World news | The Guardian

BBC and PA Media say a scheduled opportunity to question the prime minister was withdrawn on SaturdayThe business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, is being pressed to question the Royal Mail bidder Daniel Ketinsky on his business links, after the Guardian raised questions about a series of controversial global property deals connected to the Czech billionaire's longtime business partners.Badenoch is scheduled to meet the tycoon next week to discuss his 3.57bn bid for the 500-year-old institution, which will be subjected to a review under the National Security and Investment Act. Continue reading...

Pub and restaurant trade reporting high demand for tournament bookings, as football fans prepare to follow fortunes of England and Scotland on the big screenFootball fans used to worry about getting a ticket into the ground. Now they are fretting about being able to book a place at the bar.Bookings to watch England in Euro 2024 have soared in the last week as fans cottoned on to the fact that the nation's first game in the tournament against Serbia will also fall on Father's Day, this Sunday 16 June. Continue reading...

Prime minister's team say time constraints to blame as condemnation over early return from Normandy continuesRishi Sunak avoided media interviews as he returned to the campaign trail on Saturday amid the fallout from his early return from the D-day commemoration ceremony in Normandy.The prime minister was due to meet reporters during a visit to County Durham and Yorkshire on Saturday but the interviews were cancelled, with Tories citing time constraints". Continue reading...

Italian PM courted by far right and centre ground as European parliamentary elections beginItalians cast their ballots on Saturday as Italy became the first key player to vote in the European parliamentary elections, which could lead to far-right leader, Giorgia Meloni, acting as kingmaker.Far-right parties are expected to make gains in the elections, as most countries, including EU heavyweights France and Germany, go to the polls on Sunday. Projected results are expected late on Sunday evening. Continue reading...

Home Office failed to provide digital proof of status to those applying for visa extensions, in new Windrush-style scandalThe Home Office is facing a new Windrush-style scandal after a landmark high court ruling found that the home secretary acted unlawfully by failing to provide documents to thousands of migrants proving they are here legally.The charity Ramfel brought the legal challenge along with Cecilia Adjei, a healthcare worker and mother of two boys aged 17 and 11, who came to Britain from Ghana in 2000. Continue reading...

Move comes after Russian hack on Monday which continues to cause serious disruption to NHS careHospitals in London have had to cancel cancer operations this week because of a Russian cyber-attack that continues to cause serious disruption to NHS services in the capital.St Thomas' and King's College hospitals have postponed procedures that their surgeons were due to perform on cancer patients since the attack began last Monday, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...

World leaders will spend several days discussing Ukraine, Gaza and global security issues such as strengthening NatoThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Joe Biden marked the start of the US president's official state visit to France with a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.The event followed the leaders' presence at commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings in Normandy on Thursday. Continue reading...

Restriction brought back to make improvements to checkpoint systems, according to Department for TransportSix regional airports in the UK will temporarily reintroduce restrictions on carrying liquids over 100ml, the Department for Transport has said.The change will come into effect from midnight on Sunday, and will affect passengers travelling from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports. Continue reading...

Lib Dems and Labour try to persuade voters to lend support, as Grant Shapps is among big beasts' who look vulnerableOn a sunny afternoon in the picturesque Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, recent graduate Sadie Bond is making an unusual apology to the local Lib Dem candidate, Victoria Collins. Bond says she is going to vote for Collins next month, but feels compelled to disclose her motivation. It's tactical, I'm afraid," she says. I've only ever really known a Tory government and I'm very much fed up with it. Everything feels a bit hopeless. I want Labour to come into power, but I know that isn't going to happen in this constituency, so I'm voting Lib Dem."Far from being offended, the confession is music to the ears of Collins, who has been working to convince voters that she and the Lib Dems are the best vehicle for anyone simply wanting to stop the Tories here. While Harpenden and Berkhamsted is a new seat, it would be a solid brick in the Conservative blue wall in more normal political times. What makes the Lib Dem task here more intriguing is that this seat is sandwiched between two Labour targets - Hemel Hemstead and Welwyn and Hatfield. In the latter, Keir Starmer's party hopes to fell cabinet minister Grant Shapps. Continue reading...

Fundraiser includes motorcycle procession from London to Barrow-in-Furness in honour of Hairy Biker star who died of cancer in FebruaryThousands are expected to gather to celebrate Dave Day" in honour of the late Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers.Myers, who was one half of the motorcycle-riding cooking duo, died of cancer in February at the age of 66. Continue reading...

Alison Aye's work will be seen alongside 481 other new exhibitors at the Summer ExhibitionArtist Alison Aye had a surprising reaction to being accepted for this year's Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. Founded in 1769, it's the world's oldest open submission show - a chance for hobbyist painters to hang next to Turner prize-winners and artists such as Tracey Emin and David Hockney, with everything for sale.The 58-year-old textile and collage artist, who is based in London, has submitted work to the Royal Academy (RA) every year for the last 31 years, and always been rejected. But when, this year, she found out she had finally succeeded, she felt conflicted. It's the establishment acknowledging me and I don't know if I like it," she said. There's a part of me that thinks being on the losing side is all right." Continue reading...

Pledge comes as parties prepare to launch their manifestos, with Labour to offer support for small businessesStamp duty on homes up to 425,000 will be scrapped for first-time buyers, Rishi Sunak is expected to pledge in the Conservatives' election manifesto.Stamp duty land tax currently applies to sales over 250,000 and the change would affect 200,000 households annually. The move to ditch the tax altogether, as reported in the Telegraph, has been committed to in the Tory manifesto being launched next week. Continue reading...

Proposals also include a 20-a-week boost to payments and an increased limit on earnings from part-time work

Rain easing but SES says risk to communities remains as wet weather causes Warragamba Dam to spill for third month running

Aid group workers also taken as UN says it is trying to secure access to its personnel and clarify the situation around the detentionsYemen's Houthis have detained 11 Yemeni employees of UN agencies under unclear circumstances, authorities say, as the militia group faces increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a US-led coalition.UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said 11 UN staffers had been taken. Continue reading...

Business secretary is due to meet Czech tycoon to discuss a takeover the Guardian has raised questions about

Man, 29, extradited from Victoria on Thursday after police alleged he threatened to release photos of assault

Figurine sits in front garden of family that previously claimed to have seen tears of blood from another statueIn the front garden of the Gregori family home on the outskirts of Civitavecchia, a port city close to Rome, is a well-curated grotto containing a tiny, rusting statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by plants and flowers. The figurine was bought from a souvenir shop at the Catholic pilgrimage site in Medjugorje, Bosnia.In late April, as a group of pilgrims huddled around the grotto to pray, the statue purportedly exuded a scented oil. It was not the first time it was said to have sweated oil, but the moment, filmed by some of those present and shared on social media, reignited fascination in Italy over claims of the supernatural, pitting believers against naysayers. The story was all the more intriguing because the Gregoris were the protagonists of another mysterious weeping statue case in the mid-1990s. Continue reading...

The Tony award winner says Racism and bigots are real' after being turned down by landlord in HarlemThe Tony award winner Wendell Pierce has alleged that he was denied a rental apartment in New York's historically Black Harlem neighborhood because he is Black.Racism and bigots are real," the actor posted on X this week. There are those who will do anything to destroy life's journey for Black folks. When you deny our personal experiences, you are as vile and despicable." Continue reading...

Party would immediately introduce a drivers bill if it wins the election, in a significant back-pedal on devolutionThe Conservatives have promised to introduce a law that would unilaterally reverse the expansion of London's clean air zone and limit the use of 20mph routes in Wales, overturning the choices of voters in both places.In a pledge that, if implemented, would mark a significant reversal of devolution, the Tories said they would immediately introduce a backing drivers bill, which would use Westminster powers to quash local say over parts of transport policy. Continue reading...

Attack took place in central Copenhagen on Friday but it is unclear whether Frederiksen was injuredA man has been arrested after attacking Denmark's prime minister Mette Frederiksen in central Copenhagen on Friday.It was unclear whether Frederiksen was injured by the attacker. The prime minister's office said in a statement that Frederiksen was shocked by the incident", but did not provide further details. Continue reading...

Mordaunt, for the Tories, faced Labour's Angela Rayner, Reform's Nigel Farage and candidates from Lib Dems, SNP, Greens and Plaid Cymru

Patrol boat off Venezuelan coast shoots and sinks vessel suspected of carrying drugs as three people go overboardA high-seas shootout pitting drug runners against the law ended with the smugglers' boat at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and the US Coast Guard seizing $63m worth of cocaine, authorities in Florida said on Friday.The dramatic encounter took place on Tuesday about 25 miles (40km) north of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, when the coast guard cutter Resolute - patrolling with the Dutch navy ship Groningen - identified a vessel in international waters suspected of carrying narcotics, according to a press release from the USCG south-east region. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner and Penny Mordaunt spar over taxes, defence and cost of living as others jostle for attentionLabour and the Conservatives renewed hostilities in the second TV debate of the campaign, with Angela Rayner and Penny Mordaunt clashing over taxes, defence and the cost of living in a series of bad-tempered exchanges.In an echo of Tuesday's head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, Mordaunt, the Commons leader, several times raised the much-criticised idea that Labour would increase household taxes by 2,000, bringing derision from Rayner, and corrections from the BBC1 host, Mishal Husain. Continue reading...

Roughly half of Arizona and Nevada under excessive heat alert as temperatures soar past 110F (43C) in some partsThe US south-west continued to endure sweltering weather as the first heatwave of the year brought temperatures of 110F (43C) and higher from California to Arizona.The temperatures are higher than normal for this time of year, with the official start of summer still two weeks away. Continue reading...

Will Lewis's appointment of his ex-Telegraph lieutenant Robert Winnett sparks fears journalism will be diminishedBelow the archaic font of the Washington Post's masthead, its motto is printed in italic flourish: Democracy Dies in Darkness."The publication has been enveloped in its own black cloud this week, as a worsening crisis sparked fears among staff - and media commentators - about the new British senior executives at the heart of its operation. Continue reading...

Document approved at clause V' meeting despite union's reservations about issues including fire and rehire

Union warns of risks to shoppers and staff after sale of younger brother's 22.5% supermarket stake to private equity co-owner TDR Capital

Footage proves the TV doctor made it to the resort after he left a beach and went missing on the Greek island of SymiCCTV images of the TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley walking on the Greek island of Symi after he went missing two days ago have been released as the search for him continues.The images were taken about 20 minutes after he had left St Nikolas beach to walk along a path towards the nearby village of Pedi, and show Mosley, shielding himself against the fierce sun under an umbrella. Continue reading...

Negligent investigation left sex attacker and Met police officer free to continue offending for five years before arrestTwo police officers have been disciplined for misconduct after the bungling of an investigation which left serial sex attacker David Carrick free for five further years before he was finally arrested.Carrick while an officer with the Metropolitan police waged a campaign of terror and humiliation against women starting in 2003 and lasting 17 years. Continue reading...

Territory's civil defence chief says more than 40 killed with toll increasing due to lack of medical careSurvivors of an Israeli airstrike on a UN school in central Gaza have described finding children's bodies that had been torn apart by the blast, as Israeli attacks on the area continued for a second night.Gaza's head of civil defence said his teams at al-Sardi school in Nuseirat found only civilians among the dead. Mahmoud Basal said the death toll from the attack was more than 40 and still climbing, because injured survivors could not get proper medical care. Continue reading...

Left and Green parties say nationalists can be beaten as Netherlands is first to vote in four-day electionLeft and Green parties in the Netherlands have said the far right can be beaten, after exit polls showed a progressive alliance narrowly ahead of their nationalist rivals on the first day of European elections.Dutch voters were the first to be called to the polls in the four-day democratic exercise where citizens in 27 EU member states are electing 720 representatives to the world's only directly elected transnational parliament. Continue reading...

Amid news about Baby Elsa in London, Liz Deutsch reflects on her own life since being abandoned as a babyDog walkers found Liz Deutsch, just six weeks old, in a basket in a hedge in Birmingham. It was a beautiful wicker basket, she learned a long time afterwards, and her clothes were hand-knitted. An ivory brooch had been left with her as a memento. It couldn't have been more romantic," she says, wryly.She was found in good health - the police report at the time noted she was a beautifully looked-after baby". Deutsch was named Elizabeth Richmond, after the road where she was discovered and the hospital to which she was taken. The parents who left her never came forward and she was put into care.Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace is on Monday to Wednesday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Continue reading...

Party of far-right populist predicted to take 11 seats against six for challenger who is building a centrist movementCeline, a civil servant and administrator in several French government ministries, used to keep quiet about the fact that she voted for the far-right, anti-immigration party of Marine Le Pen. I couldn't talk about it at work; people would say: You're a fascist.' It was frowned upon - it was almost a sackable offence," said the 68-year-old, who retired three years ago.But today, even in her hometown of Boulogne-Billancourt, west of Paris, where the largely well-off residents have been historically closed to the far right, and voted 83% for the centrist Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential final round, Celine has noticed a shift in the public mood. Continue reading...

Women at risk' amid increasing number of femicides but assistance including emergency helpline will be cutJavier Milei, Argentina's far-right president, is poised to dissolve the government department responsible for tackling gender violence, prompting a furious backlash from human rights activists.Claudia Barcia, the head of the undersecretariat for protection against gender violence, resigned on Thursday with a warning that the agency will soon be shuttered. The Undersecretary of Protection against Gender Violence... will cease to exist," Barcia wrote on Twitter, later confirming to the Guardian that she had received the news the previous day. Continue reading...

UN secretary general makes plea for nuclear states to agree on mutual pledge not to be first to use nuclear weaponsThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has warned that the spread of artificial intelligence technology multiplies the threat of nuclear war, and that humanity is now on a knife's edge" as dangers to its existence coalesce.Guterres's warning is due to be shown on a recorded video to be played on Friday morning at the annual meeting of the US Arms Control Association (ACA) in Washington. Continue reading...

Refugee camps under fire across region, according to reportsAt least nine Yemeni employees of UN agencies have been detained by Yemen's Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances, authorities said on Friday, reports the Associated Press (AP). The news agency adds that others working for aid groups are also likely to have been taken.The detentions come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital nearly a decade ago and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly after, have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Infowars host dropped his petition for bankruptcy protection, now opting instead for liquidation of companyInfowars host Alex Jones has asked a court to sell off his assets to help meet a $1.5bn defamation judgment against him and his companies over public comments he made claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was faked.In a court filing, Jones dropped his petition merely to go into bankruptcy, admitted that he has to pay the Sandy Hook families, and asked the judge to convert the bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation. Continue reading...

Amid heavy criticism, the PM denies he had planned to skip commemorations entirely

Dame Victoria Sharp says judge was wrong to pause trial after prosecutors declined to call Georgia Barton as a witnessJoey Barton faces a new criminal trial over an allegation he assaulted his wife, judges at the high court have ruled after proceedings against him were previously paused.The former footballer was accused of assaulting Georgia Barton in a drunken row - which he denied - and was due to face trial at a magistrates court in 2022. Continue reading...

Celebrations cancelled due to low uptake as people go off public nudity in country known for liberal attitudesAn organisation promoting nudity and a self-confident approach towards the body in Germany has sounded the alarm over the future of naturism in the country.The German Association for Free Body Culture (DFK), an umbrella organisation for myriad naturist interest groups, has told its members that celebrations in August marking the anniversary of its creation will no longer go ahead owing to a lack of interest. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak under pressure to give up money from party's biggest donor after further allegations of racist behaviour

Three men were convicted and fined $500 for deliberately and intentionally' performing the salute

This blog is now closed

Liz Kendall, shadow work and pensions secretary, tells pensioners in Essex repayment demands unforgivable'Unpaid carers being left with crippling debts and threatened with prosecution after Department for Work and Pensions overpayments is unforgivable" and would be investigated by a Labour government, the shadow work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, told the Guardian.Speaking on a visit to meet pensioners in the Labour target seat of Thurrock in Essex, Kendall urged voters who felt the party was not being bold enough to view the party's promises as just the steps in a 10-year plan. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Star's Windrush ITV show cut after just one series as TV industry loses funding streamsLenny Henry says many black dramas" are being axed after one series, with his Windrush ITV drama Three Little Birds becoming the latest victim.Henry said he would turn Three Little Birds into a book instead as he had stories planned out for the characters for a second series. Continue reading...

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...