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Keir Starmer says the prime minister has no option but to call a general electionRishi Sunak was dealt a series of shattering blows last night as Labour won a knife-edge battle to seize the West Midlands mayoralty from the Conservatives and Sadiq Khan trounced his Tory rival in London to secure a third term.The results, along with decisive victories for Labour's Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, Steve Rotheram in Liverpool and Tracy Brabin in West Yorkshire, left Labour in charge of most of England's mayoralties. Continue reading...

Program aims to help create better disability support plans to guide carers and support workers' response to challenging behaviour

The Tory incumbent's hopes of a third term in the role dashed in a damaging result for his party

Local election results in England justify the decision to focus on Conservative areas, claim party strategistsThe Liberal Democrats are increasingly confident that they will claim more than one Tory big beast" at the coming general election, pointing to local election results putting them ahead in a series of true blue constituencies.Ed Davey's party has been criticised for failing to improve its polling performance in recent months, while its 17% projected vote share from last week's local elections was down slightly on last year. Continue reading...

Interior minister Nancy Faeser promises tough action' to protect democracy as political assaults riseThe German interior minister Nancy Faeser has vowed to fight a surge in violence against politicians after a German member of the European parliament had to be taken to hospital following an attack while he was campaigning for re-election.Matthias Ecke, 41, a member of Faeser's Social Democrats (SPD), was hit and kicked by a group of four people while putting up posters in Dresden, capital of the eastern state of Saxony, police said. An SPD source said his injuries would require an operation. Continue reading...

Hamas confirms four of men killed during raid in village of Deir al-Ghusun were from its armed wing

From the new mayoralties through to bellwether councils, find out what happened in your area

Banned dogs found on allotment where officers described conditions as appalling'More than 20 dogs have been seized after police raided a suspected illegal XL bully breeding farm in Sheffield.Twenty-two animals were seized from an allotment on Thursday, including mothers and puppies, which were being kept in what officers described as appalling conditions". Continue reading...

Hundreds of cities across Rio Grande so Sul hit by floods with 32,000 people displaced and infrastructure destroyedThe death toll from rains in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 57, local authorities said on Saturday afternoon, while dozens still have not been accounted for.The state's civil defence authority said 67 people were still missing and more than 32,000 had been displaced as storms affected nearly two-thirds of the 497 cities in the state. Continue reading...

Firms said food and plant checks and Latin names causing costly delays with lorries waiting hours in first week of post-EU regimeOf all the effects of Brexit, probably the least anticipated was that flower exporters and customs officials would have to learn Latin.But that is one of the problems that confronted British businesses in the first week after the government introduced physical checks on some food and plants from the EU. Continue reading...

Labour incumbent beat Tory candidate Susan Hall, despite inaccurate claims by excited Tories' that she might run him close

The full set of folios published by John Gould will be presented at Firsts book fair in London in mid-MayJohn Gould was one of the most sought-after taxidermists in 19th-century London, commissioned by King George IV to stuff the first giraffe to arrive in England.But Gould's lasting legacy is birds. He travelled the world documenting and cataloguing as many avian species as he could find, many of them never seen before, earning him the nickname the Bird Man and the appointment as official bird stuffer" to the Zoological Society. Continue reading...

Only women can rid the club of the guardians of the Y-chromosome's we've always done it this way' misogynyHere's a surprise: the Garrick Club is a really lovely place.It's full of lively and fascinating people. The staff are superb, the food is great, the wine list divine. The library is to die for (or in), we have the finest theatrical portraiture in the world, sumptuous sitting rooms and chic bedrooms a wallet's throw from the Royal Opera House. Continue reading...

Congress party's Arun Reddy held over fake video of interior minister Amit ShahIndian police have said they have arrested the social media chief of the country's main opposition party over a doctored video widely shared during the ongoing national election.Arun Reddy of the Congress party was detained late on Friday in connection with the edited footage, which falsely shows India's powerful interior minister, Amit Shah, vowing in a campaign speech to end affirmative action policies for millions of poor and low-caste Indians. Continue reading...

Cruise control sensors taken by thieves, forcing drivers to pay to replace them or face higher insurance premiumsVolkswagen owners targeted by thieves who have stolen cruise control sensors from cars across London are furious after discovering the car's poor design" that makes them so easy to steal is set to cost them 1,600 each.The sensors, which cost about 700 each, are fitted behind the VW badge, and appear to be a popular target for thieves. Continue reading...

Palestinian restauranteur speaks from Bethlehem, where food stalls are sparse as farmlands are under attackFadi Kattan looked forlornly at the stalls inside the Bethlehem vegetable market bearing small quantities of oranges, watermelons and cauliflowers. This stall should be heaped with products, he said. And over there should be piles of aubergines and courgettes."The watermelons from Jenin looked too small for the season, while he wasn't sure where the boxes of oranges were from. They would normally be from Gaza. At Um Nabil's stall in the West Bank market where Kattan is a regular customer, she told him she could no longer afford to bring in the best small local cucumbers or piles of green cherries from her village of Artas. Continue reading...

Consequences of sharing nude images and subsequent threat of blackmail can be devastating. Talk to your child, say expertsI'm naked on cam now I'll call you. Answer the call don't be shy."The teenage boy did as he was told by the girl he had been chatting with over social media. The next message was chilling: If you don't want to get into trouble, you better listen. I've enough to destroy you." Continue reading...

National Pharmacy Association says some family doctors refusing to refer patients with minor ailmentsGPs have been accused of scuppering Rishi Sunak's flagship plan to cut the time it takes to see them by refusing to refer patients with minor ailments to a pharmacist instead.Pharmacists claim many GPs in England are not sending patients to them to be treated - and that some are refusing to participate at all in the groundbreaking" Pharmacy First scheme. Continue reading...

China's president arrives as EU anti-subsidy investigations and tensions over espionage, Ukraine and Taiwan continueChina's president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia.The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in the bloc are hardening after multiple spying scandals and China's ongoing support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

The UN says two camps for displaced people were hit near the city of Goma where thousands are seeking refuge from fighting in surrounding areasBomb attacks on two camps for displaced people in eastern Congo have killed at least 12 people, including children, according to the UN.The bombs hit the camps in Lac Vert and Mugunga, near the city of Goma, the UN said in a statement, calling the attacks a flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime". Continue reading...

Police investigating after Brittany Lauga allegedly assaulted in central Queensland town of Yeppoon

A huge infrastructure agenda helped win Andrews three elections but the priority now for the state - and new premier - is the housing crisis

Heaviest falls forecast for Illawarra, Hunter, Central Coast and greater Sydney from Saturday evening

Party source describes region as beating heart of general election battleground' as prime minister says Labour threw lot of mud'

As party narrowly misses out on overall majority, co-leader says it has won spread of urban and rural seatsThe Greens are celebrating a spectacular win in Bristol, where it became by far the largest party, as it headed for a record number of councillors in local elections across England.Party officials said they believed they were on track to finish with more than 800 members on more than 170 councils. Continue reading...

Wins in East Midlands, North East, and York and North Yorkshire suggest Labour on course for general election successThe Conservatives held on to their high-profile Tees Valley mayoralty with a reduced majority for Ben Houchen in the mayoral elections, but Labour won three other contests, in the East Midlands, North East and Rishi Sunak's own patch of North Yorkshire.Houchen was re-elected with a 16.5 percentage point swing to Labour. He won 81,930 votes (53.6%) against 63,141 (41.3%) for Labour and 7,679 (5%) for the Liberal Democrats. At the last election he won 73% of the votes. Continue reading...

More than 23,000 people forced to leave homes after heavy rains in southern Rio Grande do Sul prompt record-breaking floodsHeavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul have killed 37 people, with another 74 still missing, as record-breaking floods devastated cities and forced thousands to leave their homes.It was the fourth such environmental disaster in a year, following floods in July, September and November that killed 75 people in total. Continue reading...

Full results likely to point to potential drubbing for Rishi Sunak's Conservatives at the general election

Glossy promotional leaflet handed out to asylum seekers detained under Rishi Sunak's deportation policyAsylum seekers who have been detained under Rishi Sunak's deportation policy are being handed a colourful promotional document entitled: I'm being relocated to Rwanda. What does it mean to me?".The news came as the government faced a second legal challenge over the prime minister's 500m policy and it emerged that dozens of asylum seekers were being forcibly taken to detention centres. Continue reading...

With an estimated 25% vote share, Tory performance matches 1995 nadir reached under John Major

On track to lose 500 council seats, Conservatives point to Labour's failure to win control of Harlow council - by one seat

Jury hears stabbing incident was witnessed by primary pupils in Horsforth last year and victim was not the aggressor' that dayA 15-year-old boy who stabbed another teenager through the heart on the way home from school has been found guilty of murder.Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed to death in full view" of pupils leaving a primary school in the Horsforth area of Leeds last November. Continue reading...

Shane Cunningham from Devizes and two of his friends took zombie' knives to party where promising rapper was killedA 16-year-old boy has been detained for life for murder after stabbing a talented teenage rapper in the back of the neck with a zombie" knife at a house party in Bath.Two of the murderer's 16-year-old friends, who were also carrying zombie knives, were detained for nine years and nine years and six months after being found guilty of the manslaughter of Mikey Roynon, 16. Continue reading...

From party chair Richard Holden to Andrea Leadsom and Rish! himself, their denial verged on the delusionalSpare a thought for Richard Holden. While every other senior Tory politician had sensibly chosen to lock themselves in a darkened room with a bottle of scotch and a syringe full of heroin, the Conservative party chair took one for the team. A long stint on the airwaves from soon after the polls had closed through to the following morning.It's hard to know whether this was bravery or complete stupidity. He could be like the Japanese soldier found on a Pacific island in the 1970s who didn't know his country had surrendered in 1945 and was still trying to escape capture by the enemy. Continue reading...

Health ministry says only adult dogs can be used for animal assisted' wellbeing activitiesPassionate yogis in Italy have been taking their downward dog to the next level, snapping up mat spots in studios offering puppy yoga" classes. But the health ministry has curtailed the growing trend after banning use of the pups to protect the animals' health and welfare.In a note on 29 April, the ministry said only adult dogs could be used for animal assisted" wellbeing activities, including yoga. The ministry said it had been made aware of organisations that would directly contact dog breeders" in order to temporarily use puppies for yoga sessions. Continue reading...

Disappointment' comes after documents reveal only two-thirds of $96m will go to Indigenous victims of predatory funeral fund

Country to vote on Sunday after supreme court allows leading presidential contender to remain in the racePanama's supreme court has rejected a move to disqualify the candidacy of the leading presidential contender, Jose Raul Mulino, two days before the country's election on Sunday.The ruling early on Friday removes an element of uncertainty in the vote, but the country remains racked by social discontent, against a backdrop of mass protests, economic slowdown, drought in the Panama Canal and the closure of one of the world's largest copper mines. Continue reading...

Defeat could have spurred Conservative rebels to move against prime minister

UN humanitarian office spokesman says hundreds of thousands of lives could be at risk and there would be a huge impact on aid operationsDaniel Hurst is Guardian Australia's foreign affairs and defence correspondent.The Australian government faces a decision next week on whether to support admitting Palestine as a full member of the UN and is swapping notes with allies including South Korea and Germany. Continue reading...

Josep Borrell and Jens Stoltenberg issue statements following accusations against Moscow by Germany and the Czech RepublicScene at the Tbisili opera last night, as protests continueJens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-general, said NATO remains committed to countering the substantial, continuous & increasing cyber threat." Continue reading...

Three UN experts warn proposed harmony laws' may contravene global human rights standardsUN experts on truth, justice, forced disappearances and killings have warned Spain that new laws proposed by rightwing and far-right regional coalition governments to whitewash" the Franco dictatorship could contravene international human rights standards.Two years ago, Spain's socialist-led government introduced a Democratic Memory law designed to bring justice, reparation and dignity" to the victims of the civil war and subsequent dictatorship. Continue reading...

Conservative rebels say they lack support to oust Sunak as counts overnight show loss of 100 councillors and byelection defeat

Philip Morris International has supported non-smoking programmes around the world to advance its own interests', say health professionalsThe tobacco company Philip Morris has sponsored courses for doctors in multiple countries, in what critics have called a grotesque" strategy.Medical education programmes on quitting smoking and harm reduction in South Africa, the Middle East and the US have been supported by Philip Morris International (PMI) or its regional subsidiaries, according to advertising material seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Intense negotiations under way as Penny Wong backs two-state solution after meeting Germany's Annalena Baerbock

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NSW homelessness minister acknowledges program is direct response to housing crisis but says it's not acceptable this is what we have come to' for those fleeing domestic violence

Sentencing to depend heavily on whether the judge considers the murder to be particularly heinous'

Pollsters say early results suggest Tories could lose half of council seats contested, putting party on course for as many as 500 losses

Experts fear children questioning their gender may turn to hidden economy to obtain hormones illegallyCross-sex hormones designed to masculinise or feminise a person's body are available to buy online for less than 11 a month, with experts warning that growing numbers of under-18s may turn to the medicines hidden economy.Last month the landmark Cass review of children's gender treatment in England concluded there was a lack of reliable evidence supporting the use of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers by young people questioning their gender identity. Continue reading...