World news | The Guardian

Spending on Taylor Swift concerts defies pattern of consumers tightening their belts, with CBA predicting a September rate cut

Film-maker is accused of rape, sexual battery and intentional affliction of severe emotional distress for alleged incidentFilm-maker Roman Polanski will face a civil trial in Los Angeles in 2025 for allegedly raping a teenager in 1973.Attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented the victims of Jeffery Epstein and Bill Cosby, confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday that a judge has set Polanski's trial for August 2025. Continue reading...

Statement from Downing Street follows cross-party criticism of Frank Hester's remarks about former Labour MPDowning Street has described remarks made about Diane Abbott by the Conservatives' biggest donor as racist and wrong" after senior politicians from across the political spectrum piled pressure on Rishi Sunak to intervene.No 10 and Conservative ministers initially stopped short of making that criticism of Frank Hester's remarks, after the Guardian reported on Monday that the businessman said in a 2019 meeting that looking at Abbott made you want to hate all black women" and said the MP should be shot". Continue reading...

Confirmation comes after public consultation and decision to close Gender Identity Development Service in LondonChildren who have gender dysphoria will no longer be given puberty blockers, NHS England has said, ahead of a radical change in how it cares for them.There is not enough evidence about either how safe they are to take or whether they are clinically effective to justify prescribing them to children and young people who are transitioning, it added. Continue reading...

Security Risk Assessment Tool - or SRAT - and similar algorithmic tools condemned as abusive' and unscientific'The lives of detainees in Australia's immigration detention centres are controlled by a secret rating system that is opaque and often riddled with errors, a Guardian investigation has found.Developed by Serco, the company tasked with running Australia's immigration detention network, the Security Risk Assessment Tool - or SRAT - is meant to determine whether someone is low, medium, high or extreme risk for factors such as escape or violence. Continue reading...

Hasan', 24, argued he would face persecution in Israel on grounds of his race, faith and its apartheid regime'A Palestinian citizen of Israel has been granted asylum in the UK after claiming he would face persecution in his home country on the grounds of his race, his Muslim faith and his opinion that Israel is governed by an apartheid regime".Hasan", whose real identity is not being disclosed for his own protection, has attended pro-Palestinian protests in the UK, and his lawyers also argued that his activism would place him at increased risk of hostile attention on his return. Continue reading...

In speech as president of Women of the World festival, queen shows audience objects thrown at palace windows in 1914 protestTwo stones thrown at Buckingham Palace windows during a suffragette protest more than a century ago and saved for posterity represented hope to the women who threw them", Queen Camilla has told equality campaigners.While some of the suffragette's more destructive tactics could not be condoned today, Camilla said there was sermon in the stones" that had cracked two window panes but were kept by the royal family. Continue reading...

Director of The Zone of Interest, winner of best international film, has received both criticism and support for his Academy Awards acceptance speech

Monument has long been a source of tension between Canada's Ukrainian diaspora and Jewish and Polish communitiesA controversial memorial to Ukrainian soldiers who served in a Nazi unit during the second world war has been removed from a Canadian cemetery following years of protests by community groups who described the shrine as painful" and offensive.The cenotaph, which had stood in the privately owned St Volodymyr Ukrainian cemetery in Oakville, Ontario, was removed on Saturday. Continue reading...

Programme that follows the lives of 14 children at seven-year intervals tops Broadcasting Press Guild's 50th anniversary chartThe groundbreaking Up documentary series has been voted the programme that changed television the most over the past 50 years in a poll of the country's leading TV writers.The series, which follows a group of children from different social backgrounds and documents their progress every seven years, topped a list of the the most influential shows from the last five decades compiled by the Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG). Continue reading...

All parties continuing to work in negotiations', says Qatar; US president says he has heavy heart after learning of death of Itay ChenA spokesperson for Yemen's internationally recognised government told Reuters earlier that airstrikes that hit port cities and small towns in western Yemen were carried out by the UK and the US.The UK's Ministry of Defence has said that earlier reports that Britain was involved in carrying out the airstrikes were incorrect. Continue reading...

Stretton State College shares photo of students with nappies and dolls among images of events to celebrate the day

Animal-related hospitalisations have been increasing for years but have surged since the start of the pandemic, AIHW study finds

Yemeni group earlier warned it would escalate operations during Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

Charity ship seen sailing out of Larnaca towing barge containing 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein

Detentions soar as critics say President Amlo willing to trade rights of migrants for political capital in WashingtonBetween border visits and rallies, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are duelling to control the narrative on immigration, placing the issue - and Mexico's role in it - at the heart of the coming election.In tasking Mexico with reducing arrivals at the border, the US has given its neighbour leverage over US political discussion. On the ground, this has meant many migrants find themselves stuck in Mexico, running a gauntlet of extortion and violence as they try to make it to the northern border. Continue reading...

Samuel Kasumu responds to party donor telling colleagues that looking at Abbott makes you want to hate all black women'

Terms of reference have yet to be approved by ministers, leaving relatives frustratedBereaved relatives have accused ministers of dragging their feet over an inquiry into the death of almost 2,000 patients across NHS mental health trusts in Essex.The inquiry has still not started more than eight months after the announcement that it would be relaunched with beefed-up powers.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Despite warnings from lawyers, the communities secretary wants to use parliamentary privilege to target groups directlyMichael Gove wants to use parliamentary privilege to name groups that he says fall foul of his new definition of extremism, despite pushback from government lawyers who have warned about the legal implications of doing so.The communities secretary is understood to be keen to name individual groups when he presents his new counter-extremism strategy on Thursday, which he says will target organisations that undermine British democracy. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Why did picture agencies issued a kill' notice for a doctored image of the Princess of Wales - and just how seriously should we take it? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Yesterday's Daily Mirror, like many of the newspapers, featured a wholesome picture of the Princess of Wales with her children. It is hoped the photo will stop the wild conspiracies about Kate's health as she recovers," the caption read. Well, not exactly.It's been a heady couple of days on WhatsApp. On Sunday afternoon, the resident royal mystery connoisseur on one of my group chats sent round a series of screenshots of parts of the photo in a just asking questions" sort of way. Later that evening, something discombobulating happened: the conspiracists turned out to be right.Conservatives | The Conservative party's biggest donor told colleagues that looking at Diane Abbott makes you want to hate all black women" and said the MP should be shot", the Guardian has revealed. Read a profile of Frank Hester, who has given 10m to the Tories in the past year.Haiti | Embattled Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry has issued his resignation, calling for all Haitians to remain calm" in a video address from Puerto Rico after a gang insurrection against his government. The news of Henry's resignation led to celebrations and fireworks in the streets of Port Au Prince.Russia | A fleet of Ukrainian drones has targeted Russia, causing explosions and fires at fuel refineries, cutting electricity supplies and reaching Moscow and beyond, according to reports from Russian authorities. The reports came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the situation at the front was the best it had been in three months.UK politics | Downing Street is braced for more defections after Lee Anderson quit the party for Reform UK, with MPs warning Rishi Sunak that he cannot pretend any longer" his strategy is working. The addition of Anderson, who recently lost the Tory whip after claiming that Islamists" had got control" of the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, gives Reform UK its first ever MP.Prisons | Prisoners could be released from jail two months early, the justice secretary has announced, as the pressure on overcrowded prisons intensifies. In a written ministerial statement, Alex Chalk said prisons in England and Wales would have licence to release certain low-level offenders" up to 35 days before their sentence was due to end. Continue reading...

Citizenship amendment act grants Indian nationality to refugees who are Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain or Buddhist, but not MuslimThe Indian government has enacted a divisive citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, just weeks before prime minister Narendra Modi heads into a general election.The law, known as the citizenship amendment act (CAA), was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation proposed by the Modi government after it explicitly made religion the basis on which people could become Indian citizens. Continue reading...

Almost 12,000 doctors have walked out over planned changes, as the country's health ministry denies services have descended into chaosSouth Korea's government has started taking steps to suspend the medical licences of thousands of striking doctors, as concern grows that the month-long dispute is affecting frontline health care services.The walkout by almost 12,000 doctors from 100 teaching hospitals has led to surgery cancellations, longer waiting times and delays in treatment, including for patients seeking emergency care, according to media reports. Continue reading...

Police allege the 21-year-old victim was fatally stabbed with a kitchen knife in a Gold Coast shopping centre car park

Democratic Alliance finished ahead in Sunday's ballot but is a long way from forming a government led by Social Democratic partyThe dilemma facing Luis Montenegro of Portugal's Social Democratic party (PSD) will be familiar to a growing number of Europe's centre-right parties: if the shortest and surest route to power means working with the populist far right, should you take it?Montenegro's electoral alliance with two smaller conservative parties finished first in Sunday's ballot, winning 79 seats: two more than its Socialist party (PS) rival, but a very long way indeed from a majority in the country's 230-seat parliament. Continue reading...

William Little Pebble' Kamm and Sandra Mathison remain behind bars ahead of a bail application in Sydney

Latam Airlines flight LA800 was headed to Auckland from Sydney when plane's gauges just blanked out' due to technical problem, pilot reportedly told passengers

Supreme court judge overturns building tribunal ruling in dispute between electrical contractor and solar farm owner

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom cuts visit short after rabbi told to remove Jewish head coveringA US delegation on religious freedom said Monday it cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his Jewish head covering, or kippah.The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said its delegation was near Riyadh visiting Diriyah, a historic town and Unesco world heritage site, when the commission's chair, the Orthodox rabbi Abraham Cooper, refused their requests that he remove his religious head covering". Continue reading...

Research claims people have been hospitalised and children are crying with hunger' due to poor quality of food from contractorsFood provided to asylum seekers by Home Office contractors is of such poor quality that some people are ending up malnourished in hospital, a report has found.The paper found that it was difficult or impossible to meet nutritional needs and some people ended up in hospital with nutrition-related conditions. Cases of malnutrition among children and diabetes among adults were identified. Continue reading...

Matt Knight, a British aid worker, tells of ferocious gun battles between security forces and gangs that keep him up at night

Welsh-born musician and composer also played with the Waterboys and worked on Sinead O'Connor's debut albumKarl Wallinger, the Welsh-born musician, composer and frontman of World Party, has died at the age of 66.His death was confirmed in a statement from his publicist, who said Wallinger was presciently ahead of his time". According to the statement, Wallinger died on Sunday; no cause of death was given. Continue reading...

Actor dedicated award to peacemakers' amid plaudits from president of Ireland, artists, academics and friendsIreland used to take pride in begrudgery - a venerable tradition of belittling success - but Cillian Murphy's win at the Oscars has ruined that legacy by uniting the country in delight.The actor's triumph in Los Angeles prompted a wave of tributes from Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, as well as the government, artists, academics, commentators and childhood friends, with no dissenter. Continue reading...

Guardian's imaging team identifies 20 anomalies with the picture that may require further inquiry

Ministers said to have dropped opposition to inquiry into alleged assaults and mistreatment of people at Manston centreThe Home Office is to concede to demands for a statutory inquiry into alleged assaults and mistreatment of asylum seekers at Manston processing centre, Whitehall sources have told the Guardian.The move comes after the government spent a year fighting off demands in the courts for an independent figure to investigate chaos, which led to claims of violence, drug-dealing and filthy conditions at the Kent camp. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak warned by some in his own party he cannot pretend any longer' his strategy is workingDowning Street is braced for more defections after Lee Anderson quit the party for Reform UK, with MPs warning Rishi Sunak that he cannot pretend any longer" his strategy is working.The former Conservative party deputy chair's defection will alarm former colleagues worried at support draining away to the Nigel Farage-formed party. Anderson lost the party whip last month over comments he made about Sadiq Khan, which were condemned as Islamophobic. Continue reading...

Austrian man jailed for raping and imprisoning his daughter for 24 years to remain in psychiatric unitA Vienna court has overturned a decision to transfer Josef Fritzl from a special psychiatric unit to a regular jail, ordering the case back to the lower court.Fritzl, 88, repeatedly raped his daughter and locked in a cellar for more than 24 years, fathering seven children with her. Continue reading...

Catherine apologises for any confusion over Mother's Day photograph, saying she occasionally experiments with editing

Sanjay Shah accused of scam that enabled companies he controlled to fraudulently claim tax refundsA British hedge fund trader accused of defrauding Danish tax authorities in a billion-pound scam has gone on trial in Copenhagen, with the government hoping to recover the money in the blockbuster case.Sanjay Shah, who was arrested in June 2022 in Dubai where he was living, is accused of running a 9bn krone (1.03bn) scam that enabled companies he controlled to fraudulently claim Danish tax refunds between 2012 and 2015. Continue reading...

Ex-staff at Frank Hester's company TPP say rules were unusual but perks include paid bar tabs and sailing holidays

The EU says the ship is just one of three routes to getting life-saving supplies to the population of Gaza

Senior Nato official says we are now in a production war' that is key to the outcome of the war in UkraineKyiv said an Oscar awarded to 20 Days in Mariupol was an important success that showed the truth about Russia's crimes" to the world.The film, directed by Ukrainian film-maker Mstyslav Chernov, won the Best Documentary Oscar at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Continue reading...

Eyewitness documentary shot by war reporter Mstyslav Chernov during the Russian siege of the Ukrainian city takes Academy Award - the country's first

Man identified by German court as Troy B attacked two American women near tourist attraction in JuneA German court has sentenced an American man to life in prison for the rape and murder of a tourist and the attempted murder of her friend in an attack near a famous tourist destination.The incident in June attracted worldwide attention because of the presence of so many visitors at Neuschwanstein Castle, some of whom photographed and streamed the scene as the women were taken by helicopter to hospital. Continue reading...

Harris had longstanding relationship with ABTSS, later alleged by British prosecutors to have handled or received illegal paymentsOne of the largest military contractors in the US paid commissions to a Saudi company later alleged to have been a conduit for bribes for the kingdom's royal family.A document disclosed in a UK criminal trial revealed that Harris Corporation, now L3Harris, paid commissions to the Saudi company for over two decades for services in the kingdom. Continue reading...

Former Conservative MP and ex-deputy chair claimed Islamists had got control' of London mayor

Bidder says multiple attempts to engage with high street group's board were rejectedThe US investment group Elliott has ended its bid to buy Currys after previous offers were rejected by the electrical goods retailer.Elliott, which owns Waterstones, told the markets on Monday that it had made multiple attempts to engage with the Currys board but all had been rebuffed. Continue reading...

Cinema Nova spokesperson says group of four men and one woman were vocalising hate speech to create a scene inside the auditorium'

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Donald Day Jr, linked to fatal shooting of two Queensland police officers, claims his right to guns for self-defence has been violatedA US man linked to the fatal shooting of two Queensland police officers has claimed that his right to own guns for self-defence has been violated by charges of alleged firearms possession while a convicted felon.Donald Day Jr, 58, was arrested in December 2023 by the FBI in Arizona on two counts of interstate threats" 12 months after the fatal shootings at rural Wieambilla, west of Brisbane. Continue reading...

Andrew Cayley, previously Britain's chief military prosecutor, to run operation of the complex caseA senior British lawyer has been appointed to oversee the international criminal court's investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories, the Guardian understands.Andrew Cayley, a barrister and former military prosecutor, has recently joined the ICC after he was chosen by the court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, to lead the high-profile investigation. Continue reading...