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Renewed calls for database to track guns across the country sparked by fatal 2022 Wieambilla shooting

ACCC says better 2023 forecast due to increase in production estimates and less uncontracted LNG that can be exported

Members overwhelmingly vote not to accept offer of £1,000 one-off payment and 4.3% pay rise for most teachers

Outsourcing firm used by NHS, local councils and British army says attack mainly affected internal systemsCapita, the outsourcing group that runs crucial operations for the NHS and the military, was still restoring online services for customers on Monday morning as it confirmed a cyber-attack was to blame for a major IT outage that hit clients including local councils on Friday.The company was working over the weekend to try to repair systems for clients, which include agencies involved in critical national infrastructure. Some customers reported having to resort to using radios, pens and paper after the attack. Continue reading...

Fifth of hikikomori cases among working-age people attributed to pressures unleashed by pandemicAlmost 1.5 million people of working age in Japan are living as social recluses, according to a government survey, with about a fifth of cases attributed to the pressures unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.Large numbers of hikikomori said they had begun retreating from mainstream society due to relationship issues and after losing or leaving their jobs, the cabinet office said. A significant proportion – 20.6% – said their predicament had been triggered by changes in lifestyle imposed during the pandemic. Continue reading...

Julian Leeser claims key provision of constitutional amendment will be ‘rallying point’ for no campaign

Rhiley Kuhrt and his wife, Maree, were on their way to visit family when their Piper Cherokee crashed

Landmark decision expected to help countless other survivors achieve more compensation for abuse suffered from clergy

Exclusive: RCN says hundreds of signatures on petition to hold vote of no confidence in leadership are falseEngland’s biggest nursing union has called in the police to investigate some of its own members, as the internal fight over whether to accept the government’s pay deal turns bitter.The Royal College of Nursing has asked the police to investigate a petition to hold a vote of no-confidence in its leadership, while reporting the behaviour of other members to social media platforms and the nursing regulator. Meanwhile Vote Reject campaigners claim they are being bullied and intimidated by union management in an attempt to win what is likely to be a knife-edge vote. Continue reading...

Family of Kathleen Poole had hoped politicians would step in after media coverage of ‘deeply shocking’ caseThe Swedish police are pressing ahead with plans to deport an elderly British woman with Alzheimer’s who cannot walk or talk, in a Brexit-related case that has been described as “deeply shocking” by the Labour MP Hilary Benn.Kathleen Poole, a 74-year-old widow, moved to Sweden from Macclesfield 18 years ago to be close to her son Wayne and his Swedish wife, Angelica, and their four children. Continue reading...

Children’s and young adult author of 1970 book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret says growing intolerance must be challengedThe author Judy Blume says a rise in intolerance in America has led to a “much worse” epidemic of book banning than she experienced in the 1980s.The children’s and young adult author, whose frank depictions of adolescence and puberty have long caused controversy, said it was time to fight back against censorship. Continue reading...

Civil liberties campaigner says if Australian SAS soldiers can wear body cameras, so should tactical police

Influential executive co-founded Sire Records and signed Lou Reed, the Ramones and introduced the Smiths and the Cure to the USSeymour Stein, the music executive who launched the careers of Madonna, Talking Heads and the Ramones, and introduced the Cure, Depeche Mode and the Smiths to America, has died aged 80.Stein died on Sunday morning in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer, a spokesperson for the family confirmed to Variety. Continue reading...

Stephen Alderton, 66, will appear in court in connection with killings of father and son Gary and Josh DunmoreA man has been charged with the murders of a father and son following two shootings in villages in Cambridgeshire.Stephen Alderton, 66, has been charged with the murders of Gary

Russia arrests US journalist; Turkey approves bill to allow Finland to join Nato Continue reading...

Coroner said Maj Gen Matt Holmes struggled to cope after loss of senior role in militaryA former head of the Royal Marines killed himself after becoming angry and frustrated at losing his role and was struggling to cope with the breakdown of his marriage, a coroner has concluded.Maj Gen Matt Holmes, 54, was “awash with stress” when his post was taken from him in a management restructuring and he was also concerned that the UK’s military withdrawal from Afghanistan could put former comrades at risk, his inquest was told. Continue reading...

Anti-monopoly consumer groups slam multibillion-takeover of Shaw by Rogers that will create a media and sports behemothCanada has approved a major telecoms takeover that would create a media and sports behemoth in an already concentrated media landscape, in a landmark deal that anti-monopoly consumer groups slammed as “a dark day” for competition in Canada.On Friday the industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said he had approved a multibillion-dollar takeover of Shaw by Rogers. Continue reading...

GCSE pupils struggling to complete education and NHS appointments lost after move to Wetherby in YorkshireAfghan refugee families who were told by the Home Office to uproot their lives in London and relocate 200 miles away say their children’s education and health are being severely damaged.In a challenge to claims made this week by the veterans minister, Johnny Mercer, they say that children as young as five years old and three GCSE pupils have not been found school places after being relocated in February from Kensington to a bridging hotel in Wetherby, on the outskirts of Leeds. Continue reading...

Anugrah Abraham’s family allege he faced bullying and discrimination before he killed himselfThe police watchdog has launched an investigation into allegations that a student police officer in West Yorkshire was bullied before his death.Anugrah Abraham, known as Anu, was on a placement with West Yorkshire police as part of his three-year apprenticeship degree at Leeds Trinity University. His family alleged he faced bullying, discrimination and a lack of support during his first on-the-ground placement at Halifax police station.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Historic move was driven by concern over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

ScottishPower, British Gas and E.ON alleged government’s decision-making process was ‘flawed’The biggest UK state bailout since 2008 will move ahead after justices threw out a high court challenge to the government’s sale of the collapsed energy firm Bulb.Three big energy suppliers – ScottishPower, British Gas and E.ON – had hoped to upend the £3bn deal to sell Bulb to rival Octopus Energy by calling for a judicial review. Continue reading...

Max Woosey, 13, is looking forward to being known as ‘more than the boy in the tent’ after raising huge sum for local hospiceWhen he began his camping adventure, Max Woosey imagined he would spend a few weeks sleeping in his new tent and raise a few hundred pounds for a good cause.Three years on, after surviving fierce winds, sub-zero temperatures and an awful lot of rain, 13-year-old Max’s efforts have earned more than three-quarters of a million pounds for a hospice and given him unexpected fame – but he has finally decided it is time to put a solid roof back over his head and clamber into a proper bed. Continue reading...

Precipitation has made western US very cold and wet, with one ski lodge declaring snowiest season on recordOver recent months there has been a recurring theme in weather news about how wet and unsettled western parts of the US have been, particularly in the normally sunny state of California.This has been caused by frequent atmospheric rivers funnelling into western North America, and a recent analysis by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that over the course of this water year (1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023) 31 atmospheric river events have affected the west coast so far. Continue reading...

Average property drops 3.1% to £257,122 over year to March, says Nationwide

Sixteen-year-olds taken into custody in connection with assault on 73-year-old man in Kings HeathTwo teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of attacking a 73-year-old man as he walked home from a mosque in Birmingham.The 16-year-olds were taken into custody for questioning in connection with the “appalling” assault in the Kings Heath area of the city on Wednesday night, West Midlands police said. Continue reading...

ACC Liverpool admits long queues at M&S Bank Arena led to problems for people coming to Jamie Webster gigCrowd congestion at the Liverpool venue due to host the Eurovision song contest later this year was not acceptable, its operator has reportedly admitted.ACC Liverpool, which runs the M&S Bank Arena in the city, acknowledged that people had been left in extremely long queues for the bars and toilets, which in turn caused problems for people trying to get into the venue for the sold-out Jamie Webster concert. The congestion got so bad that some fans complained one area felt unsafe, the BBC reported. Continue reading...

Attorney general declines to comment on calls for commissioner Lorraine Finlay to consider her future in the role

Shareholders at Sydney AGM say remuneration excessive for a financial institution that has dramatically shrunk in recent years

Osborne says the scheme, which closes Friday, ‘helped hundreds of thousands of families’, but critics argue it was ‘only a gimmick’George Osborne’s Help to Buy scheme officially shuts this Friday, a little over a decade after the then chancellor launched it with the aim of revitalising what was a sluggish UK property market.The scheme granted 375,654 interest-free equity loans for the purchase of new-build properties, according to the latest figures which cover until the end of last September, with 84% of applicants first-time buyers. On average they borrowed £63,000, on a typical purchase price of £273,500, with a total value of £23.6bn lent out. Continue reading...

‘What I have learned alarms me,’ says Labor’s Jo Haylen but she insists independent inquiry will not be a ‘witch-hunt’

Another construction firm specialising in government projects has gone into voluntary administration

Sydney radio star who dominated commercial airwaves in the 80s famously had his TV show Naughtiest Home Videos pulled off air after just 34 minutes

Independent state MP says ‘I didn’t think I’d still be subjected to homophobic abuse’ as Labor minister calls for apology

Parliament in Ankara passes bill allowing membership after second-to-last objector, Hungary, voted in favourTurkey’s parliament has approved a bill to allow Finland to join Nato, clearing the way for Helsinki to join the western defence alliance as war rages in Ukraine.The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership, after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week. Continue reading...

Questionnaire system at heart of effort to reduce backlog is ‘fundamentally flawed’, say immigration lawyersImmigration lawyers have accused the Home Office of building delays into a scheme meant to speed up decisions on 12,000 asylum claims.The plans announced last month to cut the asylum backlog – which now stands at a record 160,000 cases – by sending questionnaires to refugees requires claimants to reply in English within 20 working days or risk refusal. Continue reading...

Son says Jair Bolsonaro will lead opposition after return from self-imposed exile in USThree months after he left Brazil to avoid passing the presidential sash to his leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former president Jair Bolsonaro has flown back to the South American country hoping to prove his political career is far from over.The far-right radical flew to the US on the eve of Lula’s 1 January inauguration and watched the historic transition of power from a rented villa near Disney World in Florida. It was from Florida, too, that Bolsonaro watched the 8 January assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions perpetrated by hardcore supporters seemingly bent on overthrowing Lula’s new government. Continue reading...

Doctors say 86-year-old has shown marked improvement and has been treated for bronchitisPope Francis has had a marked improvement in his health and could be discharged from hospital “in the next few days”, doctors treating the 86-year-old said on Thursday.The pontiff was taken to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday afternoon after complaining of breathing difficulties and chest pain in recent days. Continue reading...

Paper campaigned on behalf of Stephen Lawrence while using a private investigator to target his mother, says David Sherborne

Exclusive: Bosses of childcare firm part owned by PM’s wife were at No 11 reception hours after he was quizzed by MPs about linksBosses of the childcare firm at the centre of a Rishi Sunak conflict of interest row attended a Downing Street reception just hours after he was pressed by MPs over his links with the provider, the Guardian has learned.Koru Kids, which lists the prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, as a shareholder and is expected to benefit from changes announced in the budget, is understood to have been present at a No 11 reception for the education sector on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Alexei Moskalyov had been jailed for two years after investigation triggered by 13-year-old’s drawings

Actor tells Variety that working in comedy has grown increasingly difficult, as comedians now ‘not allowed’ to ‘make fun of life’“A whole generation of kids” now finds Friends offensive, said Jennifer Aniston, the actor who made her name in the smash-hit 90s sitcom.Speaking to Variety, Aniston said working in comedy had grown increasingly difficult, as comedians were now “not allowed” to “make fun of life”. Continue reading...

Detectives wait to learn whether firearm was used to kill father and son in separate shootings on WednesdayDetectives investigating the fatal shooting of a father and son in two Cambridgeshire villages are waiting to see if a gun recovered in the Midlands was the firearm used in both killings.Police believe a dispute between a “close network of people” – mostly likely over a child custody battle – ended in violence with the double shooting. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Continue reading...

Shares in turmoil as government’s plan seems to rule out North Yorkshire biomass plant from race for subsidiesThe energy company Drax will immediately enter talks with the government after a landmark energy strategy cast doubt over its £2bn carbon capture project and plunged the company’s share price into turmoil.The government’s wide-ranging plan to secure Britain’s energy supplies inadvertently raised questions over the future of one of the country’s biggest electricity generators after appearing to rule out the project to capture carbon emissions at the Drax biomass plant in North Yorkshire from the race for subsidies. Continue reading...

Valérie Pécresse claims that the Black US activist’s belief that racism is systemic does not apply to FranceA row has erupted in France after a rightwing politician insisted that a high school named after the Black US activist Angela Davis should change its name.Valérie Pécresse, who ran for president last year for Nicolas Sarkozy’s party, Les Républicains, scoring a humiliating 4.78%, is head of the greater Paris Île-de-France region. She told a committee this week that the university professor and former Black Panther’s belief that racism was systemic did not apply to France and was dangerous and divisive for French schoolchildren. Continue reading...

Parole Board decides Bronson, who has spent most of past 48 years behind bars, should not be releasedCharles Bronson, one of the UK’s longest-serving prisoners, will remain behind bars after being denied release by the Parole Board.The decision comes as Bronson, who changed his surname to Salvador in 2014, took part in one of the country’s first public parole hearings earlier this month. As well as being denied parole, Bronson was also unsuccessful in his request to be transferred to an open prison. Continue reading...

Merseyside gangs using submachine guns capable of firing 850 rounds a minute, say officersPolice have issued a stark warning about the increasingly deadly weapons circulating on Britain’s streets in the aftermath of the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.Gangs in Merseyside are using battlefield submachine guns capable of firing 850 rounds a minute to target each other, and it will not be long before such weapons are as common in other areas, officers have warned. Continue reading...

Police investigating arson at Sunshine Coast property which was identified in online posts calling for retribution against three girls

Party leader says Labour would use windfall tax profits to stop rises in England, as local election campaign begins

Possibility of byelection in Rutherglen and Hamilton West after MP took train despite positive test in 2020

As sea crossings increase sharply amid racist violence, for some the dream has become just too dangerous