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Botched system upgrade has created a vast backlog of MP expense claims that will not be cleared for at least 12 months, documents reveal

Wet weather forecast to ease by Friday, when there is doubt over whether headliners Arctic Monkeys will performThe UK's biggest festival has officially begun with the founder greeting attendees at the gates amid a burst of torrential rain. At this year's Glastonbury festival, held on Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, the headliners Arctic Monkeys, Elton John and Guns N' Roses will perform on the Pyramid stage. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend.Welcome to Glastonbury," the co-organiser Emily Eavis said, addressing thousands of queuing festivalgoers. Continue reading...

Sophie Lambert went missing last Friday and personal possessions were found the next dayPolice searching for a missing 22-year-old woman have found a body in a river.Sophie Lambert went missing from her home in Starbeck, Harrogate, last Friday evening. In recent days the search for her has centred on Nidd Gorge after personal possessions including a bank card, mobile phone and jumper were found on Saturday by a member of the public. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Women, ethnic minorities and those from working-class backgrounds will be urged to stand for office

All England Club teams up with IBM to offer AI-generated audio commentary and captions in online highlights clipsGame, set and chatbot: Wimbledon is introducing artificial intelligence-powered commentary to its coverage this year.The All England Club has teamed up with tech group IBM to offer AI-generated audio commentary and captions in its online highlights videos. Continue reading...

Brendan Cox will marry Anna Ryder seven years after his wife was murdered by a far-right extremistThe widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox is to marry a violence against women campaigner.Brendan Cox is to remarry with Anna Ryder seven years after his wife was shot and stabbed by a far-right extremist. Ryder, 37, is the director of Killed Women, a group that supports the bereaved families of victims of violence. Continue reading...

The Labour leader accuses the prime minister of being out of touch with the fears of homeowners

China scores better on food, health and housing, while crackdowns have worsened Hong Kong's ratingsChina has been ranked as the worst country in the world for safety from the state and the right to assembly, in a human rights report that tracks social, economic and political freedoms.The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI), a New Zealand-based project, has been monitoring various countries' human rights performance since 2017. Continue reading...

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Consulting firm used confidential government information to help private clients avoid tax, interim report tabled in parliament finds

Party vows to keep pursuing rent caps after working with Coalition to delay vote on Albanese government's housing fund

Minister says referendum is about addressing life expectancy in Aboriginal communities in emotional plea for voters to support voice

Documents revealed NSW police removed mention of paramedics, a knife and a Taser in their first statement about the incident

Scattered showers set for Wednesday and Thursday but temperatures to exceed 30C by the weekendShowers are expected to remain across parts of the UK as festivalgoers arrive at Glastonbury on Wednesday, the Met Office said.Four yellow warnings were in place until Tuesday evening and Scotland's Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia was temporarily suspended after nine minutes due to a waterlogged pitch at Hampden Park. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Follow the latest developments on the new live blogNo 10 has said the UK Foreign Office is in contact with the family of Hamish Harding, as the rescue operation for the tourist submersible off the coast of Canada continues.The UK prime minister's official spokesman said: The FCDO are in contact with Hamish Harding's family and the local authorities. Continue reading...

The former Australian PM tells author that not telling him [Macron] is not the same as lying to him' and he was worried France would try to kill' Aukus deal

Corruption watchdog to hand down much-delayed Operation Keppel findings on 29 June. Berejiklian has denied any wrongdoing

Duncan Maskell says idea that education is only of private benefit to individuals, not public benefit to society must be reversed

Canberra records its coldest June morning since 1986 and Sydney its coldest June morning since 2010, with the record-breaking weather forecast to continue

Previous error doubles in size but will mean a boost in weapons, ammunition and other equipment to repel Russian forces

Decision comes after a government report found the hunt does not comply with Iceland's Animal Welfare ActIceland's government has said it is suspending this year's whale hunt until the end of August due to animal welfare concerns, a move that is likely to bring the controversial practice to an end.Animal rights groups and environmentalists hailed the decision, with the Humane Society International calling it a major milestone in compassionate whale conservation". Continue reading...

Higher-than-inflation rises add to pressure on consumers facing steep price increases for food

At the time of the Australian Human Rights Commission's inspections, the longest continuous detention in a hotel was 634 days

New data dashboard to provide up-to-date information supplied by states and territories

Pop superstar to perform The Eras Tour with shows at MCG and Accor Stadium in February 2024

WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos among more than 200 firms that failed to pay workers legal minimum wageSome of the UK's best known retailers including WH Smith, Marks & Spencer, Argos and LloydsPharmacy are at the head of a list of more than 200 companies collectively fined 7m for failing to pay the legal minimum wage.The businesses were also forced to pay out 4.9m to about 63,000 workers left out of pocket after violations of the rules were uncovered by inspectors at HMRC, varying from breaches related to asking workers to pay for aspects of their uniform to paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate. Continue reading...

School leaders are considering dropping out of the government's post-pandemic scheme as it prepares to cut fundingAlmost half of school leaders say the government's national tutoring programme (NTP), set up to help pupils in England catch up after Covid, is not cost-effective, according to a new survey.Most senior leaders who took part in the poll (58%) said they did not regard tuition as a long-term solution to closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils. Continue reading...

Party reportedly looking to increase share in Lords, as Tory majority could make life difficult'Labour is reportedly devising plans to appoint dozens of peers to the House of Lords to prevent a Keir Starmer government being stymied by the upper chamber.There are 174 Labour peers, making up 22% of the Lords, compared with 263 Conservatives and 183 unaligned crossbench peers. Continue reading...

Conservative backbenchers plan to speak in favour of opposition motion to force government's handRishi Sunak is facing a potential headache as backbench Conservative MPs prepare to support a Labour plan to bring back ditched animal welfare policies.Last month, ministers announced they were dropping the kept animals bill, which was part of the Tories' 2019 manifesto. The legislation was intended to ban live exports of farm animals as well as clamp down on puppy smuggling and dog theft. Continue reading...

Some women were burned to death in uprising blamed on crackdown on illicit activities inside of the country's prisonsAt least 41 women have been killed - some of them burned to death - after an outbreak of violence between gangs at a prison in Honduras.Authorities found dozens of bodies after the violence on Tuesday at the prison in Tamara, about 30 miles (50km) north-west of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, said Yuri Mora, spokesperson for the national police investigation agency. Continue reading...

Orla Henry was passenger in car driven by Ashley Henry, 35, when it collided with a lorry in Anwick, LincolnshireA murder inquiry has been launched into the death of a two-year-old girl who died along with a driver in a road crash.Ashley Henry, 35, and passenger Oria Henry, from Leicester, were both pronounced dead at the scene in Anwick, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, on Sunday. Continue reading...

Rescue teams race to find crew of the submersible Titan, which went missing during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic

Explaining decision to overturn earlier ruling, independent panel says Dorries herself has been a frequent and aggressive tweeter'John Nicolson, the Scottish National party MP, has been cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries after an independent panel overturned an earlier ruling by the parliamentary standards watchdog.The panel found Nicolson had not bullied Dorries, the former culture secretary, when he liked or retweeted dozens of disparaging messages about her after the two clashed during a hearing in front of the culture, media and sport select committee. Continue reading...

One person killed and seven injured while clearing mud, officials say; Air raids reported in Lviv, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia

The missing submarine had enough oxygen to sustain those onboard for four days, but limited air is far from the only hazardFor an expedition as hazardous as the Titan's descent to the Titanic, there is long list of onboard systems that need to be checked and a host of environmental hazards that must be identified and assessed before the voyage begins.When you are putting people in a potentially dangerous position like this you want to be absolutely sure everything's checked through before getting under way," said Stefan Williams, a professor of marine robotics at the University of Sydney. We have an extensive checklist before we put anything in the water." Continue reading...

Findings on sustained attempt' to undermine privileges committee expected as early as next weekA privileges committee report that could criticise Conservative MPs who attacked an inquiry into Boris Johnson may be released as early as next week, potentially plunging Rishi Sunak into renewed party infighting.While Johnson allies say the former prime minister is keen to assist in a period of peace and quiet" after Monday's Commons vote, which endorsed the privileges committee's findings that he had lied repeatedly to parliament, the additional report could jeopardise that. Continue reading...

Judge in case brought by Prince Harry notes that some journalists happy to comment on sidelinesThe judge presiding over the privacy case brought by Prince Harry and others has questioned why journalists including Piers Morgan have not appeared to give evidence, noting that some have been happy to commentate on the case from the sidelines in recent weeks.During Tuesday's hearing, Mr Justice Fancourt listed the names of more than two dozen people he felt could have been brought before him, in no particular order", in the case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN); the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Mirror and the Sunday People. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Comedian among stars who publicly withdrew from British LGBT Awards after climate campaigners warned of sponsorship deals with oil giantsJoe Lycett has pulled out of the British LGBT Awards after climate campaigners said they would protest outside over its sponsorship deals with Shell and BP.The comedian, who was nominated for his shredding" of 10,000 in protest at David Beckham's ambassadorship for the Qatar World Cup, joins a host of other stars who have publicly withdrawn from the event over its fossil fuel links. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Yilin Wang claims she did not receive any credit for translations of Qiu Jin's work in the China's Hidden Century exhibitionThe British Museum is removing a segment of its landmark exhibition on China after a writer alleged that her translations of a Chinese revolutionary's poetry had been plagiarised".Yilin Wang, an award-winning translator, poet and editor who lives in Vancouver, said she did not receive any credit or reimbursement for translations of Qiu Jin's work that she claims are hers. They appeared in the exhibition and catalogue of the museum's China's Hidden Century exhibition. Continue reading...

Evidence submitted by former chancellor claims austerity had positive' effect on UK's ability to withstand Covid pandemicGeorge Osborne, chancellor from 2010 until 2016, is giving evidence to the Covid inquiry now.He starts by saying he wants to express his heartfelt sympathy to all those who lost loved ones during the pandemic. He says he hopes the inquiry gets to the heart of what happened.My great regret about not having focused on pandemic flu, because I was told it was being well looked after, is not actually about pandemic flu.But that it might have occurred to me if I had focused on that, that despite all the scientists had concluded, and no doubt they were right, that there was a very tiny probability by comparison with the probability of pandemic flu, of some other catastrophic pathogen ...Actually it is absolutely not an excuse for a minister, alas, because you can always ask the following question, you don't have to accept the advice.That is actually what I should've done and it's a matter of lasting regret that I didn't. Continue reading...

Use of US- and UK-supplied missiles would mark west's full involvement', Russian defence minister says

Twenty-six stadiums will host the pop star, including four nights at Wembley, following huge success in the US leg of the career-spanning tourTaylor Swift's Eras tour, whose three-hour, career-spanning shows have made it a huge critical and commercial success in the US, is to arrive in the UK and Europe.The tour encompasses 26 stadium dates, beginning 9 May 2024 in Paris, followed by gigs in Stockholm, Madrid, Lisbon and Lyon. Continue reading...

Tufan Erginbilgic says move may take a decade until next generation of single-aisle planes are producedRolls-Royce's new boss has said the British company is ready to rejoin the market for smaller jet engines once manufacturers build a new generation of planes.Tufan Erginbilgic told reporters at the Paris air show on Tuesday that the company was actually ready" to re-enter the market for engines for single-aisle jets, although it would probably take a decade for a new opportunity to come up. Continue reading...

Israeli security forces say gunman was shot and search for other attackers continues after incident near settlement of EliA Palestinian attacker has opened fire at a gas station near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, killing at least four people and wounding several others, Israeli medics have said, as violence continued to roil the occupied territory.Israeli security forces said they shot the gunman and were still searching for other attackers near the settlement of Eli north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Palestinian media reported that the attacker's driver had fled the scene. Continue reading...

Company wrongly paid executive bonuses for cooperation with inquiry into faulty computer systemThe boss of the Post Office has apologised for receiving bonus payments related to an inquiry into a long-running miscarriage of justice, and said hundreds of postmasters had found it too traumatising" to come forward to challenge their convictions.The company is being investigated by the government after the Post Office admitted it had wrongly paid thousands of pounds of bonuses to top executives simply for cooperating with an inquiry into the Post Office's faulty Horizon computer system. Continue reading...

Education bill to require two-thirds of content for standard bachelor's degrees to be in DutchAs Britain voted to leave the EU, Dutch universities began offering more courses in English and foreigners streamed in.But with 122,287 international students in higher education in the Netherlands - 15% of all the country's students - now the government is proposing a cap on the number of students from outside the European Economic Area in some subjects and forcing universities to offer at least two-thirds of the content of standard bachelor's degrees in Dutch, unless a university justifies an exemption. Continue reading...

Storm approaching eastern Caribbean Leeward and Windward Islands in aggressive weather pattern early in the seasonTropical Storm Bret is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the eastern Caribbean's Leeward and Windward islands, with meteorologists noting that the weather pattern is unusually early and aggressive for the Atlantic cyclone season that formally began on 1 June.It is only the second hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic in June since record keeping began, according to forecasters. The previous June hurricane was the 1933 Trinidad hurricane. Continue reading...

Special minister of state Don Farrell says the government will consider unintended consequences of proposed laws

Nurse believed she could do whatever she wanted' when she murdered two triplets and attacked third baby, jury toldLucy Letby was completely out of control" and playing God" when she murdered two triplets and attacked a third baby on her return from a holiday in Ibiza, a court has heard.Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said the nurse, 33, had got away with so much" at that point it gave her the misplaced confidence that she could pretty much do whatever she wanted" at the Countess of Chester hospital's neonatal unit. Continue reading...