World news | The Guardian

Russian state-linked bank pursuing financier for millions over alleged fraud is not on UK sanctions list

From the swearing in of Anthony Albanese and his ministers, to department ‘red books’, the public service is ready for the transition

Mothers shocked by the cost as charities urge government to step in

Foreign secretary tells Richard Neal, chair of the US Congress ways and means committee, that she cannot let the Brexit impasse drag onLiz Truss is resisting pressure from a close ally of Joe Biden not to rewrite the Brexit deal’s Northern Ireland protocol, saying she will not let the impasse “drag on”.The foreign secretary is facing concerted pressure from senior US politicians on the issue. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has already warned that she could endanger any hopes of a free trade deal with America. Continue reading...

Morrison visited Horizon church on Sunday morning where he quoted Bible verses to the congregation

Tim Wilson and Josh Frydenberg maintain theoretical path to victory despite being thousands of votes behind

Over 100mm of water fell across multiple catchments with communities warned of potential isolation by floodwaters into next week

Rains inundate thousands of villages and trigger landslides in north-east Bangladesh’s worst flooding in nearly two decadesHeavy rains have caused widespread flooding in parts of Bangladesh and India, leaving millions stranded and at least 57 dead, officials say.In Bangladesh, about 2 million people have been marooned by the worst floods in the country’s north-east for nearly two decades. Continue reading...

Joe Biden among those banned after signing $40bn aid package for Ukraine; Finnish president says he held ‘open and direct’ talks with his Turkish counterpart. This blog is now closed

Labour says it is ‘simply staggering’ department authorised the move amid a cost of living crisisTreasury bosses have been criticised for authorising £500,000 of taxpayers’ money to be spent on focus groups and polls amid the cost of living crisis.Deltapoll, an independent public opinion consultancy firm, was selected to carry out the work with an option to extend the contract for another year which would take the potential total cost to £1m. Continue reading...

Rival fans threw flares and clashed with police inside the Olympic stadium in AthensPanathinaikos beat PAOK 1-0 to clinch the Greek Cup on Saturday in a match marred by crowd trouble as rival fans threw flares and clashed with police inside the Olympic stadium.Violence broke out an hour before the match was due to start as spectators began arriving at the stadium, delaying the kickoff. Continue reading...

‘We do not make policy through mob rule,’ home secretary will say as she urges MPs to back bill that criminalises obstructing trafficPriti Patel will tell MPs that “we do not make policy through mob rule in this country” as she urges them to give their support to the new public order bill.It represents the home secretary’s latest attempt to introduce measures that have previously been blocked by the House of Lords as part of the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. Continue reading...

Labour’s Peter Dowd puts pressure on Home Office to do more for families affected by tragedyA Labour MP, who suffered the tragic death of his daughter in a hit-and-run accident, has called for improved victim support from the Home Office after the harrowing experience.Bootle MP Peter Dowd said he will never get over the death of his daughter, Jennifer, 31, who was killed in an incident near the Labour MP’s Merseyside home in September 2020. Continue reading...

84-year-old who was ousted last year boards plane for Turkey to receive medical treatmentGuinean ex-leader Alpha Conde boarded a plane for Turkey on Saturday after the junta that toppled him authorised his travel abroad for medical treatment, officials said.The 84-year-old Conte, who was ousted last year, has been allowed to travel out of respect for his “dignity and integrity” and for “humanitarian reasons”, the junta’s governing body said. Continue reading...

Civil service head will carry the can, amid row over claims that No 10 tried to interfere with Sue Gray’s findingsBoris Johnson is expected to scapegoat the head of the civil service Simon Case this week in a desperate effort to save his own job, as both men face stinging criticism in a report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.The long-awaited findings of the senior mandarin Sue Gray will, according to several sources, lay particular blame on Case, the UK’s most senior civil servant, for allowing a drinking culture to develop in which rule-breaking parties became commonplace during lockdowns. Continue reading...

Ukrainian leader tells TV station ‘there are things that can only be reached at the negotiating table’

Grenfell United criticises Home Office papers outlining reason for retaining policy against inquiry recommendationsBereaved relatives of the Grenfell Tower blaze have said they are “enraged” by government plans to keep the controversial “stay put” policy instead of adopting an inquiry recommendation.Grenfell United has criticised new Home Office papers which outline its reasons for retaining the policy – meaning that residents of most buildings should wait for rescue services rather than leaving in the event of a fire. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese arrives for speech; Scott Morrison to step down as leader after conceding defeat; ‘Liberal family suffered a terrible day,’ Peter Dutton says; Labor claims Reid; Zoe Daniel claims victory in Goldstein; Allegra Spender wins Wentworth from Dave Sharma. This blog is now closed

With many supporters still bearing the scars of the 2019 election loss, it was only when the Western Australian results streamed in that they dared to dream

Labor leader pledges to implement Uluru statement and to end climate wars, while Scott Morrison says he will stand down as Liberal leader after defeat

With 40,000 RMT members voting, union warns of ‘potentially biggest rail strike in modern history’Contingency plans are being drawn up to try to keep passenger and freight trains running and prevent empty supermarket shelves after unions warned of “potentially the biggest rail strike in modern history”.The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) is balloting 40,000 members on the industrial action, which network sources have reportedly said would create “serious challenges” in keeping goods moving and supermarket shelves stocked. Continue reading...

Liberal frontbencher Simon Birmingham said gender, diversity, and climate change were clearly factors in the party’s defeat

The Coalition loses government but it is not clear whether Labor has achieved a big enough swing to form majority government

Climate 200 convenor says ‘people who called themselves moderates didn’t deliver’ while Labor argues election shows ‘teals are eating the Liberal party alive’

Anthony Albanese’s Labor party defeats the ruling Coalition, but may lack the numbers to form majority government

Crowds evacuated following incident during a rehearsal for Queen’s jubilee in LondonTwo people were taken to hospital after a stand reportedly collapsed when spectators rose for the national anthem during a trooping the colour rehearsal in central London.Three others were treated at the scene by paramedics after the incident in Horse Guards Road at about 11am on Saturday, London ambulance service said. Continue reading...

Country’s president emphasises need for talks to resume with Russia after previous negotiations stalled

President of British Association for Sexual Health and HIV says infection could have ‘massive impact’ as staff are forced to isolateMonkeypox could have a “massive impact” on access to UK sexual health services, a leading doctor has warned.Dr Claire Dewsnap, the president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, has voiced concern about how the viral infection could affect services as staff who come into contact with sufferers are forced to isolate. Continue reading...

Hungarian talkshow host who has called Jews ‘stinking excrement’ and Roma ‘animals’ addresses rightwing conferenceA notorious Hungarian racist who has called Jews “stinking excrement”, referred to Roma as “animals” and used racial epithets to describe Black people, was a featured speaker at a major gathering of US Republicans in Budapest.Zsolt Bayer took the stage at the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Hungary, a convention that also featured speeches from Donald Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Continue reading...

Buyers face bidding wars to snare homes despite soaring inflation, cost of living crisis and fears of property crashIt took less than a week to sell a two-bedroom garden flat in north London, with a guide price of £950,000. Featuring a large patio, garden, oak floorboards and underfloor heating, it is in a mixed area on the outskirts of Islington and Camden.“We’ve been inundated with people wanting to see it,” says Andrew Groocock, a regional partner at the estate agents Knight Frank, which helped organise 23 viewings. “It ticks the boxes of exactly what’s hot in the market at the moment. It’s still an incredibly buoyant market. The last two years have been remarkable.” Continue reading...

Family photos, personal items and sporting memorabilia to go on display at Museum of LondonNever-before-seen family photos, personal items and sporting memorabilia highlighting the England captain Harry Kane’s journey from grassroots football to professional player are to go on display at the Museum of London, with the hope of inspiring young people.The exhibition will celebrate Kane, who grew up in east London just a few miles from Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium in north London. Continue reading...

Edwin Afriyie, 36, is suing the force after suffering a head injury and suicidal thoughts following the incidentA black social worker who was Tasered and knocked unconscious during a roadside stop says police treated him like a “wild animal.”Edwin Afriyie, 36, is suing City of London police after suffering a head injury and suicidal thoughts following the incident. Continue reading...

As well as the national broadcaster, Seven, Nine, 10 and Sky News Australia are all also offering live panels and analysis

Makers of Tower Block of Commons deny paying actors to play real people from deprived communitiesNadine Dorries’ claim that a Channel 4 reality show she appeared on used paid actors is “unfounded”, according to the production company that made the show.The culture secretary told parliament on Thursday that she believes the 2010 show ‘Tower Block of Commons’, in which she was one of a number of MPs who went to live in deprived communities, used paid actors to play supposedly real people. Continue reading...

New powers handed to permanent secretary Samantha Jones after Gray report found ‘failures of leadership’

Tank commander Vadim Shysimarin, 21, tells court he was ‘nervous’ and ‘didn’t want to kill’ unarmed civilian

Star Wars craft was secretly put together in a hangar in Pembroke Dock amid ‘flying saucer’ rumoursIt is perhaps the most recognisable and beloved spaceship in movie history – a battered old warrior of a vessel that got Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the rest of the Star Wars crew out of – and into – a string of sci-fi scrapes.What is not so well known is that the Millennium Falcon, or at least a full-size model of it, was the last major craft to be built at a dockyard in south-west Wales. Continue reading...

Ad agency agrees deal after rejecting four offers by deputy chair Vin Murria’s investment vehicleDigital marketing group Next Fifteen has struck a £310m deal to buy M&C Saatchi, gazumping tech entrepreneur Vin Murria’s attempt to buy the ad agency.London-listed Next Fifteen, which has a £1.2bn market valuation, has tabled a cash and share offer for M&C Saatchi that it aims to seal through a scheme of arrangement. Continue reading...

Failures in triple-zero system blamed for 18 of the deaths, Ambulance Victoria chief tells budget estimates hearing

Stanley in Falkland Islands also becomes city after contest marking Queen’s platinum jubilee yearDoncaster, Milton Keynes and Stanley in the Falkland Islands have been awarded city status, approved by the Queen, in a competition being held as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations, the Cabinet Office has announced.The eight winners of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours competition, also included Bangor in Northern Ireland, Colchester in England, Douglas on the Isle of Man, Dunfermline in Scotland and Wrexham in Wales.Bangor (pop 61,000) in Northern Ireland was a key site for allied forces during the second world war, with supreme commander Dwight D Eisenhower giving a speech to 30,000 assembled troops there shortly before ships left for Normandy and the D-day invasion. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited Bangor Castle in 1961 before lunch at the Royal Ulster Yacht Club in the run-up to Prince Philip racing in the regatta. Previously, Edward VII had visited in 1903.Colchester (pop 122,000) is Britain’s first recorded settlement and its first capital, and for the past 165 years has been a garrison town. Firstsite, its contemporary art gallery, was named Art Fund museum of the year in 2021.Doncaster (population 110,000) highlighted that its “community spirit and resilience was demonstrated during the Doncaster floods in 2019 as the community rallied to provide relief”. Originally a Roman settlement, it is home to the St Leger, founded in 1776 and the oldest classic horse race in the world, regularly attended by royals since George IV. It has made three previous attempts for city status.Douglas (pop 27,000) has links to the royal family through the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which originated there, with George IV as first patron, and the Queen patron today. Its cultural highlights include the annual Manx Music Festival, dating from 1892, and the Isle of Man Film Festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.Dunfermline’s (pop 56,000) most famous son is probably Andrew Carnegie, whose steel and industry helped build the US, and whose philanthropy started the world’s public library system, according to Dunfermline’s bid. Its royal links stretch back to the reign of Malcolm III, king of Scotland from 1058-1093, when he set up his court there.Milton Keynes (pop 223,000), a new town started in the Queen’s reign, is described in its bid as “the pinnacle of the national postwar planning movement”. Today it has 27 conservation areas, 50 scheduled monuments, 1,100 listed building and 270 pieces of public art.Stanley, in the Falklands, (pop 2,100) has been regularly visited by members of the royal family, including Prince William, who spent six weeks based there as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. This year marks 40 years since the Falklands conflict.Wrexham (pop 42,500) boasts the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a Unesco world heritage site described as a “masterpiece of creative genius”. It is also home to Wrexham Football Club, established in 1864 and said to be the third oldest in the UK and with the world’s oldest international ground. In the past decade, Wrexham has become one of the fastest-growing retail centres in the UK. Continue reading...

Anyone who tested positive after 6pm last Friday will be eligible to use phone service after independent candidate threatens legal action over issue

Weather bureau says wettest conditions expected for voters in Queensland but mostly fine weather likely in other capitals

Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people will have say on future of mines on native title area, two years after heritage site was blown up

Aboriginal heritage council says it will need to raise $1m to secure bid for two works by artist William Barak at Sotheby’s auction

Voting in three seats likely to be impacted by response to opening of second runway at Brisbane airport

This blog has now closed. Please join us again in a few hours when we will launch a new live blogThe UK’s ministry of defence has issued its daily public intelligence briefing on the situation with Russia and Ukraine, and this morning it is concentrating on the situation within Russia’s military. The ministry claims that Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel has been suspended for failing to capture Kharkiv and Vice Admiral Igor Osipov has been suspended from commanding the Black Sea Fleet. It says:A culture of cover-ups and scapegoating is probably prevalent within the Russian military and security system. Many officials involved in the invasion of Ukraine will likely be increasingly distracted by efforts to avoid personal culpability for Russia’s operational set-backs. Continue reading...

Story made public after an attempt by the attorney general to gain an injunction to prevent broadcastAn agent working for MI5 with a background in rightwing extremism abused his former partner and used his connection with the domestic intelligence agency to threaten her further, according to an investigation by the BBC.The man – known only as X for legal reasons – is said to have terrorised the woman and at one point attacked her with a machete and threatened to kill her, as shown in a video captured on her mobile phone. “There was so much psychological terror from him to me, that ultimately culminated in me having a breakdown,” the woman said. Continue reading...