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Federal court rules it was not unreasonable for Lehrmann to have delayed claim against outlets over Brittany Higgins rape allegations

‘Twin-tailed scorpion’ drone that entered air defence identification zone is touted as being capable of high-altitude, long-range missionsA Chinese combat drone that state media says can carry a heavy weapons payload has flown around Taiwan, according to the island’s defence ministry.The ministry said a TB-001 drone was one of 19 military aircraft that had entered the island’s air defence identification zone in 24 hours. Continue reading...

Former ambassadors and analysts say lasting ceasefire vital to thwart attempts to capitalise on unrestSecuring a lasting ceasefire in Sudan is essential in order to limit the opportunity for malign outside actors to intervene in the fighting on a greater scale, former diplomats and analysts have said.Foreign leaders including the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Israeli officials have offered to help mediate in Sudan, while the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he had engaged the African Union in an attempt to ensure a long-term ceasefire. Continue reading...

British singer testifies about songwriting practices and plays guitar during trial over whether he copied Gaye’s classic Let’s Get it OnEd Sheeran played the chord progression to his hit song Thinking Out Loud and sang on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, during a trial over whether he copied Marvin Gaye’s classic Let’s Get it On.Testifying as the first witness in his own defense to a packed courtroom, the British singer-songwriter described his process for writing the song about everlasting love in 2014, shortly after he began a new romantic relationship and after his grandfather died. Continue reading...

NSW One Nation leader says he has had no contact with the federal party leader since his comments about Alex Greenwich

Report expected imminently will detail how Sharp came to be recommended for job by Boris JohnsonA potentially damning report on how Richard Sharp was recommended for the job of BBC chair by Boris Johnson is expected to be published on Friday morning.Sources say the report, by the barrister Adam Heppinstall KC, could prove uncomfortable reading for Sharp. Continue reading...

Asking price at record levels inside and outside capital in first three months of 2023, Rightmove findsAverage monthly rents outside London soared to a record high of £1,190 in the first quarter of this year, with tenants in the capital paying more than £2,500 for the first time, according to figures from the property website Rightmove.National average asking rents outside London have risen for 13 consecutive quarters since the end of 2019, although the pace of growth has slowed over the last nine months, it said. Continue reading...

Stamps embrace causes close to king’s heart, with designs depicting Britain’s cultural diversity, Commonwealth and sustainabilityFour new stamps and a special postmark are being issued to mark the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, with the stamps embracing causes close to the king’s heart.Presented in a miniature sheet, it is only the third occasion in history that Royal Mail has issued coronation stamps, the previous two being for George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Continue reading...

Complaints to parliamentary authorities and to police come after Met dropped investigation into MP last monthFour women have complained to the parliamentary authorities about MP Julian Knight since police dropped an investigation into him, it has been reported.The fresh complaints are thought to be about inappropriate comments and behaviour, according to the BBC. Continue reading...

Officers investigating link between racist flyers and arson attack on home of two girls accused of assault

Army and paramilitary opponents the RSF agree to extend fragile truce that was due to end at midnightThe UK’s foreign secretary James Cleverly has been defensive about criticism of UK evacuation efforts from Sudan affecting and delaying efforts by Germany and other European nations to evacuate people.The BBC has reported that German authorities told it that the British operation to rescue diplomats at the weekend “jeopardised” the efforts of other nations, because it didn’t have the permission of the Sudanese authorities to take place. Cleverly told listeners:My understanding is we did have permissions for those overflights. I will, of course, look at the circumstances of that. My understanding is we’ve had permissions for those flights. We enjoy a very, very close professional relationship with the German government and the German armed forces that have been on the on the ground.The extremist putschist forces have attacked the camp of the RSF in the Kafouri area with aviation and artillery. Our forces confronted the aggressor forces … and inflicted heavy losses … and seized their military equipment. The attacks of the putschists and the remnants of the former regime on the camps of our forces come during the humanitarian truce that was allocated to open humanitarian corridors for citizens and residents of brotherly and friendly countries. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary welcomes ceasefire but cites need for haste as Tory MP presses him over fate of Britons’ Sudanese parents

The English professor’s analysis of a pivotal year in the playwright’s life triumphed over a shortlist that included Craig Brown, Barbara Demick and Wade DavisA book about a pivotal year in William Shakespeare’s life has been named the Baillie Gifford Winner of Winners in a special announcement to mark the 25th anniversary of the prestigious nonfiction prize.James Shapiro’s 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare originally won the award in 2006, when it was known as the Samuel Johnson prize. He has been honoured again at a ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, and will receive £25,000. The chair of judges, the New Statesman’s editor-in-chief Jason Cowley, said it was a “poised and original reimagination of biography”. Continue reading...

Inspector of constabulary warns force is failing to investigate unexpected death after Stephen Port reportThe Metropolitan police could be failing to spot serial killers and identify murders because they are not properly investigating unexpected deaths, the inspector of constabulary has warned.Matt Parr’s comments came after a damning report concluded Britain’s largest force had still not learned from its “calamitous litany of failures” in the case of the serial killer Stephen Port – and warned “history could repeat itself”. Continue reading...

Other people selected are human rights barrister and former MI5 boss, Buckingham Palace saysDetails of who will carry the priceless regalia and take part in the coronation procession at Westminster Abbey on 6 May has been released by Buckingham Palace.The former TV presenter Floella Benjamin and the human rights barrister Helena Kennedy are among those selected for the historic roles, in which the crown jewels will be processed through the abbey ahead of King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort. Continue reading...

Regional areas dominate list of nation’s most disadvantaged areas, while areas on or next to water, particularly in Sydney, are the most advantaged

Officers searching for man in connection with death of pregnant teacher in Glasgow find body thought to be that of David YatesPolice have found a body in the search for a man in connection with the murder of a pregnant teacher in Glasgow.The body had yet to be formally identified but was believed to be that of David Yates, 36, the fiance of Marelle Sturrock, 35, who was found dead on Jura Street. Police were searching for Yates in connection with her murder. Police Scotland said on Thursday night that an investigation was continuing. Continue reading...

Court of appeal hears Rwanda plan will expose refugees to ‘serious harm’ and is incompatible with UK’s international obligationsSenior judges have been urged to block government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.In a four-day hearing at the court of appeal, which concluded on Thursday, the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett, master of the rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, and Lord Justice Underhill, deputy president of the civil division of the appeal court, heard an appeal against a high court ruling last December that it was lawful to send some asylum seekers, including small boat arrivals, to Rwanda to have their claims processed rather than dealing with their applications for sanctuary in the UK. Continue reading...

Duke of Sussex may have missed the deadline to take action relating to allegations of phone hacking at the Sun and News of the WorldPrince Harry’s attempt to arrange a high court showdown with Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper company depends on one thing: did the prince meet a deadline to file his legal paperwork?This week’s legal hearing at the high court in London has been full of fresh revelations about the relationship between royalty and the media. There have been claims that Prince William struck a secret phone-hacking settlement with Murdoch’s company for a “huge” sum of money; that King Charles tried to stop Harry’s legal cases so he could get favourable coverage in the Sun; and that Piers Morgan was aware Diana, Princess of Wales had been illegally targeted by his reporters. Continue reading...

Ezekiel Odero arrested and more than 100 people evacuated from church, days after discovery of bodies linked to another churchKenya said on Thursday that one of the country’s highest-profile pastors would face charges over the “mass killing” of his followers, just days after the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves linked to another church.Ezekiel Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, “has been arrested and is being processed to face criminal charges related to the mass killing of his followers,” the country’s interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Pasquale Bonavota featured on police’s list of most dangerous criminalsItalian authorities have announced the arrest of a top boss of the ’Ndrangheta mafia after almost five years on the run.Pasquale Bonavota, 49, who featured on the police’s list of most dangerous criminals, had been sought since November 2018, after escaping an arrest warrant for homicide and mafia association issued by a magistrate in Calabria, southern Italy. Continue reading...

Actor also tells high court the paper tapped landline telephones and hacked his voicemails to get stories about his personal lifeHugh Grant has claimed the Sun burgled his flat and placed a tracking device in his car in an attempt to obtain stories about his personal life.The actor appeared at the high court on Thursday for a hearing which set out his allegations that the Sun also tapped landline telephones and hacked his voicemails. Continue reading...

Michael Stone is serving life for murder in 1996 of mother and daughter but has always maintained his innocenceA man serving life in jail for murdering a mother and daughter hopes a new confession to the crime by the serial killer Levi Bellfield will lead to a new police investigation.Bellfield’s solicitor has said her client is “adamant” he is responsible for the murders of Lin Russell, 45, and her daughter Megan, five, in Kent, in July 1996 – and feels he needs to “take responsibility” for the killings. Continue reading...

Zoe Salim says waiting at the border between Sudan and Egypt was the worst part of her family’s journey

Pictures show William and future Princess of Wales in scene thought to depict early days of their courtshipNetflix has offered the first look at a young Prince William and Kate Middleton in the new season of The Crown, which inches closer towards the present day.The first images from the sixth and final season feature William and Kate holding hands, and are thought to be a depiction of the early days of their courtship as students at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Continue reading...

In El Fasher, in North Darfur, only one hospital remains functional, with bomb damage, power cuts and only weeks until lifesaving equipment and drugs run outUntil gunfire broke out on the streets of El Fasher this month, the state capital of North Darfur had several main hospitals. There was the big teaching hospital, the Saudi hospital, a paediatric hospital and the South hospital, a modest 35-bed facility with big ambitions and a specific remit: to help bring down the high numbers of local women dying in pregnancy and childbirth.Now, almost two weeks into the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), two weeks of bloodshed that has seen terror return to a region once synonymous with human suffering, those options have narrowed. Continue reading...

Husband of diver Tom Daley is accused of attacking Terry Edwardes in a London nightclub last yearThe Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black will face trial in August accused of assaulting a woman in a London nightclub.The American film-maker, 48, who is married to the Olympic champion diver Tom Daley, appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday, a court official confirmed. Continue reading...

Undercover police caught men attempting illegal sale of cache that experts say helps transform view of Alfred the GreatA jury has found two men guilty of attempting to illegally sell a cache of Anglo-Saxon coins that experts say helps transform our understanding of ninth-century English history and Alfred the Great.Roger Pilling, 75, and Craig Best, 46, were caught in an undercover police operation trying to sell 44 coins which should have been declared as treasure and handed to the crown. Continue reading...

UK government move to offer region ‘flexibility’ on repaying £300m overspend comes amid ‘profound concern’ over cutsNorthern Ireland has been given a temporary reprieve from swingeing cuts in health, education and policing after the government offered it flexibility on a £300m overspend in its budget.But the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, said that in the long term politicians and officials needed to do more to drive down costs to bring the region into line with spending in the rest of the UK. Continue reading...

In wake of last year’s children’s cough syrup scandal, an expert says regulatory system is ‘grossly understaffed and underfunctional’About 3% of drugs routinely taken by Indians for ailments such as hypertension, bacterial infections and allergies are “substandard”, according to a study of samples taken from factories by government inspectors.Officials have been carrying out random checks on factories after a scandal over Indian-made cough syrups linked to the deaths of children, mostly in countries in Africa. Continue reading...

Petteri Orpo, likely successor of Sanna Marin as PM, says government should be in place by JuneFinland’s conservative National Coalition party has said it will open formal coalition talks with the far-right, anti-immigration Finns party and two smaller groups to form the country’s next government.Petteri Orpo, who is likely to succeed the Social Democrat Sanna Marin as prime minister after his NCP finished first in the 2 April elections, said negotiations would start on Tuesday and a government should hopefully be in place by June. Continue reading...

‘People should not be betting with money they do not have,’ the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said

Union co-head apologises to parents on fifth day of England and Northern Ireland strikes, saying it is ‘not what members want’Teaching unions have accused the government of stonewalling and refusing to enter into negotiations, as teachers in England and Northern Ireland started a fifth day of strikes on Thursday.Dr Mary Bousted, a co-head of the National Education Union, apologised to parents facing another day with their children not in school, but said teachers were striking for the future of education. She said there were strike exemptions for vulnerable children, and for children in years 6, 11, and 13 who were preparing for exams. Continue reading...

Ruling prompts RCN leader, Pat Cullen, to condemn government for ‘taking its own nurses to court’

Shake-up to include 1% levy on industry revenue, affordability checks and slot machine stake limitsProposals to tighten regulation of online gambling have been published by the government, in a long-awaited shake-up of laws passed before smartphones put the potential for 24-hour casino games and sports betting in every pocket.After multiple delays, the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) released a white paper laying out its blueprint for regulating the modern gambling industry.A 1% mandatory levy on industry revenues.Tougher affordability checks to prevent huge losses.Online slot machine stakes capped at between £2 and £15.Curbing “free spin” and “bonus” offers.Measures to slow down online casino games.More resources for the Gambling Commission.Plans for a gambling ombudsman. Continue reading...

Pascal Soriot says decline in startups across Europe differs markedly from ‘explosion’ of firms and clinical trials in ChinaThe boss of Britain’s biggest drugmaker has said that the UK and the rest of Europe are falling behind China and the US in the creation of biotech firms and clinical trials of new medicines.Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said that while China had seen an “explosion of biotech companies”, and a “rapid expansion of clinical trials” that puts it ahead of the US, the UK and EU had posted declines. Continue reading...

Rain Newton-Smith says rebrand part of attempts to rebuild trust after sexual misconduct claimsThe Confederation of British Industry will be renamed in the wake of the crisis that has engulfed the organisation after multiple sexual misconduct allegations, its new boss has said.Rain Newton-Smith, who took over as director general on Wednesday, said a rebranding of the CBI would be a necessary part of attempts to rebuild trust, after more than 50 large businesses, including John Lewis and NatWest, suspended or cancelled their membership. Continue reading...

Senate inquiry hears from First Nations families who have lost loved ones, including young children, in ‘horrific’ ways

Department representative acknowledges bias and racism amid ‘shamefully high rates’ of removal of Indigenous children

Volodymyr Saldo, a Kremlin puppet in the Russian-occupied territories, listed as firm’s owner, despite being under sanctionsA UK company has been set up in the name of one of Vladimir Putin’s top officials in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine despite him being under sanctions.Volodymyr Saldo, a notorious puppet of the Kremlin in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, is listed as the owner of a UK company registered in November, five months after his name was added to the sanctions list. Continue reading...

Independent Planning Commission says a previously planned 90-day cap would not achieve its objectives

At least 11 MPs have publicly voiced support for payment increase or other relief, with more privately saying they want it raised

Review under way to determine if Indigenous artists ‘exercised effective creative control over the creation of the paintings’

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Mexican-American rapper who released popular debut album last year was found ‘with injuries consistent with a homicide’ in California prisonMoneySign Suede, a fast-rising Mexican-American star who amassed tens of millions of streams for his propulsive rap music, has been killed aged 22 following an attack in a California prison.Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the rapper, real name Jaime Brugada Valdez, died on Tuesday evening “with injuries consistent with a homicide”. He was being held at a prison in Soledad, where since January he had been serving a 32-month sentence on gun charges. Continue reading...

David Davis among cross-party MPs with privacy concerns over prospective Palantir dealA former cabinet minister has warned that there could be a “battle royale” over a £480m NHS data software contract sought by the controversial US tech firm Palantir, whose chair has accused the UK health service of “making people sick”.David Davis, the Conservative former Brexit secretary who previously led the campaign against ID cards, said he was one of those with serious privacy concerns about Palantir’s bid. He is among at least a dozen MPs and peers across the political spectrum who are pressing the government for more reassurances about how patient data will be treated as the new data operating system is built. Continue reading...

Electoral commission says postal votes may lead to delay in clear result as information and enrolment campaign ramps up

Health researchers say the Arcturus variant is more transmissible than other Omicron strains, but no evidence to suggest it is more severe

Okoli Ahinze, accused of stealing a phone, said to be victim of university’s ‘SMS punishment’ carried out among studentsMore than 15 students at one of Nigeria’s top universities have been arrested over the death of a man who was attacked by a mob on campus.Okoli Ahinze, a final-year civil engineering student at Obafemi Awolowo University, was found dead on 11 April. Continue reading...

Yoon Suk Yeol impresses US president with rendition of 70s hit before being presented with guitar signed by Don McLeanFrom discussing nuclear war to belting out a beloved hit: South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol’s White House visit ended on a high note when he sang Don McLean’s American Pie to great applause.Yoon is on a six-day state visit to Washington, where he discussed with Joe Biden “the end” of any North Korean regime that used nuclear weapons against the allies. Continue reading...