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With under a week until the Big Help Out begins, data shows that volunteering is at a historic low‘I do what’s needed’: extraordinary UK volunteers doing the extraordinaryVolunteering is at a historic low in England, with two different pieces of research revealing the damaging, long-term effect the pandemic has had.There is just one week to go before the Big Help Out, an official part of the coronation weekend designed to create one of the biggest community activations in British history. Continue reading...

Despite 1.6 million fewer people volunteering than five years ago, there are everyday individuals making a differenceVolunteering in sharp decline in EnglandVolunteering is in crisis across Britain. Two separate pieces of analysis this weekend have revealed the long-term impact the pandemic has had on people’s willingness to come forward: with the number raising money or taking part in sponsored events falling by 48% since 2018; and the number organising or helping to run an activity down by 52%.In total, about 1.6 million fewer people volunteered last year, compared with five years ago. Continue reading...

It is unclear where High Peak, which has a habit of swinging like a pendulum between Labour and the Tories, will land this timeSean Winterbottom does not like politics. But like all people who do not like politics, once he starts talking about it, he has a lot to say. “Last general election I voted Conservative, but I don’t know for this one. They all just spin you whatever they want to spin you,” he said, leaning over the counter in the plumber’s merchant on the high street in Glossop where he works.“I know it’s never going to happen but the parties should work together, contribute in areas that they’re good at and just work for the benefit of the country. There’s too much mudslinging and point-scoring, and they’re all as bad as each other. I don’t like drama.” Continue reading...

Vcat has ruled Ulyana Kora will be suspended for her role as a private midwife while working for Ten Moons, a home birthing service

Review of 27 investigations says the issue is ongoing and many cases have gone unreported

Long dispute creates unwanted uncertainties as increased migration and outside actors enter the conflictFears remain that Sudan – riven by fighting between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – could plunge into a protracted crisis, prompting a humanitarian disaster with broad geopolitical implications.A string of failed or divided states already exist on Europe’s peripheries, a crescent of instability that stretches from the African Sahel, Libya, through to Yemen, Syria, and north into Ukraine, three countries where extended wars have been raging. Continue reading...

Russians in Tbilisi often arrive unaware of historical sensitivities and simmering hostilityAs midnight approached on a recent Saturday evening in Tbilisi, the animated chatter and joyous shouting on the city’s central Rustaveli Avenue was almost all taking place in Russian.A married couple from Rostov-on-Don headed home from dinner; passing them, a group of friends from St Petersburg were off for a late drink with some acquaintances from Moscow. Continue reading...

Former Liberal leader also criticises his party’s state president in his first interview since November

Extra 100,000 visitors expected amid £1bn lift for UK hospitality in May helped by coronation, bank holidays and EurovisionLiverpool is likely to receive a £40m boost as tens of thousands of Eurovision fans descend on the city to celebrate the annual song contest next week.Liverpool, which saw off Glasgow to be chosen as host after last year’s winners, Ukraine, were unable to hold the event amid Russia’s invasion, is expecting an influx of visitors. Continue reading...

Victim in her 30s pronounced dead at the scene in south London on Monday afternoonA woman was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Brixton, south London on Monday, the Metropolitan police has said.The force said it was called at about 4pm to reports of a stabbing in Stockwell Park Walk, just off Brixton Road. Continue reading...

Supporters claim government to rule she broke civil service code in bid to delay role as Keir Starmer’s chief of staffFormer senior official Sue Gray is facing a “political witch-hunt”, allies believe, with the government set to conclude that she broke the civil service code, in an alleged bid to delay her appointment as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff until after the next general election.Ministers are expected to announce on Tuesday that an internal inquiry into Gray’s departure from Whitehall has concluded that she breached the code by holding talks with Labour about the new role without informing civil service officials. Continue reading...

Seventeen-year-old boy had gone missing in the water near Lechlade-on-Thames in Gloucestershire on SundayA body has been found in the search for a teenager who failed to resurface while playing in the Thames with friends.Police were called at around 10pm on Sunday after a 17-year-old boy went missing in the river near Lechlade-on-Thames in Gloucestershire. Continue reading...

Peppimenarti locals say they are living in fear without effective support as police minister’s visit cancelled due to ‘unrest'

New Zealand group Half/Time to perform alongside artists who sing in Cymraeg as part of musical cultural exchangeThey will bring heavy riffs, pounding drums and lyrics delivered with a growl – but a punk band from New Zealand arriving in Wales this week also hope to spark important conversations about what it means to create pop songs in “minority” languages.The band Half/Time, who perform in Māori as well as English, will appear alongside artists and groups who sing in Cymraeg as part of a cultural exchange organised by the universities of Cardiff and Waikato. Continue reading...

Michael Allen, 36, died in early hours of Sunday morning after incident in which several people suffered knife woundsA man who died after an incident near a Cornish nightclub in which several people suffered stab wounds and a total of seven people were taken to hospital has been named.Family and friends paid tribute to 36-year-old Michael Allen from Bodmin, who died in the incident in the early hours of Sunday. Continue reading...

Officials claim material on Jimmy Lai constituted political slogans but David Davis calls heavy-handed approach ‘completely daft’

Shavkat Mirziyoyev will be able to remain in power until 2040 after Uzbeks backed changes in tightly controlled pollVoters in Uzbekistan have overwhelmingly approved constitutional changes that will allow the president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to remain in power until 2040.Mirziyoyev, 65, became president in 2016 after the death of dictator Islam Karimov. Continue reading...

Paramedics attending crash scene recognised nurse who was killed while on her way home from work

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New UN envoy to the region warns that humanitarian situation is ‘reaching breaking point’Sudan’s rival military forces have accused each other of violating a fresh ceasefire as the deadly conflict rumbles on for a third week despite warnings of a slide towards civil war.Both sides said a formal ceasefire agreement that was due to expire at midnight would be extended for a further 72 hours. The army said it hoped what it called the “rebels” would abide by the deal but it believed they had intended to keep up attacks. The parties have kept fighting through a series of ceasefires over the past week. Continue reading...

Investors claim sportswear giant failed to minimise their exposure to risk after the rapper and designer’s antisemitic comments led to a sharp decline in the share priceAdidas shareholders have filed a class action lawsuit against the sportswear brand, claiming it knew about Kanye West’s problematic behaviour years before it ended their partnership over his antisemitic comments.The shareholders also allege that Adidas failed to mitigate their financial losses or take precautionary measures to minimise their exposure, after the designer and rapper’s erratic behaviour and offensive comments saw him and his Yeezy brand dropped by Adidas, which resulted in a sharp decline in the company’s stock. Continue reading...

Judge says the daughter of a former ATO deputy commissioner believed she and her conspirators had not done anything wrong

Guardian journalist and Cotton Capital special correspondent Lanre Bakare examines Black Mancunian history, beginning with the 1945 Pan-African Congress that took place in the city and shaped independence movements across AfricaThe Guardian journalist Lanre Bakare travels to Manchester, the city where the Guardian newspaper was founded, to learn more about Black Mancunian history.He hears from Hakim Adi, a professor of history at the University of Chichester, about the 1945 Pan-African Congress in the city. This historic event would come to shape the independence movements across Africa – but despite its critical importance, many feel it remains largely forgotten. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Proposed amendment would make North Richmond facility permanent and widen eligibility criteria

Turkish president says Abu Hussein al-Qurashi was killed after long pursuit while northern Syria residents report clashes and large explosionTurkish intelligence forces have killed Islamic State’s leader, Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, in Syria, Turkey’s president has said.“This individual was neutralised as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organisation in Syria yesterday,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in an interview with the broadcaster TRT Türk on Sunday. Continue reading...

Organisations say decision on former governor general and archbishop, who is not accused of abuse, fails to reflect harm done to survivors

NSW sports minister condemns ‘disgusting and cowardly attack’ after referee allegedly punched and kicked in Padstow

Nurses union head clashes with Steve Barclay over plans to protect patients and RMT rows with Mark Harper about striking on eve of Eurovision finalThe Royal College of Nursing has clashed with the government over whether sufficient exemptions have been made to protect patient safety during the nurses’ strike in England that started on Sunday evening.The clash came as a row erupted between the leader of the train drivers’ union and the transport secretary, who had criticised a planned strike on the eve of the Eurovision song contest final for its impact on Ukraine. Continue reading...

Boat with 38 people onboard got into difficulty in Channel and left to drift back towards France, FOI request showsA boat carrying 38 people, including children, that got into difficulty crossing the Channel was not rescued when it reached UK waters but was instead allowed to drift back towards France, according to internal maritime logs.Ministry of Defence officials, who were managing small boats in the Channel at the time, told the Guardian in January that they disputed that the stricken dinghy had entered UK waters. Continue reading...

Report which cast doubt over use of VERA-2R tool in detaining terror suspects post-sentencing was not shared with state governments or legal aid

Hospitals, morgues and burial grounds under pressure, with more than 300 bodies found this year in just one regionAuthorities in Tunisia are considering building new cemeteries, as the country runs out of space to bury the dozens of refugees washing up every day on its shores.The first three months of 2023 were the deadliest for people attempting to cross the central Mediterranean since 2017, according to the UN, with an increasing number of boats carrying asylum seekers wrecked at sea. Continue reading...

Conservative candidates in this week’s polls include several who were reinstated after accusations of racism and IslamophobiaFive Conservative councillors standing for the party in this week’s local elections in England, have been suspended for alleged racism and Islamophobia in recent years – including one who suggested banning mosques and another who accused Muslims of being on a “quest to turn the world Muslim”.They are among 13 councillors identified by the Observer, drawing on research by the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, who have been suspended over racist comments and social media posts in the past four years before being reinstated. Continue reading...

Outdoor pianos, celebrity names and free tuition videos combine to get Britons tickling the ivories once moreFor years, it seemed like the piano was disappearing from British public life. The bulky instruments were cast out of homes and schools and offered for free online.But now – despite all the digital entertainment alternatives and conductor Simon Rattle’s stark warning last week that UK classical music was fighting for its life amid funding cuts – the piano seems to be making a 21st-century comeback in homes, on streets and online. Continue reading...

Brenton Craig Abbas Abdullah McArthur faces up to 14 months in prison if convicted

MP questions police response that troll who tried to have her children removed was ‘entitled’ to call her an ‘extremist’The Labour MP Stella Creasy believes police have given online trolls “the green light to target the children of politicians” after she was subject to a baseless complaint to social services.Creasy was investigated by her local council after it received a report from a troll who was trying to have her children taken away from her. Continue reading...

Investigation reveals that understaffed Dover control room was overwhelmed by calls from people in trouble before 27 died at sea• Read more: UK coastguard ‘left Channel migrants adrift’On the afternoon of 3 November 2021, a woman called Hampshire police. Her brother was crossing the Channel in a small boat that day, she said via a translator. But something awful had just happened. Twenty minutes earlier he’d texted to say that smugglers had begun shoving passengers overboard. “Loads had been kicked off and were in the water”, fighting for their lives in the treacherous currents of the world’s busiest shipping lane.Police passed the details to HM Coastguard and at 4.57pm an operator flagged the incident, according to internal logs obtained by the Observer and Liberty Investigates. Continue reading...

Instead of using colour-coded system focusing on spread of virus by county the CDC will track hospitalisation ratesThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly plans to stop tracking the spread of Covid-19 on the community level across the country, signalling what could be the federal government’s readiness to reconsider priorities in its approach to the pandemic despite the World Health Organization’s declaration that it is still ongoing.Instead of using its colour-coded Covid-19 tracking system that focuses on the spread of the virus by counties, the CDC will pivot its tracking focus mostly to hospitalisation rates, CNN first reported on Friday. Continue reading...

Fire at facility in port of Sevastopol caused no casualties and will not hinder supplies, authorities say

Health ministry gives green light for two-step treatment to end pregnancies up to nine weeksThe abortion pill is to become available in Japan for the first time after the health ministry approved a drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancies.Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks, but consent is usually required from a spouse or partner, and until now a surgical procedure had been the only option. Continue reading...

Two trusts and one children’s hospital to receive emergency nursing staff after RCN had said there would be no derogationsThe Royal College of Nurses appears to have U-turned on its decision to allow no exemptions to hospitals during this weekend’s strike action, with nurses now due to work in an emergency capacity in dozens of hospitals across England.Nurses will be working across several NHS trusts – including Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, in London, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust – in wards including intensive care and A&E. This is despite the RCN vowing when strike action was announced that exemptions would not be made for any hospitals. Continue reading...

Move is apparently designed to isolate the Royal College of Nursing, which is due to begin another strikeMinisters plan to impose a pay deal on NHS workers even as nurses continue to reject it, the Observer understands, as health service unions prepare to hold crunch talks on the package this week.Both the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Unite unions continue to oppose the deal offered to NHS workers, after protracted negotiations that have led to strikes and hampered attempts to shorten waiting lists. All 12 unions involved in the talks will gather on Tuesday to vote on whether to accept an improved deal covering the last two years. Continue reading...

Health service bosses say patient safety could be at risk when nurses in England stage 28-hour stoppage from Sunday eveningAn NHS leader has urged the Royal College of Nursing to let striking nurses leave picket lines and go back to work in their hospital if emergencies occur during their strike this weekend.Matthew Taylor made the appeal as the NHS braced itself for renewed disruption to services as a result of the first strike by nurses since they rejected the government’s improved pay offer. Continue reading...

Julia Waters criticises ‘fatally destructive’ inspections and calls on school leaders to refuse to cooperate with watchdogHeadteachers should undermine Ofsted’s “culture of fear” by refusing to cooperate with the schools inspectorate or work as inspectors, the sister of headteacher Ruth Perry has told a conference of school leaders.Prof Julia Waters said her sister had been “destroyed” by Ofsted’s critical inspection of her school late last year, which downgraded it from outstanding to inadequate, and that her family had been left with an “intense, painful, overwhelming” sense of loss after her death. Continue reading...

Hundreds of people told to make own way through ongoing fighting to airbase north of KhartoumNHS doctors and British nationals are facing a treacherous route to reach an airbase north of Khartoum before a deadline for evacuations, amid ongoing airstrikes and artillery fire in the Sudanese capital.Hundreds of people were told to find their own way to an evacuation centre at the Wadi Seidna airbase, about 14 miles (20km) north of Khartoum and its twin city, Omdurman. They had to navigate ongoing fighting as the Sudanese Armed Forces continued to attack positions across the two cities, while members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces hid among civilian buildings. Continue reading...

Deputy PM to chair Cobra meeting on security situation in Khartoum as UK government prepares to end flightsThe deadline for British nationals to reach the evacuation airfield in Sudan has passed as the government prepares to cease flights out of the country within hours.The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, will chair a Cobra meeting on Saturday afternoon to discuss the security situation in Khartoum in advance of the final flight taking off at 6pm UK time. Continue reading...

Current system gives too much power to prime ministers says broadcaster – but rules himself out of runningThe veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby has said a cross-party public commission should appoint the BBC chair, in the wake of Richard Sharp’s resignation after breaking rules over dealings with Boris Johnson – but ruled himself out of the running for the job.Sharp resigned after being found to have breached public appointment rules for failing to declare a connection to a secret £800,000 loan for the UK’s former prime minister. Continue reading...

Dismayed locals and Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson are calling on palace to reconsider large feesFor those living in south London, a stroll next to the colourful flowerbeds in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace was until recently a free weekend activity all could enjoy.But 18 months ago, locals were horrified to find the gates shut, as they were told they would have to pay up to £29 to visit the gardens in future. Continue reading...

Temperatures may reach 21C but heavy showers expected in Northern Ireland, Wales and central EnglandWarmer weather and sunshine are forecast across much of the UK for the bank holiday weekend, but the threat of rain remains in parts of the country.The Met Office said many people would experience dry, bright and warm conditions, with temperatures reaching 21C in southern areas. Continue reading...

Western Australian police, fire and emergency services were on the scene investigating cause of fire

Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones faces up to five years in jail after he allegedly assaulted a fisherman who required 50 stitches for his injuries