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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

African nurse leaders say poorer nations face severe shortages despite rules intended to stop wealthy countries poaching staffThe UK and other wealthy countries have been accused of adopting a new form of colonialism" in recruiting huge numbers of nurses from poorer nations to fill their own staffing gaps.International nursing leaders said the trend was leading to worse patient care in developing nations, which were not properly compensated for the loss of experienced healthcare staff. Continue reading...

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In today's newsletter: Inside the buildup to the 2 May vote, and what the result might mean for Labour at the general election Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.The streets of London are riddled with crime and desperation". Ulez enforcers dressed in black faces covered with masks" terrorise the city at the beck and call of their Labour mayor master". Campaign ads don't get much more deranged than the one released by the Conservative party on Twitter/X to attack Sadiq Khan, in an attempt to bolster support for Susan Hall's run at the capital's mayoralty. An initial upload was taken down because it used footage of a panicked crowd in a New York City subway station to criticise Khan's record on crime. (For a more nuanced analysis on crime figures in London, read this Guardian fact check.) The bizarre narration in an American accent is still present and correct.Conservatives | Two Tory ministers have quit the government in a double blow to Rishi Sunak. Robert Halfon unexpectedly announced he would step down as education minister and would be leaving the Commons at the next general election. The armed forces minister James Heappey confirmed he had left his role at the Ministry of Defence in advance of standing down. Sunak carried out a mini-reshuffle of the junior ministerial ranks as a result of the departures.US news | At least six people were confirmed dead after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland snapped and collapsed when a container ship hit one of its pylons. Officials said up to 20 people and several vehicles had fallen into the river. The US president, Joe Biden, said all indications were of a terrible accident".Israel-Gaza war | 130 parliamentarians have signed a letter to the foreign secretary, David Cameron, to ban arms sales to Israel, amid signs that the Netanyahu government intends to ignore the UN security council resolution passed on Monday calling on all sides to commit to a ceasefire.Water industry | More than 4m hours of raw sewage discharges poured into rivers and seas last year, a 129% increase on the previous 12 months, new figures are expected to reveal.NHS | Public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to its lowest ever level, with long delays to access care the biggest source of deepening frustration, a study has shown. Just 24% of people across England, Scotland and Wales are satisfied with the health service. Continue reading...

Cholesterol-lowering supplements containing beni koji' recalled by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical over possible link to kidney diseaseA nationwide recall of a dietary supplement that lowers cholesterol has been issued in Japan amid concerns it could be linked to two deaths and more than 100 hospitalisations, according to news agency Kyodo.Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, which sells over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements, has issued a national recall of the product, and authorities are conducting emergency checks on thousands of products that advertise their health benefits, Kyodo reported. Continue reading...

Teresa O'Sullivan says 2019-20 fire season unprecedented in scale and intensity' when delivering findings regarding 25 deaths

Eccentric Victorian owner of Waterton Park, near Wakefield, made pioneering decisions to protect wildlifeA Yorkshire parkland regarded as the world's first nature reserve - which was created by an eccentric pioneering 19th-century environmentalist - has been given a Grade II listing.Historic England said Waterton Park, near Wakefield, was the earliest known example of a landscape designed specifically to attract and protect native wildlife. Continue reading...

Parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security report says scheme set up in 2018 public register has significant flaws'

Resolution Foundation study suggests lowest earners are 6,000 a year better off due to policyThe minimum wage has driven up the pay of millions of Britain's lowest earners by 6,000 a year, making it the single most successful economic policy in a generation, according to a leading thinktank.Since its introduction in 1999 by Tony Blair's first Labour administration the policy has secured cross-party agreement, and should be seen as the basis for further improvements in the welfare of low wage workers, the Resolution Foundation said. Continue reading...

ABS data shows consumer price index is stabilising, which will feed into the RBA's next interest rate decision in May

Damien Luscombe, 38, sentenced to six years' imprisonment over 239 fraudulent transactions

Kevin James Pettiford, 38, to spend at least 26 years in prison after admitting to 2019 murder of Andrew Whyte MurrayA man who brutally murdered a rough sleeper with a rock and slashed a fellow inmate's throat will spend the next quarter of a century behind bars, after avoiding a life sentence.Kevin James Pettiford, 38, was sentenced to 39 years' jail, with a non-parole period of 26 years, at a supreme court hearing in Sydney on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Oji Holdings said it would stop making children's nappies in September amid a sharp decline in demand. Japan has a rapidly ageing societyA nappy manufacturer in Japan is to stop making the products for babies and instead raise production of adult diapers, in a reflection of the country's rapidly ageing society.Oji Holdings, which specialises in paper products, said it would stop making children's nappies in September amid a sharp decline in demand. The firm has seen sales drop from a peak of about 700m in 2001 to 400m today. Continue reading...

Opposition says bill needs proper inquiry' to guard against possible unintended consequences' despite voting with government in lower house

Police say the man is in a stable and conscious' condition at Cairns hospital as investigation continue

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne set to move motion to repeal changes that make it harder for teenagers to get bail

Yearly cost to people, business and public sector found to be twice as big as NHS England's annual budgetMental illness costs England 300bn a year, equivalent to nearly double its NHS budget, according to research.Researchers for the Centre for Mental Health thinktank analysed the economic, health and care impact of mental ill health, as well as human costs from reduced quality of life and wellbeing. Continue reading...

Only 24% of people in England, Scotland and Wales content with heath service, with long waits to be seen the commonest complaintPublic satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to its lowest ever level, with long delays to access care the biggest source of deepening frustration, a study has shown.Just 24% of people across England, Scotland and Wales - the fewest on record - are satisfied with the health service, according to the latest British Social Attitudes research.Eighty-four per cent think the NHS has a major or severe funding problem.Forty-eight per cent want the government to increase taxes and spend more on the NHS.Conservative voters are now almost as likely as Labour ones to not be satisfied with the NHS. Continue reading...

Deal had been thrown into doubt during election campaign in Tuvalu over sovereignty concernsAustralia and Tuvalu will go ahead with a security and climate migration pact, after the latter's new government agreed not to change the deal, Australia's Pacific minister, Pat Conroy, has told parliament.The two countries had announced the deal in November, but it was thrown into doubt during an election campaign in the remote Pacific atoll of 11,000 people that is threatened by rising sea levels. Continue reading...

Scheme was founded in 2012 to prevent at-risk children being enticed by Italy's most powerful mafia, the 'NdranghetaA project to save children from Italy's biggest mafia by removing them from mob families is being extended to organised crime groups in Sicily and Naples, the justice ministry has announced.The scheme aims to prevent at-risk children from following their parents into a life of crime, breaking the cycle by which power is passed down the generations through blood ties and family loyalty. Continue reading...

Strain of aiming to influence Israel's actions without leverage and also avoiding starvation is showing, say analysts

Allegations include prevalence of drug abuse' across the sport, MP tells House of Representatives

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Baltimore bridge collapse, read our full report:

Companies accused of facilitating gun trafficking and and of being responsible for bloodshed that their guns contribute to in MexicoA trial court in Arizona has ruled that the Mexican government may proceed in its trailblazing lawsuit against five US gun dealers, who stand accused of facilitating gun trafficking across the border into Mexico.Mexico argues that the companies' marketing campaigns and distribution practices mean that they are legally responsible for the bloodshed that their guns contribute to. Continue reading...

Palestinian authorities say deaths resulted from attempts to recover crates that fell in water after parachutes went wrongTwelve people drowned trying to get to aid dropped by plane off a Gaza beach, Palestinian health authorities have said, amid growing fears of famine nearly six months into Israel's military campaign.Video of the airdrop on Monday showed crowds of people running towards the beach, in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza, as crates with parachutes floated down, then people standing deep in water and bodies being pulled on to the sand. Continue reading...

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior's tearful comments prompt questions over why racist fans can still act with impunityAntiracism campaigners in Spain have called on the country's institutions to do more to crack down on racism in football, after Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior laid bare the personal toll exacted by years of racist insults.Breaking down in tears as he spoke of the systematic barrage of abuse he had faced at more than 10 Spanish grounds, the Brazilian player told reporters on Monday that the situation had gotten worse" during his time on the pitch. Continue reading...

The legislation aims to cut ballooning costs, and return the scheme to its original intent of supporting people with a permanent disability

Biden laments terrible accident' as six people still missing after Francis Scott Key Bridge snapped from collision with vessel

Environment secretary opposed waste plant plans that must be approved by body he overseesThe environment secretary has refused to say whether he abused his position when he tried to stop an incinerator being built in his constituency.But Steve Barclay apologised for not properly declaring his interest and recusing himself, when questioned about it on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Mayor says rescue efforts continuing after cargo vessel hit Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending vehicles into the water

South American neighbours respond to blocking of Corina Yoris, who was favoured to beat strongman Nicolas Maduro in electionsA chorus of Latin American nations, including Brazil and Colombia, have voiced concern over the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela after the opposition politician best-positioned to challenge its strongman leader, Nicolas Maduro, in July's presidential election was prevented from registering for the vote.Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old philosopher, was little-known outside academic circles until last Friday, when she was catapulted on to the frontline of Venezuela's long-running political crisis by being named as the substitute for Maria Corina Machado, a prominent opposition figure who had been banned from running in the election. Continue reading...

National Transportation Safety Board is dispatching investigators, but governor said Francis Scott Key Bridge was sound

Prime minister tells MPs the priority is to get inflation down even though English councils need another 4bn to maintain servicesRishi Sunak has denied there is a crisis" in local government funding despite warnings that well-run councils are on the brink of bankruptcy and local services at risk without more support.The prime minister admitted that councils faced challenges", in particular with inflation, which has significantly outpaced recent cash injections, at the cross-party liaison committee. Continue reading...

Up to 10 non-disclosure agreements signed in last year alongside substantial financial settlementsThe CBI has used gagging clauses to prevent staff from discussing their experiences of sexual misconduct and bullying at the organisation, the Guardian can reveal.Up to 10 non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) have been signed in the past year after the lobbying group's sexual misconduct scandal, in which more than a dozen staff alleged they had been victims of sexual harassment, assault and rape. Those agreements have been accompanied by substantial financial settlements from the CBI. Continue reading...

The Boss says he is proud to become a fellow after being recognised for his impact on the UK's cultural landscape'There is perhaps nobody in the US's short history who is better-known for describing blue-collar American life.But Bruce Springsteen is to be recognised by the most British of institutions when he becomes the first foreigner to be inducted as a fellow of the Ivors Academy. Continue reading...

Tim Davie says 14 years of reductions have put its future at risk, as he announces 200m of cutsCuts to the BBC's budget by successive Conservative governments have been shortsighted" and risked undermining its future, the director general said in a speech on Tuesday.Announcing a further 200m of cuts to the corporation, Tim Davie said 14 years of cuts had reduced its budget by 30% in real terms and had chipped away at our income over many years and have put serious pressure on our finances". Continue reading...

While the musician faces several lawsuits alleging sexual assault, it was not clear if he was the target of the investigationThe Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Monday that agents have raided properties in Los Angeles, Miami and New York that local news outlets have reported are tied to rapper and mogul Sean Diddy" Combs.NBC News and local stations in Los Angeles and Miami first reported the activity at Combs's properties on Monday. Federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement were conducting searches of the properties as part of a sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

House of Lords Appointment Commission head says new forms for potential peers to be publishedRishi Sunak ad Keir Starmer will be asked to supply more due diligence about the peers they are proposing for the House of Lords, the appointments commission chief has said.Ruth Deech, the head of the House of Lords Appointment Commission (Holac), said party leaders currently only provide sketchy" information about the potential lords and ladies they put forward to her watchdog for vetting. Continue reading...

Poland's deputy foreign minister Andrzej Szejna tells Polish media Russia knows there will be a counterattack' if missiles go further into its territoryThe Kremlin has refused to be drawn on whether it believed there was a link between the Ukrainian leadership and Friday's Moscow concert hall attack, in which at least 139 people were killed.Asked during a call with reporters whether there was a direct link between Ukraine and the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: I have nothing to add to what has already been said on this topic." Continue reading...

Timothy Snyder says former RNC chair tried to disassemble our democracy' and should not have been invited to take up positionThe former Republican National Committee chair turned NBC politics analyst Ronna McDaniel tried to disassemble our democracy" by supporting Donald Trump's electoral fraud lies and should not be given such a media role, a leading historian said amid uproar over the appointment.What NBC has done is they've invited into what should be a normal framework someone who doesn't believe that framework should exist at all," Timothy Snyder, a Yale professor and author of On Tyranny, told MSNBC, part of the network now employing McDaniel. Continue reading...

ENRC seeking compensation for losses it says were result of fraud inquiry dropped last year, court hearsThe UK government faces an extraordinary" $1bn damages claim, a court has been told, in a lawsuit brought by a mining company that has been bankrolled by Russian banks targeted by sanctions.ENRC, the UK-based arm of a global mining conglomerate belonging to oligarchs, is seeking compensation for losses it claims it suffered as a result of a decade-long Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation that was dropped last year, according to court documents. Continue reading...