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New subcommittee will scrutinise plans to change how watchdogs supervise the UK’s financial sectorCross-party MPs are forming a special group to scrutinise post-Brexit rules for City firms, amid concerns that the overhaul could result in a regulatory race to the bottom.The new subcommittee, which will be run by Treasury committee members and advised by a panel of experts, is meant to make up for the fact that new rules are no longer being dissected by politicians from the European parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee, after the UK’s exit from the EU. Continue reading...

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s comments come as island faces its worst crisis in recent memory, though PM didn’t cite any new developmentsSri Lanka’s debt-laden economy has “collapsed” after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity, the prime minister told lawmakers in comments that underscored the country’s dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders.Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament the South Asian nation faces “a far more serious situation“ than the shortages alone, and he warned of “a possible fall to rock bottom.” Continue reading...

Toll expected to rise after deadliest quake in two decades strikes during night near Khost, 95 miles south of KabulA powerful earthquake in a remote area of Afghanistan’s Paktika province has killed at least 1,000 people and injured at least 1,500, with the toll expected to rise in the impoverished country.According to Taliban officials, hundreds more were injured in what appears to have been the deadliest quake in two decades, striking during the night with heavy rain hampering rescue efforts. Continue reading...

RMT accuses government of ‘wrecking negotiations’ as operators and passengers prepare to face further disruption on ThursdayTalks to avert a second national rail strike collapsed in rancour as the two sides traded insults in a bitter war of words as millions of passengers faced another day of disruption.In increasingly fraught negotiations, the head of the RMT hit out at the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, for “wrecking negotiations” in the dispute over pay, working conditions and proposed “modernisation” plans to cut costs after the pandemic. Continue reading...

Apsana Begum tweeted that she had attended hospital and been signed off work by her GPA Labour MP has announced that she is taking time away from work because of the strain caused by what she said was “misogynistic abuse and harassment” linked to efforts to make her seek formal reselection for her seat.In a statement posted on Twitter, Apsana Begum, the MP for Poplar and Limehouse in east London since 2019, said she had been obliged to go to hospital on 12 June, and had since been signed off sick by a GP. Continue reading...

Government rejects conditions for dialogue to end 10 days of Indigenous-led demonstrations against economic policyViolent protests against the economic policies of Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso have paralysed the country’s capital and other regions, but the government on Wednesday rejected their conditions for dialogue.Quito is experiencing food and fuel shortages after 10 days of demonstrations in which protesters at times have clashed with police. After officials rejected the conditions for negotiations, the United States government issued an advisory urging travellers to reconsider visiting the country due to “civil unrest and crime”. Continue reading...

Aiden Aslin has been told his execution in Russian-occupied Ukraine will be carried out, his family sayA British man sentenced to death by a Russian proxy court for fighting in Ukraine has been told the execution will be carried out, his family have said.Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were sentenced on charges of “terrorism” by a court that is not internationally recognised earlier this month in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Continue reading...

Billionaire media baron, 91, to split from model and actor wife, 65, he married in London in 2016, New York Times reports

Campaigners say disabled people seen as an afterthought amid rail strikes and flight cancellations

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Coalition led by Kiril Petkov loses majority over disputes about budget and North MacedoniaThe Bulgarian government has collapsed in a no-confidence vote in parliament, throwing the European Union country into political turmoil amid the war in Ukraine and surging inflation.Opposition lawmakers toppled the government of the prime minister, Kiril Petkov – which took power six months ago – by 123-116 in a vote after the ruling coalition lost its majority over disputes on budget spending and whether Bulgaria should unlock North Macedonia’s EU accession. Continue reading...

Investigation launched into death of 26-year-old man on training exercise in WiltshireA soldier has died in an incident involving an armoured vehicle during a training exercise on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire – the second such occurrence in under a year.Emergency services were called to a stretch of the plain west of Tidworth at about 10.45am on Tuesday after reports that a man had been involved in a collision, Wiltshire police said. Continue reading...

MPs who defied Keir Starmer’s order to stay away from striking RMT workers may be disciplined for attendanceLabour frontbenchers who defied Keir Starmer to appear on picket lines have been encouraged to issue public apologies or risk disciplinary action, despite some shadow cabinet members urging the Labour leader to drop the issue.Several frontbenchers were pictured alongside striking RMT workers on Tuesday, despite explicit instructions from Starmer to stay away. Continue reading...

FDA had delayed decision in September as it weighed the public health impact of the productsThe US Food and Drug Administration is preparing to order Juul Labs to take its e-cigarettes off the market in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.Shares in the tobacco giant Altria Group, which owns a 35% stake in the maker of vaping products, fell 8.5% following the report. The decision could come as early as Wednesday, the Journal report said. Continue reading...

The addition to baptism and confirmation ceremonies thought to be first of its kind in UKChristians being confirmed or baptised in the Oxford diocese will henceforth be asked to commit to protecting the environment as part of the church’s formal liturgy.The addition to the ceremonies is supported by the Right Rev Steven Croft, bishop of Oxford, and asks people being baptised or confirmed to “strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the Earth”. Continue reading...

Thomas J Price’s Warm Shores was created from composites of 30 residents connected to the Windrush generation, and shows how monuments can represent the communities they stand inA new public sculpture commemorating the Windrush generation was unveiled in east London on Wednesday morning to smiles and curiosity. Warm Shores by Thomas J Price, a 9ft (2.75 metres) bronze of a man and a woman standing outside Hackney town tall, marks the full installation of the Hackney Windrush Art Commission, a project celebrating the contribution made by those who have immigrated to the area. “It’s not a monument, it’s a celebration,” said Price, looking on as residents began to interact with the work.In an era where public art and monuments are politically charged like never before, surely the test of a great public artwork is in the community response. As locals passed the sculpture they reacted warmly, looking at the two figures, touching them, some asking “What does this represent? Is this for me?” Although Price’s sculpture and Basil Watson’s official national monument at Waterloo were both unveiled today to salute the generation which came from the Caribbean to the UK between 1948 and 1970, those affected by the Windrush scandal are still fighting for compensation. Continue reading...

Family of Oladeji Omishore allege police failed to correct reports he was armed with screwdriverThe family of a man who died after falling into the Thames after police repeatedly fired a Taser at him have called for an investigation into alleged misinformation put out by Scotland Yard.Oladeji Omishore, 41, clashed with officers on Chelsea Bridge, west London, just after 9am on Saturday 4 June. The Met said they were called to reports of a man clutching a screwdriver who was causing a disturbance. Continue reading...

Police cordon off site in Bexleyheath where hole emerged on Tuesday evening as road began to crackA sinkhole spanning the entire breadth of a residential street has opened up in south-east London.The hole – which measures approximately seven metres by seven metres and is four metres deep – emerged on Tuesday evening when the road in Bexleyheath started cracking. Continue reading...

Organisers of Viking fire festival in Lerwick had long resisted calls to drop males-only ruleShetland’s largest Up Helly Aa Viking fire festival has lifted a longstanding ban on women and girls taking part, after repeatedly resisting demands for reform.Organisers of the event held in Lerwick every January had refused to let women take part in the annual parade through the town by 1,000 torch-bearing guizers or the late-night ritualistic burning of a replica longship on a council-owned playing field. Continue reading...

The award-winning writer, whose hit musical originally opened on Broadway in the late 60s, died in New York City of cardio respiratory arrestJames Rado, the award-winning co-creator of Hair, has died at the age of 90.The writer, whose hit musical launched songs such as Aquarius and Let the Sunshine In, died peacefully in New York City surrounded by family. The cause of death was cardio respiratory arrest, as confirmed by longtime friend, publicist Merle Frimark. Continue reading...

‘Desperate’ tourist who fell foul of country’s total ban fears for her life if complications set in while she waits for transfer to UKDoctors have denied an American woman on holiday in Malta a potentially life-saving abortion, despite saying her baby had a “zero chance” of survival after she was admitted to hospital with severe bleeding in her 16th week of pregnancy.Despite an “extreme risk” of haemorrhage and infection, doctors at the Mater Dei hospital in Msida told Andrea Prudente that they would not perform a termination because of the country’s total ban on abortion. Continue reading...

Harley Bond, nine, whose condition limits his ability to walk and talk, has not missed festival since he was bornGlastonbury veterans often liken their journey to the festival to a semi-religious experience. But for one family the pilgrimage is particularly special.Harley Bond, nine, was diagnosed six years ago with a rare type of childhood dementia that gradually limits his ability to walk, talk and eat. He has a life expectancy of just 14 years. Continue reading...

Family to receive compensation for death of Xiaojun Chen in what union says is first case where a gig economy worker has been considered an employee

Man in 30s who knew the victim being held by Met policeAn 89-year-old woman has been stabbed to death in Croydon, south London.Emergency services were called to a home in Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, at about 9.20pm on Tuesday and paramedics tried to save the pensioner but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Exclusive: officials’ comments put paid to idea displeasure with UK is limited to Irish caucus on Capitol HillThe US government has warned that Boris Johnson’s move to unilaterally axe some of the Northern Ireland Brexit arrangements protocol was a matter of continuing concern and “not conducive” to a trade deal.Senior officials have hit back at suggestions that the lack of public commentary by the Biden administration meant it was not troubled by the move to bring in new laws to ditch part of the Brexit deal signed in 2020. Continue reading...

Transport bosses say services will be disrupted throughout the week after mass industrial action on TuesdayTravel woes across Great Britain are due to continue as the fallout from rail strikes causes knock-on disruption.Talks have resumed in an attempt to resolve the bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions after a mass strike of rail workers on Tuesday, with further strikes planned for Thursday and Saturday. Continue reading...

Organiser Emily Eavis ‘very emotional’ as gates open for first edition of festival in three yearsThe Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has said she was overcome with emotion as the first of 200,000 people flooded into the festival for the first time in three years.Its return has long been anticipated after the pandemic forced organisers to cancel two years in a row. In celebration of its 50th year, Sir Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar will headline the Pyramid stage, while Diana Ross will fill the Sunday teatime legends slot. Continue reading...

Boy had been with other children in the river in Whitchurch, Cardiff, when he went missingThe body of a 13-year-old boy has been found in the River Taff after a major search operation.South Wales police confirmed the boy’s death after an extensive search involving police, fire crews, ambulance officers, coastguards and a police helicopter. Continue reading...

Region now on par with Saudi Arabia in some indicators – and coming closer to converging with ChinaHong Kong has plunged further in a human rights ranking report, bringing it on a par with Saudi Arabia in some indicators, and closer to converging with China as the Communist party government deepens its control on the region.The rankings report by the Human Rights Measurement Index (HRMI) also highlighted a deepening divide in China between high scores in quality of life indicators and some of the world’s lowest for civil and political rights. But the organisation found rights to basic essentials were often stripped from people for political reasons. Continue reading...

Woman repeatedly told Zumbo she did not want physical contact with him, Sydney court told

Law has important consequences and ‘sits oddly’ with aims of sentencing, which include rehabilitation and reintegration, national security watchdog says

Parts of China see worst flooding in decades as 500,000 homes damaged, roads collapsed and some houses swept awayMajor flooding has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in southern China, with more rain expected.The manufacturing hub of Guangdong suspended classes, office work and public transport amid rising waters and the threat of landslides. In the neighbouring province of Jiangxi, almost 500,000 people have seen damage to their homes and their lives uprooted. Continue reading...

Figure comes four years after people wrongly classified as illegal immigrants were promised redressOnly one in four applicants to the Windrush compensation scheme have received payments four years after the government promised redress for those wrongly classified by the Home Office as illegal immigrants.Fewer than 7% of the 15,000 compensation claims the government originally expected have received a payment. Ahead of Windrush Day on Wednesday, claimants continued to report long delays and high levels of scepticism from officials handling their applications. Continue reading...

Report finds officers failing to use body-worn cameras and incidents often occurred in prison ‘CCTV blind spots’

Intruders included 17 fighters, six H-6 bombers and aerial refuelling aircraft, in largest Chinese incursion since MayTaiwan scrambled jets to warn away 29 Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone, including bombers that flew to the south of the island and into the Pacific, in the latest uptick in tensions and largest incursion since late May.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past two years or so of repeated missions by the Chinese air force near the democratically governed island, often in the south-western part of its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas islands. Continue reading...

In the middle of a crippling economic crisis, demonstrating is a luxury the country’s Tamil minority cannot affordFor months now, the sounds of protest and anger have rung out across Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city. Every day, along the city’s seafront promenade of Galle Face, people have gathered in their tens of thousands to rage against the government for plunging the country into its worst financial crisis in modern history.But 200 miles north, in the district of Mullaitivu, the streets are silent. The economic crisis has hit Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, who are concentrated in the north and eastern provinces, as hard as those in the south; the fishermen here say they are already starving. But they will also tell you that protesting is a privilege in Sri Lanka – one they have never been afforded. Continue reading...

Packs contain 52 photos of dead and missing people in initiative backed by victims’ families

Luigi Di Maio’s move comes after he accused 5-Star leader Giuseppe Conte of undermining government support for UkraineItaly’s foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has announced that he is leaving the 5-Star Movement to form a new parliamentary group backing the government of prime minister Mario Draghi.Di Maio’s move comes after he accused 5-Star leader and former prime minister Giuseppe Conte of undermining government efforts to support Ukraine and weakening Rome’s standing within the EU. Continue reading...

Pressure grows on state government to increase public sector salaries to meet cost of living

Proposal to replace Human Rights Act with bill of rights is effort to make government ‘untouchable’, say criticsDowning Street will tomorrow set out sweeping plans to override the power of Europe’s human rights court just days after a judge in Strasbourg blocked the deportation of asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda.The abolition of the Human Rights Act (HRA), including reducing the influence of the European court of human rights (ECHR), will be introduced before parliament in what the government described as a restatement of Britain’s sovereignty. Continue reading...

Party’s Westminster leader faced calls to resign after leak of comments supporting suspended former chief whip Patrick GradyThe SNP has launched an external review into the support available to staff after an MP accused her party of “clearly falling short” of supporting sexual harassment complainants.It follows the party’s former Westminster chief whip Patrick Grady being suspended from the SNP’s Westminster group for a week, as well as being suspended from parliament for two days, over a sexual advance towards a teenage staff member in 2016. Continue reading...

Police arrest man after woman and her five-year-old son found with stab wounds at property in BarnetA man has been arrested after a woman and her five-year-old son were stabbed to death in north London on Tuesday.The woman, believed to be 37, and her child were found with stab wounds at a property in Brookside South, Barnet at 1.37pm. Continue reading...

Accusations of academics being paid per piece, rather than per hour, comes amid widespread higher education wage complaints

Growing call for inquiry over claims that Boris Johnson tried to secure Foreign Office role for then girlfriendCorrespondence exists confirming that Boris Johnson attempted in 2019 to secure a senior role for his then girlfriend, Carrie Johnson, at the Foreign Office, a source has said, amid growing calls for an inquiry.The source, who worked with Johnson at the time, said Carrie Johnson – now the prime minister’s wife – had never progressed as far as formally applying for the role. Continue reading...

RMT praises ‘fantastic’ turnout at picket lines but government plays down impact of actionThe first day of the biggest rail strikes in decades gave much of Great Britain a reminder of lockdown, with city centres quieter as millions avoided public transport, worked from home or took to their cars.About 80% of services were axed during the 24-hour strike by 40,000 members of the RMT union, leaving much of northern England, Wales and Scotland without any trains. Of the few trains that ran and stations that remained open, most were quiet as passengers heeded advice to avoid travel. Continue reading...

Japanese national Satoko Kishimoto won ward of 500,000 people 5,800 miles away with online campaigningA Japanese woman living in Belgium has been elected as mayor of a district in Tokyo after coming to prominence through her online campaigning during the Covid pandemic.Satoko Kishimoto, 47, who has lived in the Belgian city of Leuven with her husband and children for a decade, is now mayor of Suginami city, a ward of 500,000 people, more than 5,800 miles away from her home. Continue reading...

Union says Tuesday’s strikes had seen ‘fantastic’ turnout at picket lines and ‘exceeded expectations’

Incident occurred in violence-plagued remote mountainous region of Chihuahua, which has strong organized crime presenceTwo Jesuit priests have been killed inside a church after a man pursued by gunmen apparently sought refuge in a remote mountainous area of northern Mexico.Javier Campos Morales and Joaquín César Mora Salazar were killed on Monday inside the church in Cerocahui, Chihuahua. Continue reading...

Rich archaeological area 50 meters under sea off Antikythera gives up yet more treasures after boulders removedFor archaeologists, it’s the underwater find that keeps on giving. A Roman-era cargo ship, discovered by chance off the Greek island of Antikythera more than 120 years ago and regarded as the world’s richest ancient shipwreck, has yielded yet more treasures in the most recent explorations of it, including the missing head of a statue of the demigod Hercules.“In 1900, [sponge divers] pulled out the statue of Hercules [from the sea] and now in all probably we’ve found its head,” said Prof Lorenz Baumer, the classical archaeologist who is overseeing the underwater mission with the University of Geneva. Continue reading...

Robertson might be tiny but for poet and schoolteacher Peter Ramm, it is the secret weapon that helped him win the UK’s biggest prize for unpublished poetry