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Opponents claim that bill put forward by Labour government amounts to fear-mongering in an election yearLarge groups of asylum seekers arriving to New Zealand by sea could be detained in prison for up to 28 days without a warrant, under a law change that was proposed even though a refugee boat has never reached the country.The bill – put forward by the Labour government – passed its first reading on Wednesday. It also determines that asylum seekers who arrive in groups of 30 or more by sea would have no possibility of attaining the entry permissions or temporary visas conferred on other travellers to New Zealand – including asylum seekers who enter the country by air. Continue reading...

Beijing has urged the US not to allow Tsai Ing-wen to transit through the US, saying it would be a ‘provocation’

Houston says at the time of the incident in 2022 ‘all hell had broken loose’ within the church but ‘that is no excuse’

Prospector discovers 4.6kg nugget using metal detector as gold prices near global record highs

Partner announces ‘unexpected but peaceful’ death of personality who fronted Blind Date, Blankety Blank and was known for his drag persona Lily SavagePaul O’Grady, the beloved TV presenter and comedian who broke on to the scene with his drag act persona Lily Savage, has died at the age of 67.His partner Andre Portasio confirmed in a statement that O’Grady died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening. Continue reading...

New bill also aims to ensure those who commit crimes motivated by prejudice face tougher penalties

Police believe the Sunshine Coast home may have been set alight early Wednesday morning

Mexico’s president says fire was caused by migrants lighting mattresses in protest at planned deportationsRights groups have blamed poor conditions and overcrowding for a fire that killed at least 40 migrants from Central and South America at a migrant detention centre in Ciudad Juárez, a Mexican city on the US border.The fire, which broke out late on Monday, was caused by migrants setting fire to mattresses in protest after discovering they would be deported, Mexico’s president said. “They didn’t think that would cause this terrible tragedy,” Andrés Manuel López Obrador told a news conference. He did not provide more details about how so many died. Continue reading...

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says people with condition struggle with ‘cost, wait time and stigma’Assessment and support services for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will be the subject of parliamentary scrutiny after the Australian Senate backed a Greens proposal for an inquiry on the issue.The Senate community affairs references committee will examine barriers to “consistent, timely and best practice assessment” of ADHD and related services, including the adequacy of access to diagnosis and support, biases inherent in ADHD assessment and research, and the cost of medication.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Prime minister praises US president’s commitment to Israel but will not be swayed by ‘pressures from abroad’Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Joe Biden’s call to “walk away” from a proposed judicial overhaul that has led to massive protests across Israel, with the Israeli prime minister responding that he does not make decisions based on pressure from abroad.Netanyahu on Monday delayed the proposal after large numbers of people spilled into the streets. The White House initially suggested Netanyahu should seek a compromise but the US president went further in taking questions from reporters on Tuesday. “I hope he walks away from it,” Biden said. Continue reading...

Michael Miller tells conference that sport stars who reject sponsorships have ‘a negative impact on the growth of the game’

The sportswear company claims the BLM Global Network Foundation’s yellow-stripe design would be confused with its three-stripe logoSneaker giant Adidas AG has asked the US trademark office to reject an application for a Black Lives Matter trademark featuring three parallel stripes, arguing it could mislead the public.Adidas told the office in a Monday filing that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc’s yellow-stripe design would create confusion with its own famous three-stripe mark. It sought to block the group’s application to use the design on goods that the German sportswear maker also sells, such as shirts, hats and bags. Continue reading...

National Audit Office estimates bill of £246m for saving energy supplier as result of sharp fall in gas pricesThe bailout of the bust energy supplier Bulb is expected to cost the government billions of pounds less than originally feared because of a sharp fall in wholesale gas prices, according to the National Audit Office.The public spending watchdog said the government may end up spending £246m on saving the supplier, which has 1.5 million customers and was acquired by Octopus Energy late last year. Continue reading...

Mark Rowley says he accepts the report but will not use the term because it has become politicisedLouise Casey has told the Metropolitan police commissioner it would “mean so much” if he accepted the term “institutional” regarding the failings in the force, as the war of words over the use of the word showed no signs of slowing down.It came as the mother of two sisters whose dead bodies were photographed and shared on a WhatsApp group by two officers said she was “gobsmacked” he refused to use the term. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ministers facing growing anger from Tory backbenchers over use of hotels in their constituenciesThe Home Office is planning to use disused cruise ships to house asylum seekers amid growing anger from Conservative backbenchers over the use of hotels in their constituencies.Ministers are looking at possible vessels including a former cruise ship from Indonesia, which would be moored in south-west England, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

Government to roll back section 40 legislation, recommended by Leveson, as part of media billMinisters will push ahead with plans to abolish a key piece of press regulation law, unpicking one of the main recommendations of the Leveson inquiry into the culture of the British newspaper industry.The government said they would roll back a rule that could require news outlets to pay the costs of the people who sue them unless the news outlet is signed up to a state-backed press regulator. Labour indicated that opposition MPs will not object to the plan, meaning it is likely to sail through the House of Commons. Continue reading...

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich provoked outrage by saying there was ‘no such thing as a Palestinian people’

West Midlands fire service had sealed off area outside government building, halting trams in both directionsRoads that were closed in Birmingham after a spillage of an unknown substance at a government building have reopened after it was found to be harmless.West Midlands fire service sealed off an area outside Birmingham’s Civil Justice Centre after being called to the scene, near the West Midlands Metro Bull Street tram stop, at 4.07pm on Tuesday. Continue reading...

John Birt says appointment process for chairman ‘fatally flawed’ due to ‘cosiness’ of Boris Johnson loanFormer BBC director general John Birt has said chairman Richard Sharp’s appointment should not stand as he was an “unsuitable candidate” in a “fatally flawed” process.Lord Birt said the “cosiness” of the £800,000 loan that Sharp facilitated for Boris Johnson makes him unsuitable for the role, despite the BBC chairman denying wrongdoing. Continue reading...

Former prime minister said Sunak’s immigration proposals could deny support to modern slavery victimsThe UK’s illegal migration bill could mean modern slavery victims are less likely to give evidence against traffickers, Theresa May has said.The former Conservative prime minister warned MPs that slave drivers and traffickers will find it easier to escape justice under Rishi Sunak’s immigration plans. Continue reading...

Despite setback Scotland’s first Muslim leader says victory sends strong message to those who feel they ‘don’t belong’Humza Yousaf has said becoming Scotland’s first Muslim leader sends a strong message “to every single person out there who feels that they don’t belong”, after he was voted in by MSPs.But the first minister’s attempts to reunited his party after a bitter leadership campaign fell at the first hurdle after his main rival, Kate Forbes, turned down a position in his cabinet, saying she preferred to support him from the backbenches. Continue reading...

Charles and president likely to instead stage back-to-back visits to mark 25 years of Good Friday agreementHopes that Joe Biden’s landmark trip to Belfast next month will be rounded off by a meeting with King Charles are fading after the US president brought forward by a week his trip to celebrate 25 years of peace.It now appears likely the king and the president will stage back-to-back visits in an echo of historic visits to Dublin by Barack Obama and the queen in 2011. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereSuspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports on its official Telegram channel that this morning the border village of Chernatske in Sumy oblast has been struck. It writes: “Twenty hits were recorded, probably from barrel artillery. The infrastructure of the village was damaged – a cultural centre and a children’s playground, as well as five private houses.”The UK Ministry of Defence says Russia’s 10th tank regiment has borne the brunt of the assault of Avdiivka and has likely lost a “large portion of its tanks” while attempting to surround the town from the south. Continue reading...

NHS ombudsman says more tragedies will occur unless decisive action in takenMothers and babies are being put at risk because maternity services are still providing unsafe care, despite a series of scandals that have cost lives, the NHS ombudsman has warned.More tragedies will occur unless the health service takes decisive action to put an end to repeated and deeply ingrained problems which lead to “the same mistakes over and over again”, he said. Continue reading...

Mexican president says protests to blame for fire in Ciudad Juárez, the latest example of dangers facing those taking route to USMexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has blamed protesting migrants for causing a fire at an immigration detention centre that has killed at least 39 people in Ciudad Juárez, a Mexican city on the US border.Images of the aftermath showed dozens of lifeless bodies on the ground, some covered by silver thermal blankets. Television footage showed emergency workers attending to stunned survivors, who sat on white sheets gasping for breath. Continue reading...

Prime minister tells MPs ‘no one has promised’ flights by summer, after Home Office source said plans were on trackRishi Sunak has raised doubts that asylum flights to Rwanda will take off by the summer, despite official briefings during Suella Braverman’s trip to the African country that plans were on track.During an appearance at the Commons liaison committee, the prime minister told MPs that “no one has promised flights by the summer” after he was pressed over the deterrent effect of the policy so far. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage hereNadia Whittome, the leftwing Labour MP, has said this morning that she hopes the party’s national executive committee throws out the motion that would ban Jeremy Corbyn from being a candidate for the party.Labour has now sent out the full text of Ed Miliband’s speech to the Green Alliance this morning. We have already covered the main points (here and at 10.55am), but it was a substantial, serious speech, and here are some futher things he said.Miliband confirmed that Labour would issue no more licence for oil and gas fields in the North Sea. This is from my colleague Fiona Harvey. Continue reading...

Amsterdam court dismisses French author’s complaint against film that shows him having sex with young womenA Dutch art collective can release an experimental erotic film showing the French novelist Michel Houellebecq having sex with young women in spite of the author’s attempt to stop its circulation, an Amsterdam court has ruled.Amsterdam’s district court on Tuesday afternoon dismissed a legal complaint by Houellebecq and his wife, Qianyun Lysis, that had aimed to curb the distribution of the film KIRAC 27 by Keeping It Real Art Critics, as well as a trailer that was uploaded on the art collective’s website last month but has since been taken down. Continue reading...

In bid to reduce nuisance behaviour ads will be triggered if people search online for terms such as ‘stag party Amsterdam’The city of Amsterdam is geo-targeting a campaign to tell young British men wanting a “messy” weekend to stay away.Research has suggested these Britons aged 18-35, and Dutch men of a similar age, tend to cause most nuisance in the red light district, with stag parties, pub crawls and all-night drink and drug benders making life unbearable for residents. Continue reading...

Former prime minister told audience in Lagos that his fine from police for breaking Covid laws was ‘bizarre’Boris Johnson has made light of his police fine for the Partygate scandal during a speech in Nigeria, joking that he was criminalised for standing up and eating lunch at his desk for 20 minutes.The former prime minister dismissed his fine from police for breaking Covid laws as “bizarre” at a conference in Lagos on “rehumanising human experience”. Continue reading...

Tribunal rules TV host has not failed to pay any tax or national insurance as IR35 rules do not apply to himGary Lineker has won his battle with HMRC over a £4.9m tax bill.The tax authorities had told the Match of the Day host, who operates his own company and works on a freelance basis for the BBC and BT Sport, that he should have been classed as an employee. Continue reading...

Governor tells MPs market turmoil has ‘tested’ banking sector for signs of weaknesses but denies fresh crisis is loomingThe Bank of England’s governor has said it is on high alert and will remain “vigilant” to further turmoil after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, noting it was the fastest demise of a lender since Barings Bank in the mid-1990s.Andrew Bailey told MPs on the Treasury select committee it had been decades since a lender had gone from “health to death” within a matter of days, saying that Barings – which was brought down by the rogue trader Nick Leeson – was the only worthwhile comparison to what happened to the US tech lender. Continue reading...

Questions raised over Benjamin Netanyahu’s control over coalition as he makes concessions to far rightIsraeli politics has descended into disarray with questions over whether a fired defence minister is refusing to step down and concerns Benjamin Netanyahu may have promised too much to far-right politicians in exchange for a deal aimed at quelling nationwide demonstrations.Facing a climax in the 12-week protest movement against his plans to weaken the power of the courts, the prime minister on Monday evening announced a delay to the proposals, saying he wanted time to seek a compromise with political opponents. Continue reading...

Minister says 13,000 police deployed as Macron vows not to waver on unpopular pensions policyHundreds of thousands of people have taken part in street protests and strikes across France amid fears of violent clashes with police, as demonstrations continue over Emmanuel Macron’s use of constitutional executive powers to push through an unpopular raise of the pension age.The interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said 13,000 police had been deployed, 5,500 of them in Paris alone. He said the record number was justified by “a major risk to public order”. Continue reading...

Commissions for ‘pre-party to end all pre-parties’ include monument covered in sandbags, mass kite-fly and ‘queer fantasia’A 200-year-old bronze statue commemorating Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar is to be surrounded by thousands of sandbags to echo the plight of monuments in Ukraine.The plan for Liverpool’s Nelson’s Monument is one of 24 cultural commissions announced on Tuesday as part of a festival that aims to transform the city in the run-up to its staging of the Eurovision song contest. Continue reading...

Israeli prime minister looks out of touch in his handling of response to the country’s latest political crisisThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, kept the country waiting all day, but in the end, when he finally announced a suspension to the government’s proposed judicial overhaul, it was a theatrical speech. The 73-year-old compared the unprecedented rift dividing Israel to the tale of Solomon, who commanded an infant be cut in half to decide which of two women was its real mother, thus displaying his wisdom. Try as he might, however, in this story Netanyahu is not playing the role of the king.Rather, Israel’s latest political crisis is once again completely his own doing. Bibi, as he is widely known, has for now bought some time by delaying implementing the controversial legislation weakening the power of the supreme court to the Knesset’s summer session, but the issue is far from resolved. Continue reading...

Party refuses to comply with tough new registration law imposed by Myanmar’s military juntaAung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy faces the prospect of dissolution after it refused to comply with a tough new party registration law imposed by Myanmar’s military junta.The military, which seized power in a coup in February 2021, set Tuesday as a deadline for political parties to re-register under a restrictive new law. It has promised to hold an election, though such a vote has been widely dismissed as lacking in any credibility. Continue reading...

Fifa and Qatar claimed the World Cup would transform workers’ rights, but 100 days on from the final, the Guardian has found that for some it has become worseSecurity guards employed by a company with contracts at sites linked to the World Cup in Qatar are allegedly still being paid as little as 35 pence an hour, four months after the Guardian first revealed their plight.In a Guardian investigation, published on the eve of the World Cup, the guards alleged they were being subjected to abusive practices, including overtime pay below the legal minimum. Interviews this month with security guards employed by Al Nasr Star Security Services at multiple sites suggests the issue of illegal pay remains. Continue reading...

CWU union lines up action as MP brands bosses’ threat to put service into administration as ‘scandalous’Postal workers at Royal Mail are poised to stage a fresh wave of strikes after Easter as talks stalled, amid a “scandalous” threat by bosses to put the company into administration.The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents about 115,000 postal workers, is close to agreeing multiple strike dates to take place later in April, the Guardian understands, in the long-running dispute between the company and union. A formal announcement of the strike dates is expected this week. Continue reading...

Crisis engulfs president amid growing row over plan to raise retirement age from 62 to 64The depth of the domestic crisis facing Emmanuel Macron can be measured by the growing university barricades and packed student assemblies where angry young people have gathered in recent days to intensify protests and help teenage high-school pupils blockade their lycées.As long as the country’s youth largely stayed away from the two months of trade-union-led street demonstrations and transport strikes against Macron’s plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64, the government felt the protest movement would be manageable. But street demonstrations on Tuesday have shown how far anti-Macron feeling and anger at the use of constitutional executive powers to push through the pension changes without a parliament vote, have spurred growing numbers of young people to begin taking part. Continue reading...

Group admits string of transgressions, days before reforms of gambling laws are finalisedWilliam Hill has been fined a record £19m for “widespread and alarming” social responsibility and anti-money-laundering failures that were revealed just days before long-awaited reforms of Britain’s gambling laws are finalised.The 88-year-old bookmaking brand, owned by 888 Group, admitted a string of transgressions, including allowing customers to lose tens of thousands of pounds within minutes of opening an account. Continue reading...

The Russian president has managed to rally people around the flag with talk of a fight for national survival

Eighteen German vehicles handed over at border to bolster military supplies from Britain and EU countries

Bectu launches safer theatres charter as survey reveals 45% of workers may quit due to shocking levels of antisocial behaviour by drunken theatregoersUK theatre staff have been attacked, sexually harassed and abused by drunken audience members during performances, a new survey has revealed.Front of house staff facing violent assaults, theatregoers urinating in fire exits and mass brawls breaking out in auditoriums were among the incidents uncovered by the report from the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre union (Bectu). Continue reading...

Excerpts from depositions of actor’s children also to be read in court during trial over 2016 collisionGwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys are expected to call a series of experts and read depositions from her two teenage children in the first full day of the actor’s trial that they have to call witnesses to make their case.Owing to the eight-day limit the judge imposed on the trial, Paltrow’s defence team is expected to face difficult time-management decisions, much like Terry Sanderson’s experienced last week as they attempted to juggle family members, ski instructors and experts in skiing and brain science. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.

Party remains two seats short of governing in its own right as three crossbenchers promise supply

In today’s newsletter: The former health minister inherits a party, country and movement in flux from predecessor Nicola Sturgeon

Q+A host says presenter Jeremy Fernandez was reduced to a ‘cameo’ role on an otherwise ‘entire white panel’

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing’s failure to treat severe mould led to the death of two-year-old Awaab IshakA social landlord claimed refugee tenants were lucky to have a roof over their heads and that mould was “acceptable” in their homes, an investigation has found.A manager at Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), the housing provider whose failure to treat severe mould led to the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, made the remark to a colleague, according to a damning report into the landlord’s wider conduct. Continue reading...