World news | The Guardian

Urged to evacuate, vulnerable residents are being carried to safety in makeshift volunteer convoys

Widening rift on retaining the royals is revealed ahead of Queen’s platinum jubileeFewer than half of people in Scotland say they support retaining the monarchy, according to a major new poll that reveals the cultural divides emerging within the union.Almost six in 10 people across Britain want to retain the monarchy for the foreseeable future, with only a quarter saying that the end of the Queen’s reign would be an appropriate time for Britain to become a republic. The overwhelming majority, some 85%, expect that Britain will still have a monarchy in a decade’s time. Continue reading...

Ukraine president said ‘victorious chord’ in war with Russia was not far off as nation celebrates Kalush Orchestra’s winVolodymyr Zelenskiy has hailed Ukraine’s win in the Eurovision song contest, saying that his war-ravaged country would do its best to host next year’s final in the beleaguered port city of Mariupol.After Kalush Orchestra won Saturday night’s contest in a show of popular support for the nation that went beyond music, the Ukrainian president reacted with a Telgram post saying: “Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! Next year Ukraine will host Eurovision! Continue reading...

Treasurer says public hearings would see politicians ‘guilty until proved innocent’, but integrity experts say objections ‘ring hollow’

The proposal would have seen lithium and rare metal resources taken into state hands as part of the country’s wide-ranging political shakeupA constitutional assembly in Chile has rejected plans to nationalise parts of the crucial mining industry in a blow to progressive hopes of overhauling the neoliberal Pinochet-era political settlement.The proposal, known as article 27, would have given the state exclusive mining rights over lithium, rare metals and hydrocarbons and a majority stake in copper mines. Continue reading...

Despite nationwide lockdown, there are now more than 800,000 suspected cases in the unvaccinated countryNorth Korea said on Sunday a total of 42 people had died as the country began its fourth day under a nationwide lockdown aimed at stopping the impoverished country’s first confirmed Covid-19 outbreak.At least 296,180 more people came down with fever symptoms, and 15 more had died as of Sunday, the outlet said. Continue reading...

Pop superstar and her fiance, Sam Asghari, say in joint post ‘We will continue trying to expand our beautiful family’Britney Spears says she has lost a baby early in her pregnancy.Spears announced the loss on Instagram Saturday in a joint post with her fiance, Sam Asghari. The pop superstar, who gained her freedom from a court conservatorship that controlled her life for more than a decade, said in April that she was expecting a child with Asghari. Continue reading...

Symonds, 46, in single vehicle collision late on Saturday, report says, citing statement from family confirming deathWorld cricket is mourning the shock loss of another Australian great after Test star and two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds was killed in a car crash in Queensland. The 46-year-old “cult figure” was involved in a single-vehicle accident late on Saturday.Queensland Police are investigating the crash, which occurred at Hervey Range, about 50km from Townsville. Continue reading...

President tells US officials that Donbas situation remains ‘very difficult’; A large convoy of hundreds of cars carrying refugees reaches Zaporizhzhia

PM will go to Belfast seeking ‘broadest possible support’ from party leadersBoris Johnson will vow not to scrap the Brexit deal governing Northern Ireland and instead back reform that has “the broadest possible cross-community support”, in an attempt to cool tensions over the issue.In a shift in tone before emergency talks in Belfast on Monday, the prime minister will make it clear that he has no intention of scrapping the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, which he claims is causing significant disruption to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

Former rugby union star David Pocock and academic Kim Rubenstein hope marginal status will bring Canberra and surrounds more funding

Four of five councillors vote to fly pride flag on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia

Dorset police say it received a report on Saturday that a body had been found in the waterPolice said a body has been recovered in the search for David Haw, who had been missing since 2 May after reportedly falling off a Rib (rigid inflatable boat) in Poole harbour.Dorset police said it received a report at 1.37pm on Saturday that a body had been found in the water. Continue reading...

A fundraising event held for the shadow minister sparks rumours that he is readying himself to replace Keir Starmer if he resigns over BeergateLabour rising star Wes Streeting has denied preparing a leadership bid to replace Keir Starmer after it emerged that the wealthy party donor Waheed Alli hosted a recent fundraising event for him and another MP at his central London home.The Observer has been told that the actors Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman, as well the businesswoman and LGBTQ+ activist Linda Riley, were among 20 to 30 people present at the event in March, where Lord Alli picked up the £4,600 bill for a buffet and drinks. Continue reading...

Leak reveals that the education department is battling with the Treasury for £13bn needed for rebuilding projects

Hundreds of schools are queueing for cash to replace leaky roofs and failing heating. Yet each year only 50 will get money to rebuild

Kremlin poised to hold referendum in ruined city in bid to secure grip on the region

Ex-firearms officer Rhona Malone, awarded nearly £1m for sexist victimisation, says pain and sacrifices outweigh any compensationA former armed response officer awarded nearly £1m by Police Scotland over victimisation said the past few years had been “torturous” and no amount of compensation could make up for the pain experienced.Rhona Malone began her action against the force after a senior police officer said he did not want to see two female armed officers deployed together when there were sufficient male staff on duty. Continue reading...

Babis Anagnostopoulos spent 10 chilling hours in an Athens courts calmly describing the murder of his wifeLast week, Greek helicopter pilot Babis Anagnostopoulos stood in the dock of an Athens court and related the circumstances that led him to suffocate his British wife. Over the course of 10 hours he barely paused. Coolly and calmly, from 10am to 8pm, he addressed the tribunal.He recalled the dream life he had shared with the woman whom he would go on to asphyxiate; his decision to choke her beloved puppy, Roxy, hanging the pet dog from the banister of the couple’s maisonette; his love for his baby daughter, whom he would place next to her dead mother’s body; and his determination in a moment “of chaos” to cover up the killing as a robbery gone terribly wrong. Continue reading...

Brexit, Covid and Black Lives Matter have highlighted divisions in society. But we have more in common than we sometimes realiseIn fragmented times, there is a public appetite for things that can bring us together. The jubilee is seen as the most important event of the year, ahead of the football World Cup, though that vote of confidence in the monarchy comes with future challenges. Support is rock-solid among older people in England’s home counties but only a minority of those in Scotland, of ethnic minority Britain and of the youngest adults are in favour.The monarchy should resist all attempts to turn it into a symbol of tradition to see off “woke” younger generations – and instead respond to the public appetite for a Crown that bridges divides. In this year of welcoming, the royal estates should be part of Homes for Ukraine, celebrating both hosts and guests, and how those welcomed to Britain from Hong Kong and Afghanistan today, join new Britons from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Vietnam over the decades. Continue reading...

Ministers warned that millions owed after alleged fraud by ex bosses of National Bank Trust could help fund Putin’s war effortIn one of Russia’s most high-profile marketing campaigns, film star Bruce Willis appeared in cinematic advertisements with a car chase and a rooftop rescue, ending with the slogan, “Trust is just like me, but a bank.”The campaign for National Bank Trust in 2011 – which included cardboard cutouts of Willis popping up in 400 branches across Russia – was credited with raising the bank’s profile and boosting business. Continue reading...

Mary Lou McDonald says Tories in ‘cahoots’ with DUP in threatening to tear up post-Brexit protocolThe leader of Sinn Féin has accused Boris Johnson of playing games with Ireland and using it as a “pawn” in the UK’s continual trade battle with the EU, ahead of the prime minister’s visit on Monday.Johnson is due to touch down in Belfast on Monday for talks after the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) blocked the election of a speaker in the Stormont assembly, a week after Sinn Féin topped the polls in elections. Continue reading...

The Italian glam rock band have had three UK Top 40 singles and opened for the Rolling Stones since their win last yearIt wasn’t so long ago that Måneskin were busking on the streets of Rome, performing for four hours straight even if only one person was watching. So the 2021 Eurovision song contest winners couldn’t believe their luck when the Rolling Stones invited them to open a concert in the US in November, giving them their first opportunity to perform in front of an audience of thousands.“We thought, fuck yeah, we’re not going to decline that,” bassist Victoria De Angelis said in an interview with the Guardian alongside her three bandmates in Turin before the Eurovision 2022 final. Continue reading...

Further intense unrest puts more pressure on the presidency of Gotabaya RajapaksaThey have called it “Gota Go Village”. Here, on what was once an empty stretch of lawn outside the office of the Sri Lankan prime minister, on Colombo’s seafront Galle Face promenade, a thriving community has sprung up. There are tents, food stalls, a library, a memorial, art installations, stages for music and speeches, and even the beginnings of a small farm growing vegetables and fruit from recently planted trees. Nearby, a patch has been set aside to cultivate rice.It began as the focal point of the anti-government protests that have engulfed Sri Lanka for months as the country goes through the worst economic crisis since independence. As fuel, food and medicine have run short, the blame has been placed firmly at the feet of one man, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, widely known as Gota, who stands accused of economic mismanagement and corruption pushing the country to the brink of bankruptcy. The calls from the majority of the population have been clear: Gota must step down. Continue reading...

Russian president tells Finnish counterpart the move would be an error and ‘negatively affect’ ties

Regulator removed 5,311 physiotherapists after failing to renew licences, raising concerns about patients and loss of incomeThousands of patients have been left without vital healthcare after nearly one in 10 physiotherapists was prevented from practising after their regulator removed them from its register.Exactly 5,311 physiotherapists were deregistered by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 May because they had not renewed their registration after the HCPC decided not to send out reminder letters. Continue reading...

Demonstrators demand release of two students held after murder of Christian woman in SokotoHundreds of people in Nigeria’s north-western city of Sokoto demonstrated on Saturday over the arrest of two students after the murder of a Christian student accused of blasphemy, residents said.Africa’s most populous country is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians but religious tensions and deadly clashes are not uncommon, particularly in the north. Continue reading...

Stansted and others launch hiring drive, but staff talk of 4am starts, low pay and hours on their feetAntisocial work hours, long days on your feet, and dealing with impatient and sometimes unpleasant passengers. Such is the life of an airport security officer.Their role is to check passengers and their luggage before boarding, and they are key to ensuring safety and the smooth running of an airport. But the work is not well paid, and airports are struggling to recruit enough people to staff the X-ray machines and metal detectors as air travel rebounds after Covid. Continue reading...

Move imposed with immediate effect in attempt to control prices after heatwave damages cropsIndia, the world’s second largest producer of wheat, has banned all exports with immediate effect after a heatwave affected the crop.A notice in the government gazette by the directorate of foreign trade, dated Friday, said a rise in global prices for wheat was threatening the food security of India and neighbouring and vulnerable countries. Continue reading...

Six weeks after start of vaccine rollout, fraction of young children have had first dose as parents question usefulnessOnly 7% of primary schoolchildren in England have received a first dose of Covid vaccine six weeks after it was rolled out to all 5- to 11-year-olds, as parents grapple with the decision about whether to take up the offer.That rate compares with 24% of 12- to 15-year-olds who had received a first dose in the first six weeks after they became eligible in September 2021. Continue reading...

Speed of transition, one day after death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, appears designed to show unityRulers in the United Arab Emirates have unanimously appointed Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the president of the hereditarily ruled nation on the Arabian peninsula.The state-run WAM news agency said the rulers of the country’s seven sheikhdoms made the decision at a meeting held in Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi. Continue reading...

As Covid crisis eases, official guidance says people cannot obtain relief if they choose to avoid officeA popular tax break for working from home that gave many people’s finances a small boost during the pandemic has become harder to claim, and most employees will no longer be eligible.With millions of people back in the office for at least part of the week, experts say you can now claim tax relief for working from home only if you meet strict conditions. Continue reading...

In 1633 the Bavarian village vowed to stage its play every 10 years if it survived the plague. It did then and has againFrom his perch in the orchestra pit of the Oberammergau stage, Christian Stückl nods and points to his players above, trying to offer them helpful instructions as their dress rehearsal to a half-full house of mainly local people gets under way.“It is hard to believe we’ve got this far. I keep waiting for something to go wrong, but apart from a couple of older men forgetting their lines there’s really nothing to complain about,” the director says at the end of the five-and-a-half-hour show. Continue reading...

Dozens injured as official says building had no fire exit and most died ‘due to asphyxiation’At least 27 people have died and dozens more were injured in a huge fire in a commercial building in India’s capital, Delhi.The large fire broke out at the four-storey building near a railway station in the western suburb of Mundka in the late afternoon on Friday, but its cause was not immediately clear. Continue reading...

From sourcing window glass to sharing online lectures, British institutions are helping war-torn campuses to survive

Recent collapse of funeral company Safe Hands left 46,000 customers facing lossesThe government has been urged to set up an emergency fund to help victims of failed funeral companies, after a recent collapse of a firm left 46,000 people facing losses.In March, Safe Hands collapsed into administration, in a blow for customers who had used it to cover their funeral costs. Continue reading...

US-based thinktank claims Russian troops are being pushed back eastwards from Ukraine’s second city, and aiming to use mercenaries

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blogHere are some of the latest images we have been sent over the newswires showing the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and beyond.British foreign secretary Liz Truss said it was vital to keep up the pressure on Russia by supplying more weapons to Ukraine and imposing further sanctions.

Authorities are urging Queenslanders to monitor alerts and avoid flooded roads as rivers expected to peak

Warm weekend weather could lead to heavy rain in parts but more fine days are expected in the next weekMost of Britain can expect to be bathed in sunshine in the coming week as temperatures climb to a possible high of 27C in what would make the warmest spell of the year.Saturday could be “16-19C widely – with 24C the possible high in the south-east”, according to Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern. Continue reading...

Pyongyang reports 21 more deaths as it scrambles to slow spread of the virus across unvaccinated populationNorth Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has declared the country’s first Covid-19 outbreak a “great disaster” as it reported 21 more deaths.State media said 174,440 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Friday alone as the country scrambles to slow the spread of Covid-19 across its unvaccinated population. Continue reading...

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said he was ‘seriously concerned’ by reports of alleged antisemitism within the organisationMinisters have banned official contact with the National Union of Students over long-running allegations of antisemitism within the organisation, despite the NUS’s pledge to work with Jewish students in an internal investigation.The allegations have become a focus for the government since the election of Shaima Dallali as the next NUS president, with groups including the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) raising concerns after alleged historic comments resurfaced. Continue reading...

Parents want life support to continue for Archie, who has been unconscious since he suffered ‘catastrophic’ brain damageSpecialists should use a brain-stem test to try to establish whether a 12-year-old boy who has not regained consciousness since suffering “catastrophic” brain damage is dead, a high court judge has ruled.Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded that the test would be in Archie Battersbee’s best interests at a hearing in the family division of the high court in London on Friday. Continue reading...

With prominent independents creating unusual contests in some seats, voters may be confused about how to allocate preferences. But there is a simple solution

In lawsuit brought by victims, Catholic order disputes extent of its knowledge of Gregory Vincent Coffey prior to his appointment

South Ossetia, focal point of Russia-Georgia war of 2008, will decide whether to subsume itself into larger neighbour in JulyGeorgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia will hold a referendum on joining Russia on 17 July, the region’s leader announced on Friday.“Anatoly Bibilov signed a decree on holding a referendum in the Republic of South Ossetia,” his office said in a statement, citing his people’s “historic aspiration” to join Russia. Continue reading...

People accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defenseCanada’s supreme court has ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women’s advocacy groups.The supreme court said on Friday a law passed by parliament in 1995 that prohibits the defense was unconstitutional and violates the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Continue reading...

Rebekah Vardy’s lawyer tells trial there was not ‘a shred of evidence’ she leaked Rooney’s private Instagram stories to the SunColeen Rooney has been told she cannot provide “one shred of evidence” that Rebekah Vardy leaked stories from a private Instagram account to the Sun – but insisted she has strong reason to “believe” Vardy was responsible based on circumstantial clues.Rooney told the “Wagatha Christie” libel trial that leaks from her private Instagram account to the Sun caused issues when she was dealing with difficulties in her marriage to former footballer Wayne Rooney. She said one private Instagram post in 2017 made its way to the tabloid at a time she and Rooney were “trying to figure out our relationship” and were spending time apart, after he crashed his car while drink-driving with another woman in the vehicle. Continue reading...

PCS leader says members have reached ‘tipping point’ after PM’s combative moveThe biggest civil service union has warned of strike action over Boris Johnson’s “P&O-style” approach to cutting 91,000 Whitehall jobs, with ministers also seeking to reduce staff redundancy terms by up to a third.The plan to cut one in five civil service jobs caused alarm and dismay across government departments, after Johnson told his cabinet to spend the next month finding ways to cut the civil service back to pre-Brexit levels within three years. He claimed it was necessary to shrink the size of central government to tackle the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can find read our full report on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s meeting with the PM hereJacob Rees-Mogg has become the second minister to distance himself from the comments connecting food bank usage with an inability to cook made on Wednesday by Lee Anderson in the House of Commons.