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Australian Defence Force chiefs to have terms extended; nation records 75 Covid deaths as weekly fatalities double since March. This blog is now closed

In rural village, frontman performed A Sky Full of Stars for a couple who were planning to play the song as their first dance when they marryChris Martin delighted patrons at a rural pub on his way home from Glastonbury, playing Coldplay’s song A Sky Full of Stars on the pub’s piano.In the homely surroundings of the Stag Inn in the village of Hinton Charterhouse, north Somerset, he dedicated the performance to a couple at the pub who were planning to have the song as the first dance at their wedding. Continue reading...

Keyboardist who died aged 60 in May suffered aortic dissection, with band saying ‘he passed naturally and without prolonged suffering’Depeche Mode have announced the cause of death of their keyboardist Andrew Fletcher as an aortic dissection – a tear in a main artery from his heart.In a statement on social media, the band said: “A couple weeks ago we received the result from the medical examiners, which Andy’s family asked us to share with you now. Andy suffered an aortic dissection while at home on 26 May. So, even though it was far, far too soon, he passed naturally and without prolonged suffering.” Continue reading...

Airlines will benefit but airport warns it will result in ‘worse experience’ for travellersLondon’s Heathrow airport has been ordered to reduce its landing charges over the next four years, a proposal that will please airlines while the airport said it would result in a worse experience for passengers.The move by the Civil Aviation Authority deals a blow to the airport, which had argued for higher fees to help protect customer service, at a time when the travel industry is recovering from the pandemic. Continue reading...

Defence minister Richard Marles says continuity in ADF leadership important for Aukus but warns of nuclear-powered submarine delay

Violence towards customer-facing staff on increase again, says report, as new penalties come into forceAbuse and violence towards shop workers and service staff is on the rise again, research shows, with a quarter of those reporting hostility blaming the cost of living crisis putting increased stress on customers.Figures from the trade body the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) revealed 44% of frontline retail staff have experienced hostility from customers in the past six months – up by a quarter from the figure of 35% in February. Continue reading...

Journalists demand release of the co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News after he was accused of insulting HindusDelhi police have arrested the Muslim co-founder of a fact-checking website, accusing him of insulting religious beliefs on Twitter, a network of digital media organisations said, condemning it as an attempt to harass him for his journalism.Mohammed Zubair, who co-founded Alt News and regularly tweets on rising marginalisation of the Muslim minority in the country, was arrested under two sections of a law related to maintaining religious harmony, said the DIGIPUB association. Continue reading...

Ban on sales to everything except essential services comes as nation tries to conserve fuel supplies that are barely enough to last a single dayCash-strapped Sri Lanka has announced a two-week halt to all fuel sales except for essential services and called for a partial shutdown as its unprecedented economic crisis deepened.The south Asian nation is facing its worst economic meltdown since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, and has been unable to finance even the imports of essentials since late last year. Continue reading...

Ross Vasta says he had ‘no decision-making power over the process or the outcome’ in grant to Belmont Branch of the Sporting Shooters Association

Scores of people injured and at least 40 feared missing after strike in central city of Kremenchuk

Pandemic has had lasting impact on students’ wellbeing and problem is getting worse, say UK expertsThe pandemic has had a lasting legacy on the mental health of the “Covid generation” of students, exacerbating rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm and resulting in a “significant rise” in young people struggling at university, experts have said.UK universities have reported that more students are experiencing mental health problems in the aftermath of the pandemic, and that this is expected to continue with the cohort arriving in September, whose school experience was heavily disrupted by the pandemic. Continue reading...

Call comes as Charity Commission considers investigation into allegations Prince Charles personally accepted cash donations

Former PM condemns draft legislation; former Tory chief whip says bill ‘trashes our reputation’

Data released on Tuesday shows a snapshot of the nation during Covid-19 and reveals insights into religion, identity and how Australians live

BBC presenters criticised for expressing sympathy for six-time grand slam champion during Wimbledon coverageJohn McEnroe and Sue Barker were criticised on Monday after expressing support for Boris Becker during the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage.The six-time grand slam champion was jailed for two and a half years in April for hiding £2.5m worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts. Continue reading...

Aleena, 35, was killed in what police called a ‘stranger attack’ near her home in Ilford on Sunday morningA man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 35-year-old woman was beaten to death in a London street.Zara Aleena was killed after what police described as a “horrific assault” close to her home, which detectives currently believe was committed by a stranger as she walked in Ilford, east London. Continue reading...

BMA members’ call for reversal of real-terms cuts over last 14 years increases chances of strike actionDoctors have thrown down the gauntlet to the government by calling for a pay rise of up to 30% over the next five years, in a move that increases the chances of strike action.Delegates at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference voted to press ministers to agree to the increase to make up for real-terms cuts to their salaries over the last 14 years. Continue reading...

New rules will remove abortion approval committees and grant access to abortion pills at local health clinicsIsrael has eased its regulations on abortion access, in what the health minister said was a response to last week’s “sad” US supreme court ruling overturning Roe v Wade.The new rules, approved by a parliamentary committee, grant women access to abortion pills through the country’s universal health system and remove a longstanding requirement that women appear physically before a special committee before they are permitted to terminate a pregnancy. Continue reading...

The author said: ‘The study of literature should not be a luxury for a wealthy minority of spoilt and privileged aesthetes’Award-winning author Philip Pullman has warned that the study of literature “should not be a luxury for a wealthy minority of spoilt and privileged aesthetes” after it emerged that Sheffield Hallam University is to pull its English literature degree from next year.He was one of a number of writers to raise concerns about the university’s decision to stop teaching the standalone degree and incorporate it instead into a broad-based English degree, a year after the University of Cumbria was forced to take similar action. Continue reading...

One of the potential defectors in marginal seat while another also elected in 2019 sounded out Labour MPAt least one Conservative MP from the 2019 intake is in advanced discussions about potential defection to Labour, with another elected then also in close talks with a Labour MP.Neither has met Keir Starmer or had formal contact with the leaders’ office but they are understood to be communicating with Labour MPs. One senior party source said they were doubtful about the intentions of one of the MPs but the other was more serious. Continue reading...

Leak at port of Aqaba happened after tank filled with gas fell while being transported, says state news agencyThirteen people have died and 251 have been injured in a toxic gas leak from a storage tank at Jordan’s Aqaba port, state television reported, as authorities called on residents to shut windows and stay indoors.The leak on Monday came after a cable lifting a tank filled with 25 tonnes of chlorine snapped, sending the container crashing to the ground. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New employment services system should end activities that are unproductive and scrap automatic payment suspensions, Acoss report says

Nicola Sturgeon says ‘horrific’ US supreme court decision will embolden anti-abortion protesters in ScotlandAbortion clinics in Glasgow are expected to be protected by Scotland’s first buffer zones to prevent patients being intimidated by anti-abortion activists.Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said work was under way to establish whether council officials could use local bylaws to set up buffer zones before Holyrood passes legislation to authorise them at national level. Continue reading...

President speaks to leaders via video link, as US confirms proposed cap on Russian oil price and plans to send air defence system

German chancellor argues there is more unity in the west and support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasionGerman chancellor Olaf Scholz has argued the world is more unified in its support for Ukraine than Russia suggests, as the war dominated a G7 meeting also tasked with crises in food supply, the climate emergency and a breakdown in global order.“We must not walk into the trap Putin sets of asserting that the world is divided into the global west – the G7 and its friends in the north – and all the rest. That’s not true,” Scholz told Germany’s ZDF television. Continue reading...

Alliance’s leader says this week’s summit will agree its most significant transformation in a generation

Communication Workers Union says further industrial action over pay is about ‘dignity and respect’About 1,500 Post Office workers are to stage a further one-day strike in a dispute over pay, adding to a wave of national industrial action causing disruption in the UK this summer.Britain’s 114 Crown Post Offices, its larger branches often located on high streets, are to close on Monday 11 July – the third day of strike action by postal workers so far this year. Continue reading...

Man remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries after explosion in Midlands on Sunday eveningA woman has been found dead after a gas explosion at a house in Birmingham, as police praised the “heroic” actions of neighbours who pulled a man alive from the burning rubble.He remains in hospital in a critical condition after the blast at about 8.40pm on Sunday, which completely destroyed one house and significantly damaged three others. Continue reading...

Outside Manchester crown court, legal workers bemoan low pay and an ‘unsustainable’ justice systemUsually one of the busiest courts in the country, the corridors of Manchester crown court were unusually quiet.Outside, dozens of criminal law barristers gathered at the entrance in their gowns and wigs to mark the beginning of a strike across England and Wales over pay and an “unsustainable” justice system. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Internal memo admits ‘it is almost certain’ laws altered to secure monarch’s consentA Scottish government memo obtained by the Guardian reveals that “it is almost certain” draft laws have been secretly changed to secure the Queen’s approval.Under an arcane mechanism known as Queen’s consent, the monarch is routinely given advance sight of proposed laws that could affect her personal property and public powers. Unlike the better-known procedure of royal assent, a formality that marks the moment when a bill becomes law, Queen’s consent must be sought before the relevant legislation can be approved by parliament. Continue reading...

Petrol reached new high of 191.05p a litre on Sunday, further fuelling cost of living crisisFuel retailers have faced accusations of profiteering as petrol prices hit new highs despite easing wholesale costs.Unleaded petrol reached a fresh record of 191.05p a litre on Sunday, while diesel hit new highs of 199.09p on Saturday, meaning a 55-litre family car would cost £109.42 to fill up. Continue reading...

Beyond 2022 project recreates documents and maps lost during 1922 Four Courts battleWhen the Public Record Office of Ireland was reduced to rubble and ashes in the Irish civil war, seven centuries of precious historical documents were lost.Exactly 100 years later, the public will be able to step back in time into the six-storey Victorian building in Dublin to experience it as it was on the eve of its destruction in June 1922 via an immersive 3D experience, and access many of those records thanks to a pioneering global project reclaiming Irish history. Continue reading...

UK prime minister says international support for Kyiv is price worth paying to avoid long-term instability

Campaigners call for tougher regulations as white paper emerges, but reports suggest proposals are being watered downWhen Julie Martin’s 16-year-old son rang as she drove home from work, his words made her blood run cold. “Don’t come home. Dad’s at the front door.”His father, Bylent “Bill” Troshupa, was subject to a restraining order barring him from the family home after violent rages. His sudden arrival, nearly a year later, spelled danger.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

The EU and some Tory backbenchers claim the legislation breaches the free trade agreement signed by the UKBoris Johnson has defended the government’s legislation disapplying parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, which will face its first hurdle in the House of Commons on Monday.Speaking in Bavaria, where he is attending a G7 summit, the prime minister said: “What we’re trying to do is fix something that I think is very important to our country, which is the balance of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.” Continue reading...

A North Adelaide studio apartment has been ridiculed online, with some likening it to ‘your first custom house in the Sims’

Communist party official posts notice saying mass mandatory testing and travel curbs will continueAuthorities in Beijing have sparked confusion and alarm after announcing the strict zero-Covid policy could be in place for the next five years, including mass mandatory testing and travel restrictions.The notice, published on Monday afternoon, was attributed to Cai Qi, the Beijing secretary of the Chinese Communist party. The original text said: “In the next five years, Beijing will unremittingly grasp the normalisation of epidemic prevention and control.” Continue reading...

PM thanks Australian defence force personnel in UAE visit ahead of attending Nato summit in Spain

Kristo Käärmann was included on HMRC’s list of deliberate tax defaulters in September 2021The UK’s financial regulator is investigating the co-founder of payments company Wise after he failed to pay his taxes.Kristo Käärmann was included on HM Revenue and Customs’ list of deliberate tax defaulters in September 2021, after failing to comply with his tax obligations. He failed to pay £720,495 for the 2017-18 tax year and received a fine of £366,000, the tax authority said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The NSW government has insisted the public service, not ministers, were responsible for the appointments

Victorian tribunal cancels Christopher Kwan Chen Lee’s registration after he admitted to making ‘utterly unacceptable’ posts

Women who relocated to Gaza are unable to visit or contact family, and face similar problems in their adoptive homeFor more than a decade, Natalya Hassoumi’s family in Ukraine have worried about her safety in the Gaza Strip; they have been unable to reach her for days at a time while airstrikes have pummelled the isolated Palestinian territory. Now, Hassoumi is experiencing something similar. She has not heard from her parents and siblings in Russian-occupied Kherson for three weeks.“I think the Russians must be making people switch to using Russian networks and sim cards, but I don’t know what’s happening,” the 41-year-old doctor said. “It’s very hard not knowing.” Continue reading...

Lobbyists must contact a minister’s chief of staff and request meetings in writing under new changes

The CBA says the offer of a 15% uplift in fees is insufficient and is calling for a 25% rise to make up for years of funding cutsCriminal barristers in England and Wales are to begin a strike over legal aid fees on Monday, as they warn the profession is facing an “existential crisis” because of inadequate funding.The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said the offer of a 15% uplift in fees, which was the minimum increase recommended by the criminal legal aid review (Clar), is insufficient after swingeing cuts – and will not apply to the backlog of 58,000 cases in crown courts. Continue reading...

Elishah Anderson was told no barrister can take her case in murder trial owing to industrial actionA woman accused of perverting the course of justice in a murder trial has been told she must represent herself in court because there is no available barrister, in what is thought to be a legal first.A trial over the killing of Jobari Gooden, 27, who was stabbed outside a Peckham barbershop last December, is under way at Southwark crown court. Continue reading...

Chaos overtakes city of Espinal after wood and bamboo stands collapse during cultural festivalAt least four people were killed and hundreds injured in Colombia on Sunday after spectator stands at a bullfight collapsed, authorities said.The bull reportedly escaped from the plaza hosting the spectacle and was causing panic in the streets of Espinal, Tolima, a city of nearly 60,000 people about 145km (90 miles) south-west of Bogotá, the capital. Continue reading...

Hedley Thomas, a journalist at The Australian, tells Chris Dawson trial he remained open to evidence that Lynette Dawson had not been murdered