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Historical drama Jeanne du Barry stars actor as Louis XV and marks his first film in three years after defamation trialA French historical drama starring Johnny Depp is slated to open this year’s Cannes film festival.According to reports, Jeanne du Barry, which stars the actor as Louis XV, will be unveiled on the Croisette on 16 May at a high-profile premiere. The film marks a major comeback for Depp after a much-publicised defamation trial involving his ex-wife Amber Heard. Continue reading...

Remains of Linda Mary Beardy, 33, spotted by staff at Canadian garbage dump where other bodies have previously been foundPolice in Canada say the body of another Indigenous woman has been found at a Winnipeg landfill, in the latest grim episode of the country’s crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.The body of Linda Mary Beardy, a 33-year-old mother from Lake St Martin First Nation, was spotted on Monday by staff at the Brady landfill. Continue reading...

Anniversary of 1973 album featuring iconic lightning bolt cover to be marked with exhibition, music and poetry in central LondonThe famous flash of lightning across David Bowie’s closed eyelid was a tiny emblem gracing the rock star’s cheekbone until the celebrated photographer Brian Duffy stepped in.“He told the makeup artist ‘No, no, not like that’,” said the photographer’s son, Chris. So Duffy grabbed some lipstick to draw an outline of a much bigger flash … and Aladdin Sane was born.Aladdin Sane: 50 Years is at the Southbank Centre until 28 May Continue reading...

French president and EU leader in Beijing for meeting with Xi Jinping

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story hereAnother snippet from the questions that Humza Yousaf has been taking from reporters this morning.He said that he does not believe the continuing police investigation into party finances was part of the reason why his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon quit as party leader. Continue reading...

Human rights groups and Conservative council criticise move to house 500 men on Bibby Stockholm vessel in Portland PortThe Home Office is on a collision course with a Conservative council and MP, as well as human rights groups, after confirming it will house about 500 asylum seekers on a giant barge off the Dorset coast.In a statement, the Home Office said the Bibby Stockholm, to be berthed in Dorset’s Portland port, would accommodate single men in “basic and functional accommodation” and healthcare, and would be cheaper than housing them in hotels. Continue reading...

Crash that killed Derek Jacobs and Charles Scripps ‘would not have occurred’ had there been a hard shoulder, coroner findsA crash on a smart motorway that killed two pensioners would not have happened if there had been a hard shoulder, a coroner has said.The inquest finding led to renewed calls from campaigners for smart motorways to be halted and hard shoulders reintroduced. Continue reading...

Introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, game has sold millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languagesKlaus Teuber, the creator of the hugely popular Catan board game, has died after a brief illness, according to a family statement. He was 70.The board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages. It has spawned dozens of spinoffs and new editions, including electronic versions, not to mention products related to the game. Continue reading...

Young people had been sleeping rough across city after being rejected as minors by French authoritiesMore than 180 homeless young refugees have taken over a disused nursery school building in the west of Paris to protest against the inhuman treatment of unaccompanied minors arriving in France from Africa.Backed by three French charities, the young people who had been sleeping rough across Paris for months arrived overnight at the old school building, which has no running water or electricity, and slept under blankets. Continue reading...

Warning for year ahead comes as profits fell 11% at grocery arm but remained steady across rest of groupThe Co-operative Group has warned its profits are likely to fall in the year ahead as the food to funerals group expects the “turbulent economic headwinds, including inflationary pressures” to continue.While that “volatile external environment” contributed to an 11% fall in profits at the 160-year-old mutual’s grocery arm, which has more than 2,000 stores, the group said underlying operating profits across the business had remained steady at £100m. Continue reading...

Document signed by almost three-quarters of Welsh women in 1920s arrives in Aberystwyth after transatlantic journeyThere were tears of joy, speeches of hope, and sighs of relief that all had gone smoothly after an extraordinary century-old document reputedly seven miles long completed its transatlantic trip back to Wales.The peace petition, signed by almost three-quarters of all Welsh women in the 1920s but forgotten until the last few years, arrived at the National Library of Wales on Wednesday after being gifted to the country by the National Museum of American History in Washington. Continue reading...

Trip is first time Ukrainian president and first lady have travelled abroad together since Russia invaded

Exclusive: Sussan Ley, Dan Tehan and Anne Ruston claim win for rural Australia over decision to speed up processing of 887 visa, but it lets holders choose where to live, including cities

More than $95m has been lost to scams so far this year, while the big four are expected to make more than $33bn

Party increasingly targeting Tory rural councils and ex-Conservative voters who it says feel taken for granted

Probe into Nicola Sturgeon’s husband could affect party’s finances, damage its new leader and cost it seats in the next general election

Richard Hutter charged up to £35 for counterfeit albums by bands like the Beatles and Nirvana over six-year periodA businessman who made more than £1m selling fake vinyl records was caught after a fan of punk band the Clash complained that the sound quality of an LP he had bought was not as sharp as it should have been.Trading standards officers launched an investigation into Richard Hutter and found that he had been selling thousands of counterfeit records to rock and pop fans over a six-year period. Continue reading...

Pressure mounts on lobby group after revelations of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by its staffThe UK government has suspended its relationship with the Confederation of British Industry, as pressure mounts after the Guardian revealed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by the lobby group’s staff.Sources said engagement between key Whitehall departments and the CBI had been “paused” pending the outcome of an investigation by the lobby group into a range of fresh allegations, including rape and drug-taking. Continue reading...

CWU says ‘unacceptable pressures’ placed on postal workers, as bosses say offer to union was increasedTalks between Royal Mail and postal workers have ended without a deal, raising the prospect of further industrial action disrupting the UK’s letter and parcel deliveries.The talks between postal service bosses and the Communications Workers Union (CWU) at the Westminster-based Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service ended after 1am on Wednesday with the two sides failing to reach agreement on pay and conditions. Continue reading...

Bereaved parents and orphaned children unrecognised, says Brian Langstaff ahead of full report into NHS’s ‘biggest treatment disaster’More people who lost loved ones during the “biggest treatment disaster in the NHS” should be entitled to compensation, the chair of the infected blood inquiry has said.It has been estimated that thousands of people were infected with HIV and hepatitis by contaminated blood between 1970 and 1991. Continue reading...

Tokyo-listed Toridoll partners with Capdesia to acquire pizza and Greek casual dining business Fulham ShoreThe owner of Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant chains has agreed to sell the business to the Japanese operator of Wok to Walk and Marugame Udon for £93.4m.Toridoll, which is listed on the Tokyo exchange and has sales of £1bn worldwide, said it had partnered with the restaurant sector specialist fund Capdesia to buy the London-listed pizza and Greek casual dining group Fulham Shore for 14.15p a share in cash. Continue reading...

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Arrests follow discovery four years ago of victim’s headless body at Hindu temple in GuwahatiIndian police have arrested five men accused of conducting a human sacrifice, nearly four years after the discovery of the victim’s headless body at a Hindu temple left officers baffled.Shanti Shaw, 64, was killed and decapitated with a machete in 2019 after visiting the temple in Guwahati, a city in India’s remote north-east. Continue reading...

Reserve Bank governor says with high rents and energy costs feeding inflation, interest rate rises may be necessary even if it leads to household stress

New law bans people from taking leavened food made from grain into medical centres during Jewish holidayPassover celebrations in Israel this year are once again being overshadowed by a row over the consumption of leavened food such as bread in public buildings, in a symbolic fight about the role of religion in the state.Last week, the Knesset passed the “chametz law”, which bans people from taking leavened food made from grain into hospitals during Passover. The law, sponsored by an ultra-Orthodox party, is in accordance with traditional Jewish teachings stipulating that observant Jews cannot eat chametz or have it in their homes during the week-long holiday. Continue reading...

Katarina Carroll says domestic violence matters are among ‘significant’ number of affected cases

UNSW professor says there’s a formula for which songs get stuck in our heads and explains how to shake them off

Judge acknowledges turbulent upbringing of man who pleaded guilty to abducting four-year-old from family tent in 2021

Stephen Smith says he hopes to make regular visits to the WikiLeaks founder, who is in Belmarsh prison and faces espionage charges in the US

Canadian politician, poet, an India MP and journalists are among 120 accounts that have been withheldTwitter has been accused of bowing to government pressure in India by blocking scores of prominent journalists, politicians and activists from its platform in recent weeks.The Indian government issued notices to Twitter to remove people in the aftermath of an internet shutdown in Punjab during the search for a fugitive Sikh separatist leader. Continue reading...

Move to deny Moscow’s children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova a platform comes as she tells parents to write to her ‘to find’ their missing children

CEO of defence firm building Australia’s Ghost Shark autonomous submarines sees the vehicles as ‘a force multiplier’

Average cost of property in Devon town reached £1,244,025 last year, driven by second home owners“Don’t hate me,” said Theo Spink of the view from her office on Tuesday afternoon, “but the sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze, people are arriving for Easter, eating ice-cream. It’s all rather charming.”If the town of Salcombe, situated on the neck of a narrow estuary in south Devon, sounds idyllic, that is because “it really, really is”, she said. “When the sun shines, you could be in the Mediterranean. It is that beautiful.” Continue reading...

Standards committee calls for ban on APPGs accepting funding from foreign governments and review of parliamentary pass-holdersMPs should be banned from using foreign governments to fund parliamentary “special interest” groups, a committee has recommended as part of a crackdown on the influence of potentially hostile states in parliament.At least two Gulf countries are said to have financially supported All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), while fears have been raised for years among security officials about the opaque nature of how the networks operate. Continue reading...

Risk of tick-borne encephalitis virus is very low, but infection can be life threateningHikers and mountain bikers have been urged to protect themselves after health officials confirmed that a potentially deadly virus spread by ticks is present in the UK.The first confirmed domestically acquired case of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) was identified in a 50-year-old man who was bitten by ticks while mountain biking in Yorkshire. Continue reading...

Royal coronation invitation realises king’s ambition for title of partner formerly known as Queen ConsortFirst she was to be known as Princess Consort. Then she became Queen Consort. But Buckingham Palace’s coronation invitation confirms what most have suspected all along. From now on, it’s officially Queen Camilla.For years, the palace has shied away from answering “the queen” question when asked directly what Camilla would be known as when Charles acceded the throne. Continue reading...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador asks China to curb exports of opioid after lengthy denunciation of similar calls from USMexico’s president has written to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, urging him to help control shipments of fentanyl, while also complaining of “rude” US pressure to curb the drug trade.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has previously said that fentanyl is the US’s problem and is caused by “a lack of hugs” in US families. On Tuesday he read out the letter to Xi dated 22 March in which he defended efforts to curb supply of the deadly drug, while rounding on US critics. Continue reading...

Mike Hill, 61, remembered as ‘big and strong but soft and tender’, one of six killed at Covenant School in Nashville last monthMike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian who was one of six people shot dead at a Nashville elementary school last week, was remembered on Tuesday for his loving nature, his culinary skills and his faith.Hundreds turned out for Hill’s funeral at Stephens Valley Church. The pastor, Jim Bachmann, said the hearts of the congregation were aching for the man they called “Big Mike”. Continue reading...

Campaigners say Home Office’s plans to use Bexhill site may retraumatise those fleeing oppressive regimesRefugee campaigners have condemned squalid and dilapidated conditions inside a former prison in East Sussex that the Home Office is planning to use to accommodate asylum seekers.Photographs obtained by the Guardian of the Bexhill site, previously Northeye prison, reveal broken ceilings with wires hanging down, pools of water on floors, rusted window frames and tiny cells with huge bolts on the outside of the doors and rectangular slats that guards looked through to view former prisoners. Continue reading...

Country joins alliance in move Moscow says is an ‘encroachment on Russia’s security’

Women hit worst by mental health strains, with more domestic and caring duties amid Covid lockdowns

Buses will carry passengers over Forth Road Bridge from May with a safety driver and ‘bus captain’ onboardSelf-driving buses will begin carrying passengers over Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge next month in what has been hailed as a world first.Five single-decker buses will cover the 14-mile route from 15 May, carrying up to 10,000 passengers every week between the Ferrytoll park and ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park train and tram interchange. Continue reading...

Annual dinner is among events cancelled because of ‘very serious’ claims that are being investigated

Exclusive: leading heart experts urge BMA to exempt staff working on critical care units in EnglandCritically ill patients “will inevitably die” because hospitals are having to cancel surgery as a direct result of next week’s junior doctors’ strike in England, leading heart experts have warned.There were bound to be fatalities among people with serious heart problems whose precarious health meant they were “a ticking timebomb” and needed surgery as soon as possible, they said. Continue reading...

Trudi Warner, 68, is said to have held placard asking jurors to act on conscience outside trial of fellow Insulate Britain protestersA climate activist who allegedly held a sign outside court telling jurors they were entitled to find protesters not guilty based on their conscience may still face a criminal charge.Trudi Warner, 68, allegedly held the placard outside a trial of fellow Insulate Britain protestors at Inner London crown court on 27 March, which read: “Jurors: You have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience.” Continue reading...

In speech to Bafta, Chariots of Fire producer says industry must invest ‘far more’ to close yawning skills gapThe Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam has issued a rallying cry to the film industry to address its yawning skills gap and grow audiences before the UK is eclipsed as a cinematic powerhouse.In a speech to Bafta on Tuesday, Puttnam – the president of the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA) and a former peer – urged the industry to “invest far more” in its workforce to retain international competitiveness. Continue reading...

Party is striking chord with ‘blue wall’ voters by championing a classic environmental issuePosing for the cameras with a photogenic dog is something of an election campaign cliche, but as Ed Davey picks up Marvin, an affectionately squirming norfolk terrier, the intended message is about something much less obviously appealing: sewage.The Liberal Democrat leader is posing with a series of dogs and their owners on Eastbourne beach, a local election stop intended to bring attention to an issue his party has campaigned on enthusiastically for the past two years, and with increasing cut-through. Continue reading...

At launch of cleaner water plan, minister says those who say they can end problem are ‘detached from reality’ or dishonest

Formal accession nearly doubles Nato border with Russia as Moscow warns it will boost its defences if necessaryFinland has become the 31st member of Nato after its foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, signed an accession document and handed it to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, at a ceremony in Brussels.The handover marks the formal accession of Russia’s western neighbour to the world’s largest military alliance, completing an accelerated application process launched last May, when Finland and neighbouring Sweden abandoned decades of military nonalignment to seek security as Nato members after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Grain producers say they are being undercut by tariff-free imports from Ukraine