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Firm accused of inflating billing costs for staff working on high-speed rail route's West Midlands sectionThe company building the high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham is investigating claims that one of its labour suppliers on the project charged overinflated rates for staff.HS2 Ltd launched an investigation into a subcontractor providing workers to build the West Midlands section of the line, which has been beset with delays and cost overruns, amid allegations about its billing practices. Continue reading...

Analysts say US and Israeli attacks failed to weaken rebels and are only pushing the country to the brink of famineLate last month, a suspected US airstrike levelled four homes on the fringes of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, killing at least 11 people. A video posted by an eyewitness shows a frightened man carrying a young child on his back as they run through the darkness, warning people away, before the roar of a jet and the white flash of a blast.Local people quickly circulated notifications of funerals for the many killed in the airstrike on the outlying Thaqban neighbourhood, listing the whole families that had died in an instant. Continue reading...

Leftwingers say the shallow initiatives that now define DEI have diluted more radical attempts to achieve equality

Charles to open parliament in show of support at a crucial time - but that has not quieted a chorus of critical voicesThe decision by King Charles to formally open Canada's parliament on Tuesday reflects his role as a steadfast defender" of the country amid threats to its sovereignty, says prime minister Mark Carney.But Indigenous leaders say the rare visit is also a reminder that Canada's founding relationship between the monarchy and the country's first peoples cannot ever be forgotten or displaced or broken". Continue reading...

Medicine shortages plus limited testing and hospital capacity exacerbated by withdrawal of USAID as outbreak gathers pace across countries in the regionMalawi's ministry of health has announced three new cases of mpox in the capital, Lilongwe, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 11 since the country's first was reported in April.Malawi is one of 16 countries in Africa reporting mpox outbreaks as health officials battle with vaccine shortages as well as limited testing and hospital capacity. Continue reading...

Health department witness tells Victorian supreme court of efforts to glean information from Patterson in days after fatal mushroom lunch

Jury in case of Lewis Johnson, who died in 2016 when his scooter collided with a van after a high-speed police chase, found failings by officersThe mother of a gifted young footballer who died after police chased him at high speed while he was riding his moped has welcomed the findings of an inquest jury that found there were multiple failings by officers involved in the case.Lewis Johnson, 18, a former Crystal Palace youth player, died in February 2016 when the white Vespa scooter he was riding collided with a van in Clapton, east London, after a three-minute high-speed police chase. Officers were pursuing him after reports that he had been snatching mobile phones. Continue reading...

Nationals leader says he is relaxed about leadership speculation and denies the party is divided. Follow today's news live

Figures revealed by Lib Dems also show cancellations not rescheduled within required 28 days doubled in nine yearsAlmost a quarter of elective operations in NHS hospitals in England that were cancelled at the last minute took longer than the required 28 days to rearrange, figures show.They also reveal that the number of cancellations breaching the 28-day standard for a new date has more than doubled within a decade, from 9,000 in 2015-16 to 19,400 in 2024-25. Continue reading...

Two-year-old died after doctors assumed she had an acute viral illness, rather than bacterial infection that resulted in her death, a coronial inquest has heard

Campaigners say homes with RTS meters could be left with heating that is permanently off, or on, from 30 JuneThe adverts featuring Lorraine Kelly paint a worrying picture of people left without heating or hot water or, perhaps worse in mid-summer, their radiators on full blast.Either outcome could be possible when the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), which controls an old type of electricity meter found in almost 400,000 homes across Great Britain, is switched off from 30 June. Continue reading...

Steve Webb says long-term plan is needed as experts warn 8% of earnings is not enough for decent retirement incomeA former minister says the UK government needs to think big" about retirement saving amid growing calls for minimum pension contributions to be increased.Under the auto-enrolment regime, an employee and their employer must pay into a pension and the government has set mandatory minimum contribution levels. But experts argue that for most people, the current figures are not enough to fund a decent retirement income. Continue reading...

Glad Group CEO says the company's security staff now wear stab-proof vests as uniform' at shopping centres

Concerns over patient care at the Healthscope-run Northern Beaches hospital sparked criticism of public-private health sector partnerships

Chancellor hopes investment in homes, transport and energy will stave off pressure from MPs and discontent among publicRachel Reeves will put 113bn of new capital investment at the forefront of the spending review and argue that the billions of investment in homes, transport and energy would only have happened under Labour.The billions unlocked by the change to the fiscal rules, which will be spent over the next parliament, will be at the centre of the government's narrative in a fortnight's time in an acknowledgment that Labour MPs need a better economic story to address rising discontent among the public. Continue reading...

The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel by Ryo Tatsuki, declared a major disaster would occur on 5 July 2025A grim prediction made in a manga first published a quarter of a century ago is being blamed for a dramatic fall in holiday bookings to Japan from several Asian countries.Flight reservations to Japan from some of its key tourism markets have reportedly plummeted, with some linking the fall to The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel based on the prophetic" dreams of its author, Ryo Tatsuki. Continue reading...

Police say further arrests imminent' after Sunday's clash between alleged rival youth gangs'

Exclusive: Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, coming to West End, imagines rival dramatists working togetherA Guardian report on William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe being literary rivals and collaborators has inspired a play that will be staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in London's West End this summer.The RSC's co-artistic director Daniel Evans will direct Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, an Irish-American playwright, who has imagined two of the greatest dramatists of all time working together, wrestling creatively, both envious and admiring of each other. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of households in line for electricity bill increases with NSW customers on standing offers facing steepest rise

New Zealand singer makes impromptu decision' to turn up at Mary's Underground, singing along, soaking it up' with fans

Government expected to sell last shares in banking group this week, drawing a line under 2008 financial crisis bailoutFred the Shred" Goodwin, the disgraced ex-boss of Royal Bank of Scotland, is estimated to be receiving an annual pension worth nearly 600,000, as the government prepares to declare a 10bn loss after selling its final stake in the bank as early as this week.The banking group, now known as NatWest, is expected to return to full private ownership within days, drawing a line under a 45bn state bailout that saved the bank from the brink of collapse at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Continue reading...

Lenders' routine purging after six years means details of some car buyers due compensation may have been lostConsumers are at risk of losing 1bn of compensation over inflated car loans because high street banks and specialist lenders deleted their data, claims lawyers have warned.Borrowers, banks and the government are anxiously awaiting a ruling from the supreme court that could spark one of the biggest redress schemes since the 50bn payment protection insurance (PPI) saga. Continue reading...

EU Staff for Peace letter accuses institution bosses of failing to exert influence to help PalestiniansA group of EU officials has written to the leaders of the European institutions criticising the bloc for little or no meaningful action" in response to the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.The group EU Staff for Peace said that more than 2,000 officials working for the European Commission, European parliament and EU agencies had signed a letter drafted in May 2024 which accused the EU of apathy to the plight of Palestinians. Continue reading...

Country at top of education charts aims to equip students and teachers with world-class artificial intelligence skills'While many schools in England have banned smartphones, in Estonia - regarded as the new European education powerhouse - students are regularly asked to use their devices in class, and from September they will be given their own AI accounts.The small Baltic country - population 1.4 million - has quietly become Europe's top performer in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's programme for international student assessment (Pisa), overtaking its near neighbour Finland. Continue reading...

Jake Wood's resignation comes after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation faced criticism from the UN and other aid groupsThe head of a US-backed private humanitarian organisation that is tasked with distributing aid in Gaza using an Israeli-initiated plan resigned on Sunday, saying that the operation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to humanitarian principles".Executive director Jake Wood announced his resignation in a statement from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), adding fresh uncertainty to the operation's future. Continue reading...

Flood waters have receded but authorities concerned about impact of severe' cold front on stranded livestock

Anthony Albanese says Netanyahu government excuses' for stopping critical food and medical supplies are completely untenable'

With cases expected to rise again this year, analysis from Cancer Research UK finds men's torsos more susceptible, while for women it's the lower limbsAreas of the body most likely to develop skin cancer vary between men and women, research has found, as cases of melanoma are expected to rise this year.According to analysis by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), four in 10 melanomas in men are found on the torso, including the back, chest and stomach, the equivalent of 3,700 cases a year. Continue reading...

Royal College of Psychiatrists and British Medical Association among those saying risks mean police must always attendPlans for NHS staff to restrain and detain people experiencing a mental health crisis, instead of the police doing so, are dangerous", doctors, nurses and psychiatrists have warned.The former prime minister Theresa May has proposed legislation in England and Wales that would change the long-established practice for dealing with people who may pose a risk to themselves or others because their mental health has deteriorated sharply. Continue reading...

At least 12 killed including three children after Kremlin launches 298 drones and 69 missile strikes against neighbourUkraine has condemned US silence" after Russia carried out its largest air raid in three years of war, with a second straight night of massive drone and ballistic missile strikes killing at least 12 people, including three children.Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the US to speak out against the Russian attacks, after Ukrainian officials confirmed Moscow had launched 298 drones and 69 missiles in multiple waves on sites across the country. Continue reading...

Marilyn's Mater Paddle, now in its second year, held at Balcarrick beach to raise funds for women's cancer careAlmost 200 Marilyn Monroe lookalikes have made a splash by taking part in a themed charity swim at an Irish beach.Sporting retro swimsuits and blond wigs, swimmers dressed as the film star took the plunge at Balcarrick beach in Donabate, County Dublin, for Marilyn's Mater Paddle. Continue reading...

Dr Alaa al-Najjar was at work when Israeli strike destroyed her home, leaving one son and her husband as survivorsIn the early hours of Friday, as she did every day, Dr Alaa al-Najjar said goodbye to her 10 children before leaving the house. The youngest, Sayden, six months old, was still sleeping. And like every day, with war raging in Gaza and Israeli strikes landing just metres from her neighbourhood in Khan Younis, Najjar worried about leaving them at home without her.But Najjar, 35, had little choice. One of Gaza's dwindling number of medics, a respected paediatrician at the Nasser medical complex, she had to go to work to care for injured babies who had barely survived Israeli attacks. She could never have imagined that that farewell to her family would be her last. Continue reading...

Nusrat Usman, 43, Maryam Mikaiel, 15, Musa Usman, eight, and Raees Usman, four, were pronounced dead at scene in BrentFour people who died after a fire in north-west London on Saturday have been named by police.Nusrat Usman, 43, and three of her children, Maryam Mikaiel, 15, Musa Usman, eight, and Raees Usman, four, died at the scene of the fire which gutted two homes in the Stonebridge area of Brent in the early hours of Saturday. Continue reading...

Civil defence agency says some people are still under rubble after attacks on Deir al-Balah and JabaliyaIsraeli strikes over the past 24 hours have killed at least 38 people in Gaza, health officials in the Palestinian territory have said, bringing the death toll to more than 100 in less than three days.An attack on a tent housing displaced people in the central city of Deir al-Balah killed a mother and her two children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Another strike in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza killed at least five, including two women and a child, it added. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis exposes lack of action taken despite major reports published over the past 40 years

At least 45,000 people affected by malicious act' in Nice, a day after Cannes film festival disrupted by similar outageFrench authorities have launched an investigation into a power blackout blamed on sabotage that affected at least 45,000 people, just a day after a similar outage disrupted the final day of the Cannes film festival.Authorities in Nice said an electrical transformer had been set on fire in the west of the city in the early hours of Sunday, with power restored later in the day. A day earlier, a separate blaze, believed to have been started by arson, contributed to a power cut that hit Cannes. Continue reading...

Tory leader denied there were security concerns about driver and private service she used while a ministerKemi Badenoch has questions to answer over her use as a minister of a car and driver that were not part of the official government car service (GCS), Labour has said.The Conservative leader denied there were any security concerns on Sunday, saying there was full clearance for the driver and he was recommended by the government service. Continue reading...

Bereaved families renew call for inquiry and demand access to documents that have been sealed away until 2094Families bereaved after a Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994, which remains one of the RAF's worst peacetime losses of life, have demanded the release of documents sealed for 100 years.RAF Chinook ZD576 was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to a conference at Fort George, near Inverness, Scotland, when it crashed in foggy weather on 2 June 1994. All the passengers - made up of personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British army - were killed, along with the helicopter's four crew members. Continue reading...

Despite praise for Sure Start from some in the Labour party, there are also concerns that resuming the service would be difficult and costlyThe government-backed child poverty taskforce is likely to recommend the return of the early years service Sure Start, the Guardian understands, though there are doubts in government about whether it could be funded.Senior ministers including Rachel Reeves, Liz Kendall and Bridget Phillipson have praised the service in the past, citing it as one of the crowning achievements of the last Labour government. Continue reading...

Candidates representing sharply divergent visions for nation's future are neck-and-neck in pollsTens of thousands of people in Warsaw have taken part in duelling political marches, led by the two men vying for the Polish presidency in a 1 June runoff election, which is expected to be close and consequential.

Bodies found after climbers raised alert over abandoned skis close to Rimpfischhorn summit near ZermattThe bodies of five skiers have been found in the mountains near Switzerland's luxury resort of Zermatt, police said.A helicopter was sent to survey the area around the Rimpfischhorn after climbers alerted authorities to abandoned skis near the summit on Saturday. Continue reading...

Patients previously saw specialist paediatrician or psychiatrist. Premier says change will break cycle of people having to wait years for life-altering diagnosis'GPs in New South Wales will be among the first in Australia to diagnose and provide medication for children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the state government has announced.Currently, most people seeking a diagnosis, management and ongoing prescription medication for ADHD must see a specialist - often a paediatrician for children or a psychiatrist for adults. Continue reading...

Police say a 29-year-old will appear in court after a weapon was carried into Queen Elizabeth university hospitalA man has been charged after an incident in which a person entered a Glasgow hospital carrying a crossbow.Police were called to Queen Elizabeth university hospital at about 6.30am on Friday. Continue reading...

At least 12 people killed in strikes involving nearly 300 drones and almost 70 missiles

US state department says on website it may actively review' status of Americans who serve as a foreign head of state'Pope Leo XIV's election as the first US-born leader of the Roman Catholic church elevated him to the rare, legally thorny, position of being an American citizen who now is also a foreign head of state.Born in Chicago as Robert Prevost in 1955, the new pope for the past decade has held dual citizenship in the US and Peru, where he spent time as a missionary and bishop. Continue reading...

Wife pays tribute to profoundly moral man' who was creative in every cell of his body'Alan Yentob, the former BBC executive and TV presenter, has died at the age of 78, his family has announced.A statement from his family, released by the BBC, said Yentob died on Saturday. Continue reading...

Holyrood to increase number of gender neutral facilities, says presiding officer, but critics say ban could expose trans people to harassmentNearly 50 MSPs and their staff have signed a letter to the governing body of the Scottish parliament expressing deep concern" about its decision to ban trans people from using the toilets of their lived gender in the building.Alison Johnstone, Holyrood's presiding officer and chair of the Scottish parliament's corporate body, set out the interim position earlier this month in response to the supreme court's ruling on biological sex. Continue reading...

Alain Berset says no judiciary should face political pressure after nine countries make intervention over migrationEurope's leading human rights body has criticised nine governments that have urged a rethink of the interpretation of the European convention on human rights on migration issues.The Council of Europe secretary general, Alain Berset, spoke out against politicising" the European court of human rights after nine European leaders signed a letter organised by Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Denmark's Mette Frederiksen, calling for an open-minded conversation" about the interpretation of the convention. Continue reading...

The president's hawking of $Trump memecoin has sparked a firestorm of criticism over potential influence buyingDonald Trump's push to sharply ease oversight of the cryptocurrency industry, while he and his sons have fast expanded crypto ventures that have reaped billions of dollars from investors including foreign ones, is raising alarm about ethical and legal issues.Watchdog groups, congressional Democrats and some Republicans have levelled a firestorm of criticism at Trump for hawking his own memecoin $Trump, a novelty crypto token with no inherent value, by personally hosting a 22 May dinner at his Virginia golf club for the 220 largest buyers of $Trump and a private reception" for the 25 biggest buyers. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says final stage has been carried out in the largest swap yet between the warring countries