World news | The Guardian

Four people rescued say vessel had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and had taken on water in stormy conditionsAt least 41 people are feared to have died after a boat sank in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa, in the central Mediterranean, according to media reports.Four survivors who were rescued on Wednesday morning by a Maltese bulk carrier, and eventually moved to a patrol boat from the Italian coastguard, said they were on a vessel that had set off from Sfax, in Tunisia, and sank on its way to Italy's shores. Continue reading...

Ivan Espinosa de los Monteros, a founding member, said he resigned to spend more time with his familyAn internal war has broken out at the top of Spain's far-right Vox party after its poor showing in last month's general election when it lost nearly half of the seats it won in 2019.Ivan Espinosa de los Monteros, a founder member and the party's spokesperson, resigned on Tuesday, saying he would not be taking up his seat in parliament. Continue reading...

Cambridge-based Arm has also attracted interest from Apple, Samsung and NvidiaTech giant Amazon is in talks to become an anchor investor in the upcoming stock market flotation of British microchip designer Arm.Arm is planning to list on New York's Nasdaq exchange in early September and is reportedly targeting a valuation of $70bn in what could be the biggest stock market debut of the year. Continue reading...

As police investigate what looks like a fatal case of food poisoning in Leongatha in rural Victoria, locals recall the victims as kind and community-spiritedIn the quiet town of Leongatha in eastern Victoria, a group of family and friends sat down to a Saturday lunch at one of their homes.Within hours of the meal four of the guests began feeling very unwell and eventually sought treatment at local hospitals. Continue reading...

Prospect of higher mortgage rates and end of help-to-buy scheme leads housebuilder to shut down two divisions

The number of abuse claims - 310, spanning several decades - have been kept from public as archdiocese undergoes bankruptcy proceedings

What might Chinese deflation mean for interest rates, commodity prices and even EV exports outside China?When Australia's central bank released its quarterly economic update last week, China's uncertain" economic outlook topped a list of domestic worries for Australia.The International Monetary Fund too singled out China in its latest world economic outlook as among the downside" tilts to its balance of risks. Continue reading...

Home Office staff to support Turkish police in preventing export of small boats used for illegal crossings

Tour operator reports first profitable April to June since before pandemic, but says wildfire bill will come out of full-year results

Vessel becomes potential flashpoint as Beijing orders Philippines to remove wreck housing marines in South China SeaAn international row is growing between the Philippines, the US and China over a rusting ship that has been turned into a crucial military outpost in the South China Sea.The dilapidated second world war-era ship was deliberately run aground on a tiny reef in the South China Sea in 1999 by the Philippines, and a small contingent of troops continue to stay on board to stake the country's claim in the highly disputed water. Continue reading...

Apparent backtrack to fifth of level of assets analysts had estimated follows fall in shares on TuesdayItaly has set a cap on its new windfall tax on banks in an apparent backtrack after the surprise announcement of the levy sent shares in the country's lenders plunging.Rome limited it to cover only 0.1% of total bank assets, a fifth of the level that analysts had earlier estimated the levy could reach, in an announcement late on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Higgins says police made me feel violated at every turn' in response to story on Sofronoff inquiry in The Australian

Police believe man's body may have been at the Lakes Golf Club in Eastlakes for several days'

In today's newsletter: As thousands of scouts are evacuated from their quadrennial global get-together, the host nation's handling of the event is in the spotlight Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Imagine you are going on a school trip, but it's with thousands of other schools, and the trip is to Fyre festival, and the guys from Trainspotting are taking care of the sanitation. Oh, and there's an enormous hurricane on its way.That may sum up what 4,500 British scouts have felt this week, after their trip of a lifetime to the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea turned into a bad comedy marked by successive calamities, natural and human-made, that yesterday culminated in the mass evacuation of all 43,000 young people.Northern Ireland | A monumental" data breach has exposed the names and rank of every serving Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer. A spreadsheet was mistakenly published online for up to three hours in response to a freedom of information request. The Police Federation for Northern Ireland said it was a breach of monumental proportions".Security | The data of millions of voters was accessible to hackers in a cyber-attack by hostile actors" discovered almost a year ago, the Electoral Commission has admitted. The watchdog apologised for the security breach in which the names and addresses of millions of voters were accessible to hackers as far back as 2021.Health | Millions of people under the age of 65 in England will be denied flu and Covid jabs this winter despite one of the government's top public health officials warning that coronavirus has not gone away".Conservatives | The Home Office spent more than 1,500 of public money painting over cartoon murals that were meant to welcome children to a controversial asylum reception centre, it can be revealed.France | Five Marseille police officers have been detained for questioning over the death of a 27-year-old man during rioting in the French city on 1 July. The public prosecutor suggested it was probable" Mohamed Bendriss died after a violent shock to the thorax caused by a flash-ball' type projectile", a controversial police weapon, that caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Continue reading...

The Crit'Air vignette must be displayed to enter Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg, Lyon, and many other cities to avoid a 180 fineBritish drivers taking their car across the Channel to France this summer have been reminded that they will need to display a clean air sticker if they plan to enter one of several cities, or face a fine of up to 180 (154).In a similar move to the clean air and ultra-low emission zones that have been introduced in the UK, France has more than 12 zones, including Paris and several others cities popular with UK tourists. Continue reading...

London mayor and Met police commissioner say manufacturers must make phones less attractive to thievesNearly two-fifths of robberies in London last year were for mobile phones, it has emerged, as police warned of rising thefts and insisted technology companies must design out the crime.An attack where violence was used or threatened was carried out roughly every 55 minutes, amounting to 9,500 offences. The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the technology companies making phones, such as Apple and Samsung, could do more to stop them being attractive to thieves, such as by making it harder to re-register phones to new users. Continue reading...

Local officials say crops and agricultural equipment across the country's north were affected after the area experienced more than a year's rainfall in a weekChina has warned of crop and animal diseases breaking out as floodwaters retreated from rural areas in the north, while some cities struggled to restore drinking water supplies after the worst flooding in six decades which have left more than 30 dead.Hebei province, which shares a border with the capital Beijing, was struck by more than a year's rainfall last week from storms that followed Typhoon Doksuri, affecting autumn crops and damaging agricultural equipment. Continue reading...

The Lady Alice Kenlis was built in 19th century and is important part of our national heritage'The hulk of a 19th century iron steamship abandoned in a river on the Sutton Hoo estate has been given legal protection by the government.The Lady Alice Kenlis was designed by Hercules Linton, the Scottish shipwright who later designed the tea clipper Cutty Sark. Continue reading...

Historians and local people ponder presence of 8ft pole after appeal to find artist unsuccessfulWhen a totem pole mysteriously appeared on a popular coastal path in south-east England, local speculation as to who was responsible for the wooden monolith ranged from art pranksters to aliens.The 8ft (2.4-metre) pole, erected on the clifftops on the North Downs Way in Kent, between Folkestone and Dover, has particularly provoked interest for its inscription with the name Perknas, the Baltic god of thunder. Continue reading...

Watchdog's report finds unnamed organisation breached rules on gifts, spending at least $30,000 on memorials for staff who died in circumstances unrelated to work

Lawyer for tradesman, who was maliciously pursued by police over boy's 2014 disappearance, describes case as worst police prosecution ever in Australia

Exclusive: FOI document reveals staff could not recall what they entered into AI chatbot and Greens senator says lack of safety protocols raises questions

Jaq Grantford's portrait of the beloved actor and former Play School presenter wins $5,000 prize decided by the public

Prosecutors to consider request from man's lawyer to access six months of data, despite pair not knowing each other until date of alleged offence

Brand founders Simone and Nicky Zimmermann retain minority shareholding and say they and current management will continue to run the label

Driver and a rail worker were killed when the XPT train derailed in February 2020 at Wallan, Victoria on its way from Melbourne to Sydney

Canadian musician was found guilty last year for three felonies related to the shooting which injured the rapper in the footMusician Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday for the shooting of fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was found guilty in December 2022 of three felonies related to the shooting, which left his fellow artist injured in the foot. Continue reading...

Annual results for CBA are 6% higher than previous year, buoyed by expanded profit margins during interest rate hikes

Tests have been available to people aged over 60 since 2006, and will be offered to those aged 50 and above from 2025A new study has found that 20,000 cases of bowel cancer have been prevented by England's screening programme in a decade, as over-50s are set to be offered tests from 2025.Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. By 2040 there will be 3.2 million new cases per year and 1.6 million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization. In the UK, nearly 43,000 patients are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year. Continue reading...

Freddy Versluys says he has sold the former Belgium main battle tanks, which could be in combat in six monthsDozens of secondhand Leopard 1 tanks that once belonged to Belgium have been bought by a major European country for the Ukrainian army fighting Russia, according to the arms trader who sold them.Freddy Versluys, CEO of the private defence company OIP Land Systems, told the Guardian that he sold 49 tanks to another European government, which he could not name due to a confidentiality clause. He said he also could not disclose the price. Versluys added it could be up to six months before they were on the battlefield in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Data includes names, ranks and other personal data but not private addressesA monumental" data breach has exposed the names and rank of every police officer in Northern Ireland.A spreadsheet was mistakenly published online detailing the surname, initial, rank or grade, location and the departments of all current Police Service of Norther Ireland officers and civilian staff members. It is understood that the breach does not involve private addresses. Continue reading...

No 10 says justice secretary was speaking for government in supporting Lee Anderson's remarks on Bibby Stockholm asylum seekersDowning Street has backed the Conservative deputy chair, Lee Anderson, after he said people seeking asylum should fuck off back to France" if they did not like being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge.Anderson was criticised by opposition MPs and an anti-racism campaign group on Tuesday after telling the Daily Express that people have had enough" of the transfer of asylum seekers to the barge being delayed by safety concerns and legal challenges. Continue reading...

Scotland's first minister admits everybody' wondered whether his predecessor anticipated direction of police investigationHumza Yousaf has acknowledged that everybody" wondered if the real reason for Nicola Sturgeon's resignation was because she knew that she and her husband were about to be arrested as part of the police inquiry into Scottish National party finances.In his first appearance at the Edinburgh festival fringe as Scotland's first minister, Yousaf also admitted he had felt a little bit" las if he had ended up answering for issues around party transparency that were not his fault. Continue reading...

After Jason Bell, 42, attacked Nicole Hurley, 37, in front of children he captured a friend and took his vanA martial arts enthusiast has been found guilty of stabbing his partner to death at their home and then holding a friend captive and driving through a police cordon.Jason Bell, 42, attacked Nicole Hurley, 37, with at least two knives at their home in Primrose Hill, north-west London in October 2021. Afterwards, Bell turned up at the house of a friend with a large army-style knife and accused him of sleeping with Hurley. Continue reading...

Victim, 50, in critical condition as eight shark attacks have been recorded off the waters of New York in the past yearA 65-year-old woman was bitten by a shark on Monday evening off New York's Rockaway Beach and is in critical condition, the latest in a series of shark attacks off the region's coast.The attack was reported at about 5.49pm, according to the New York police department. Continue reading...

About 300 people were stranded after power failure disabled the 40-car ride that scales Sulphur mountain in Banff national parkHundreds of people have been trapped overnight atop a mountain in Canada's Banff national park after a a lightning strike shut down a popular gondola ride.As many as 300 people were stranded after the power failure on Monday evening disabled the 40-car ride that scales Sulphur mountain. Continue reading...

Dust-up began after law passed requiring social media companies to compensate news publishers for posting their contentA group of Canadian news publishers and broadcasters has called on the country's competition regulator to stop Meta from blocking access to news as the federal government and technology companies clash over revenue and content sharing.News Media Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and CBC/RadioCanada warned on Tuesday that Meta's decision to bar Canadians from viewing news on Facebook and Instagram amounted to anticompetitive conduct" and violates a provision of a federal law. Continue reading...

Ukrainian special service says it has blocked the illegal actions of Russian hackers who tried to penetrate military networks'

Pathologist says Luke Brooks, 27, died from respiratory problems caused by aspergillus pneumonia after living in unheated houseA type of mould was found in the lungs of a 27-year-old man who died in a house that had chronic damp, a pathologist has told an inquest.The family of Luke Brooks believe mould in their privately rented end of terrace house in Oldham caused his death. Continue reading...

Lee Anderson's comments have been defended by a cabinet minister and a No 10 spokesmanThe Foreign Office has announced fresh sanctions against Russia, which it says will limit Vladimir Putin's access to foreign military equipment.The sanctions cover 22 individuals and businesses outside Russia supporting Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, as well as three Russian companies importing electronics vital to Russia's military equipment used on the battlefield", the Foreign Office said in a news release.Let me give you two quick examples. I remember a case back 10 years ago now, horrible GBH in a pub, someone had their hands nearly severed, two people convicted, they went into custody and so on.And yet, whilst they're in custody, it emerged that the indictment, that's to say the charge sheet upon which they had been tried, was defective because it hadn't been signed. And as a result, the court of appeal, I think the supreme court, decided to quash those convictions and they were released. Continue reading...

Shane Rattenbury concerned low rates of reporting of sexual assault allegations in ACT largely unaddressed after Sofronoff inquiry

Surveys point to two-track economy with low consumer confidence but business in a relatively strong position to weather any slowdown

Government accepts advice from JCVI which says only at-risk groups and those aged 65 and over should be offered vaccinesMillions of people under the age of 65 in England will be denied flu and Covid jabs this winter despite one of the government's top public health officials warning that coronavirus has not gone away".The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the UK government, said on Tuesday its plan for Covid was to offer jabs only to those at high risk of serious disease" who are most likely to benefit" from vaccination. Continue reading...

Crowds pack seafront in Bray, County Wicklow, to bid farewell to singer and celebrate her lifeThe crowd started gathering before sunrise, some coming to grieve Sinead O'Connor's death, others to celebrate her life, and all wanting to say goodbye.By midday on Tuesday thousands were lining the seafront in Bray, the County Wicklow town the Irish singer had called home, to greet the funeral cortege. Continue reading...

The photographer, who Bullock described as the love of my life', died after a three-year battle with ALS, the most common form of motor neurone diseaseBryan Randall, the longtime partner of Sandra Bullock, has died aged 57 from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), it has been announced.In a statement to People magazine, Randall's family said that he had died on Saturday after a three-year battle with ALS". The statement added: Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honour his request. We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours." Continue reading...

FoI request reveals cost of work at Manston centre in Kent, where cartoon murals meant to welcome children were painted over

Millions of holders will also have increased chance of winning from September in NS&I drawMillions of holders of premium bonds will see the prize fund rise to its highest level in 24 years and their chances of winning a prize increase from September's draw.NS&I, the government-backed organisation that runs the monthly draw, said it would increase the rate from 4% to 4.65% next month, adding 66m to the prize fund. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands of scouts relocated to venues in and around the capital, Seoul, as storm nearsTens of thousands of scouts have begun arriving at university dormitories, government and corporate training centres, and hotels around Seoul and other inland cities on Tuesday afternoon as the South Korean government evacuated the World Scout Jamboree before a tropical storm.More than 1,000 buses are being deployed to move 37,000 scouts - mostly teenagers visiting from 156 countries - from the site in the south-western county of Buan. Continue reading...

During a wave of action by actors and writers, the comic-book film giant faces calls to remedy its toxic relationship' with technical artistsVisual effects artists working for Marvel have taken the first step towards unionisation in a notoriously poorly represented area of the film industry. According to a statement from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) a group of on-set VFX artists employed by the studio have filed a petition with the US's National Labor Relations Board.Hailing the move as a major shift in an industry that has largely remained non-union since VFX was pioneered during production of the first Star Wars films in the 1970s", the IATSE said a supermajority of Marvel's 50-plus VFX crew had signed authorisation cards indicating they wished to be represented by the union, which already represents around 168,000 technicians and craftspeople in live theatre, film and TV and associated areas in the US and Canada. Continue reading...

After artists painted 24 bold red characters in Brick Lane, other people began to add their thoughts - until the council stepped inIt began with a group of artists and a propaganda slogan: 24 Chinese characters painted in bold red, stretching nearly 100 metres along Brick Lane in London's East End.But over the weekend, the Chinese government slogan promoting - ironically or not - the country's socialist core values" was swiftly transformed into a forum scrutinising Xi Jinping's communist rule after garnering attention on social media. Continue reading...