World news | The Guardian

Charity ‘dismayed’ over incident at Croome Court in Worcestershire, and Capability Brown memorial also vandalisedThe National Trust has been left “dismayed” by the scrawling of blue crayon over a two-centuries-old statue in Worcestershire.On Saturday, bright blue markings were discovered all over the face, arms and torso of a statue at Croome Court designed by the renowned sculptor John Bacon. Continue reading...

Rapist and murderer’s escape sparked outrage over competence of country’s police and criminal justice systemA fugitive rapist and murderer who left a burnt corpse in his cell during a jailbreak has returned to prison in South Africa after fleeing to Tanzania.The case has embarrassed authorities and sparked fresh outrage over the competence of South Africa’s police and criminal justice system. Continue reading...

The Big One in Blackpool was more terrifying than usual when it halted close to its 235ft summit on TuesdayOne of Britain’s most terrifying – or thrilling – rollercoasters became even more terrifying and less thrilling when the ride was halted metres from the summit because of sudden winds.It meant passengers had to disembark the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and be escorted back down the ride’s dauntingly steep emergency stairs. Continue reading...

London gallery will be latest institution to offer after-hours events when it reopens in June after a £35m refurbishmentIf gazing at paintings in the hushed surroundings of an art gallery isn’t your thing, perhaps cocktails, live DJ sets and quirky fashion shows are. In which case, head straight to that art gallery.This week the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in central London announced that when it reopens in June after a £35m refurbishment, a new bar will serve cocktails and small plates long after its display areas have closed. Continue reading...

Charles Michel says higher bills due to demands of Covid pandemic and Ukraine war after use of private jets comes under scrutinyThe president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has denied running up “extravagant” travel bills, after his use of private jets came under scrutiny.Michel, who is responsible for organising EU summits, said his travel bill was higher than his predecessors because of the demands of representing Europe on the world stage during the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Ausra Plungiene disappeared after leaving home in Prestatyn on Tuesday morningA body has been found in the search for a woman who went missing while walking her dog, police have said.Ausra Plungiene, 56, from Prestatyn, north Wales, was last seen on Tuesday when she is believed to have left for a walk with her dog, Eyora, at about 10.30am but failed to return home. Continue reading...

Appeals to pay for private care linked to waiting lists or cost of living crisis have soared since Covid pandemicThe number of Britons crowdfunding for private medical care has soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, as NHS waiting lists continue to reach record lengths.Figures provided to the Guardian by GoFundMe, a website that helps people raise money, show 84% more medical crowdfunders mentioning “waits” or “waiting lists” were launched this March than in January 2019, before the pandemic.

The video, which has been removed from the ABC’s YouTube channel, had 127,000 views by the time Bruce Lehrmann’s claim was filed

Advocates fear court’s decision rejecting Coalition-era policy could result in a hasty legislative fix

Voice will not result in obligations on the executive or parliament, Anne Twomey says in submissions to inquiry

Data sharing between platforms could limit effectiveness of social media app’s ban from government devices

Residents of Leonora in country WA say the opposition leader was more interested in discussing the cashless debit card

Officers and former officers found guilty of ‘gross misconduct’ over texts, including some making fun of Katie Price’s disabled sonEight serving and former Metropolitan police officers have been found guilty of “gross misconduct” over discriminatory and offensive messages they shared, including some that made fun of Katie Price’s disabled son, Harvey.The officers – seven men and a woman – were found to have sent sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and disablist comments in a WhatsApp group called “Secret Squirrel Shit” between 2016 and 2018. Continue reading...

Family says she was ‘an outstanding innovator of the Swinging Sixties’ and died peacefully at homeMary Quant, the British designer who made the miniskirt fashionable, has died aged 93.A statement from her family to the PA news agency said she “died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK this morning”. Continue reading...

Police, coastguards, lifeboat crews and volunteers joined search after person reportedly swept into seaA body has been found washed up on a beach after an extensive search operation around Brighton Palace pier during heavy winds.The search began just before 4pm on Wednesday after reports that a person had been swept into the sea as Storm Noa lashed the south coast. Continue reading...

Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean will headline North America’s largest music festival, which returns this weekend in Indio, CaliforniaMusic fans will return to the desert this weekend for the 22nd edition of Coachella, with Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean set to headline.It’s a return to normal pacing for North America’s largest music festival, which resumed last April after two years away and several false starts owing to the pandemic. While last year was marked by concern over organizers’ removal of mask and vaccination restrictions two months before the festival, the pandemic has receded farther into the background for this year’s rendition, which is expected to draw about 125,000 people daily to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Continue reading...

Piran Ditta Khan was extradited from Pakistan two days ago over alleged killing of police officer in Bradford in 2005A 74-year-old man accused of murdering PC Sharon Beshenivsky has appeared in court more than 17 years after the officer was shot dead during an armed raid at a travel agency in Bradford.Piran Ditta Khan appeared at Westminster magistrates court in London on Thursday, after being extradited from Pakistan two days earlier and taken into custody at a West Yorkshire police station, where he was charged with killing the officer. Continue reading...

Dozens of mostly sub-Saharan Africans have drowned in region in recent weeks trying to reach EuropeAt least 25 people have died after a boat carrying people from sub-Saharan Africa towards Europe sank off the coast of Tunisia.Fifteen bodies were discovered on Thursday, the Tunisian coastguard said, after 10 were recovered on Wednesday following the shipwreck the day before off the coastal city of Sfax. Continue reading...

Tory peer says she has told father not to walk home alone from mosque as she is worried about backlash against British MuslimsThe former Conservative chair Sayeeda Warsi has said she has warned her father not to walk home alone from the mosque, fearing a backlash against British Muslims from what she termed “racist rhetoric” from the home secretary, Suella Braverman.Lady Warsi told BBC News that she was concerned about the language used by Braverman about both small boats and grooming gangs. Continue reading...

Cease and desist letters mean cases often don’t reach court, say experts, amid calls for law to be reformedA rise in cease and desist letters being issued to survivors of sexual assault is having a chilling effect on women who speak out about sexual violence, the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding has said.Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Yardley, alongside leading women’s rights experts and lawyers, has said that the threat of legal action is being used to silence women. They say cease and desist letters in some cases are the first step to filing a defamation claim in the civil courts. Continue reading...

Party indicates it would have left governing partnership with SNP if Yousaf had not instigated judicial reviewThe Scottish Greens have indicated they would have walked away from their governing partnership with the SNP if the first minister, Humza Yousaf, had not challenged the UK government’s veto on Holyrood’s plan to change gender recognition laws in Scotland.However, the Scottish Conservatives have accused the new SNP leader of “making the same mistakes as Nicola Sturgeon”. Continue reading...

Breakthrough hailed as highly effective R21 vaccine is cleared by west African country but questions remain over fundingGhana has become the first country to approve a highly effective malaria vaccine developed at Oxford university in the UK.The R21/Matrix-M vaccine, the first to exceed the World Health Organization’s target of 75% efficacy, has been cleared for use by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority in children aged 5-36 months, the group at highest risk of death from malaria. Continue reading...

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Deputy leader says she did not share ad about child sexual abuse convictions because she was spending Easter with familyLabour’s deputy leader has refused to endorse a controversial attack advert from the party, but said it had served its purpose by drawing attention to the government’s “failure” to crack down on crime.Angela Rayner claimed she had not shared the ad on social media since it was posted last week because she had been spending Easter with family, and denied it was because she was “holding her nose” owing to personal reservations. Continue reading...

The actor was shooting a film in Atlanta when he was taken ill; his daughter Corinne posted: ‘He is on already his way to recovery’The family of Jamie Foxx revealed on Wednesday evening that the actor has been hospitalised in Atlanta following a “medical complication”.“We wanted to share that my father Jamie Foxx experienced a medical complication yesterday,” Foxx’s daughter, Corinne Foxx, posted in a statement on Instagram. “Luckily due to quick action and great care he is already on his way to recovery. We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time.” Continue reading...

Sira Elkheir, 21, has faced court charged with accessing data about a man who allegedly had teeth forcibly removed

Traditional owners call opposition leader’s claims ‘insulting’ and Labor demands he stop using the town as ‘a political football’

Court told human remains appear to be from a ‘number’ of people but no record of their origins has been found

New national study to be launched to document deterioration in basic reading and writing skills, particularly in Tasmania

The independent review will examine delivery models, project governance and passenger impactsSydney’s ongoing Metro program will undergo a major review after it was revealed the cost of the project has already blown out by $21bn.After taking over the program from the previous government, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said it has been plagued by cost overruns and significant time delays. Continue reading...

Post-Brexit rules on touring under fire as it emerges Trigger Cut may have been turned away due to not being full-time musiciansA German punk rock band that was refused entry to the UK because of “opaque and confusing” post-Brexit rules may have been turned away at the border because they are not full-time professional musicians and have day jobs, the Guardian has learned.Trigger Cut, a three-piece from Stuttgart, should have been on a seven-date tour of the UK this week, but were refused entry by UK border guards at Calais last Thursday. Continue reading...

Don Farrell has dismissed talk of any Australian policy shift after breakthrough reached on barley exports

Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones says targets will be set for Australian Tax Office to recover estimated $5bn in unpaid superannuation

Programme is for people aged between nine and 24 who are experiencing extreme social withdrawalSouth Korea is to offer reclusive youths a monthly living allowance of 650,000 won ($490) in order to encourage them out of their homes, as part of a new measure passed by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The measure also offers education, job and health support.The condition is known as “hikikomori”, a Japanese term that roughly translated means, “to pull back”. The government wants to try to make it easier for those experiencing it to leave the house to go to school, university or work. Continue reading...

Mint collection of historical Canadian stamps and rare set from Laos were given to royals as state giftsThe royal family appears to have appropriated two sets of stamps that were official state gifts, incorporating them into an extraordinarily valuable private stamp collection that King Charles inherited from his mother.The gifts, a mint collection of historical Canadian stamps and a rare set of stamps from Laos, were formally given to the royal family as state gifts. They appear to have been subsumed into the royal philatelic collection (RPC), a private trove of rare stamps estimated to be worth at least £100m. Continue reading...

Resources minister warns concentration of the market that includes rare earths in China poses a strategic challenge

At 3.5% the unemployment rate remains near its lowest since the mid-1970s

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US documents reportedly describe private conversations between António Guterres and his deputy, including on Black Sea export grain dealThe US felt UN secretary general António Guterres was too sympathetic to Russia’s interests when renegotiating the Black Sea grain deal, documents from the leaked Pentagon files reportedly suggested.The report emerged as the Kremlin warned on Wednesday that the outlook for extending the deal beyond 18 May was “not so great” because Russia’s own such exports still faced obstacles. Continue reading...

The party’s latest ad campaign launches personal attacks on Rishi Sunak. What’s behind its new ruthless approach?Labour’s new attack ad campaign came as a shock, even to some senior members of the party. Its social media strategy ahead of next month’s local elections started with a highly personal attack on Rishi Sunak, suggesting he somehow does not think adults who sexually assault children should go to prison. It was followed by another ad focusing on the Sunak family’s taxes.It’s a marked change from Keir Starmer’s previous approach of emphasising his personal integrity and insisting he wants to bring honesty back into politics. So what’s changed? The Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, explains what it says about the party’s confidence, unity – and the threat posed by Sunak. And she tells Hannah Moore whether it could mean the next general election will be be the most ruthlessly fought yet. Continue reading...

Trial set down for 6 November for former military lawyer accused of leaking classified Australian defence information to journalists

A Sydney woman in her 80s died earlier this month from tetanus, acquired from a minor leg wound

Local government ombudsman rules that delay in finding suitable accommodation for family caused serious health risksA severely disabled child missed out on vital NHS surgery and was left in chronic pain for more than three years because a council failed to move them out of unsuitable housing despite repeated pleas from health professionals, a watchdog has ruled.Lambeth council in London was fined £20,000 by the local government and social care ombudsman for a catalogue of service failures and administrative errors that left the child unsafe and in “significant and avoidable distress” and her mother at risk of serious injury.Child Y’s constant pain, requiring injections and medication, could be relieved only through surgery, yet this was being delayed because the unsuitability of the family’s home meant Child Y could not safely return after an operation.Sitting in the wheelchair for long periods caused so much pain that Child Y’s school had bought a specialist bed in which they would be wheeled around the school to ensure they could access lessons.At home, Child Y and her mother were at risk of injury from manual handling because they were unable to use proper equipment. Because of the lack of space, Child Y could not be positioned properly for eating and was at risk of choking. Continue reading...

Rics monthly poll shows new buyer inquiries in UK are flat as volume of agreed sales falls furtherUK house prices are expected to continue to fall despite surveyors’ expectations that the housing market will stabilise over the next 12 months, a study has shown.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (Rics) monthly survey, which measures the proportion of surveyors reporting new buyer inquiries against those saying they fell, found the net balance was -29% in March, almost flat on the -30% recorded in February. Continue reading...

Government sleepwalking, junk food and rising inactivity have created a health emergency that has been warned of for decadesThe warnings about a looming, large and potentially lethal diabetes crisis in the UK have been sounded for years. Tragically, there is no longer any need for warnings.Diabetes UK’s grim report confirms the worst: 5 million people are now living with diabetes, a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation. Continue reading...

Diabetes UK study also expresses concern about growing number of younger people with type 2The UK is experiencing a “rapidly escalating” diabetes crisis, with cases topping five million for the first time and under-40s increasingly affected, a report has revealed.About 90% of diabetes patients have type 2, a condition much more likely to develop if people are overweight. About two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese. Continue reading...

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says measure is needed to protect housing for local families and workersPeople who convert homes into short-term holiday lets would require planning permission in tourist hotspots in England under government plans.The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has said it will consult on the change as well as whether to give owners flexibility to let out their home for a maximum number of nights a year without the need for the permission. Continue reading...

Researchers say improved health screening of people arriving in small boats is needed to prevent outbreaksHealth experts are calling for better care for asylum seekers as research reveals small boat crossings have been linked to a sharp increase in diphtheria cases in the UK and across Europe.Reception centres in the UK have hit by a series of scandals in recent months, including outbreaks of disease and reports that offers of assistance from public health leaders have been declined by the Home Office. Continue reading...

BBC presenter contributes to £88,000 fund in response to attack on Carly Burd’s initiative to help feed vulnerable people in EssexGary Lineker has donated money to a woman’s charity allotment, which had been used to feed more than 1,600 people during the cost of living crisis, after vandals ruined her land by pouring salt over it.Carly Burd, from Harlow in Essex, transformed her garden into an allotment to help feed people who were struggling to pay for food. The 43-year-old visited the plot of land last Saturday to discover that about 5kg of salt, which causes plants to dehydrate, had been poured over the areas where she grew organic produce. Continue reading...

Piran Ditta Khan, arrested in Pakistan in 2020, is accused of killing police officer in Bradford in 2005A 74-year-old man has been extradited from Pakistan to be charged with the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, who was shot dead in Bradford in 2005.Piran Ditta Khan was brought back to the UK on Tuesday and taken into custody at a West Yorkshire police station, where he was charged with killing the 38-year-old officer. He is also charged with robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. Continue reading...