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Conservatives' policy would be funded by scrapping rip-off degrees' with high drop-out rates and low job progressionRishi Sunak has promised to create 100,000 high-skilled apprenticeships a year by scrapping rip-off degrees" if he wins the general election.In the latest of a flurry of announcements as the Conservatives try to narrow Labour's 20-point poll lead, the party pledged to replace low-quality" university degrees with apprenticeships. Continue reading...

Dorset police make arrest after fatal stabbing of Amie Gray, 34, on Friday eveningA 20-year-old man from south London has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was fatally stabbed on a beach in Bournemouth, police have said.Two women from Poole in Dorset were stabbed on Durley Chine beach at about 11.45pm last Friday. A 34-year-old woman died at the scene while a 38-year-old woman sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital. Continue reading...

Crucial supply line for aid deliveries to starving Palestinians cut off and will take at least a week to repair, Pentagon saysUS aid efforts for Gaza have suffered an embarrassing setback after the temporary pier built by the military broke apart in heavy seas, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.The $320m pier was intended to provide a crucial supply line for aid deliveries by sea to reach starving Palestinians and alleviate a humanitarian catastrophe. Now the effort is on hold for at least a week. Continue reading...

Daleep Singh said that sanctioning third parties that trade with Russia is needed, in addition to seizing assets for UkraineRussia's shift towards a full-fledged war economy requires the west to extend its sanctions policy, including by sanctioning third-party entities that trade with Moscow, a senior White House official signalled on Tuesday.Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economics, said the United States would consider export controls to prevent China-Russia trade that threatens American security and take further action to increase the cost of Russia using a shadow fleet to evade the G7 countries' oil price cap. Continue reading...

Biden campaign holds press conference with Oscar winner and two Capitol officers in first clear foray into ex-president's legal troublesIt was a scenario that Donald Trump, in his pre-presidential celebrity days, might have relished; as he sat inside a Manhattan courtroom, Robert De Niro was waiting outside.But this was politics and De Niro, the pugnacious star of myriad Hollywood gangster films, was there not to pay homage to the former president as a fellow VIP, but to diss him in terms that might have been in place in Goodfellas or Mean Streets. Continue reading...

British soldiers stationed in Kenya have been accused of rights violations and offences including murderKenya has launched public hearings into allegations of human rights violations and abuses of power by British troops based in the former colony.The British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) is an economic lifeline for many in the central town of Nanyuki, where it maintains a permanent base, but soldiers stationed there have also been accused of committing offences including murder. Continue reading...

Salome Zourabichvili addresses protesters outside parliament by video link, urging them to mobilise against Russian slavery'Georgia's parliament has voted to override a presidential veto on the controversial foreign influence" law, a move that is poised to derail the EU aspirations of many Georgians in favour of closer ties with Moscow.The divisive bill, which requires civil society organisations and media that receive more than 20% of their revenues from abroad to register as organisations serving the interests of a foreign power", was approved by the parliament earlier this month. Continue reading...

Sol Mamakwa gave first-ever Indigenous-language speech to Ontario provincial legislature, thanks to a 2019 lawA First Nations lawmaker in Ontario has addressed the province's legislature in Anishininiimowin, in a historic" milestone that repudiates a centuries-long colonial war" on Indigenous languages.Sol Mamakwa, a New Democratic party member from the community of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, rose on Tuesday to give the province's first-ever Indigenous language speech in Queen's Park, telling colleagues the moment left him feeling thankful and proud". Continue reading...

Daniel Mihai Popescu given more than 17 years for stabbing Andreea Pintili as she left home in AberfanA man who stabbed his pregnant ex-girlfriend weeks before she was due to give birth to their baby has been jailed for 17 years and four months for attempted murder.Daniel Mihai Popescu, 29, grabbed Andreea Pintili as she left home in Aberfan, south Wales, and told her: I have a knife and I am going to kill you." Continue reading...

Police say no further action will be taken as deputy Labour leader criticises desperate tactics' of Tories who urged officers to investigateAngela Rayner has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing over claims she avoided tax on the sale of a home, with the Labour deputy leader criticising what she called the desperate tactics" of Conservative MPs who urged police to investigate.In a statement, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said any allegations that Rayner should have paid capital gains tax or council tax would not fall under their jurisdiction, and that they had shared details of their investigation with the local council, Stockport, and HMRC. The Guardian understands that neither of these bodies plan to take action. Continue reading...

Shadow chancellor insists no additional tax rises will be needed beyond ones already announced by the partyRachel Reeves has said there will be no budget until September if Labour wins the election, and the party will not announce any additional tax measures beyond what it has already promised.The party has ruled out increases to income tax, national insurance, corporation tax or any form of wealth tax and Reeves said there would be no new measures proposed or black holes" to fill. Continue reading...

Air attack reported in al-Mawasi in western Rafah, a location that Israel's military had designated as a humanitarian areaMedical workers in Gaza exhausted' and their message is not getting through, the MSF chief has said.When asked about the types and extent of injuries arising out of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah that left at least 45 people dead, Dr Christos Christou, the Medecins Sans Frontieres International president, says his organisation's medical facility received more than 128 patients, some of whom, after being stabilised, have nowhere to turn for further surgical treatment. Continue reading...

Parliament overturns presidential veto of legislation that had sparked large protests and international condemnationHere are more images from Tbilisi today.Last week, the speakers of seven European parliaments called on Georgia's parliament to withdraw the controversial foreign agents' law. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Johnston Busingye formally appointed days after UK agreed Rwanda asylum deal with Paul Kagame in 2022Rwanda's top diplomat in the UK oversaw the use of the international justice system to target opponents of the country's rulers around the world, the Guardian can reveal.New details of the Rwandan government's suppression of opposition beyond its borders add to concerns about the regime at the heart of Rishi Sunak's asylum policy. Continue reading...

Managers say no place at beer festival for song adapted with Nazi slogan Germany for the Germans, foreigners out'The managers of Munich's Oktoberfest have said they will seek to ban an Italian disco hit from being played at the world's most famous beer festival after its hijacking by far-right revellers.In recent months the schmaltzy love lyrics of L'amour Toujours, a catchy 2001 hit by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino, have repeatedly been drowned out at public gatherings by a Nazi slogan: Germany for the Germans, foreigners out". Continue reading...

Prime minister makes comment after decision by Northern Ireland minister to go ahead with Greek holidayRishi Sunak has warned Conservative MPs that election campaigning is not optional after a minister decided to fly to Greece on holiday.During a campaign visit to a ceramics factory in the Midlands, the prime minister said he had been out every day" and that the MPs he had spent time with were working their socks off for their communities". Continue reading...

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy signs security pact with Belgium's De Croo during visit to BrusselsNato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said it is time for EU member states to lift restrictions on Ukraine striking Russian territory on the grounds that it would escalate the war.He said it was up to national governments in the EU to decide if their weapons and some already do, adding:Some allies have not imposed restrictions on the weapons. I believe the time has come to consider those restrictions, not least in light of the development in the war, the evolution into a war which now is actually taking place along the borders and that makes it even harder for them to defend themselves and the right for self defence is part of the right for self defence. Continue reading...

The house in Winnetka, Illinois still features the staircase which Macauley Culkin rode down on a sledge, but the swinging paint cans have since been removedCinema fans - and burglars - alert: the home made famous by 1990 film Home Alone is on the market, with a sale price of $5.25m (4.1m).The five bedroom, six bathroom mansion at 671 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka, Illinois forms the key setting for the bulk of Chris Columbus's festive hit, as 10-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) fends off the break-in efforts of villains played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, after his parents inadvertently leave him unattended over the holidays. Continue reading...

Devotees of author from Britain and the US lobby Southampton council to reject proposals for historic Dolphin buildingDevotees of Jane Austen on both sides of the Atlantic have joined a campaign to save the historic port city hotel where she celebrated her 18th birthday.Plans are afoot to transform the grade II listed Dolphin hotel in Southampton, where Austen once danced in the grand ballroom, into student accommodation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Investigation reveals how intelligence agencies tried to derail war crimes prosecution, with Netanyahu obsessed' with intercepts

KPMG analysis reveals 15,593 dwellings in NSW and 7,897 in Victoria are yet to break ground despite planning approval amid higher cost of materials and financeDevelopers have yet to begin work on almost 40,000 new homes across Australia - including 11,170 in Sydney - despite being granted building approvals, with stubbornly high interest rates and construction costs being blamed.According to KPMG analysis released on Tuesday, 15,593 dwellings with planning approval were yet to break ground across New South Wales by December 2023. It was only a slight improvement on the state's figures a year earlier, when there were 15,818 approved dwellings across NSW where work was yet to commence. Continue reading...

Mel Stride says pensioners will pay more income tax under Labour as critics say plan is merely reversal of previous Tory policy

US box office revenue is down 36% on last year's Memorial Day weekend, as the two leading films take only around $30m eachNeither a fat cat nor a ravening pack of post-apocalyptic Australian warlords could save US cinemas from their worst performance over the Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades.George Miller's origins tale Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga just pipped pizza-loving feline Garfield to the top spot, taking $32m (25m) over the four days, compared with Garfield's $31.1m (24m). Ghostly animation Casper took $22m (17m) over the same period in 1995, but ever since then receipts have been up - excluding in 2020, when cinemas were entirely closed due to Covid. Continue reading...

Toby Loughnane has admitted to negligent manslaughter but is fighting murder charge in Victorian supreme court

Rob Stefanic tells Senate he declared a conflict of interest over close friendship' with subordinate due to gossip'

Candidacy applications open for safe seats after six MPs announce retirements with more expected

Kallista Mutten breaks down in the witness stand as she rejects suggestions she shot her daughter dead behind a chicken shed

Meteorologists forecast wet weather for 70%-80% of Australia with the BoM expecting heaviest rain in north-eastern Victoria

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Opposition leader labels proposed hate speech offence a Labor wedge' as negotiations falter on religious discrimination bill

Andrew Giles expressed his thoughts' for the family of the alleged victim, a 22-year-old man killed in Brisbane in May

Israel pursuing a policy of deliberate deprivation' and taking disproportionate' military action against Palestinians in Gaza, Dr Christos Christou says

Expert says gun didn't discharge when dropped during test, after Lynn pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol ClayIt would be difficult for a gun linked to the deaths of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay to go off accidentally, a forensic police officer has told a double-murder trial.Former Jetstar captain Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder over the deaths of Hill, 74, and Clay, 73, in Victoria's alpine region, and is on trial in the supreme court in Melbourne.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Australian federal police say officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the aircraft mid-flight and knocked a crew member to the floor'

Election material seen so far suggests candidates are using local images and non-blue, neutral brandingThe Conservatives have been campaigning with leaflets that barely feature Rishi Sunak or their party branding, with candidates putting their own local images prominently instead, election material shows.The prime minister has been out campaigning in the last few days, but volunteers were distributing newsletters in green or pink without his face on the cover. Continue reading...

Paula Jackson set up Brief Lives - Remembered to give bereaved families a chance to grieve properlyA woman who has helped find the final resting places of nearly 3,500 stillborn babies has said barriers remain to bereaved parents seeking the truth about their children's fate.Paula Jackson set up the charity Brief Lives - Remembered in 2004 after helping a friend based in Australia find the grave of his twin sister, named Zoe, who was stillborn in Aldershot military hospital in 1960. Continue reading...

Officers urge woman to go to hospital to receive care after placenta and umbilical cord found next to Cooks River at Earlwood

Regulator drops investigation four years after claims of political partisanship were raisedThe Charity Commission has dropped its investigation into the Campaign Against Antisemitism - four years after the regulator was asked to look into allegations of political partisanship against the organisation.The leftwing Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), which has faced criticism from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), including being called a sham Jewish representative organisation", made a complaint against the CAA to the commission in 2020. Continue reading...

Water watchdog decision on bills in England and Wales delayed until after election, as Thames crisis loomsOfwat is poised to refuse most water companies' requests to ratchet up consumer bills, with some getting as little as half of what they have asked for, the Guardian has learned.The decision from the water watchdog for England and Wales, Ofwat, has been formally delayed until 11 July because of the general election. Its verdict, known as a draft determination, comes amid a growing crisis in the water sector.Southern Water - 91% to 915Thames Water - 59% to 749Hafren Dyfrdwy - 56% to 676Severn Trent - 50% to 657Wessex Water - 50% to 822Yorkshire Water - 46% to 682Dr Cymru - 43% to 702United Utilities - 38% to 666South East Water - 35% 330Pennon - 33% to 644Portsmouth Water - 31% to 157SES - 30% to 315Anglian Water - 29% to 682Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water - 26% to 530Affinity Water - 25% to 294South Staffs & Cambridge Water - 24% to 221

Officials hope for strong youth turnout but experts say this does not translate into support for EU as far right makes inroadsThe town has a farm, a university and a factory, but nobody agrees on where to put the police station. Around a large table in a stuffy room in a museum basement next to the Royal Palace of Brussels, a group of teenagers are haggling over the construction of a fictional town that has run out of budget.The group of 21 sixth formers from the south Belgian city of Mons have already divided into four political parties and fixed their priorities. Health, jobs and equality were high on everyone's list. Now they have to find consensus on building a town, trading views over where to place brightly coloured blocks - standing for amenities - on the gleaming white table. Continue reading...

Prime minister campaigns in Buckinghamshire as his military service plan is criticised and MP defects to ReformRishi Sunak struggled to keep control of his fractured party on a chaotic fifth day of the Tory election campaign, as one MP defected to Reform and a minister criticised the prime minister's pledge to bring back national service.Sunak was in Buckinghamshire as he sought to get back on the front foot after a bruising start to the snap election, with Tory insiders increasingly worried about his strategy and performance. Continue reading...

Labour will strike balance between workers' needs and business interests, shadow chancellor to tell bossesRachel Reeves will pledge on Tuesday to lead the most pro-growth" Treasury in UK history if Labour wins the general election.Addressing business leaders, the shadow chancellor is poised to claim her party would return to the centre ground of politics" by striking a balance between workers' needs and business interests. Continue reading...

US urges Israel to take precaution' to protect civilians after trike that killed at least 45 people as EU calls for Israel to explain offensive

Labour leader says damage done to economy by Liz Truss and other Tories means he can't fulfil some 2020 pledgesKeir Starmer has insisted that he is a socialist and a progressive, but said the country does not have the money to allow him to fulfil some of the pledges he made during the 2020 Labour leadership race.Starmer, who has been under increasing pressure to spell out whether he will raise tuition fees if Labour wins the election, made a personal speech in Lancing, West Sussex, on Monday, reflecting on how his working class upbringing has informed his politics. Continue reading...

Announcement raises questions about aircraft's participation in national D-day event in PortsmouthThe RAF has grounded a fleet of Spitfire planes after the death of a pilot over the weekend, raising the prospect of the legendary aircraft being absent from the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings next month.Sqn Ldr Mark Long - a Typhoon pilot based at RAF Coningsby - was killed in a crash while flying a Spitfire belonging to the Battle of Britain Memorial Fleet as part of a memorial event. Continue reading...

Prime minister dismisses speculation after Tory peer Zac Goldsmith became latest to hint at planned relocationStarmer is now running through his six first step promises.Starmer says he is fed up with hearing Rishi Sunak says the UK has turned the corner". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Robert Hayward, who identified shy Tories' in 1992, suggests the party is winning support from undecided votersSome of the polls before the general election may be overstating Labour's huge lead over the Conservatives, a Tory election expert has said.According to Robert Hayward, a peer and former MP who first identified the phenomenon of shy Tories" before the 1992 election, his analysis of local election results suggests that the Conservatives are getting more support from voters who say they are undecided than is showing up in the polls. Continue reading...

MP for Telford, who is standing down at general election, tweeted support for Alan Adams in further blow to Rishi SunakThe Conservative MP Lucy Allan has been suspended from the party after saying she will back Reform UK at the general election, in a further blow to Rishi Sunak and his faltering campaign.The MP for Telford, who announced last year that she was standing down, was suspended from the Conservatives after posting a tweet saying she would support her local Reform candidate in the coming contest. Continue reading...

Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister, says the funding will improve Kyiv's air defences, just days after Russia killed 18 people in KharkivSpain will provide Ukraine with 1bn in military aid this year after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, met in Madrid to sign an enormously important", decade-long defence and security deal.Although the precise details of the agreement have not been made public, the Spanish government said its assistance would allow Ukraine to prioritise its capacities, including its air defences". Continue reading...

Former French president's moped, on which he was snapped riding to visit his lover in 2014, sells for double its listed priceIt was the vehicle that sparked a French presidential scandal, the end of a secret love affair and legal action from a bodyguard nicknamed Croissant Man".The former French president Francois Hollande's moped was sold for more than 20,000 (17,000) at auction this weekend, double its listed price and many times more its secondhand value. Continue reading...