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Pro-western leader Maia Sandu spoke as pivotal referendum on EU membership remained too close to callMoldova's pro-western president, Maia Sandu, blamed an unprecedented assault on our country's freedom and democracy" by foreign forces" on Sunday night, as a pivotal referendum on EU membership remained too close to call with most votes counted.Moldovans went to the polls earlier in the day to cast their vote in a presidential election and an EU referendum that marked a key moment in the tug-of-war between Russia and the west over the future of the small, landlocked south-east European country with a population of about 2.5 million people. Continue reading...

Study by Royal Society for Public Health shows current system could further exacerbate health inequalitiesAlmost half of the UK workforce lack access to workplace health support including winter flu vaccinations and checks for cardiovascular diseases, a report has found.The analysis, by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), looked at data from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) and found that more than 10 million UK workers lack access to services including basic health checks, vaccinations, and smoking or weight loss support, provided by their employer. Continue reading...

The biennial competition that counts Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Nicola Benedetti as previous victors was won by the 17-year-old Canadian for his performance of Rachmaninov's second piano concertoThe 2024 BBC Young Musician competition has been won tonight by 17-year-old pianist, Ryan Wang.Three musicians competed in the final, in which each played a concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Ben Gernon before an audience at Bristol Beacon. Joining Wang was another pianist, Jacky Zhang (also a category finalist in 2022's competition), and violinist Shlomi Shahaf. Shahaf performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto; both pianists chose Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto - the first time in the competition's 46-year history that the same work has featured in the final. Continue reading...

US officials say documents appear to be legitimate and House speaker says leak is very concerningThe US government is investigating an unauthorised release of classified documents that assess Israel's plans to attack Iran.The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, confirmed the investigation in remarks to CNN's State of the Union programme on Sunday, saying the leak was very concerning. Continue reading...

Shooting at Albany State University was one of two in US during weekend that shattered homecoming-related activitiesA mass shooting during homecoming weekend at Georgia's Albany State University left one person dead and five others wounded on Saturday night, according to school officials.Earlier Saturday in Mississippi, authorities said three people were killed and eight others were injured near Lexington, Mississippi, when at least two people fired guns at a group of several hundred people who were at an outdoor trail celebrating a high school football team's homecoming game victory.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

One Direction star died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos AiresOutside St Peter's church in Wolverhampton, people gathered on Sunday to look at the balloons, bouquets and candles left in tribute to the One Direction star Liam Payne, whose home town was part of a worldwide outpouring of grief arranged by fans over the weekend.Fans came together in Munich, Paris, Glasgow, Madrid, Sydney and New York - as well as in the Philippines and Colombia - to pay their respects after directioners, the name given to supporters of the X Factor-formed band, organised the vigils on social media. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Starmer, then DPP, said it was not in public interest to prosecute Dr Michael Irwin after arrest in 2009A doctor who was spared from criminal charges over assisted dying by Keir Starmer when he was director of public prosecutions has said he is sure the prime minister wants a change to the ridiculous" laws on the issue.Dr Michael Irwin was arrested in 2009 after reports that he had travelled to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland with a terminally ill man and given him 1,500 towards the cost of ending his life. Continue reading...

Almost 3m issued to mosques and associated sites under places of worship security scheme in year to April 2023A record amount of security funding has been issued to mosques in the UK via a government scheme to protect places of worship from hate crime.According to figures obtained by the Guardian via freedom of information requests, almost 3m was issued to mosques and associated sites under the places of worship security scheme from April 2022 to April 2023, a significant increase from the just over 73,000 issued between 2016 and 2017. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Heads of organisations say lack of funding clarity and wider policy could cause temporary closures in monthsArts leaders in Scotland have warned that the sector is facing death by slow cuts" because of a lack of clarity over funding, with delays and funding shortfalls meaning some major institutions could be at risk of temporary closure within months.Shona McCarthy, who is stepping down as the director of the Edinburgh festival fringe in 2025 after nine years, called for clarity from the Scottish government - not just on funding but also its wider arts policy. Continue reading...

Olympic cycling champion says doctors have told him he has two to four years to liveTributes have poured in for the Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy after he revealed he had received a terminal cancer diagnosis.In an interview with the Sunday Times, Hoy, who won six golds and one silver medal for Team GB, said doctors had told him he had between two and four years to live. Continue reading...

Business Council of Australia also recommends phasing out stamp duty and fast-tracking migrant workers for building industry

Andrei Kelin says by providing weapons Britain is killing Russian soldiers and civilians'Moscow's ambassador to London has said the UK is waging a proxy war against Russia, while predicting the end of Ukraine" as Russian invading forces make deeper advances into the country.In an interview with the BBC, Andrei Kelin said Ukraine continued to fight but claimed the resistance is more feeble and feeble". Continue reading...

Transport secretary says analysis of high-speed rail project unable to clarify if cost overrun is 10bn or 20bnMinisters are to oversee HS2 and have launched a review after the government was unable to ascertain the scale of the ballooning overspend on the long-delayed high-speed rail line.Louise Haigh, the UK transport secretary, said the scale of failure in the delivery of the project was dire" and analysis had been unable to clarify if the cost overrun was 10bn or 20bn. Continue reading...

Sir John Sawers says intelligence agencies should be on their toes' after deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leadersA return of Islamic extremist terror attacks on British soil could be triggered by the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, the former head of MI6 has said.Sir John Sawers said police and intelligence agencies in Britain should be on their toes" after changes of leadership at terrorist organisations in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Seven students put under precautionary measures' after allegations relating to campus demonstration in JulyThe London School of Economics has been criticised by a UN rapporteur and accused of Islamophobia after raising an allegation that students behind a pro-Palestine demonstration in July had prompted fears of a repeat of the 7/7 terrorist attacks.A total of seven students, four of them female, have been put under precautionary measures", restricting their access to the university's campus, over allegations relating to a noisy protest on 7 July in the atrium of the LSE student services centre. Continue reading...

Rise in VAT, inflation and people working from home has led small business owners to demand government supportBlazing Salads, Dillingers, Assassination Custard and Brasserie Sixty Six in Dublin, Church Lane and Sage in County Cork, and Barnacles in Galway.These are just some of the most recent additions to the list of more than 600 restaurants that have been forced to close in Ireland in the last year in what is being seen as a growing crisis for the country's high street and tourist offering. Continue reading...

Option among those explored, as state-owned body looks to recover 12m a year written off over Horizon scandalThe Post Office is looking into the possibility of creating a losses pool", funded by branch owner-operators, as it seeks to address the mounting financial issue of shortfalls in its network of 11,500 outlets.Following damning high court judgments in 2019, which ultimately resulted in hundreds of postmasters being exonerated over wrongful prosecutions for shortfalls linked to faulty Horizon software, the Post Office pursues losses only if there is an agreement with the branch owner-operator. Continue reading...

After Han Kang's Nobel award and South Korean cinema hits, Penguin publishes new English edition of maxims by Lee Seong-bok in wake of US successA collection of wise maxims written by a 72-year old poet, calmly setting out illuminating advice to other poets, is the latest and perhaps most unlikely book to benefit from a surge in demand for South Korean literature.Kick against words like you would kick back on a swing. You've got to feel as if the soles of your feet are touching the sky," suggests Lee Seong-bok in his hit title Indeterminate Inflorescence. Continue reading...

MPs passed legislation a year ago to ban advertising of unethical animal tourism - but it has not yet come into forceGrowing numbers of travel companies are promoting holidays involving animal attractions through adverts that should be illegal in the UK under new legislation, campaigners say.MPs passed a law more than a year ago that gave ministers the power to ban tourism adverts that offer animal attractions, including elephant rides, but it has not yet come into force. Continue reading...

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Canada's PM, Justin Trudeau, claims Indian diplomats are implicated in murders on Canadian soilA gruelling week for Indian diplomacy began with an explosive Canadian press conference on Monday. Senior Canadian police officials accused Indian diplomats of being involved in criminal" activities on Canadian soil, ranging from homicide and targeted assassinations to extortion, intimidation and coercion against members of the Canadian Sikh community.They alleged that Indian diplomats - including the high commissioner himself - were implicated not only in the high profile killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist who was gunned down outside a gurdwara in a suburb of Vancouver last June, but also linked to other murders on Canadian soil. The diplomats had even worked with a gang run by India's most notorious mob boss to get their dirty work done, they alleged. Continue reading...

Jacqui Scruby was on track to comfortably take Pittwater and said the results showed voters appreciated a different way of doing politics'

Brighton residents chant Shame, premier, shame' as they surround the pub where Jacinta Allan announces policy

Troubles at VW point to growing doubts about future of Europe-wide sector as imports of cheap EVs riseFor decades Germany has enjoyed a reputation as Europe's car capital, with slogans such as Vorsprung durch Technik emblematic of its political and industrial prowess.But troubles looming over Volkswagen, where unions are battling threats of layoffs and factory closures, have raised questions not just about its future but the wider European car industry. Continue reading...

ACT senator says opposition proposal to freeze national building codes shows climate change denial', as Labor calls policy a card trick'

David Crisafulli pledges minimum isolation periods for youths who attack staff despite evidence of dangers of solitary confinement

Shia group has not claimed responsibility for attack on PM's home but says it fired several barrages of rocketsBenjamin Netanyahu's house in the seaside town of Caesarea was hit by a drone on Saturday, causing superficial damage and no casualties, as Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon rage unabated after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.The Israeli government said that one of the prime minister's three homes was targeted by three drones, two of which were intercepted, and that neither Netanyahu nor his wife, Sara, were home at the time. Continue reading...

Department of Defence considering international commitments on exports amid ongoing war in Middle East

Planning overhaul will clear way for buildings of up to 20 storeys near stations including Brighton and Toorak in a move likely to draw strong opposition

The trade is flourishing online, experts say, as bone collectors exploit legal loopholes to buy and sell human remains

Rachel de Souza makes strongest intervention yet as three relatives go on trial for murder of Sara Sharif, the 10-year-old who allegedly suffered two years of abuse by her fatherMinisters must ban smacking now, the children's commissioner for England has said, in her strongest intervention yet on child safety.Rachel de Souza said that banning smacking was a necessary step" to keep children safe, and that bans in Scotland and Wales had taught us we need to take that step in England too", adding now is the time to go further". Continue reading...

Jean-Noel Barrot says Russian victory would push the international order toward chaos' as he backs negotiationsFrance's foreign minister pledged his support for Ukraine's plan for ending the war with Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Saturday that he would work with Ukrainian officials to secure other nations' backing for the proposal.Presented by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this week, Kyiv's victory plan" hopes to compel Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations. Continue reading...

Film festival organisers make heartbreaking' decision not to show Undercover: Exposing the Far Right amid concerns over staff welfareA documentary that lifts the lid on a race science" network of far-right activists in Britain and its links to a rich American funder of eugenics research has been pulled from the London Film Festival (LFF) at the last minute due to safety concerns.The organisers have taken the heartbreaking decision" to cancel the planned screening of the exceptional" Undercover: Exposing the Far Right this weekend due to fears about the welfare of audiences, staff and security working in the festival venues. Continue reading...

Retired US marine, sentenced to 16 years in prison, says hoops star made sure he wasn't forgotten after her releaseRetired US marine Paul Whelan says basketball champion Brittney Griner provided great help" to him by advocating for his freedom from Russian captivity after she was released before he was.Within days of her getting home, she was talking to people about how they could support me, and she had people making monetary donations, sending cards, sending letters, offering all sorts of support," Whelan said in an interview being aired on CBS's Face the Nation at 10.30am ET on Sunday. Continue reading...

Supporters offer advice to get the favourite over the line, gambling she can unite the party and restore Tory fortunesSupporters of Kemi Badenoch have urged her to rein in her confrontational style to clinch the Tory leadership, with some Conservative MPs concluding they need to take a big gamble" to restore their party's fortunes as they replace Rishi Sunak.The shadow communities secretary emerged from the only scheduled televised debate on GB News last week with most MPs believing she is still the favourite in what remains a close contest with Robert Jenrick. Party members have until the end of the month to cast their vote. Continue reading...

The Democrat says she will end cannabis prohibition and seek to help Black men profit from the industry if electedKamala Harris announced on Monday that if elected president, she would fully legalize adult recreational cannabis on the federal level - the first time a presidential nominee has taken such an unambiguous stance on ending cannabis prohibition.As part of her pledge, she said she would take steps to ensure that Black men, disproportionately incarcerated and disenfranchised by the war on drugs, would stand to profit from the industry. Continue reading...

Richard Baxter was key figure in gang smuggling hundreds of kilos of drugs and laundering proceeds, say policeA man with a 1.5m property empire has pleaded guilty to supplying drugs and money laundering, the Metropolitan police said.Richard Baxter, 50, of no fixed address, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to transfer criminal property at Kingston crown court on Friday. Continue reading...

ABC election pundit Antony Green calls win for Labor-Greens coalition on Saturday nightAustralia's for ever government" has lived up to its name, with Labor retaining power to extend its record reign in the ACT beyond a quarter of a century.The ACT Labor leader, Andrew Barr, already the longest-serving political leader in the country, fended off a negative swing and an independent surge to win his third election as chief minister. Continue reading...

Lawyer Elvino Dias and official Paulo Guambe shot as their party plans a national strike over disputed electionAttackers killed a Mozambique opposition lawyer and a party official after firing rounds at a car in which they were travelling on Saturday, ratcheting up tensions before protests against a disputed election result, rights groups said.Mozambique's new opposition Podemos party and its presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane have rejected provisional results showing a probable win for Frelimo, the party that has ruled Mozambique for half a century. They have called for a nationwide strike on Monday. Continue reading...

News that no symbolic apology or reparations are planned could put Starmer on collision course with other nationsThe UK government will not apologise over Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade at next week's Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) summit in Samoa, Downing Street has said.Downing Street said on Monday that the government would not be paying reparations for slavery. News that neither an apology nor reparations are on the agenda could put Keir Starmer, who will attend the gathering, on a collision course with other nations. Continue reading...

As well as threats of violence or death, one in 10 said someone had come to their home inappropriatelyMore than a fifth of councillors have received death threats or threats of violence, a survey has found.The survey has been released by the Local Government Association (LGA) before its annual conference next week. It is calling for more to be done to improve councillors' safety.One in 10 councillors had someone come to their home in a way that they considered intimidating or inappropriate, and 43% had requested to withhold their home address from the public because of safety concerns.Ten per cent had received a threat of damage to their property, and 5% had experienced damage to property. Eleven per cent said they had considered modifications to their home security but had been unable to make them for financial or personal reasons.Nineteen per cent of respondents had experienced abuse or intimidation relating to a protected characteristic. Sex was the most commonly cited characteristic for which respondents had suffered abuse or intimidation.Fifty-seven per cent of respondents reported that their authority's arrangements for protecting councillors were very or fairly effective. Continue reading...

Former partner of One Direction star spoke out as Payne's father travelled to Buenos Aires to repatriate his bodyLiam Payne's former partner Cheryl Tweedy has described media coverage of his death abhorrent".It came as the singer's father, Geoff Payne, travelled to Buenos Aires in Argentina to organise the repatriation of his 31-year-old son's body. He was seen exiting the CasaSur Palermo hotel, where the singer died after falling from a third-floor balcony on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Airstrikes Israel says are targeting Hezbollah have killed the city's mayor as well as civil defence workers

Ministers heralded record-breaking' 63bn total at London event but 16.5bn appears to have preceded July electionAbout a quarter of the investment announced by the government at its summit this week appears to have been secured or initiated before Labour came to power.Ministers touted 63bn of investment at the summit on Monday, where they hosted hundreds of company bosses in a showcase of the UK's pro-growth policies. Continue reading...

Emergency services recover bodies of children, aged five and seven, at Floyd Bay in Lansvale

Sydney and Canberra are on the royal couple's itinerary, with opportunities for the public to see them between official functions

Storms and showers predicted to linger around Australia's east coast over the weekend

Detective says he grabbed 23-year-old Daniel Khalife as he cycled on canal towpath in west LondonA former soldier congratulated" the police officer who captured him three days after he was accused of escaping from prison, a jury has heard.Woolwich crown court on Friday heard evidence from the Metropolitan police officer, who said he grabbed hold of Daniel Khalife on a canal towpath in west London. Continue reading...

Andrew Talbot took drugs from a Greater Manchester police evidence store and supplied them to criminalsA cocaine-addicted detective who stole drugs with a retail value of almost 400,000 from a police evidence store and supplied them to criminals has been jailed for 19 years.Andrew Talbot, formerly a Greater Manchester police (GMP) detective constable, conspired with convicted drug dealer Keith Bretherton, 50, to sell the stolen cocaine, Liverpool crown court heard. Continue reading...

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats as fallout continues from 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh Hardeep Singh NijjarCanada's foreign minister has warned India's remaining diplomats in the country that they are clearly on notice" not to endanger Canadian lives after New Delhi's top envoy in Canada was named a person of interest in the assassination of a Sikh activist.India's high commissioner was expelled on Monday along with five other diplomats, prompting the Canadian foreign minister, Melanie Joly, to compare India to Russia, saying Canada's national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in Canada. Continue reading...