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Senior counsel assisting told royal commission one brother’s 12-month plan was worth $102,000, but only $361 was spent

Police allege Michel Elias Germani, 65, planned an armed robbery in a bid to defraud an insurance company

Passengers faced average 30-minute wait, slightly worse than Manchester during 2022’s travel chaosPassengers flying from Birmingham airport experienced the longest delays in the UK last year, official figures show.Flight departures from Birmingham were on average half an hour behind schedule in 2022, marginally worse than Manchester, in a year marked by chaos for travellers. Continue reading...

Major Australian sporting organisations expected to play a significant role in the yes campaign, with AFL and Cricket Australia yet to announce a stance

Transport Workers’ Union says Qantas’s actions constitute ‘the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history’

Author says paparazzi and reporters began to follow him in his car and snoop around his homePrince Harry’s ghostwriter has said he bonded with his subject over the “callousness” of paparazzi and media after the “frenzied mob” around the book Spare led to photographers and journalists invading his own privacy.In a first-person piece for the New Yorker, JR Moehringer, the celebrated ghostwriter behind Spare said he agreed to write Harry’s memoir because he “just liked the dude” and had recently lost his own mother. Continue reading...

Advocates for a compensation scheme claim Australia lags behind the rest of the world

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie was ‘grateful’ for the opportunity to meet Caroline Kennedy to discuss broad concern for the WikiLeaks founder

Former senior public servants say conflicts of interest are ‘rife’ and that companies may be tailoring advice to earn more from government

Pair disagreed over reports King Charles called deportation plan ‘appalling’, says ex-prime minister’s communications directorBoris Johnson confronted King Charles, “essentially squaring up” to him for describing the Rwanda asylum policy as “appalling”, according to No 10’s former director of communications Guto Harri.The pair are said to have had a disagreement at a Commonwealth summit in the east African country in June 2022 after reports that the monarch, who was then Prince of Wales, described the plan to deport people travelling across the Channel to Rwanda as “appalling”. Continue reading...

Protesters condemn gun culture and call for officials to resign after 17 people were killed in under 48 hoursTens of thousands of Serbians have rallied in the capital, Belgrade, with the protesters calling for the resignation of top officials and the curtailing of violence in the media, after back-to-back shootings stunned the Balkan country.The “Serbia against violence” demonstration saw members from across the country’s political divide come together after last week’s shootings in which 17 people were killed in less than 48 hours – including nine at an elementary school in the capital. Continue reading...

Mohamed Ahmed and Mohamed Jamal went missing last week while working to reopen a hospital in BahriActivists in Sudan have expressed outrage after two medical volunteers were seized from the ambulance they were driving in northern Khartoum and detained for days by army intelligence officers, as airstrikes and clashes continued across the capital.Mohamed Ahmed and Mohamed Jamal went missing last week while working with other volunteers to reopen the Haj al-Safi hospital in Bahri, which had been forced to close amid heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Continue reading...

Helicopter pilot Babis Anagnostopoulos given 27 years in jail after killing Caroline Crouch in Athens in 2021A helicopter pilot who murdered his British wife and tried to blame her death on burglars in a crime that outraged Greece has launched an appeal, saying he regretted it and it was committed in the heat of the moment.Nearly two years to the day after the death of Caroline Crouch, her Greek husband’s attempt to reduce his 27-year life sentence started at an appeals court trial in Athens. Babis Anagnostopoulos, 35, told the tribunal on Monday that although the murder had filled him with shame, it had not been premeditated. Continue reading...

A wildflower planting operation is under way in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, as part of The Big Help OutAfter two days of playing host to thousands of flag-waving royal supporters, visitors were invited back to Green Park on Monday – this time to do some gardening.As the machinery moved in and the clean-up effort got under way around Buckingham Palace, a few metres away, along a meandering line marked out in white through the park, volunteers got down on their hands and knees to plant wildflowers. Continue reading...

Police searching for four suspects after ‘targeted attack’ on Sunday in which another boy was also hurtA 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in what police described as a “targeted attack”.Officers said they were searching for four suspects, all of whom had their faces covered during the attack, which took place between 7pm and 7.30pm on Sunday. No arrests have been made yet. Continue reading...

Skipton building society aims product at renters who cannot save enough for a depositA leading lender plans to launch a 100% mortgage aimed at would-be first-time buyers who cannot save for a deposit, the first since the 2008 financial crisis.Standard home loans where the borrower does not have to put down a deposit used to be fairly commonplace but the last one was axed in the wake of the financial crisis.

More than 1,000 people gather at Caernarfon Castle to demand new law to regulate market and protect communitiesMore than 1,000 people gathered outside Caernarfon Castle in north Wales for a rally protesting against second homes, which they say are “destroying” Welsh language strongholds.Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) are calling for a new Property Act to protect communities in language heartlands such as Gwynedd in the north and Pembrokeshire in the south-west. Continue reading...

‘Earthquake in Chilean politics’ as ultra-conservative Republican party wins 22 of 50 seats on body to rewrite Pinochet-era documentChile’s far right has won an emphatic victory in a vote to select the committee that will rewrite its dictatorship-era constitution, after José Antonio Kast’s Republican party secured 22 of its 50 seats in a major blow to the progressive president Gabriel Boric.Boric beat Kast, an ultra-conservative lawyer often compared to Brazil’s former leader Jair Bolsonaro, in the 2021 presidential election. Continue reading...

Under proposed ‘chat controls’ regulation, any encrypted service provider could be forced to screen for ‘identifiers’An EU plan under which all WhatsApp, iMessage and Snapchat accounts could be screened for child abuse content has hit a significant obstacle after internal legal advice said it would probably be annulled by the courts for breaching users’ rights.Under the proposed “chat controls” regulation, any encrypted service provider could be forced to survey billions of messages, videos and photos for “identifiers” of certain types of content where it was suspected a service was being used to disseminate harmful material. Continue reading...

Royals appear on live stream with show judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry after coronation concertJust caught up in the moment, or a cunning ploy to reclaim the US?Whatever King Charles and Queen Camilla’s motive, fans of the US talent show American Idol were in for a surprise when the couple appeared on the live stream of the show’s judges, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, from Windsor Castle shortly after the two performed at the coronation concert. Continue reading...

Charities say British government not doing enough to facilitate family reunions through available safe and legal routeLone child refugees stranded in Sudan could be forced to travel to the UK in small boats because British ministers are not helping those entitled to family reunion to escape the fighting, charities have warned.Asylum seekers granted refugee status in the UK are able to apply to bring their spouse, children or younger siblings – one of the few safe and legal routes open to refugees. Continue reading...

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Katarina Carroll says mob of people who surrounded Rockhampton house on Sunday were acting on incorrect information

Vessel capsized because it was overcrowded, authorities say, with most of the victims children on school holidaysAt least 22 people drowned after a double-decker tourist boat capsized in India’s southern state of Kerala, police have said.The boat overturned off the coastal town of Tanur because it was overcrowded, said Abdul Nazar, Malappuram district’s junior superintendent of police. Continue reading...

Archbishop Geoffrey Smith says former governor general should ‘step back and resign his orders’ despite not being defrocked by church

Public health experts warn that major sporting codes have allowed themselves to become vehicles for the promotion and normalisation of gambling

Former NRL star will be sentenced on Friday after being found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent

Freezing weather conditions saw 10-20cm of snow fall in Australian alpine regions as damaging winds caused hazardous surf conditions for much of the NSW coast

From September, single parents to receive extra payments until their youngest child turns 14, Anthony Albanese announces

Peppimenarti community reports long delays and a lack of medical services due to ongoing violence and antisocial behaviourResidents in the remote Northern Territory community of Peppimenarti say they wait “hours” for police assistance even when they have reported serious crime such as family violence, sexual assaults and gunshots, and claim the lack of policing would not be tolerated anywhere else.About 200 people live in Peppimenarti, six hours’ drive south of Darwin. Lawyers recently instigated a racial discrimination claim with the Australian Human Rights Commission alleging a lack of police resources for residents in the community.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Hundreds of children among evacuees as Ukraine expected to start long-anticipated counteroffensiveRussian forces are evacuating residents from the area near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, with more than 1,600 people, including 660 children, evacuated so far, a Moscow-installed official in the region has said.The head of the UN’s nuclear power watchdog warned on Saturday that the situation around the plant had become “potentially dangerous”. Ukraine is soon expected to start a much-anticipated counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory, including in the Zaporizhzhia region Continue reading...

The result, which is above market expectations, cashes in on gap between interest collected on loans and interest paid to fund them

Investigation begins after death of man found in car with lights still on in Taylor’s Hill on Sunday night

About 30 people descended on Queensland house following Facebook post that suggested two young residents were responsible for criminal activity

Prince of Wales also appears on stage, saying to King Charles III: ‘Pa, we are all so proud of you’Thousands danced and waved their flags underneath Windsor Castle in the first concert ever held in the grounds to celebrate King Charles’s coronation.Stars including Katy Perry, who sang Roar and Firework, and Lionel Richie, who played Easy and All Night Long, entertained the 20,000-strong audience, including the royal family, and millions at home on Sunday. Take That provided a rousing finale, drawing the night to a close with Never Forget, featuring an intro from the choristers of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Continue reading...

Footage on social media showed officers pursuing a man holding two dogs on a short lead along a canal in LimehouseThe Metropolitan police has defended its officers after a suspect was Tasered and two dogs were shot in front of screaming witnesses.Footage posted on social media showed officers pursuing a man holding the two dogs on a short lead along a canal in Limehouse, east London, on Sunday afternoon. The situation appeared to become heated, as the man was Tasered to the floor and the animals were shot dead. Continue reading...

Ben Moncrieff, 18, was found critically injured in the Southgate Street area of the city on Saturday and died at sceneA 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in Bath city centre.Emergency services were called to the Southgate Street area of the city at about 3.30am on Saturday. The victim, Ben Moncrieff, 18, was found critically injured and died at the scene. Continue reading...

Bid to reflect an inclusive modern Britain countered by ‘terribly white’ Buckingham Palace balconyFor many, King Charles III achieved his ambition for a diverse and inclusive coronation, though not everyone agreed.There were far more black and brown faces in Westminster Abbey than 70 years ago, as would be expected given societal change over Elizabeth II’s reign. Continue reading...

‘Pay as you feel’ celebration in Armley, one of city’s most deprived wards, is one of more than 67,000 across bank holiday weekendParishioners had put out enough chairs in the grounds of Christ Church in Armley, Leeds, to seat about 80 people for their Coronation Big Lunch – but it was starting to become clear they may have underestimated.Helped by sunny weather on Sunday, numbers were nearly twice as high, and it was not long before pews were being brought outside to seat the diverse gathering, one of more than 67,000 Big Lunches being held across the bank holiday weekend as part of the official coronation celebrations. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Prof Kamila Hawthorne says delays and uncertainty mean patients feel ‘helpless and forgotten’Patients are developing cancers and enduring so much pain that they cannot climb stairs because of the 7.2 million-strong waiting list for NHS scans and treatment, Britain’s top GP has said.Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the record delays for care and the uncertainty for patients about when they would finally be seen was leaving people feeling “helpless and forgotten”. Continue reading...

Yevgeny Prigozhin had criticised the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov

A day of pomp and solemnity was punctuated with moments of unintended mischief and mirthNever work with children or animals is an old adage, but someone forgot to tell King Charles. From the unruly horses that insisted on walking sideways, to five-year-old Prince Louis’s double-handed balcony waves, it was a coronation day of pomp and solemnity punctuated with moments of unintended mirth.Fashion provided some early talking points. Penny Mordaunt, widely considered to have stolen the show with her sword-holding prowess, was dressed in a bespoke outfit which some said bore a striking resemblance to the colour and logo of the bargain-basement high street chain Poundland. Continue reading...

Victorian capital’s CBD recorded most fatal heroin overdoses in country between 2020 and 2022, with 12,000 syringe kits now handed out each month

Exclusive: Former US intelligence analyst says he warned authorities about activities of Ike EkweremaduA former US intelligence analyst warned the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the activities of a senior Nigerian politician before he trafficked a man to London in an attempt to harvest his kidney, the Guardian can reveal.On Friday, Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for being the driving force in a plot to harvest a kidney for his sick daughter in the first organ trafficking conviction under the Modern Slavery Act. Continue reading...

Observers split on whether armed forces’ high-profile ceremonial role could help or hinder their imageThe British military deployed 9,000 personnel in ceremonial and supporting duties on Saturday’s coronation, nearly 5% of all the UK armed forces, in the largest display of official pageantry for more than 70 years.But the carefully choreographed effort, eight months in the planning, comes at a time when recruitment is falling and the image projected by the army on parade is, some observers say, far removed from the needs of the modern military. Continue reading...

Exclusive: HSBC and NatWest staffers seconded to shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds’s teamLabour has been criticised for giving global banks access to parliament after taking an HSBC staffer into its shadow business team, despite the financial giant coming under fire over its links with China.One senior policy manager from HSBC has been seconded to the team of Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, and has been given a parliamentary pass since February. Continue reading...

Police say man and woman admitted to hospital with serious injuries after incident in DartfordTwo people were shot at a house in Kent in what witnesses described as a “chilling” hostage situation involving a standoff with police.The incident in Priory Road, Dartford, happened on Saturday afternoon. Kent police said a man and a woman were admitted to hospital with serious injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. They remain in a serious condition. Continue reading...

Fumio Kishida pays reciprocal visit to Yoon Suk-yeol as rows over Japanese occupation are soothedJapan’s prime minister has expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced labourers during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart renewed their resolve to overcome historical grievances and strengthen cooperation in the face of shared challenges such as North Korea’s nuclear programme.Comments by the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Sunday during his second summit in less than two months with the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, are being closely watched in Seoul. Continue reading...

Stuart Murphy says other cities in running but stresses chances of either northern city hosting opera companyLiverpool and Manchester are “really strong contenders” to be the new home of the English National Opera (ENO), its chief executive has said, after the cultural body was forced to leave London.Stuart Murphy, who steps down later this year, said three potential bases would be selected by the end of May and a winner chosen by the end of this year. Continue reading...