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Chief justice says it is clear that justice had seriously miscarried in case of Alan Hall, who was convicted of murder of Arthur Easton in 1985A New Zealand man who spent 19 years in prison for murder has had his conviction quashed after the supreme court found there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice when key evidence was not disclosed in the original trial – something the crown itself acknowledged was wrong.Alan Hall, who has autism, was convicted at age 23 of the murder of Arthur Easton in his Papakura home in 1985. Easton had been stabbed by an intruder and the murder weapon – a bayonet – and a woollen hat were found at the scene. Continue reading...

The outgoing children’s laureate has transformed six primary schools through her Life-changing Libraries initiative, but says a ringfenced fund is needed for lasting impactAuthor Cressida Cowell has renewed a call for the government to invest £100m in primary school libraries, as her final act in the role of children’s laureate.Cowell said that it was “ever more urgent to introduce a proper, lasting” library intervention, as new research shows that school libraries help to improve academic standards, as well as foster a love of reading in children. Continue reading...

Citizens Advice says consumers ‘piling borrowing on top of borrowing’ by paying with credit cardsMore than two in five recent buy now, pay later (BNPL) shoppers relied on credit cards or other forms of borrowing to pay off what they owed, the charity Citizens Advice has said.It said the figures showed that shoppers are “piling borrowing on top of borrowing” and underlined the urgent need for BNPL to be regulated. Continue reading...

Public Service Association strike comes after government announced 2.5% wage cap would rise to 3%

Shadow treasurer David Davis tells Sky News host Peta Credlin ‘nothing’s ever independent, it’s always stacked’

ACCC is seeking compensation for Australian customers who were quoted accommodation prices in USD but charged in AUD

Jean Claude Sangwa took up arms in Luhansk – and his pro-Moscow views are mainstream in much of AfricaFighting alongside pro-Russia separatists as part of Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine wasn’t mentioned in the brochures of Luhansk University when Jean Claude Sangwa, a 27-year-old student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, moved to the breakaway region last year to study economics.But when the head of the Kremlin-controlled, self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic announced a full military mobilisation of the region on 19 February, Sangwa, together with two friends and fellow students from DRC and Central African Republic, decided to join the local militia and take up arms against Ukraine. Continue reading...

Marilyn Dawson tells murder trial she was unhappy about Chris Dawson and JC sharing a bed at her place while he was still married

But economists say pulling money out of retirement savings to try to pick the market can result in further losses

High court found in favour of Turkish citizen whose Australian citizenship was cancelled over Asio finding he joined Islamic State

Cases where DNA evidence was initially found to be insufficient to undergo further testing at state-run lab are now being reviewed

The special edition of Margaret Atwood’s novel was auctioned by Sotheby’s and is made of Cinefoil, a treated aluminum productA specially commissioned, unburnable edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been auctioned for $130,000, Sotheby’s announced Tuesday.Proceeds will be donated to PEN America, which advocates for free expression worldwide. The 384-page book consists mainly of Cinefoil, a specially treated aluminum product, and was announced last month at PEN’s annual fundraising gala. Continue reading...

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus says ‘serious and systemic’ past corruption allegations would be part of new commission’s remit

Report says failings mean ministers still do not know if tagging criminals is helping to cut reoffendingA failed government plan to transform the system for electronically tagging offenders wasted £98m of taxpayers’ money, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.The National Audit Office (NAO) said attempts to upgrade HM Prison & Probation Service’s (HMPPS) tagging system were abandoned in March after 11 years and a net spend of £153m. Continue reading...

Officers claimed they feared being violently attacked, say reports, but campaigners accuse force of ‘trampling all over human rights’Attenders at Sarah Everard’s vigil were arrested by police officers who feared the event had become an “anti-police protest”, according to reports.Officers claimed in witness statements first reported by the Evening Standard that they were branded “murderers” by those in attendance. Continue reading...

Sir Robert Francis, who authored study, says there is ‘compelling case’ for giving interim compensation of £100,000 to each victimCompensation for victims of the infected blood scandal could run into billions of pounds after a government commissioned report suggested thousands of people should receive minimum payments of £100,000 each.Sir Robert Francis QC, was asked to make recommendations for a framework for compensation and redress for people infected after being given factor VIII blood products that were contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C imported from the US in the 1970s and 1980s, or after being exposed to tainted blood through transfusions or after childbirth. It has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. Continue reading...

MPs will attempt to stymie Boris Johnson’s legislative agenda, starting with bill on NI protocolRebel Conservative MPs are drawing up plans for “vote strikes” in a bid to paralyse law-making and capitalise on the dramatic Boris Johnson no-confidence vote.Some of the 148 MPs who voted to oust the prime minister on Monday said they would try to stymie his government’s legislative agenda, as happened at the end of the Theresa May era, by abstaining on key laws. Continue reading...

Suspects accused of evading bills totalling €60,000 after allegedly plugging in to neighbours’ supplyEleven members of a Rome-based mafia clan known for its ostentatious funerals and garishly decorated villas are facing trial for allegedly stealing electricity by an illegal connection to their neighbours’ supply.The charges emerged as part of an investigation into the Casamonica clan, whose illegally built villas in the Quadraro district were demolished in 2018 as the former Rome mayor Virginia Raggi tried to tackle organised crime in the city. Continue reading...

Local MPs opposed plan for 13-mile stretch of new track but industry says move is ‘hugely disappointing’A £3bn branch of the High Speed 2 network designed to speed up rail journeys between London and Scotland has been quietly ditched by ministers, provoking outrage from rail industry groups.The change was announced on Monday evening as the result of the confidence vote in Boris Johnson was being determined. Three leading industry bodies said the decision to scrap the Golborne link would create a bottleneck for trains and negatively affect passengers and freight. Continue reading...

Beijing insists Chinese military’s actions – labelled dangerous by Australia – were ‘professional, safe, reasonable and legal’China has warned Australia to stop “provocations” or face “serious consequences” after the Albanese government said a Chinese jet intercepted an RAAF plane in a dangerous manoeuvre in late May.Australia complained to China over its interception of a maritime surveillance flight in international airspace in the South China Sea region on 26 May which Australia labelled “very dangerous”. Continue reading...

Centrica boss also defends Amber Rudd’s appointment to its board as a non-executiveThe British Gas owner, Centrica, has warned that Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax will “damage investor confidence” as Britain attempts to build up green energy supplies.The Centrica chairman, Scott Wheway, and its chief executive, Chris O’Shea, hit out at the chancellor’s 25% levy on oil and gas operators’ excess profits, which will be used to pay for measures to reduce soaring energy bills. Continue reading...

Some problem drinkers also reducing heating to afford rising alcohol costs, according to Public Health ScotlandScotland’s minimum alcohol pricing policy has not encouraged problem drinkers to consume less but has prompted some to cut back on food or heating in order to afford rising costs, according to the first evaluation of its impact on those who drink alcohol at harmful levels.The Scottish National party’s flagship policy, championed by Nicola Sturgeon when she was health minister and introduced after successive court challenges by the Scotch Whisky Association, came into force in May 2018. It introduced a legally enforced minimum price for all alcoholic drinks of 50p a unit and aimed to tackle chronic alcohol abuse by targeting low-cost, high-strength drinks. Continue reading...

Loose Women panellist Brenda Edwards says she was in ‘state of shock’ after finding out how son diedThe music entrepreneur and YouTube star Jamal Edwards died from arrhythmia as a result of taking recreational drugs, his mother has said.Edwards, who helped launch the careers of Dave and Ed Sheeran, died in February aged 31. Brenda Edwards, a singer and Loose Women panellist, said in a statement on Tuesday she was in a “state of shock” after finding out how he died. Continue reading...

Prof Jon Tonge accurately predicted result of confidence vote in prime minister

Scientists find the size of the ‘outer wedge’ of a faultline can magnify a rupture’s impact, worrying news for a fault running from Vancouver Island to northern CaliforniaScientists have long predicted a giant 9.0-magnitude earthquake that reverberates out from the Pacific north-west’s Cascadia fault and quickly triggers colossal waves barreling to shore.But what if these predictions were missing an important piece of information – one that, in certain scenarios, could tell an even more extreme story? Continue reading...

Accounting firm failed to adequately scrutinise long-term contracts at construction companies, says FRCPricewaterhouseCoopers has received penalties totalling £5m for failures in its audit of the construction firms Galliford Try and Kier, in the latest fines imposed on a “big four” accounting firm.The Financial Reporting Council, the accounting watchdog, also imposed a £136,000 fine on the head of PwC’s construction division and issued severe reprimands to PwC, which it said had failed to adequately scrutinise long-term contracts at both builders, among other failings. It ordered the firm to review its audit work of listed companies that rely on long-term contracts. Continue reading...

Fast-food chain temporarily changes recipe due to supply chain issues caused by floods in Queensland and northern NSW earlier this yearIf you’ve noticed a twist in your Twister, or a bit more zing in your Zinger, it could be that Australia’s lettuce shortage is starting to bite.KFC has advised customers that they are temporarily using a blend of lettuce and cabbage in stores in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania because of supply issues across the country. Continue reading...

Reports of presence at Ream base on Gulf of Thailand would significantly expand its presence in Indo-PacificA Cambodian naval base being constructed with the assistance of China will include a portion for the exclusive use of the Chinese military, according to a report in the Washington Post.The Chinese and Cambodian governments have previously denied reports that Cambodia will allow a Chinese military presence at the Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand Continue reading...

UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia walks out after Charles Michel accuses Moscow of being ‘solely responsible for this looming food crisis’

Investigation launched as first cases in a year blamed on vaccine refusal fuelled by clerics and falsification of records by parentsPakistan’s polio eradication campaign is in disarray after an alarming jump in cases last week. Eight polio cases have now been reported in children over the past month in North Waziristan district, bordering Afghanistan. They are the first cases in more than a year.This new outbreak, officials believe, is due to parents falsely marking themselves and their children as vaccinated, and the government has launched an investigation into the outbreak. Continue reading...

Analysis: Having been in denial for weeks, the Tory leader finally understands how how much trouble he is inBoris Johnson’s glum face at the Queen’s jubilee pageant on Sunday said it all. With his face at times in his hands, he did not appear to be fully concentrating on the parade.Just hours earlier, Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, had rung the prime minister to tell him that the threshold of more than 54 letters expressing lost confidence in him had been reached. Continue reading...

Antle believed funds to be proceeds of operation to smuggle people across US-Mexico border, prosecutors sayBhagavan “Doc” Antle, one of the stars of the runaway hit Tiger King, has been charged with laundering more than half a million dollars.Federal prosecutors said that Antle believed the money to be the proceeds of an operation to smuggle people across the Mexican border into the US. Continue reading...

Two members of government vote against extending emergency regulations, which give 475,000 Jewish settlers the same rights as citizens in IsraelIsrael’s government suffered a defeat at the hands of the opposition on Monday when it voted down a push to uphold Israeli law in settlements on the occupied West Bank, posing a challenge for the ruling coalition.In force since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank, the law, giving settlers there the same rights as citizens in Israel, is automatically ratified by parliament every five years. But two members of the broad coalition, a member of the Arab Ra’am party and a member of the leftist Meretz party, voted at first reading against the bill. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereRussian forces continue to storm the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk and fired missiles at the nearby cities of Sloviansk, Lysychansk and Orikhove, Ukraine’s military has said.Russian troops fired at Ukrainian units defending Sievierodonetsk with mortars and artillery fire, damaging infrastructure in the towns of Metolkino, Borivske, Ustynivka and Toshkivka, according to the latest operational report released by Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces. Continue reading...

Lenny Abrahamson says characters in the books and TV adaptations less encumbered than his own generationThe Irish director behind Conversations With Friends and Normal People has said he loved depicting a modern and unencumbered Ireland in the hit TV programmes.Lenny Abrahamson, who adapted Sally Rooney’s first two novels for the screen, said he noticed striking differences between the Ireland of Rooney’s generation and his own. Continue reading...

Vote means he will remain as Conservative leader and PM

Mutual obligations system will require people to complete an expanded range of activities to keep their payments

Education ministers say they will demand increase in federal investment to reach 100% of Gonski funding benchmark

Premier Dominic Perrottet argues increase is fair but unions say ‘angry’ members have voted to go ahead with industrial action

Contacts of confirmed or suspected cases who develop rash with blisters asked to contact sexual health clinicThe current outbreak of monkeypox in the UK has topped 300 cases, official figures reveal, as contacts who have a rash with blisters are asked to contact a sexual health clinic.According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 77 more cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the UK, 73 of which are in England and two each in Scotland and Wales. The figures bring the total identified in the UK, as of 5 June, to 302, with 287 in England, 10 in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland and three in Wales. Continue reading...

Defendants are accused of participation in supply of horsemeat unfit for human consumption across EuropeWhen Aline Oudin was forced to find a new home for her beloved 28-year-old chestnut horse Ténor du Pluvinage, she placed an advert asking if anyone could offer him a new field to see out his final days.A man in his 60s responded saying he was looking for a calm companion for the young mare he had bought his daughter, so Oudin let him take the horse away with the promise she could visit him regularly. Continue reading...

Former minister says Tory party is set to lose next election because of lack of integrity, competence and vision

Analysis: we take a look at Tory ministers jostling for top job with ratings out of 10 on chances of success• Stay up to date – UK politics liveBoris Johnson’s future could be sealed on Monday evening, after at least 54 Tory MPs submitted letters saying they had lost confidence in the prime minister. Conservative MPs will vote in a secret ballot to decide his fate, taking only 180 of them to vote to oust him.But one of the factors making some MPs hesitant is the lack of an obvious successor. Here are the main contenders jostling for position with a rating out of 10 on their current chances of success, although MPs are taking seriously the idea that a wild card candidate could end up winning in the event of a contest. Continue reading...

Rapper who recorded with Drake, the Weeknd and others was pronounced dead at apartment in east Atlanta suburbTrouble, an Atlanta rapper who recorded with Drake, the Weeknd and others, has been shot and killed, aged 34.The rapper, real name Mariel Semonte Orr, was killed early on Sunday morning in a home invasion at an apartment in Conyers, an eastern suburb of Atlanta. Continue reading...

Examination of People of Praise comes as supreme court seems poised to reverse Roe v WadeThe founder of the People of Praise, a secretive charismatic Christian group that counts supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett as a member, was described in a sworn affidavit filed in the 1990s as exerting almost total control over one of the group’s female members, including making all decisions about her finances and dating relationships.The court documents also described alleged instances of a sexualized atmosphere in the home of the founder, Kevin Ranaghan, and his wife, Dorothy Ranaghan. Continue reading...

M270 launch systems have 50-mile range and can target Russian artillery that has been attacking cities in eastern Ukraine

Analysis: The Queen’s age means a reduction in duties, and succession planning is well under wayAs the bunting comes down after the long weekend of platinum jubilee celebrations, many in Buckingham Palace will breathe a sigh of relief that the increasingly frail 96-year-old Queen made it to the extra bank holiday declared in her honour.But behind the scenes, succession planning is well under way. It was ever thus. There are few other jobs in public life where the incumbent knows who will replace them before they even start, but that has been the Queen’s reality since she gave birth to Prince Charles in 1948. Continue reading...

Jeffrey Boakye argues in new book that schools are unsafe places for students marginalised by raceRacism in education should be treated as a safeguarding issue, with anti-racist policies in all schools in England and training for staff, according to a new book.Jeffrey Boakye, a black English teacher, author and broadcaster, argues that schools are unsafe places for students marginalised by race, and warns that black children are attending institutions that might “actively contribute to their harm”. Continue reading...