt suffered serious injuries in big cat attack in California woodsRelatives of a 21-year-old man who was mauled to death by a mountain lion that also wounded his younger brother over the weekend in California are grateful that they didn't lose both siblings - but they are also heartbroken that the rare attack tore apart a pair who shared a remarkably tight bond, according to a family statement.Before respectively dying and being badly injured in what was California's first fatal cougar-on-person attack in two decades, Taylen Robert Claude Brooks and 18-year-old Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks were close as any two brothers could be" and fought their animal assailant fiercely as they desperately attempted to save each other, their family and authorities said in an emotional statement released jointly. Continue reading...

150,000 abstract sculpture described as worst ever submitted was erected without planning permissionA faceless sculpture of Prince Philip, once described by a council planner as possibly the poorest quality work" ever submitted, will be taken down years after it was erected without planning permission.Standing outside a Cambridge office block, the 4-metre bronze statue depicted the late queen's husband in academic robes with an abstract face resembling a twisted owl mask. Continue reading...

Steven Miles urges authorities to enable magpie to be reunited with devastated' Gold Coast carers and its best friend', their Staffy dog Peggy

Insight report based on data from UK Musicians' Census also found 33% said they had been sexually harassed in the industryMore than half of women have experienced gender discrimination while working as a musician, with a third reporting being sexually harassed, a report has revealed.Female musicians are more than eight times more likely to have experienced gender discrimination than their male colleagues, at 51% compared with 6%. Continue reading...

Bill Shorten hits back at criticism from state leaders including Steven Miles, as federal government unveils bill kicking off response to landmark NDIS review

The festival, due to be headlined this year by Kylie Minogue, Arcade Fire and G-Flip, will not be going ahead in July