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Commonwealth ombudsman's report says another five people inappropriately detained' in 2022-23, though numbers are falling

Nepali people in Sydney reeling after second drowning incident affecting community in past fortnight

Closing arguments begin in trial of former pilot, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay

Dennis Henry, 61, granted leave to remain after almost four decades of struggling to secure his immigration statusA Jamaican man in his 60s who arrived in the UK at the age of 23 has been granted leave to remain after four decades of struggling to secure his immigration status. But he will not be able to apply for British citizenship for another decade.Dennis Henry, 61, came to the UK in January 1986 to join members of his family. He was an apprentice tailor and dreamed of a career as an engineer in the music industry. He arrived on a six-month visa and was unsuccessful in attempts to regularise his status because, like some members of the Windrush generation, he was unable to evidence his years of residency in the UK. Continue reading...

ANZ first big bank to push prediction of Reserve Bank interest rate cut into 2025

Beverley McLachlin's resignation comes after British judge Lord Sumption also quit court of final appeal, condemning impossible political environment'A former chief justice of Canada's supreme court has announced she is stepping down from Hong Kong's court of final appeal - the latest in a string of resignations amid concerns about judicial independence from China.Beverley McLachlin, 80, said she was leaving the territory's top court to spend more time with her family but still held confidence in the members of the court, their independence and their determination to uphold the rule of law". Continue reading...

Treasurer Cameron Dick makes deliberate choice' to put budget into deficit to fund temporary cost-of-living relief including cheap public transport

The airline has said that anyone who sustained serious injuries on SQ321 last month could be entitled to a larger paymentSingapore Airlines has offered US$10,000 compensation payments to passengers who suffered minor injuries during a flight last month that hit sudden, extreme turbulence.On Tuesday, the airline announced that it had sent compensation offers to passengers who were on board flight SQ321 from London to Singapore on 20 May, which dropped 54 metres in altitude in less than five seconds while flying over Myanmar. Continue reading...

Standup comedian says men appear to be handed late-night shows while women are relegated' to daytime TVThe comedian Katherine Ryan has lamented the lack of female late-night chatshow hosts in the UK in an interview for Grace Dent's Comfort Eating podcast.Ryan, a standup comedian who has appeared in UK panel shows and sitcoms, including The Duchess on Netflix, said men appear to be handed late-night shows while women tended to feature more in daytime TV. Continue reading...

Nicholas Sampson claims Four Corners story that led to his resignation was wildly inaccurate' and biased'

The far right has made significant gains in the European parliament elections. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has responded with a high-stakes gambleAs the results of the EU elections came in, the shocks kept coming. In France, Germany and Italy the far right made serious gains. Just under a quarter of MEPs in the European parliament will be drawn from these parties. But outside the biggest countries the picture was more complicated - in some places, the centre parties held their ground, in others, the left did well.The biggest fallout has been in France. Macron saw the surge in the far-right votes as a direct challenge to his rule and his response was to call snap elections for the French parliament. Why has he taken such a huge gamble and what could all this mean for France - and the direction of Europe? Continue reading...

President speaks of heartbreaking situation' after aircraft carrying Saulos Chilima and nine others goes missing in bad weatherSoldiers are searching mountainous forests in northern Malawi after an aircraft carrying vice-president Saulos Chilima and nine others went missing on Monday.The plane carrying Chilima, former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri and eight others left the capital, Lilongwe, at 9.17am and had been expected to land 45 minutes later at Mzuzu international airport, about 370km (230 miles) to the north. Continue reading...

Employees voiced frustrations at how the administration process had been conducted, sources say

Degrees often derided as low-value' or Mickey Mouse' subjects are praised as vital to UK's 108bn creative industriesMedia and communications studies, often derided as soft", low-value" or Mickey Mouse" subjects, are in fact popular, dynamic and have profound impact", according to a report.The British Academy study says that rather than being low value", such courses play a vital role in the UK's 108bn creative industries and have become increasingly relevant in a world grappling with new technologies, artificial intelligence and the dangers of disinformation. Continue reading...

GMB poll receives reports of workers being stabbed, punched and threatened with syringesOne in three Asda staff have been attacked at work, according to research that included reports of workers being stabbed, punched and threatened with syringes.The poll of almost 1,000 members of GMB, one of the UK's biggest unions, returned stories of delivery drivers being chased by people in cars, while store workers had food thrown at them. More than half (58%) of respondents said they had suffered injury or illness on the job. Continue reading...

Party's proposals involve about 140m to refurbish school classrooms, but nothing extra to increase staffing

Party figures including Braverman and Jenrick waiting to see how public responds to pledges, insiders sayConservative rightwingers are planning to present Rishi Sunak with demands for tougher action on immigration and human rights law before the election if the prime minister's manifesto promises on Tuesday fall flat.Prominent party figures including Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick are said by Tory insiders to be among those waiting to see how the manifesto is received by the public before they act. Continue reading...

Only Russia abstains in vote on plan calling for hostage and prisoner swap in six-week ceasefire leading to wider dealThe UN security council has adopted a resolution calling for Hamas to agree to a three-phase hostage-for-ceasefire proposal outlined by Joe Biden, the first time the body has endorsed a comprehensive peace deal to end the Gaza war.A Hamas statement said the group welcomed the resolution, though it was not immediately clear if that meant the leadership in Gaza accepted the ceasefire plan. Continue reading...

Man shot in chest by officer while attempting to flee police who had forced speeding vehicle to stopFrench police are questioning an officer after the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man as he fled an attempted control of a vehicle for speeding, prosecutors said.It was the latest incidence of alleged police violence against suspects that has prompted protests in recent years by critics citing heavy-handed tactics, in particular against people from ethnic minorities. Continue reading...

PM acknowledges in BBC Panorama interview to air tonight that it is a challenge for people to buy their first home

Taxes, D-day, Farage and NHS waiting lists were all on the agenda as the prime minister jousted with Nick RobinsonRishi Sunak was the first party leader to sit down with the BBC's Nick Robinson for the broadcasters's series of long-form election interviews. Here are the key points from the PM's grilling. Continue reading...

Fears of negative press outweighed by sadness and disbelief after TV presenter's body was found five days after he went missingThank God we found him." Seated in his black leather office chair, surrounded by icons, oil paintings, photographs, medals and models ships, Lefteris Papakaloudoukas, Symi's longtime mayor, is clearly relieved.It's 9am and almost 24 hours have elapsed since the body of the TV presenter Michael Mosley was found lying in a gulley of rocks and thistle only metres from the sea, beneath the perimeter fence of a beach bar. Continue reading...

European Conservatives and Reformists party includes members such as Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy and Poland's Law and Justice

Party's spokesperson says Ian Gribbin's comments that Britain should have accepted Nazi offer probably true'

In Soissons, where the National Rally won over 50% of votes in the European elections, there is unease about the snap electionEveryone is in total shock," said Baptiste Lopata, a radiologist, sitting in his trade union office in the small northern French town of Soissons. Now we've all got to mobilise against the far right."When Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, far-right National Rally (RN) won a historic victory in the European elections on Sunday night, its highest scores were here, in the north-eastern departement of l'Aisne, where it won over 50%, and even 60% in some rural villages, compared with a 31% score nationwide. Continue reading...

Exclusive: names include Debbie Soloman who stood for Brexit party and used #NeverTrustATory

Steve Endacott claims his artificial intelligence-produced avatar would answer constituents' questions and concernsPolitics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians, so the saying goes.This may be why a businessman in the south of England is proposing a novel solution: putting himself forward as a candidate in the UK general election as the first AI MP". Continue reading...

Destroyed artefacts in St Anne's Anglican church include unique paintings by Group of Seven art collectiveAn early morning fire at a Toronto church has destroyed both a historic site and rare paintings by an acclaimed group of Canadian artists, leaving the city reeling from a heartbreaking" loss.Fire crews responded on Sunday to a blaze engulfing St Anne's Anglican church, a national historic site in the city's Little Portugal neighbourhood. Continue reading...

Macron's bombshell adds uncertainty to the race to be European Commission president, and the incumbent will need to look left or right for supportUrsula von der Leyen has begun trying to craft a majority for a second term as European Commission president, after major gains for the far right that are likely to mean a less stable European parliament.Von der Leyen, a German Christian Democrat, was jubilant after her European People's party (EPP) secured 186 of the 720 seats in the European elections, maintaining its 25-year hold as the largest group and leaving her a narrow path to a second term. Continue reading...

Bezalel Smotrich calls deal with Hamas collective suicide' as PM grapples with fallout from Benny Gantz resignationThe prospect of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be rapidly receding after the far-right Israeli cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich - on whom Benjamin Netanyahu is now reliant after the resignations of more moderate ministers at the weekend - said he would oppose a deal.Smotrich's comments, during a Knesset committee meeting, came amid the fallout from the resignation of the former army chief of staff Benny Gantz from the war cabinet. Gantz quit on the same weekend that Israel rescued four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in an operation that Gaza's health ministry said killed more than 270 Palestinians and injured hundreds more. Continue reading...

Family angered by Anne Sacoolas's refusal to give evidence in person over motorcyclist's death in 2019Harry Dunn's mother has said she is unspeakably hurt" that her son's killer, Anne Sacoolas, has refused to attend the inquest into his death, saying it was bitterly disappointing and, as a mother, utterly incomprehensible".An inquest into Dunn's death resumed on Monday, almost five years after the 19-year-old was killed when his motorcycle collided head-on with Sacoolas, who was driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton, a US military base in Northamptonshire. Continue reading...

Some polls give Labour huge majority but confounding issues such as Gaza war mean things may not be so clearcut

Exclusive: It comes after women's safety taskforce recommended establishment of permanent forensic positions in all hospitals

Supermarket's purchase limit applies everywhere except WA as more than 500,000 chickens euthanised due to avian influenza

Antony Blinken also visiting Middle East this week in push to nail down support for deal to end hostilities

US secretary of state, who is visiting the region, says Egyptian mediators have spoken to Hamas

Pair become two of youngest convicted murderers in UK after machete attack in parkTwo 12-year-old boys have been found guilty of the murder of Shawn Seesahai, 19, who was killed in an apparently unprovoked machete attack in a Wolverhampton park.The pair, who cannot be named because of their age, have become two of the youngest convicted murderers in the UK. Continue reading...

PM says he does not accept that election result is foregone conclusion as he returns to campaign trail

Ukraine military says surface-to-air systems in Dzhankoi and anti-aircraft missile units in Chornomorske and Yevpatoria hitBelarus said on Monday its army was taking part in the second stage of Russian exercises to practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.The first phase of the drills, ordered by president Vladimir Putin, took place last month.

Exclusive: German police hope to intercept group before they can clash with England fans in GelsenkirchenGerman police believe a squad of up to 500 Serbian hooligans will try to cause violence at England men's first game at Euro 2024 on Sunday.Peter Both, the chief of police in Gelsenkirchen, said the challenge would be to intercept the group before they were able to clash with England fans in the west German city. Continue reading...

Mainstream groups hold on to majority in European parliament but far right gains weaken governments in France and Germany

After populist gains in France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands in EU elections, Macron announces he will dissolve French parliament. Plus: a new series exploring the angst at heart of US election

Met Office reports tentative signs of building high pressure but forecasts sunny spells and showers for this weekThere are tentative signs of high pressure building from the west but cool, wet weather is likely to continue across the UK, forecasters say.After a cool and windy weekend, Monday and Tuesday will remain cool for the time of year, the Met Office said, although will feel warmer in sheltered sunshine. Continue reading...

Surprise announcement comes amid internal party pressure and fresh allegations over expenses claims

Crowds attending drone show at Sydney's winter light festival feared crowd crush and were left feeling trapped and panicked

Chris Philp says PM has apologised for not attending commemoration and will be back bouncing around the campaign trail'Chris Philp, the policing minister, said he was left feeling surprised and disappointed" on learning Rishi Sunak had left D-day commemorations early, but insisted the prime minister would recover politically from the mistake.As the row over Sunak's decision to miss events in Normandy involving other world leaders rumbled into a second week, he is scheduled to resume speaking to journalists in a planned policing-based visit to West Sussex. Continue reading...

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London hospitals struggling to match patients' blood at usual speed - and O-type safe to use for all patientsAn appeal has been launched for O blood-type donors to book appointments across England after the ransomware attack affecting major London hospitals.NHS Blood and Transplant is appealing for O blood-type donations as this is safe to use for all patients. The cyber-attack means the affected hospitals cannot match patients' blood at the same frequency as usual. Continue reading...

Chris Minns says review of Molly Ticehurst's interactions with government agencies will be provided to her family and the public

Far right celebrates in France, Germany and Austria, but mainstream centre parties on course to hold majority