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Greens senator says she is ‘drawing a line in the sand’ after One Nation leader told her to ‘piss off back to Pakistan’

Natasha Lechner had frog poison applied to her chest during ‘Kambo’ ritual and likely suffered sudden cardiac event, court told

In today’s newsletter: The author of the investigation into government parties during lockdown has herself become the subject of an inquiry – but why was it held back?

Fang Bin was targeted by authorities for reporting on the outbreak of Covid-19 in WuhanA Chinese citizen journalist who disappeared three years ago while reporting on the Wuhan coronavirus lockdown – and was later revealed to have been detained by authorities – has reportedly been released.Fang Bin was let out of detention on Sunday, according to multiple media reports that cited people close to the family. The reports said he had gone to Beijing, where some of his family live, before being sent back to Wuhan on Monday morning, where he remains under strict supervision. Continue reading...

Government-owned company pushes earliest start date of pumped hydro project to the second half of 2028

Religious laws are increasingly being used to silence civil society and human rights groups, say activistsSix Libyans are facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity and proselytising under laws increasingly being used to silence civil society and human rights organisations, say activists.The women and men – some from Libya’s minority ethnic groups, including the Amazigh, or Berbers, in the west of the country – were separately detained in March by security forces. Continue reading...

Ofgem requirement comes amid plans to crackdown on suppliers’ conduct as research shows slump in customer satisfactionEnergy suppliers will be forced to offer vulnerable households dedicated phone lines in a drive by the regulator Ofgem to improve poor treatment of the most disadvantaged customers.The regulator is planning a crackdown on suppliers’ conduct after a slump in customer service during the energy crisis with long call waiting times and difficulty contacting companies. Continue reading...

Victorian premier says interest rates are ‘smashing families’ despite 2020 advice to national cabinet that ‘interest rates won’t be going up’

Police say paramedics are on the scene at Crystal Brook and multiple people are injuredTwo police officers have reportedly been stabbed and an alleged offender shot dead in an incident in South Australia’s mid-north.Police have confirmed they have responded to a high-risk incident at Crystal Brook, a small community about 200km north of Adelaide. Continue reading...

‘Bold is what we need’ from budget to lift people out of poverty and address cost of living, Grattan Institute’s Danielle Wood says

Eliza Kloser says she was stopped by police while photographing the art’s removal from Burrup peninsula and then had images seized from her Karratha home

Discussion paper shows the government is considering powers to ‘access, store and use large amounts of data’, prompting alarm from the Greens

Rockets were fired towards Israel from Gaza after the death of Khader Adnan was announcedIsraeli jets struck targets across Gaza as armed groups there fired rocket barrages toward Israel in response to the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody.Plumes of smoke spiralled into the sky late on Tuesday as the jets hit targets that the Israeli military said included weapons manufacturing sites and training camps of Hamas, the Islamist group that governs the blockaded coastal enclave. Continue reading...

Australian rocker recalls Queen Elizabeth II being ‘the most charismatic woman I have ever met’ and says he is not ‘so damn grouchy’ to refuse the inviteNick Cave has denied being a monarchist or a royalist after it was revealed he is attending the coronation of King Charles III, saying he “hold[s] an inexplicable emotional attachment to the royals”.Writing in his newsletter the Red Hand Files, in reply to letters from three Australians and one Brit – some incredulous at the news he would be attending the coronation as part of the Australian delegation – Cave described himself as “not a monarchist, nor am I a royalist, nor am I an ardent republican for that matter”. Continue reading...

About 20 former students say they were ‘deceived and misled’ about major that left them unable to work in regulated industry

Top east Asia diplomat says US also in talks with Vanuatu and Kiribati on proposed embassies, amid concerns about China’s presence in region

Four-concert limit cap blamed for stopping Sydney hosting artists such as Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel and Beyoncé

PM says he will make coronation allegiance pledge to King Charles III, with whom he had an ‘insightful and rewarding’ audience

Investments in Bristol and Santo Tomas in the Philippines will be worth £100m and £166m respectivelyDyson has revealed plans to build a new battery factory in Singapore, alongside investments by the maker of vacuum cleaners and dryers in technology centres in the UK and the Philippines.The company, run by the billionaire Sir James Dyson, said the investments in Bristol in the UK and Santo Tomas in the Philippines would be worth £100m and £166m respectively. The Singapore investment will be significantly larger. Continue reading...

Writers Guild of America calls first work stoppage in 15 years as industry grapples with streaming boomHollywood productions have ground to a halt after thousands of film and television writers went on strike following the breakdown of last-minute pay talks with major studios.The Writers Guild of America (WGA) called its first stoppage in 15 years after failing to reach an agreement on higher pay, pitting its 11,500 screenwriters against old-guard companies, such as Universal, Paramount and Walt Disney, as well as tech newcomers, such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple. Continue reading...

Nuria Piera, known for her investigations into corruption, was targeted three times, Amnesty International saysOne of the Dominican Republic’s most prominent investigative journalists was targeted using spyware made by NSO Group, according to a new report released by Amnesty International.Nuria Piera, who is well known for her investigations into corruption, was hacked three times between 2020 and 2021, according to Amnesty’s forensic analysis of her mobile phone. The revelation marks the first confirmation that NSO’s military-grade spyware, Pegasus, has been used to target journalists in the Dominican Republic, making it the third Latin American country – after Mexico and El Salvador – where such abuse has been discovered. Continue reading...

Seven others taken to hospital with stab wounds after serious altercation in the early hours of Sunday morningA man has been charged with the murder of a 32-year-old man in an incident near a nightclub in Cornwall where several people sustained stab injuries, police said.Michael Allen died of stab wounds after a serious altercation close to the Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin in the early hours of Sunday, to which the police were called. Continue reading...

New fraud strategy responding to web- and phone-based scams will result in recruitment of 400 new ‘specialist investigators’Ministers have announced a clampdown on the use of cold calls to sell financial products and on technology which allows mass texting of numerous phones as part of a strategy to combat fraud, now the UK’s most common crime.The new fraud strategy, a response to the massive growth of web- and phone-based scams, will alsoresult in what was billed as 400 new specialist investigators across police and the National Crime Agency recruited as part of a revamp for how the the crime is investigated. Continue reading...

Republican states fighting Joe Biden’s plan falsely said they’d be financially impacted by the scheme, debt forgiveness group claimsNewly uncovered documents show that the Republican states fighting Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan have made false claims that they will “suffer injuries”, or rather, be financially impacted by the scheme, a debt forgiveness campaign group has claimed.The supreme court case that will decide the fate of Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, Nebraska v Biden, rests on one of the plaintiffs, Missouri’s state attorney general, who claims Mohela – as the higher education loan authority of the state of Missouri is known – will be financially affected by the plan for the worse. Continue reading...

James Cleverly urges British nationals still wanting to leave the war-torn nation to make their way to Port SudanThe final UK evacuation flight is expected to take off from Sudan on Wednesday, the foreign secretary has announced.James Cleverly urged British nationals still wanting to leave the war-torn nation to make their way to Port Sudan. Continue reading...

Head of civil service Simon Case faces fresh questions after ministers fail to publish outcome of inquirySue Gray is refusing to cooperate with a government inquiry into her departure from Whitehall amid concerns that the investigation is politically motivated and not based on any official process.Simon Case, the head of the civil service, faced fresh questions over his handling of the controversy after ministers failed to publish the outcome of the inquiry despite widespread briefing that it would find she had broken the civil service code. Continue reading...

Ex-Fox News anchor shown referring to fans as ‘post-menopausal’ and unnamed woman as ‘yummy’ in clips released on TuesdayLeaked video published on Tuesday showed the fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson describing an unnamed woman as “yummy”, referring to his fans as “post-menopausal” and attempting to discuss sexual technique with British journalist Piers Morgan.The first two remarks were previously reported by the New York Times. The clips were released by Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog that on Monday released other video in which Carlson derided the Fox Nation streaming service. Continue reading...

Thousands line route as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney join men’s and women’s teams on open-top bus tourRyan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Wrexham AFC’s staff and players celebrated the team’s promotion with an open-top bus parade on Tuesday evening.Thousands of fans lined up along a 3.5-mile route in the north Wales city as three buses left from the club’s Racecourse ground carrying the team that won the National League title and promotion back to the English Football League after a 15-year absence. The women’s side also clinched promotion to the Genero Adran Premier by winning their playoff final. Continue reading...

Many are already camping to get a good spot before thousands expected to line the Mall arrive to catch a glimpse of King Charles

The civil service is ‘a team without a captain’, argues Anthony Seldon. But can Sunak stomach ousting Case before the election?Senior civil servants have been asking whether Simon Case can survive at the top of Whitehall for almost as long as he has been in post.From his oversight of No 10 during the Partygate scandal to his role in the Richard Sharp affair, Case’s name has cropped up in almost every controversy to have dogged Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak over the last two years. When a top official repeatedly becomes the story, more often than not that means their days in the job are numbered. Continue reading...

Oliver Dowden says process ‘involved interviewing relevant persons’ but Sue Gray chose not to take partMomentum, the Labour group set up to promote Jeremy Corbyn’s agenda when he was party leader, claims that Keir Starmer could end up like Nick Clegg if he abandons his promise to abolish tuition fees.Responding to what Starmer said on this this morning (see 9.01am), Momentum spokesperson said:This move wouldn’t just fly in the face of party democracy and the wishes of Labour Students. It would be a betrayal of millions of young people in desperate need of hope. The Labour leadership should learn from Nick Clegg’s failure, not repeat it.

Home Office claims timing of new powers, taking effect days before king’s coronation, is coincidentalOfficial warning letters have been sent to anti-monarchists planning peaceful protests at King Charles III’s coronation saying that new criminal offences to prevent disruption have been rushed into law.Using tactics described by lawyers as “intimidatory”, the Home Office’s Police Powers Unit wrote to the campaign group Republic saying new powers had been brought forward to prevent “disruption at major sporting and cultural events”.Protesters who block roads, airports and railways could face 12 months behind bars.Anyone locking on to others, objects or buildings could go to prison for six months and face an unlimited fine.Police will be able to head off disruption by stopping and searching protesters if they suspect they are setting out to cause chaos. Continue reading...

Commander of Ukraine ground forces underlines importance Kyiv attaches to holding Bakhmut as preparations continue for a counterattack. This live blog is closed

Monty Python star said his ‘dearest wife’ died ‘peacefully’ a month after the pair celebrated their 57th wedding anniversarySir Michael Palin has announced the death of his wife, Helen, after 57 years of marriage.Palin, 79, described his wife as “the bedrock of my life” and said they first met while holidaying in the seaside town of Southwold, Suffolk, and he fictionalised the encounter in a 1987 BBC drama titled East Of Ipswich. Continue reading...

Naturalist is suing three men over claims he fraudulently solicited donations for tiger charityClaims that Chris Packham fraudulently solicited donations for a charity that rescued tigers are among an “enormous amount of puerile, offensive and damaging material” published about him, the high court has heard.The prominent naturalist has alleged that Dominic Wightman, the editor of the online site Country Squire Magazine, as well as the writer Nigel Bean and a third man, Paul Read, libelled him in nine articles that referred to his involvement with the Wildheart Trust, which runs a wildlife sanctuary on the Isle of Wight. Continue reading...

Paul Nthenge Mackenzie faces charges of terrorism, murder, kidnapping and cruelty towards childrenA Kenyan religious cult leader accused of inciting followers to starve to death is facing additional charges including terrorism and child trafficking.Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who set up the Good News International Church in 2003, appeared in court in Malindi on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Giving evidence for first time, Lucy Letby described herself as qualified to look after those in critical careLucy Letby had “always wanted to work with children” and was “distraught” when she was accused of harming babies on the tight-knit neo-natal unit where her colleagues were like a “little family”.Giving evidence for the first time, the nurse told Manchester crown court she prided herself on being “very competent” and was “devastated” when she was removed from the unit at the Countess of Chester hospital in July 2016. Continue reading...

While the rightwing press claim to have uncovered a reignited love for the monarchy, polls paint a more complex pictureLast week, a poll suggested British public support for monarchy was at a historic low. Days earlier, another said nearly four in 10 young adults wanted an elected UK head of state.But this week, other surveys – covered prominently in right-leaning newspapers – claim to have uncovered a reignited love for and loyalty to the monarchy. A look behind their headlines, however, shows a more complex story. Continue reading...

College of Policing, covering England and Wales, looking at the crime after study shows 25% of offenders go on to carry out serious attacksPolice are to formally review whether they should take indecent exposure more seriously amid emerging evidence that people who commit such crimes can escalate their offending, the Guardian has learned.It comes after it was revealed Wayne Couzens, the then-Metropolitan police officer who raped and murdered Sarah Everard, had committed a series of offences where he had exposed himself before the murder.

Survey finds exhaustion and low morale among school nurses as they face increasingly complex caseloads

Sex scene in Bruno Le Maire’s book provokes ridicule and anger among opposition politiciansAn explicit sex scene in a newly published novel by the French economy minister has left the government facing fresh accusations it is not listening to the concerns of the country just as it tries to contain anger over the unpopular rise in the pension age.The toe-curling sexual descriptions in the novel, Fugue Américaine, written by the economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, have angered opposition politicians and inspired anti-government slogans and graffiti at street demonstrations as the government struggles to contain the political crisis over Emmanuel Macron raising the minimum pension age to 64. Continue reading...

Woman accused of murdering seven babies cries as she tells court she never harmed a child in her careLucy Letby cried as she described in court the “sickening” moment she was accused of murdering several babies, saying: “My whole world just stopped.”The nurse denied harming any children and said she was “devastated” at being accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others. Continue reading...

Study confirms government lacks basic data on pesticides and other chemicals in the environment

Albanese government risks being unfavourably compared to the Morrison government if it does not raise the payment for all, the key independent says

Increase equivalent to $3,200 a year for tenants, with relief ‘unlikely’ in the short term as demand continues to outstrip supply

The Stand comedy club said key operational staff were unwilling to work with Joanna Cherry

US estimates 20,000 Russian soldiers have died in five months; Black Sea grain initiative talks scheduled for Wednesday Continue reading...

Plan comes amid waves of media layoffs and closures, including shuttering of BuzzFeed NewsVice, the global news publisher and TV company that was once valued at nearly $6bn (£5bn), is reportedly close to filing for bankruptcy.The company, whose assets include Vice News, Motherboard, Refinery29 and Vice TV, has been involved in sale talks with at least five companies in an attempt to avoid filing for bankruptcy, according to the New York Times. Continue reading...

Minority-focused company the Upsetters says play Dismissed will challenge ‘ethical absolutes’ around problemIn a cramped rehearsal room tucked among the City of London’s gleaming towers last week, a new theatre company wrestled with an urgent contemporary dilemma: how should adults respond to children who carry knives?Not far from the lodgings where William Shakespeare wrote his “problem plays”, a cast assembled by the Upsetters, a minority-focused drama company, workshopped a scene set in a secondary school office where teachers talked to a mother about allegations that her son had brought in a “zombie killer” knife. The atmosphere was tense.Dismissed by Daniel Rusteau runs at the Soho theatre from 16 May to 3 June 2023 Continue reading...