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Jumbo Floating Restaurant encountered ‘adverse weather’ after being towed away from territory’s harbourOne of Hong Kong’s most iconic restaurants – the Jumbo Floating Restaurant – has capsized in the South China Sea days after it was towed away from its home of 46 years in the territory’s Aberdeen harbour.Its owners said in a statement on Monday that the restaurant had encountered “adverse” weather conditions when passing the Paracel Islands – also known as the Xisha Islands – on its way to an undisclosed location. Continue reading...

Police say incident occurred near Burton in Lonsdale shortly before midday on MondayTwo people have died after a helicopter crashed into a field in North Yorkshire, police said.North Yorkshire police said the incident happened off Bentham Road near Burton in Lonsdale on the Cumbria border shortly before midday on Monday. Continue reading...

Witnesses say victims of massacre in country’s western Oromia region were ethnic Amharas – a minority in the areaThe suspected death toll in an attack by gunmen in Ethiopia’s western Oromia region has risen, with new witness testimony suggesting that between 260 and 320 civilians were killed on Saturday.Reports of the massacre surfaced on Sunday, as survivors described one of the deadliest such incidents for several years in Ethiopia. Continue reading...

Airline reduces services after Gatwick and Amsterdam caps, while Heathrow hit by luggage backlogThe chaos at UK airports intensified on Monday as easyJet cut thousands of flights over the summer to minimise the risk of disruption, while passengers at Heathrow faced cancellations caused by caused by a “baggage mountain” .Meanwhile, airports capping flights could face legal challenges from service companies to recover the costs of recruiting staff who may no longer be needed. Continue reading...

19-year-old says he was groomed into county lines crime then was treated as drug gang member by policeA black teenager who claims he has been treated as a gang member by police rather than as a victim of county lines grooming is bringing what is thought to be the first complaint of its kind against the Metropolitan police for failing to protect him.The 19-year-old is in hiding from the gang he says kidnapped him and tried to force him to get involved in committing crimes for them. Continue reading...

Report singles out failings by police and council and suggests senior officials may have misled MPsVulnerable children were left exposed to sexual exploitation in Oldham because of “serious failings” by the police and council, a damning independent review has found.The report found there were multiple missed opportunities to prevent abuse stretching back to 2005, including offences committed by a council welfare officer who was later convicted of 30 rapes. Continue reading...

Despite the election euphoria, Petro has a thin mandate and is viewed with suspicion by manyHe spent 12 years of his youth in the ranks of an urban guerrilla group, taking the alias of a revolutionary general from Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. Later, he would serve as a progressive mayor of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, and as a senator. He ran for president unsuccessfully twice, unable to overcome the conservative wall erected nearly two centuries ago around the Colombian presidency.But on Sunday, Gustavo Petro, 62, was finally able to topple that wall and was elected president, making history as the first leftwing head of state of the South American country. Continue reading...

Bank of England feels other measures will play stronger role in guarding against household debtLenders will no longer have to check whether homeowners could afford mortgage payments at higher interest rates after the Bank of England ditched rules originally designed to avoid another 2007-style credit crunch.The rules, introduced in 2014, were intended to make sure borrowers did not take on more debt than they could afford, and potentially “amplify” an economic downturn and put financial stability at risk. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to retired barrister Peter Clement, 57, who was last seen walking alone on trail on 15 MayA retired British barrister is feared to have died in Seychelles after going missing on a jungle hike.Peter Clement, 57, who was reportedly on holiday to celebrate his retirement, was last seen walking alone on the 12-mile Grande Barbe trail on Silhouette Island on 15 May. Continue reading...

No 10 refuses to say if PM skipped NHS waiting lists for sinus operation and says he may return to work on TuesdayBoris Johnson was admitted to hospital for what No 10 said was a minor and routine operation on his sinuses.The prime minister was put under general anaesthetic and is now resting at home, with Dominic Raab, as deputy prime minister, put in charge of taking any significant decisions while he recovers. Continue reading...

It was a bad night for the president and a triumphant one for the far right. How long until a return to the polls?Emmanuel Macron’s alliance remains the largest force in France’s parliament, but the president – comfortably re-elected eight weeks ago – lost his overall majority amid a strong electoral showing by a new leftist coalition and a historic far-right surge.Here are five key takeaways from a shock legislative election that leaves the centrist leader needing to strike difficult deals with other parties to deliver his promised reforms – and that could yet plunge France into political chaos. Continue reading...

As average price of petrol hits 188.7p a litre, rail strike in Great Britain means many people have to driveCommuters forced to drive to work because of rail strikes are facing record costs to fill up their cars as UK fuel prices continue to rise.The average price of a litre of petrol hit 188.7p on Sunday after five weeks of relentless record prices when the price has jumped 23p from the 165.5p of mid-May. Continue reading...

Customers will be able to order from about 2,000 items online, including children’s clothesPrimark will trial a click-and-collect service in the UK, in the budget fashion chain’s first significant move into online shopping as it confirmed price rises were on the way.The high street retailer will launch the trial at 25 stores in the north-west of England by the end of the year, but said it would only cover children’s clothing and accessories, as the company – owned by Associated British Foods (ABF) – tries to draw more families into its stores. Continue reading...

Exclusive: A new investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Meduza news site has found links through an email domain name that appear to connect opulent properties across Russia

Exclusive: Questions over palaces, vineyards and yachts run by entities that appear to be part of a cooperative

Walkouts in England and Wales from next week come amid ‘record backlog’ at crown courtsBarristers specialising in criminal law have voted to go on strike in a row over legal aid funding, with several days of court walkouts expected from next week.The Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents barristers in England and Wales, announced the industrial action after a ballot of members. Continue reading...

Survivor and witness accounts, cross-checked with information from prosecutors, show how violence has been integral to the Russian campaign

Lower hull of Global Dream II to be disposed of after shipbuilder filed for bankruptcyWhat was meant to be one of the world’s largest cruise ships is being prepared for its maiden voyage – to a scrapyard.Global Dream II, which was designed to hold more than 9,000 passengers, had almost been completed at a shipyard on Germany’s Baltic coast. However, the shipbuilder MV Werften filed for bankruptcy in January 2022 and the administrators cannot find a buyer for Global Dream II. Continue reading...

Congolese independence hero’s gold-capped tooth returned as ex-colonial power faces its bloody pastBelgian authorities have returned a tooth belonging to the murdered Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba, as the former colonial power continues to confront its bloody past and look toward reconciliation.The restitution of the relic took place after Belgium’s King Philippe expressed his “deepest regrets” this month for his country’s abuses in its African former colony, Congo, 75 times the size of Belgium. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says government will improve energy security ‘in the shortest time possible’; nation records 13 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Family found a Lamarckdromia beagle specimen washed up on the beach in Denmark in southern WA

Former health secretary says he has now recovered as he prepares to take part in Race for Life charity runThe former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has revealed he had cancer and has since recovered.The Conservative MP said he would be taking part in a 5km race to raise money for cancer charities after the disease affected some of his relatives “very dramatically” and he experienced a “minor" one” himself. Continue reading...

Parents of injured 12-year-old hope to challenge ruling Archie is brain-stem dead and treatment can be stoppedThe family of a 12-year-old boy at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute are preparing to mount an appeal after a high court judge ruled that the child is dead and his treatment can be stopped.Mrs Justice Arbuthnot recently ruled that doctors could lawfully stop providing treatment to Archie Battersbee after considering evidence at a trial in the family division of the high court in London. Continue reading...

Labour peer Peter Hain says PM is using Northern Ireland protocol bill to provoke populist row with EUBoris Johnson is engaging in “Putinesque” tactics by using the Northern Ireland protocol bill to cause a populist row with Brussels when the EU is willing to compromise, Peter Hain, a former Northern Ireland secretary, said on Sunday.Hain, who sits on a Lords subcommittee on the protocol, said Brussels appeared willing to compromise, but Johnson was more keen on engaging in a “parallel universe blame game”. Continue reading...

Gains by new French left alliance and historic surge by far right cast uncertainty over Macron’s second termEmmanuel Macron’s centrist grouping has lost its absolute majority in parliament, amid gains by a new left alliance and a historic surge by the far right in legislative elections.After five years of undisputed control of parliament, the recently re-elected Macron, known for his top-down approach to power, now enters his second term facing uncertainty over how he will deliver domestic policies such as raising the retirement age and overhauling state benefits. His centrists will need to strike compromises and expand alliances in parliament to be able to push forward his proposals to cut taxes and shake up the welfare system. Continue reading...

NSW government allocates $216m for further design work, but Labor suggests announcement is just another ‘grandiose promise’

Francesco ‘Frank’ Zumbo, 55, has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including sexual touching and indecent assault

Witness says she thought Dawson twins’ behaviour was ‘creepy’ at living wake in 2007 because of the way they sat so close together

Hairstyles and not drinking among reasons most minority ethnic respondents believe they have been treated in a prejudiced wayLarge majorities of black and Asian workers believe they have been overlooked for employment opportunities, including promotion, because of their identity, according to research, with some citing their hairstyles and not drinking alcohol as key factors.Seventy-one per cent of employees from a black background reported feeling overlooked for opportunities owing to their identity; 66% from Asian backgrounds and 65% of those who identified as LGBTQ+ also had the same experience. Continue reading...

Real estate agent Ralph Babet takes seat for United Australia party after it spent an estimated $180m in past two elections

There are 77 Israeli farms and shepherding outposts across the West Bank, part of an explosion in settlement growth in recent yearsOn stretches of Route 90, the Israeli-built road running down the length of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, the west side of the highway is full of straw-like grass despite the summer heat. To the east of the road, what can be eaten by sheep and goats is gone.The difference is the only perceptible sign of the biggest strategic shift in the battle for control of Area C, the 60% of the West Bank under full Israeli control, in recent years: the emergence of Israeli settlers using shepherding as a tool for seizing the most land, with the least effort. Continue reading...

Restaurants are filling up again as clubs welcome daytime revellers, but the city remains under a cloud of warWalking around a small outdoor street market in a pretty Kyiv courtyard, one could be forgiven for forgetting for a brief moment that Ukraine is in the midst of a brutal war that not long ago saw some of its bloodiest fighting just a few miles from the capital.A DJ is playing techno tunes, so beloved in a city that has been proudly calling itself the new Berlin, as locals sell vintage clothes. Continue reading...

Country risks failing next international evaluation and could be put on a ‘grey list’ if it doesn’t do enough

‘We are ready. We warn partners,’ says Ukraine president, ahead of decision on membership application

There was big hair, short shorts and no shortage of sore bodies at the popular music industry football fundraiser

Former fighter in the M-19 militia beat populist business tycoon and fellow political outsider Rodolfo Hernández in runoff on SundayColombia has elected a former guerrilla fighter Gustavo Petro as president, making him the South American country’s first leftist head of state.Petro beat Rodolfo Hernández, a gaff-prone former mayor of Bucaramanga and business mogul, with 50.47% of the vote in a runoff election on Sunday and will take office in July amid a host of challenges, not least of which is the deepening discontent over inequality and rising costs of living. Hernández had 47.27%, with almost all ballots counted, according to results released by election authorities. Continue reading...

New laws also increase quotas on Ukrainian-language speech and music on television and radioUkraine’s parliament has voted through two laws that will place severe restrictions on Russian books and music as Kyiv seeks to break many remaining cultural ties between the two countries following Moscow’s invasion.One law will forbid the printing of books by Russian citizens, unless they renounce their Russian passport and take Ukrainian citizenship. The ban will only apply to those who held Russian citizenship after the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule. Continue reading...

Government outlines two-year wait for curbs on multibillion-pound industry as consumers face ‘bleak winter’The consumer champion Martin Lewis has criticised the “painfully slow” pace of progress on regulating the buy now, pay later industry, amid indications that promised tougher rules are unlikely to take effect until 2024.Buy now, pay later (BNPL) lets shoppers delay payment for products such as clothes and furniture. This form of credit enjoyed explosive growth during the pandemic, particularly among under-30s and those with tight finances. Continue reading...

The pop star’s single Bad Habits was also the most-played song of last year, according to new data from music licensing company PPLEd Sheeran was the most-played artist in the UK last year according to new data from music licensing company PPL, which calculates usage by radio stations, TV channels and public locations that play recorded music in order to distribute royalties.Sheeran also had the most-played track of 2021 in Bad Habits, from his fourth album, =. He previously held the PPL double in 2017, when he was the year’s most-played artist and his song Shape of You dominated public life. Continue reading...

Friends of Nigel Stonehouse, 58, who has kidney and lung cancer, seek help with costs of transporting him to his final festivalThe friends of a terminally ill man have launched a fundraising campaign to help him attend the Glastonbury festival next week.Nigel Stonehouse, 58, from Hartlepool, was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, which has now spread to his lungs. After receiving the terminal diagnosis, his friends wanted to fulfil his “dying wish” of attending the festival for a final time. Continue reading...

Barrister’s unlawful discrimination case sees levels of engagement rare for an employment tribunalWith its own dedicated (unofficial) Twitter account and people following proceedings daily live via video, the unlawful discrimination case brought by barrister Allison Bailey against her chambers Garden Court and Stonewall has seen levels of engagement rare for an employment tribunal.The reason is that the case, due to hear closing arguments on Monday, is a microcosm of the wider debate about transgender rights. Continue reading...

Pacific islands urge new Labor government to support push for international court of justice to issue climate advisory opinion

Prosecutors say allegations involve ‘young foreign woman’ who was forced to have ‘non-consensual’ sexual relations over two daysAuthorities detained Oscar-winning film director Paul Haggis on Sunday in connection with allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy, Italian news media said, quoting local prosecutors.The Canadian-born Haggis, 69, has been in Italy for a film festival that begins on Tuesday in Ostuni, a tourist town in Puglia, the region that forms the “heel” of the Italian peninsula. Continue reading...

Raymundo Garduno and Juan Francisco Aguilar, as well as six other people who were injured, were in van that flipped in desertA traffic crash in Mexico last week killed two actors from an upcoming original series by Netflix and injured six other people, according to officials and media reports.The killed actors, Raymundo Garduno and Juan Francisco Aguilar, were in a van that accidentally flipped Thursday in a patch of desert near the community of Mulege on the Baja California Sur peninsula. Other cast and crew members were hurt during the wreck, which reportedly occurred offset but during filming of the show The Chosen One. Continue reading...

People ‘killed like chickens’ as ethnic tensions continue in Africa’s second most populous countryWitnesses in Ethiopia said on Sunday that more than 200 ethnic Amhara have been killed in an attack in the country’s Oromia region and are blaming a rebel group, which denies it.It is one of the deadliest such attacks in recent memory as ethnic tensions continue in Africa’s second most populous country. Continue reading...

Officers have already arrested three people, one of whom confessed to killing British journalist and indigenous advocatePolice investigating the murder of the British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira have identified five more people connected with the killings, bringing to eight the number of suspects in a crime that has shocked Brazil.Police had already arrested two brothers, one of whom confessed to the crime, and a third man handed himself in to authorities on Saturday. Continue reading...

Report had claimed Boris Johnson tried to hire his now wife as chief of staff when foreign secretary, but then it was deletedAt first glance, the story appeared to be the political scoop of the weekend.On Saturday, the Times reported claims that Boris Johnson had tried to hire his now wife as his chief of staff when he was foreign secretary. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Anthony Albanese committed Labor to signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons while in opposition

Writer and broadcaster says teaching about the past must not be a way of making people feel good about themselvesBritain’s relationship with history is “not fit for purpose”, according to a leading historian who said too many pupils are still taught a “dishonest version” of the nation’s past that left out uncomfortable truths.David Olusoga, the writer and broadcaster, told school leaders that Britain often saw its history as “recreational … a place that we go for comfort, a place to make us feel good about ourselves”, leading to ignorance about the history of its empire, and to immigration scandals such as Windrush. Continue reading...