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Exclusive: Experts raise alarm over national scandal' that has hallmarks of trafficking and modern slavery

Complaints made over slogans Labour for Largan' and Reform for Robert' and use of other parties' colours

Andrew Giles says tribunal did not apply common sense' when assessing visa cancellations - but sometimes common sense requires clear direction

Exclusive: Legal challenge discloses number of non-citizens already released by ministerial discretion higher than first thought

New leader tells activists in Glasgow that they must demonstrate the relevance' of independence to the cost of living crisisSign up for our Election Edition newsletterPlaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said Keir Starmer wants to act as the puppet master within all of the Labour party" through his parachuting of candidates last minute to Wales".He told Sky News's Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme that his party would support a no-confidence motion in Welsh first minister Vaughan Gething next week. Plaid Cymru ended its cooperation agreement with the Labour-led government in Wales last month.We have no confidence in the first minister. More importantly than that, the Welsh public don't have confidence in him. But it's Labour who will decide - Labour members of the Senedd in that vote of no confidence, but crucially also Keir Starmer, who has shown through his parachuting of candidates last minute to Wales that he very much wants to act as the puppet master within all of the Labour party. Continue reading...

Story of fish discovered and rescued by cardiologist in Newcastle grips millions on social mediaHow did a live goldfish come to be found on a Newcastle lawn? It is hardly the mystery of the century but it has confounded social media users ever since Ben Beska, a junior doctor, posted on X, formerly Twitter, about his unlikely animal rescue.Beska was alerted to the aquatic animal after spotting magpies squawking over something in his garden. Continue reading...

Thinktank says 1 lost in every 13 basic payment to repay debts to private landlords and utility firms and correct tax office errorsHalf of those on universal credit are losing money on every payment because of automatic deductions by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), according to research.Claimants are losing 1 in every 13 of basic payment to repay debts to private landlords and utility companies and correct mistakes made by the tax office, said the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a left-leaning thinktank. Each household with money deducted lost an average of 63 a month. This amounted to a total loss of 1.3bn from benefits support in 2022-23, NEF found through a series of parliamentary questions. Continue reading...

Dong Jun rails at length about democratic island's separatists' during Shangri-La Dialogue defence conference in SingaporeThe Chinese defence minister, Dong Jun, has warned that anyone who dares pursue independence for Taiwan will be crushed to pieces" and face destruction", as he accused external forces of dragging the island into a dangerous situation".In a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's biggest defence summit, Dong said Beijing was committed to peaceful unification" with Taiwan, but that it was prepared for all kinds of extreme situations" and that any attempts to seek independence would be futile. Continue reading...

In mirror world', Trump is martyr and Biden is autocrat, as calls for violence erupt on internet after ex-president's convictionThe posts are ominous.Pick a side, or YOU are next," wrote conservative talkshow host Dan Bongino on the Truth Social media platform in the aftermath of former president Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions. Continue reading...

Premier Roger Cook said the update was part of a wider plan to toughen the state's firearm laws

City saw 143mm of rain on first day of winter - more than the June average of 132mm

Keir Starmer launched his campaign bus on Saturday with his senior shadow cabinet members, but Tory big beasts' appeared to have deserted the PM in RedcarWe may be in an era when elections are fought with TikTok memes and Instagram reels, but one thing has stubbornly refused to give way in the digital age: the good old battle of the campaign buses. On Saturday, Rishi Sunak unveiled the Conservatives' bus that will tour the country during the 2024 election, emblazoned with the slogan: Clear plan. Bold action. Secure future."It is - arguably - a slightly snappier version of John Major's bus in 1997, which bore the words: You can only be sure with the Conservatives." Continue reading...

Arrival of Israeli troops in the southern border town has choked aid supplies, as hunger deepens in southern GazaFayiz Abu Ataya was born into war and knew nothing else. Over his first and only spring, in a town stalked by hunger, he wasted away to a shadow of a child, skin stretched painfully over jutting bones.In seven months of life, he had little time to make a mark beyond the family who loved him. But when his death from malnutrition was reported last week, it sounded a warning around the world about a rapidly deepening crisis in central and southern Gaza, triggered by the Israeli military operation in the southern town of Rafah. Continue reading...

Even her toughest opponents admit she's played it cleverly. Yet the long-term aims of Italy's prime minister remain unclearWhen she became Italy's prime minister in October 2022, Giorgia Meloni looked like Brussels' worst nightmare. Until then, the fiery leader of the Brothers of Italy - a party with neofascist roots - had seemed anything but EU-friendly.For years, railing against the bloc had been Meloni's stock in trade: the euro amounted to enslavement, the European Commission was effectively a loan shark. Bring down this EU!" she urged the 2019 conservative CPAC conference in the US. Continue reading...

Federal cabinet minister Murray Watt also claims Labor has deported more criminals in its first year than under Peter Dutton's reign

Last week's conviction of dissidents came in the biggest case since introduction of a new national security lawThe verdict wasn't surprising but outside room no 2 of the West Kowloon courthouse, people still wept. The panel of Hong Kong national security judges had set down two days for the hearing but dispensed with the core business in about 15 minutes. In the city's largest ever national security trial - involving the prosecution of pro-democracy campaigners and activists from a group known as the Hong Kong 47" - almost all the defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion.Their crime was trying to win an election, holding unofficial primaries in 2020 attended by an estimated 600,000 residents. Continue reading...

Myra Coutinho-Lopez, 82, who had dementia became confused at bank counter, leading to altercation with Courtney Richman, 26A 26-year-old woman who killed an elderly pensioner with dementia during a row over a long queue at a bank has been given a suspended sentence.Courtney Richman had been waiting behind 82-year-old Myra Coutinho-Lopez when the argument began on 6 December 2021 at a branch in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, a court heard. Continue reading...

The US president's announcement on Friday suggested a ceasefire might be close, but Benjamin Netanyahu's rebuke was swift and decisiveThe latest peace plan for Gaza was given a launch worthy of a historic turning point, with the US president delivering remarks directly to camera from the White House state dining room, declaring it finally time for this war to end".Yet even as Joe Biden spelled out the proposal - leading in theory to a permanent end to hostilities, large-scale food deliveries and the start of reconstruction, there was clearly something awry. Continue reading...

Prime minister claims victory but opposition dismisses poll results as fixed and unscientificIndian prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata party (BJP)-led alliance is projected to win a big majority in the general election that concluded on Saturday, TV exit polls said, suggesting it would do better than expected by most analysts.Most exit polls projected the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could win a two-thirds majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament, where 272 is needed for a simple majority. A two-thirds majority will allow the government to usher in far-reaching amendments to the constitution. Continue reading...

Starmer's party was quicker out of the digital gate, with slicker, more engaging content than the Tory offeringThe video opens with an old clip of Cilla Black singing her classic Surprise, Surprise!'. The caption reads POV: Rishi Sunak turns up at your 18th birthday to send you to war."This appeared on Labour's TikTok account the day after the Conservatives launched their national service policy. It fitted perfectly with TikTok's meme-heavy, wry and sarcastic culture and has been watched 4.5 million times. The video racked up almost 700,000 likes, more than double the likes on all the Tories' TikToks put together. Continue reading...

Family and friends pay tribute to British record-holder Bren Orton, 29, who disappeared in the Melezza RiverA British man who went missing while kayaking in Switzerland has been found dead, Swiss police have confirmed.Bren Orton, 29, went missing on 16 May. Authorities searched for the professional kayaker for two weeks before a body was discovered in Lake Maggiore, which straddles Switzerland and Italy. His body was discovered by a sailor who contacted emergency services. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Co-author of analysis for WHO calls on government to control the food industry rather than being subservient to itThe sugar tax has been so successful in improving people's diets that it should be extended to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, health experts say.The World Health Organization wants the next UK government to expand coverage of the levy to help tackle tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses. Continue reading...

Author of novel Prophet Song about an imagined fascist Ireland tells Hay audience he is not a political writerI miss my solitude," last year's Booker prize winner Paul Lynch told an audience at Hay festival on Saturday.In many ways I didn't sign up for this. I'm an introvert who's learned how to be social, a social introvert," he said. I signed up to sit in a room on my own for three or four years and write a book," he said. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereSNP leader John Swinney has urged people to take part in a Scottish national service" by using the general election to vote Tory MPs out of office, PA Media reports.Scotland's first minister said his party could remove the remaining rump of Tory MPs". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereUkrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy has now arrived in Singapore for the annual Shangri-La security summit, where he will address delegates tomorrow.He is expected to hold talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other leaders attending the conference, seeking support for a peace summit" this month in Switzerland. Continue reading...

Migrants seek redress for immense distress' from deportations now thrown into chaos by election announcementAsylum seekers detained by the Home Office and threatened with deportation to Rwanda are set to take legal action against the government after Rishi Sunak admitted that no flightswill take place before the general election.The Home Office started raiding accommodation and detaining people who arrived at routine immigration-reporting appointments on 29 April in a nationwide push codenamed Operation Vector. Continue reading...

Labour leader says UK public dislike extremes of left or right' in politics and promises to take centre ground

More than 200,000 fans will descend on Murrayfield, with new ice-cream flavour and evening classes part of buildupThe friendship bracelets have been woven, the chants practised and the outfits curated. Next weekend well over 200,000 Taylor Swift fans will descend on the Scottish capital as the star begins the UK leg of her blockbuster Eras tour in the city.Before the crescendo of three sold-out concerts at Murrayfield on 7, 8 and 9 June, the buildup has encompassed online decoding of the singer's now famous hidden song messages, in-person pre-parties and the inevitable shameless cash-ins. Continue reading...

Former armed forces chief was imprisoned after failed revolt against junta and later campaigned with Nobel laureate under National League for Democracy bannerTin Oo, one of the closest associates of Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and co-founder with her of the National League for Democracy, has died at the age of 97.Tin Oo died on Saturday morning at Yangon general hospital, said Moh Khan, a charity worker citing a family member. Charity workers in Myanmar handle funeral arrangements. Continue reading...

Labor has lost a key seat in Victoria but could replace it by picking up a newly created electorate in Western Australia

National Association of Broadcasters rescinds honor after actor's comments outside ex-president's criminal trial in New YorkFilm actor Robert De Niro was scheduled to accept a leadership award from the National Association of Broadcasters, but the group has rescinded the award after the celebrity spoke out against Donald Trump outside his criminal trial in New York this week, the Hill and the Huffington Post report.The National Association of Broadcasters did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

D:Ream members regret association with Tony Blair and do not want song played at July general electionThe pop group that sing Things Can Only Get Better - which became an anthem for Labour at the 1997 general election victory - will deny any request from Keir Starmer to use the track at this year's election.D:Ream's founding members Peter Cunnah and Alan Mackenzie said they were dismayed to hear their song play through a loudspeaker as the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, called a 4 July general election on a wet afternoon in Downing Street. Continue reading...

Pickton, 71, who died in hospital following attack on 19 May, fed his victims' remains to pigs on his farmRobert Pickton, a notorious Canadian serial killer who fed his victims' remains to his pigs on his farm near Vancouver, has died after being assaulted in prison.The Correctional Service of Canada said in statement that Pickton, 71, died in hospital on Friday, following the attack on 19 May by another inmate of Port-Cartier Institution in the province of Quebec. Continue reading...

The singer and actor is devastated' to cancel upcoming dates in support of recent album, her first tour in five yearsJennifer Lopez has canceled her 2024 North American tour, representatives for Live Nation confirmed.Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends," a statement read. Continue reading...

Bodies of Tom and Richie Parry identified as Gemma Parry pays tribute to caring and loving father' and energetic, loving boy'A father and his 12-year-old son who were found dead after going missing in the Scottish Highlands probably died as the result of a fall, police have said. Tributes have been paid to Tom Parry, 49, and his son Richie, from Cheshire, who did not return home on Wednesday after visiting Glen Nevis and Glen Coe to go hillwalking.Their car was found in the Three Sisters car park in the area on Tuesday, and at about 7.25pm on Wednesday rescuers recovered two bodies from Stob Coire nan Lochan, Glen Coe. Continue reading...

Clip on social media showed Jon Benjamin aiming assault rifle at colleague in region rife with drug gangsThe British ambassador to Mexico was quietly removed from his post earlier this year after he pointed an assault rifle at a local embassy employee, it emerged when footage of the incident was posted on social media.The Financial Times reported that Jon Benjamin was on an official trip to Durango and Sinaloa, two states with strong organised crime groups, when he looked down the gun's sights at a colleague, who gestures uncomfortably in the five-second clip. Continue reading...

Latest three-month period to 24 April includes Israeli strike that killed three workers for British World Central KitchenUK government ministers have reviewed a further three months of the IDF's presence in Gaza and found no reason to suspend arms exports to Israel.The latest review of evidence examined Israel Defense Forces' behaviour until 24 April, the Foreign Office said in a statement late on Friday. Continue reading...

Girl remains in critical condition after being hit by bullet in suspected drive-by attackThe young girl left in a critical condition after being mistakenly shot by a suspected gangland hitman was visiting relatives in London on her half-term holiday.The girl, from Birmingham, was still in hospital on Friday after a bullet struck her as she ate at Evin restaurant, in Hackney, north-east London, on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Interior ministry says 18-year-old Chechen suspected of planning Islamist-inspired' attack in Saint-EtienneFrench security services have arrested a Chechen teenager suspected of plotting an Islamist-inspired" attack on a football game during this summer's Olympics, the interior ministry has said.The domestic intelligence agency DGSI arrested an 18-year-old of Chechen origin in Saint-Etienne, in south-east France, the ministry said on Friday, calling it the first foiled attack against the Olympic Games". Continue reading...

Media groups claimed act criminalised investigative journalism and meant no one could say Jimmy Savile was a paedophileA Northern Ireland law banning the naming of suspected sex offenders until they are charged has been revoked in a court judgment hailed as a victory for press freedom.The law, which came into effect last year, granted anonymity for life and 25 years after death to anyone suspected of sexual offences who had not been charged. Continue reading...

Democratic senator makes announcement several months after saying he would not run for re-election or for presidentThe Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced on Friday that he had registered as an independent, several months after saying he would not stand for re-election this November but also would not run for president as a rebel candidate.The announcement raises further questions about his future political plans. Manchin has spent several years shoring up Democratic support in his deep-red state while making life difficult for the White House and Democrats in Congress in Washington DC with his often pivotal conservative influence over legislation, especially in relation to spending and the environment. Continue reading...

RAF says Battle of Britain flight will not take place because of safety concerns arising from death of pilot Sqn Ldr Mark LongNo second world war aircraft will participate in tribute flypasts marking the 80th anniversary of D-day next week after the crash of a Spitfire in Lincolnshire last week that killed its pilot.The RAF said the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) would continue to be grounded in its entirety because specialist crash investigators had not yet been unable to establish the cause of the accident that killed Sqn Ldr Mark Long. Continue reading...

Latest from campaign trail sees leader of the opposition head to Scotland, after his visit to Wales

Employees are working from home or packing their own lunches when they go to the office - but they're still spending on weekend brunches

Tamir Pardo says alleged campaign under his successor sounds like Cosa Nostra-style blackmail'

German move to allow Ukraine to use weapons in area bordering Kharkiv follows similar announcements from USUkraine's defence ministry said it is continuing to target Russian infrastructure.Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy is in Sweden today. Continue reading...

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president reveals the tactics and traits that help him face the daily frustrations of leading a country at war for more than two years Zelenskiy: Russian troops are laughing at and hunting' Ukrainians Continue reading...

Veteran MP had party whip restored this week, but it was suggested she might be barred' from running

Rebel group says strikes, aimed at underground facilities and missile launchers, killed and wounded civilians

Many voters are better off, but the Mexican president failed to solve bigger problems like violence and corruptionSix years ago, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador broke Mexico's traditional parties' grip on power to become president, promising to reshape a country wracked by inequality, corruption and violence.The self-described Fourth Transformation" - which put Lopez Obrador's project on a level with the Mexican Revolution and the war of independence - has fallen short of its lofty goals. But Lopez Obrador's approval ratings remain rock solid, at about 65%, and his party, Morena, seems sure to retain the presidency. Continue reading...