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Rajwinder Singh had pleaded not guilty to murdering the 24-year-old, who was found buried in sand in far north Queensland

Palestinian civilians cannot pay the price of defeating Hamas. It has now been two weeks since humanitarian aid last entered Gaza' says foreign minister. This blog is now closed.

In Islington, a panel of people with migrant and refugee backgrounds is allocating 500,000 in grants to directly help new arrivals who are where they once wereOn a cold morning in the heart of London, recently arrived refugees and more established migrants gather in a community centre. Their mission? To decide how 500,000 in funding will be used to support people like them.The initiative is part of the Borough of Sanctuary grants programme, which takes the government's commitment to devolution a step further, using it to empower migrants and refugees. Continue reading...

Global Times hails US president's order to strip back government funding to news organisations he deems radical'Chinese state media has reacted gleefully to the Trump administration's decision to slash government funding to media organisations such as Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA).The Global Times, a daily English-language tabloid and Chinese Communist party mouthpiece, celebrated the cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees broadcasters such as VOA and RFA. Continue reading...

Treasurer says he would welcome the opportunity to put the economy front and centre' in the upcoming election campaign

Drake's attorneys accuse Universal of being a greedy company' that is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation'.Universal Music Group have moved to dismiss Drake's defamation suit, characterising it as a misguided attempt" by the Canadian rapper to salve his wounds" after he lost a rap battle" with rival Kendrick Lamar.In the motion, filed on Monday in the US district court for the southern district of New York, Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both artists, claimed that Drake lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. Continue reading...

Liberals Against Nuclear say the policy would increase bureaucracy and impose massive taxpayer-backed risk'

Leafy seadragons, fish, and octopuses among creatures to have washed up dead on both Waitpinga Beach and Parsons Beach

Swedish furniture retailer's arrival is seen as crucial to hopes of reviving the London shopping streetIkea will be bringing its mix of meatballs, lampshades and kitchen planning to London's Oxford Street from 1 May, when the world's largest furniture retailer finally opens its store 18 months late.The company said its three-floor outlet, in the former Topshop base, would house a 130-seat Swedish deli and showrooms, as well as offering one-to-one design consultations. Continue reading...

James Lee Williams's sister says it is important to raise awareness of the dangers of the increasingly prevalent drugThe drag artist known as The Vivienne died of a cardiac arrest caused by the effects of taking ketamine, their family has said.James Lee Williams, who won the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK as The Vivienne in 2019, died at their home in Cheshire in January. Their sister Chanel Williams said it was important to share the circumstances of their death because ketamine use was becoming more prevalent in the UK. Continue reading...

Hedge fund manager deliberately tried to frustrate investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, says regulatorThe hedge fund manager Crispin Odey will be banned from the City and hit with a 1.8m fine by the UK's financial watchdog for deliberately attempting to frustrate" a disciplinary process into sexual harassment allegations.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Monday that Odey had shown reckless disregard" for the governance of his hedge fund and his conduct proved he was not a fit and proper person to perform any function related to regulated activities". Continue reading...

The gay couple, who travelled to the US for the birth of their son, could be among the first Italians prosecuted under a new ban on domestic surrogacyThe Italian parents of a child who was recently born in the US via surrogacy say they are too afraid to return home since Giorgia Meloni's government enacted the west's most restrictive law against what she described as procreative tourism".The gay couple could be among the first Italians to be prosecuted under the law, enacted in early December, which extended an outright ban on domestic surrogacy by making it a universal crime that transcends borders, putting them on a par with terrorists, paedophiles and war criminals. Continue reading...

Huge demonstrations in Houthi-controlled areas come as more than 50 people die in strikes responding to Red Sea attacksMore than 200 people, including women and children, have been killed in Syria in incidents involving war remnants in the three months since the fall of the Assad regime, as bomb disposal experts warn that no area in Syria is safe".The number of casualties has risen as approximately 1.2 million people return to their former homes and lands after being displaced by the country's brutal civil war.The US and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are both vowing escalation after the US launched a wave of deadly airstrikes on Saturday with the stated aim of deterring the rebel group from attacking Red Sea shipping. Updating an earlier death toll, Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anis al-Asbahi said 53 people had been killed including five children and two women", and that 98 people had been injured.Iran will respond to US president Donald Trump's invitation to talks after proper scrutiny, the foreign ministry said on Monday, accusing Washington of not matching actions with words. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Masoud Pezeshkian have rejected Trump's letter and public exhortations for nuclear talks as deceptive and bullying.A civilian was killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Gaza City yesterday evening, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. An Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, medics said on Monday. There have been many more reports of Palestinians being killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, came into effect on 19 January.Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles continue to be positioned around the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Wafa correspondents are reporting that Israeli bulldozers are levelling streets and widening others to allow for the entry of more military vehicles.Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he will seek to dismiss the director of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, through a cabinet vote later this week, in a move that will prompt further accusations of authoritarianism. The Israeli prime minister said in a video statement on Sunday that ongoing distrust" made it impossible for him to continue to work with Ronen Bar, who has led Shin Bet since 2021.Germany is pledging a further 300m ($326m; 252m) in aid for Syrians through the UN and select organisations, the country's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said this morning ahead of an EU-led donor conference in Brussels. More than half of the funds, which will go towards providing food, healthcare and emergency shelters, among other relief, will be allocated without the transitional government in the country, she said. Continue reading...

Ex-nurse says inquiry should be suspended until review of convictions has finishedLucy Letby has called for the public inquiry into her crimes to be halted, arguing there is now overwhelming and compelling" evidence undermining her baby murder convictions.Lawyers for the former nurse took the extraordinary step of writing to Lady Justice Thirlwall on Monday to say that the inquiry - which is due to end on Wednesday - should be suspended immediately. Continue reading...

President claims without evidence that January 6 panel members' pre-emptive clemency was not signed personally

Young's forthcoming Love Earth tour will not use Ticketmaster's platinum' ticketing scheme - described by Smith as a greedy scam'Neil Young has credited the Cure's frontman Robert Smith with inspiring his decision not to allow Ticketmaster to use dynamic pricing for his forthcoming tour.Dynamic pricing is marketed by Ticketmaster as platinum" or in demand" tickets which, according to the company, give fans the opportunity to purchase the most in demand tickets to an event, at a market-driven price" - meaning a rise in prices for especially sought-after tickets.My management and agent have always tried to cover my back on the road, getting me the best deals they could. They have tried to protect me and the fans from scalpers who buy the best tickets and resell them at huge increases for their own profits. Ticketmaster's high-priced Platinum tickets were introduced to the areas where scalpers were buying the most tickets for resale. The money went to me. That did not feel right. Very soon, Platinum tickets will no longer be available for my shows. I have decided to let the people work this out. Buy aggressively when the tickets come out or tickets will cost a lot more in a secondary market. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 90% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans are worried about tariffs, with similar concerns about recession

Murray Watt says deregistering union's construction division would jeopardise ongoing investigations and that new US-style laws are unnecessary

Group claims laws rushed through after wave of antisemitism in state are unconstitutional' and undemocratic'

At least 34 people killed as storms sweep midwest and southern states, while rain causes chaos in Melbourne raceAt least 34 people have died across six states in the US in the past week as a powerful storm system swept through the midwest and south, affecting Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mississippi. The storms brought a devastating combination of dust storms, tornadoes, wildfires, flash flooding and large hailstones, and left behind a trail of wrecked vehicles, severely damaged buildings and widespread power outages. More than 60 million Americans have been affected by the severe weather.Since Friday, 68 tornadoes have been observed, an unusually high number for this time of year, as tornado season doesn't typically begin until May. Wind gusts reached up to 70mph. These intense storms were fuelled by a clash of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, which mixed with colder air from Canada and the Rocky Mountains. This temperature contrast combined with strong wind shear strengthened the rotating vortex of the thunderstorms. The flat terrain of Tornado Alley also assisted the storms, allowing them to develop and move rapidly across the region. Continue reading...

Many MPs will feel that pushing people in to poverty to balance the books is not what they came into politics to doThis week may come to be the moment when Keir Starmer's reputation as the hard man of the Labour party was tested to its limits. How far is the prime minister really prepared to push his MPs?He has the raw numbers to do whatever he chooses - there is no chance of the changes being halted in parliament - but the consequences of forcing his MPs to swallow harsh welfare cuts affecting millions of people will be long-lasting. Continue reading...

Children particularly vulnerable to unexploded war remnants scattered throughout country as more than a million people returnMore than 200 people, including women and children, have been killed in Syria in incidents involving war remnants in the three months since the fall of the Assad regime, as bomb disposal experts warn that no area in Syria is safe".The number of casualties has risen as approximately 1.2 million people return to their former homes and lands after being displaced by the country's brutal civil war. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: the former Philippines president was arrested and taken to The Hague after a tense standoff. It's a much needed win for the international criminal court - but success is far from a givenGood morning.Last Tuesday, chaos erupted at Manila's main airport as authorities arrested the Philippines' 79-year-old former president Rodrigo Duterte, who had arrived from Hong Kong. An arrest warrant issued in secret by the international criminal court (ICC) accused him of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in killings during his brutal war on drugs".Benefits | Keir Starmer is to defy growing anger by driving through welfare cuts for some of the UK's most severely disabled people, with an overhaul that could see more than 600,000 benefit claimants lose out on an average of 675 a month.Ukraine | Donald Trump has said he plans to discuss ending the war in Ukraine with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and that negotiators have already discussed dividing up certain assets". We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants," Trump said, when asked about concessions.Space | A pair of US astronauts stuck for more than nine months on the International Space Station will be returned to Earth on Tuesday evening, Nasa has said. Barry Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams are to be transported home with another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut after a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft arrived at the ISS early on Sunday.Business | Buy-to-let has become the largest single type of business in the UK - nearly four times as prevalent as fast food takeaways or hairdressers.Healthcare | The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has said he believes there is an overdiagnosis" of some mental health conditions as well as too many people being written off" - factors he said were key to the government's welfare measures. Continue reading...

Platforms must safeguard against content such as terrorist and child sexual abuse material under Online Safety ActSocial media platforms face significant fines if they fail to implement robust measures in the UK to tackle illegal content, including fraud, terrorism, and child sexual abuse material, under new digital safety laws.Tech companies must implement safeguards that take action against illegal harms such as encouraging suicide, extreme pornography and selling drugs. Continue reading...

Thinktank says unauthorised absence is a leading cause' of performance gap between disadvantaged pupils and peersUnauthorised school absence is a leading cause of the widening performance gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in England, according to analysis from a respected thinktank.The research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found that all of the increase in the disadvantage gap" among 16-year-olds since 2019 can be explained by students on free school meals (FSM) missing more time off school than other pupils, putting them several months behind in terms of their results. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Clare Moriarty hits out at Labour's plan as short-term action' with long-term consequences' in rare interventionCutting benefits for disabled people will push more people into poverty and make it harder for them to get into work, the chief executive of Citizens Advice (CAB) has warned.In a rare intervention, Clare Moriarty criticised the Labour government's proposals as a short-term action which has very serious long-term consequences" that risk leaving an intergenerational effect. Continue reading...

Some areas forecast to have warmer weather than Ibiza and Corfu on Thursday's spring equinoxParts of the UK are expected to be warmer than Ibiza and Corfu this week on the first official day of spring.This Thursday marks the spring equinox and temperatures could reach 19C (66F) in the south of England. The Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said that was 8C hotter than the average for the time of year. Continue reading...

Anti-slavery commissioner says scheme to plug staffing gaps post-Brexit was a blunt instrument' that enabled exploitation of the vulnerableA post-Brexit visa scheme to fill vacancies in social care was badly designed and enabled horrific" abuse of migrant workers, the UK's anti-slavery watchdog has said.Commissioner Eleanor Lyons said the care worker visa route introduced by the Conservatives in February 2022 had caused avoidable harm and some really severe" exploitation. Continue reading...

Treatment of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who has been suspended from senate, shines light on women's rightsLast July, Nigeria's third-most powerful man gave a rare apology on the floor of the senate which he heads.Godswill Akpabio had chastised his colleague Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for speaking out of turn, saying: We are not in a nightclub". But after receiving what he said was a deluge of insulting text messages from Nigerians, he apologised publicly a few days later. Continue reading...

Police called after reports of abuse, thrown objects on street where NSW premier ordered homes to be demolished

Home Office told Manikarnika Dutta to quit Britain for spending too many days abroad for studyA high-achieving academic has been threatened with deportation from the UK because the Home Office says she has spent too many days conducting her research requiring access to historic Indian archives stored in India.Manikarnika Dutta, 37, a historian, conducted the research as part of her academic commitments to the University of Oxford, which involved studying archives in cities in India and attending a series of international conferences. Continue reading...

New contraceptives, IVF and endometriosis treatments added to federal subsidy scheme, with Coalition leaders backing the move

Blaze swept through rugged terrain at Montrose in Melbourne's outer east on Saturday night

Health secretary says the scrapping of NHS England is beginning, not end' of bid to slash bloated bureaucracy'The health secretary has declared that scrapping NHS England is the beginning, not the end" and has vowed to continue slashing bloated bureaucracy".

One of those waiting for Labour's announcement explains why he depends on personal independence paymentsAdam Gabsi is unequivocal on the subject of his personal independence payment: It really is an essential lifeline. Idon't feel that I would be able to function without it."Gabsi receives his Pip disability benefit for multiple sclerosis, with which he was diagnosed 18years ago, when he was 21. Continue reading...

Russian leader's antagonism to Zelenskyy and lack of interest in a ceasefire leaves colossal task for US

London council's policy of offering people homes far from the area led to England's highest number of refusalsA Labour-run London council left more than 100 families homeless without support last year after they refused to be relocated outside the borough, the Observer can reveal.Freedom of information data from about 80% of English councils shows that they ended their legal duties to 615 households who refused offers of housing outside the local authority area in 2024 - but this national total is heavily skewed. Continue reading...

As cases of romance fraud soar by 27%, tricked woman tells of her 115,000 ordealThe first time Yvonne met Gary Rogers he arrived at her house in a shiny black Range Rover smelling of Armani Code perfume, with neatly gelled silver hair. It was August 2017, and Yvonne's ex-husband had suggested she ask the motor dealer, known locally as the Jag man", to fix her car.Yvonne* says their relationship developed slowly. Gary" boasted he had been spending time on his 42-ft boat, claimed to own two houses, and once turned up in a Porsche to take her for a drink. As they began to see more of each other, he would arrive at Yvonne's house with freshly cut fruit and smoked salmon, always with a wad of money on him. Continue reading...

Filipino national killed during collision between Vladimir Motin's vessel and a US oil tanker in the North SeaThe captain of the Russian container ship that crashed into a US oil tanker in the North Sea, killing a crew member, has appeared in court.Vladimir Motin of Primorsky, St Petersburg, in Russia was charged with gross negligence manslaughter over the collision earlier this week. Continue reading...

Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor sworn in and expected to call election soonMark Carney has said Canada will never be part of the US, after being sworn in as the country's 24th prime minister in a sudden rise to power.We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US," the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England told a crowd outside Rideau Hall in Ottawa, rejecting Donald Trump's annexation threats. We are very fundamentally a different country." Continue reading...

Woman alleged she was raped when the department of justice already knew Wayne Astill was abusing his position towards female inmates'

TV doctor and former heart surgeon vows to fight healthcare fraud at Senate hearing for health roleDr Mehmet Oz promised senators on Friday to fight healthcare fraud and push to make Americans healthier if he becomes the next leader of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Vladimir Motin was in charge of the Solong when it hit a tanker off East Yorkshire coast, leaving one man deadThe master of the container ship the Solong, which crashed into another vessel in the North Sea, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.Vladimir Motin, 59, a Russian national, was in charge of the ship when it collided with a tanker carrying jet fuel on Monday about 12 miles (19km) off the East Yorkshire coast, leaving one man dead. Continue reading...

Arizona senator had also clashed with billionaire over the latter's traitor' jibe after Kelly posted about his Ukraine visitThe Arizona Democratic senator Mark Kelly announced he was ditching his Tesla car, because of brand owner Elon Musk's role in slashing federal budgets and staffing and attendant threats to social benefits programs.Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country," Kelly said, in video posted to X, the social media platform owned by Musk. Continue reading...

Shaken by rail protests, Kyriakos Mitsotakis brings in new transport minister while tacking right on migrationThe Greek prime minister has appointed a former far-right student activist to the helm of the migration ministry as part of a broad reshuffle aimed at resetting" his government amid public outrage over its handling of a deadly 2023 train crash.In an attempt to stem declining approval ratings, Kyriakos Mitsotakis placed the self-described nationalist, Makis Voridis, in the sensitive post while selecting a number of younger officials to key portfolios including the transport ministry. Continue reading...

A spokesperson offered no evidence for the claim after 26 people were killed on a train that was hijacked in Balochistan province on TuesdayPakistan's military has accused neighbouring India of sponsoring militant groups in the south-west of the country as survivors recounted their ordeal from an unprecedented attack that killed 26 passengers on a hijacked train.The scope of the attack in Balochistan province underscores the struggles that Pakistan faces to rein in militant groups. Continue reading...

Four women reach resolution with corporation after claims they were victims of rigged' recruitment processFour female news presenters have reached a last-minute settlement with the BBC over claims they were the victims of a rigged" recruitment process.Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera claimed they lost their positions on the BBC News channel as a result of the recruitment exercise, with their claims involving age and sex discrimination. Continue reading...

School leaders says current special educational needs system in England is on brink of collapse

Actor Javier Bardem and Kiss frontman Gene Simmons will be among the talking heads in a film about the British heavy metal band by director Malcolm VenvilleIron Maiden are to have an official documentary made about them, charting their long career as cornerstones of British heavy metal.The currently untitled film, scheduled for release in cinemas in the autumn to mark Iron Maiden's 50th anniversary, will feature interviews with the band - including the final interview with early member Paul Di'Anno, who died last year - as they recall their path from grotty east London to five UK No 1 albums and phantasmagoric arena-filling stage shows. Superfans including Kiss's Gene Simmons, Metallica's Lars Ulrich and actor Javier Bardem will be on hand for analysis. Continue reading...

Labour MPs suggest backlash means Starmer cannot push ahead with freeze on some personal independence payments