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Kyriakos Mitsotakis of centre-right New Democracy party says he now has strong mandate' to modernise nationGreece's new prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, vowed to immediately press ahead with his ambitious reform programme after winning a decisive victory in the general elections on Sunday.The New Democracy leader said his commanding 24-point lead over the leftist main opposition Syriza party had given him a strong mandate" to modernise a country long seen as resistant to reform. Continue reading...

Shadow arts minister highlights stark drop in number of students taking arts GCSEs, which has fallen by 40% since 2010Labour has accused the government of stifling children's creativity and damaging the talent pipeline" for Britain's creative industries by failing to provide proper arts and culture education.The party said the arts were being squeezed out of schools as a result of tightened budgets, teacher shortages and the decreasing importance of arts and culture subjects through school accountability measures such as English baccalaureate entries. Continue reading...

Driven by his feud with the defence minister, Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion has petered out ... for now

Muscovites tell of shock and anxiety in city blindsided by Prigozhin's short-lived revoltA sense of normal returned to Moscow on Sunday after Yevgeny Prigozhin halted his assault on the Russian capital under a deal that defused an unprecedented challenge to the authority of president Vladimir Putin.Security forces were seen disassembling barricades that had been hurriedly put up as Prigozhin's Wagner troops approached along the M4 road from Rostov-on-Don, while workers began repairing roads leading up to the capital that were destroyed to stop the warlord's advances before he ordered their withdrawal. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Channel 4 film says officials contacted the palace in 2020 owing to concerns about Lord Lebedev's father's links to Putin regimeGovernment officials asked whether the late Queen would block Evgeny Lebedev's peerage because of concerns that he could be a national security risk due to his father's links to the Putin regime, a documentary has claimed.The aides contacted Buckingham Palace in July 2020 to request that the monarch intervene, which she was constitutionally entitled to do, after Boris Johnson decided to press ahead with the controversial peerage despite warnings from the intelligence agencies, according to the film-makers. Continue reading...

Sarah Ferguson told by doctors her prognosis is good after routine mammogram revealed diseaseThe Duchess of York has had surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer, her spokesperson has said.

Despite ending his revolt, the mercenary chief will continue be a thorn in the Kremlin's side unless he retires quietly to BelarusThe Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that the Wagner head had agreed to leave Russia for Belarus as part of a deal to end his armed revolt, while charges against him for organising the rebellion would be dropped. Peskov added that Vladimir Putin and the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko had guaranteed Prigozhin's personal safety. Continue reading...

Francesca Gino, a prominent Harvard Business School professor, allegedly has falsified results in behavioral science studiesIn an ironic twist in the world of behavioral science, a Harvard professor who studies honesty has been accused of data fraud.Over the last few weeks, allegations have surfaced against Francesca Gino, a prominent Harvard Business School (HBS) professor who has been accused of falsifying results in several behavioral science studies. Continue reading...

Dozens of people at Harmondsworth site in west London are complaining about overheated cells and lack of healthcareGuards at an immigration detention centre close to Heathrow airport are trying to end a protest involving dozens of detainees at the facility.Those held at Harmondsworth say they are protesting about conditions including poor access to healthcare services and soaring temperatures in cells. Continue reading...

Teenager was airlifted to hospital along with another child after going missing off Lincolnshire coastA 15-year-old girl has died after being pulled from the sea at Cleethorpes beach, police said.She was one of two teenagers airlifted to hospital just after 7.30pm on Saturday after a search by coastguards, the fire service and police for the missing pair. Continue reading...

Audience comes to Scottish singer's aid at Pyramid stage, while late-arriving US star performs a cappella after midnight curfewAs this year's Glastonbury festival comes to a close, here is a look back at some of the weekend's most memorable moments. Continue reading...

Witnesses say Jetline ride, which reaches 55mph and heights of 30 metres, partly left the tracksOne person has been killed and nine injured, including children, in a rollercoaster accident at an amusement park in Stockholm.Witnesses said the Jetline ride at the Grona Lund theme park had partly derailed during a ride on Sunday, sending people crashing to the ground. Continue reading...

Human remains were discovered near Mount Baldy and transported to the coroner's office for identification, five months after actor disappearedHikers have found human remains in a southern California mountain area where the British actor Julian Sands disappeared five months ago, authorities said.The body was discovered at around 10am on Saturday in wilderness near Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel mountains and was transported to the coroner's office for identification next week, the San Bernardino County sheriff's department said in a statement. Continue reading...

Latest financial pain in cost of living crisis comes from steep price increases for motor coverCar insurance is the latest household bill to go through the roof, with angry motorists complaining that prices are shooting up by as much as 70% when their policy comes up for renewal.While fuel prices have dropped back from 2022's record highs the latest inflation bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a new source of financial pain, with the price of car insurance up 43.1% in the last 12 months. Continue reading...

Thousands wait for hours at front of Pyramid stage armed with sun cream, sequins - and even tablets to suppress any toilet urgesGiven how many times Sir Elton John has announced his retirement from touring - the first almost half a century ago - diehard fans may be forgiven for thinking Glastonbury may not be his final encore.But the comeback king of British music, now 76, has insisted that Sunday's sequin-studded swansong really will be his last UK show - and that the bitch, unlike the song, will not be back. Continue reading...

The child died in hospital with his parents present following what Devon and Cornwall police say was an accidentA five-year-old boy has died after falling from a harbour wall in Cornwall, Devon and Cornwall police have said.Emergency services were called at a 11.45am on Saturday after reports of a child having fallen from the harbour wall in Padstow. Continue reading...

Yevgeny Prigozhin agrees to call off march on Moscow and leave Russia in deal brokered by Belarus

Rising interest rates expose widening generational gulf, with millennials facing large increases in monthly paymentsAvoid avocado toast. Ditch the flat white. And turn your back on the lure of Instagrammable holidays. Over the past decade, millennials have been ordered to scrimp, save and toil to get on the property ladder. Cutting out small luxuries won't have helped much in the pursuit of home ownership. But for those who managed to buy a home in recent years, there is a fresh insult.In Britain's exploding mortgage timebomb, young adults are paying the heaviest price - exposing yet again Britain's widening generational gulf. As the Bank of England whacks up interest rates to save the nation from the highest inflation rates since the early 1980s, it is those who hadn't even been born then who carry the heaviest burden for bringing it down. Continue reading...

Public messaging of referendum supporters hopes to offer antidote to fear and misinformation', yes campaigners say

Exclusive: Staff shortages at Cleveland youth detention centre led to teenager being confined to his cell for more than 20 hours a day

Court to consider rule that keeps large swathes of government documents secret by denying freedom of information requests

The Russian president must make good on the threats he made on TV, or take the risk of appearing weak

Yacht belonging to world's second-richest man, Bernard Arnault, falls victim to new size restrictions at Italian city's Mergellina portA superyacht owned by Bernard Arnault - the world's second-richest man - has been banned from docking in Naples owing to a new regulation that has left multibillionaires thoroughly disappointed" about missing out on staying at the southern Italian city.Symphony, the LVMH boss's 101 metre long, six-deck vessel was cast adrift off the coast of Naples before being told it could not be hosted at Mergellina port due to a recently introduced limitation on size. Continue reading...

Claims Belarusian president brokered agreement may be exaggerated but it strengthens his hand in relations with Vladimir Putin

Long ignored' but crucial workers honoured in touring show marking 75 years of the health serviceThe untold stories of Filipino nurses and other migrant workers in Britain is celebrated in a new roving exhibition to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS.The Migration Museum is launching its touring exhibition, Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS, at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery on 30 June until 29 October, the first leg of a national tour. The exhibition will go to Leeds in November and to London in 2024. Continue reading...

Bold Girls Ken seek youth-led changes in curriculum to help children understand concept earlierEvery young person should know what consent looks and feels like, online and offline, according to a group of Perthshire teenagers who are pioneering a youth-led upgrade of sex education.Taking a bracingly honest approach to the deluge of normalised" soft pornography they say most children are familiar with by the time they enter high school, Bold Girls Ken is the first campaign of its kind in Scotland, with young women designing their own learning materials. Continue reading...

Future of UK battery making thrown further into doubt after company founded by David Collard was visited by federal policeA company owned by the buyer of Britishvolt has been raided by the Australian authorities, throwing the future of UK battery-making further into doubt.Britishvolt, based in Blyth, Northumberland, and which the UK government lauded for its potential role in British battery production and UK-built electric vehicles before it fell into administration, was bought by the Australian entrepreneur David Collard earlier this year. Continue reading...

Minister hints at government uncertainty as Jacob Rees-Mogg warns against sly' reintroduction of chargesConsumers are in line to pay an extra 170 in green levies as the government's energy price cap comes to an end for most billpayers.John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said on Sunday that ministers were considering what to do about the levies, which the government has paid since last year and are designed to fund schemes such as subsidised home insulation. Continue reading...

Putin may have vowed to liquidate' the Wagner chief, but residents in the Russian city said they welcomed him

US singer-songwriter's set cut short after she arrived on stage 30 minutes late before midnight curfew

Arnon Milchan appears by video from UK to answer questions about alleged lavish gifts to Israeli PMThe Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan is testifying at the corruption trial of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to answer questions about an alleged supply line" of champagne and cigars funnelled to Israel's leader and his wife in exchange for help with Milchan's personal and business needs.Milchan, who appeared by video link on Sunday from the English city of Brighton, near where he is based, is a key witness whose testimony is essential for prosecutors who are trying to prove that Netanyahu committed fraud and breach of trust in one of three cases brought against him. Continue reading...

Chief secretary to the Treasury confirms some recommended rises could be blocked despite prospect of strikesThe government is prepared to block the pay rises that public sector review bodies recommend, a senior minister has confirmed, as unions threaten to strike over the issue.The chief secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, said on Sunday that ministers might overrule the review bodies. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Musicians and MPs say banning tests for harmful pills without onerous licence puts festival-goers at riskFatboy Slim and a cross-party group of MPs have condemned the Home Office's decision to block onsite drug testing at festivals this summer as shortsighted and dangerous".In a letter to Suella Braverman the DJ, alongside the musicians Billy Bragg and Olugbenga Adelekan of Metronomy has called for the government to allow the resumption of tests of confiscated pills in tents and temporary buildings at festival sites. Continue reading...

Crean, former opposition leader and ACTU president, died suddenly while overseas on SundayThe former Labor leader and cabinet minister, Simon Crean, has died age 74.Crean died suddenly while overseas on Sunday, Guardian Australia understands. Continue reading...

BT says back-up platform now working so people should make emergency calls to police, ambulance and fire services as usualPolice forces, ambulance services, and fire and rescue teams across the UK urged people not to phone 999 for more than an hour on Sunday morning because of a technical fault".The issue was confirmed shortly after 8.30am, but at 9.52am, BT announced that its back-up platform was now working" and confirmed people should call 999 as usual". Continue reading...

Relatives angry that investigation of Essex Partnership trust over mental health patients' deaths can't make witnesses give evidenceA recently bereaved mother has added her voice to calls for a proper inquiry" into the Essex Partnership university NHS trust after her son died, having been told he had to wait up to 28 days for an in-person assessment by its mental health team.The trust (EPUT) is currently the subject of an independent inquiry into the deaths of almost 2,000 mental health patients under its - or its predecessors' care - but bereaved relatives are angry that the inquiry has not been granted legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence. Continue reading...

Many LGBTQ+ Americans remain on edge and fearful of what the recent backlash means for their futureSt Cloud, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, hosted its first official Pride celebration just last year. This year, the organizers made the difficult decision to cancel, in large part because of the state's recent law effectively banning drag shows with minors in attendance.The other reason was a death threat; a sign appeared in a nearby community that read: Kill all the gays." Continue reading...

Move aims to ensure only adequately trained professionals are used in trialsFamily judges who appoint unregulated psychologists as expert witnesses in the courts should issue a judgment to explain their decision, according to updated guidance designed to protect the public from inadequately trained professionals.Crucially, additions to existing joint guidance from the Family Justice Council and the British Psychological Society (BPS) also set out the distinction between a psychologist who is registered with the regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and an academic psychologist who would not have the same clinical competencies. Continue reading...

BoM forecasts show system to move from northern WA toward eastern states while alps in south-east could receive more snow

Scottish Nationalists delighted by talk of referendum but delegates at Dundee had different interpretations of what their leader meantWhen Humza Yousaf stood to address the first substantial gathering of the SNP since he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as leader, he acknowledged the turmoil that is engulfing the party head on.After the SNP was rocked by the arrests of senior figures, including Sturgeon herself, as part of Police Scotland's investigation into party finances, he told activists meeting in Dundee for a one-day convention to discuss independence strategy: You may have picked up there have been a few challenges." The hall responded with nervous laughter. Continue reading...

A Brighton hotel where unaccompanied young people seeking asylum disappeared is to be brought back into use by the Home OfficeA notorious Brighton hotel from where scores of children were kidnapped is to be reopened by the Home Office to house unaccompanied youngsters again, leaked internal memos reveal.The Home Office was forced to empty a string of hotels for unaccompanied children after the Observer revealed that huge numbers were going missing, with many having been abducted by criminal gangs. Continue reading...

Lawyers claim the assets of a Russian banker accused of fraud can be legally sent to a bank controlled by Vladimir PutinThe 5.3m sale of a 12-bedroom mansion in Surrey involved in a case of alleged banking fraud is heading for the high court in a bid by lawyers to send some of the proceeds to one of Russia's state-controlled banks.Lawyers believe some of the money can be transferred to one of Vladimir Putin's state-controlled banks, the National Bank Trust, without any breach of sanctions. They are seeking a court order to allow the transfer. Continue reading...

Scandal-plagued firm announces Kevin Burrowes as new head of Australian division

Rare treasures that escaped the destruction of the English Reformation show a country on the forefront of medieval and gothic artA new exhibition in Paris aims to show how England in the middle ages was very much part of Europe's dynamic art, architectural, trade and culture scene between AD1000 and AD1500.Organisers said the event would discredit the popular perception" - mainly across the Channel - that medieval England was primitive and barbaric" while France and parts of Europe enjoyed a gothic zenith. Continue reading...

Allegations against Ben Elliot, knighted by Boris Johnson, come amid concerns over political appointments to public and cultural bodiesA senior Tory knighted in Boris Johnson's honours list has been accused of a fresh conflict of interest, after it emerged that he helped arrange a Tory fundraiser at the V&A while he was both a trustee of the museum and the party's chair.Internal emails seen by the Observer reveal that Ben Elliot, who has previously faced accusations of blurring his business and political activities, had an early role in setting up the party's glitzy 2021 Winter Ball, introducing party officials to V&A staff. Continue reading...

Housing minister says federal government does not have power to implement rent freeze and long-term solution involves increasing supply

Yevgeny Prigozhin agrees to move to Belarus after negotiated end to what was in effect Russia's first armed coup in decades

Anguished families talk about how the Bank of England's 13th consecutive interest hike is affecting them - and their fears for the futureLiam, 36, a senior IT manager and married father-of-one from Newcastle upon Tyne, is one of millions of homeowners whose mortgage payments will rise even higher after the Bank of England on Thursday put up the base interest rate to 5% - a 15-year high.Together with his husband, Liam bought his four-bedroom house in 2019 for 269k, and the couple's three-year mortgage deal, refixed at 1.64% in 2020 just before the first lockdown, expired in March. Continue reading...

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Newspapers around the world raced to cover fast-moving events inside Russia, with many assessing what it could mean for Vladimir Putin