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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

Video shows The Australian's Liam Mendes fall to the ground during encounter with Nine Entertainment chairman at Canberra airportPeter Costello, the former federal treasurer and current chairman of Nine Entertainment, has been accused of assaulting a journalist from The Australian newspaper as he refused to answer questions about the embattled media company.But Costello has dismissed the allegations, saying there was no assault" and that the journalist fell over an advertising placard". Continue reading...

Action against five accused, including Jeremy Corbyn's former chief of staff, estimated to have cost 1.5m

Israel says it targeted Hamas fighters in strike on school where hospital officials say displaced Palestinians were sheltering

BoM issues severe weather warning for the Illawarra and far southern suburbs of Sydney

Data also shows party accepted 150,000 from Hester days after comments about Diane Abbott condemned as racist were revealedFrank Hester, the businessman at the centre of a row about comments condemned as racist and misogynistic, gave the Conservative party a further 5m in January, figures released by the Electoral Commission show.The donation, made by his company, the Phoenix Partnership (TPP), cements his status as the Tories' single biggest donor with a total of 15m now given by Hester either personally or through his company. Continue reading...

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Woman's body found to have been interfered with' after death but insufficient evidence to identify anyone involved

Disclosure in Senate estimates comes in response to David Pocock's questions about astounding' out of pocket fees for private surgery in ACT

Nacc says it decided not to launch corruption probe as it would not add value in the public interest'

The KX100 design caused controversy when it replaced the classic red phone box - but now a handful may be given listed statusCampaigners are trying to secure listed status for the boringly ugly" telephone boxes that BT controversially used to replace thousands of red phone boxes in the 1980s.The Twentieth Century Society, which champions outstanding examples of modern design, has applied for listed status for one KX100 box each in England, Scotland and Wales before they are removed next year.In England, the 100,000th box to be installed in the country, located at Dunsop Bridge in Lancashire, which sits at the geographic centre of Great Britain and its 401 associated islands.In Scotland, a contender for the country's most remote and scenic payphone near Maaruig, on the Isle of Harris. It is believed to be the only example still bearing the full original yellow British Telecom livery.In Wales, an experimental model at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, which is uniquely powered by a solar panel atop the kiosk and an adjacent 18ft-high wind turbine. Continue reading...

Jury begins deliberations over whether Stein, 33, murdered his former partner's daughter. He has pleaded not guilty

Troy Armstrong was accused of killing Kristy Armstrong by deliberately driving his ute towards her sedan in 2023

Former Jetstar pilot describes struggle that led to deaths of Russell Hill and Carol Clay, after pleading not guilty to murder

Review confirmed in state parliament after Guardian Australia revealed Forbes mother did not receive promised help to intruder-proof' home