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- Doncaster and Milton Keynes among eight towns awarded city status
- UN human rights commissioner criticised over planned Xinjiang visit
- Biden security agents sent home from Seoul after reported drunken assault
- Ancient forest found at bottom of huge sinkhole in China
- ‘Sleepwalking through extinction’: China urged to end delays to Cop15 summit
- Cabinet committee blocked plan to double Australia’s support to Pacific, election-eve leak reveals
- NSW government underspent on PPE and mental health, audit of $7.5bn Covid spending finds
- Chris Dawson’s former student tells court she wanted his missing wife to come back
- Guardian Australia readers: who do you think is going to win the federal election?
- Triple-zero overhaul: 21 Victorians died waiting for an ambulance in past six months, inquiry hears
- Robbie McEwen apologises for using ‘offensive phrase’ during Giro d’Italia broadcast
- Russia-Ukraine war: Russia to cut gas supply to Finland on Saturday; G7 pledges £15.9bn in aid to Ukraine – live
- Unacceptable for one party to block Stormont, says Irish PM
- Russia may scrap age limits for soldiers to bolster Ukraine invasion force
- Cosmopolitan no more: Russians feel sting of cultural and economic rift
- Intense fighting around Severodonetsk as Zelenskiy says Donbas is ‘hell’
- Tamil refugees detained by UK on Chagos Islands go on hunger strike
- UK universities urged to boost mental health support after student death
- Paul Willer, refugee from Nazis taken in by Attlee family, dies aged 94
- Police chiefs to apologise for ‘racism, discrimination and bias’ in race plan
- Production outfit refutes Nadine Dorries’ claims Channel 4 faked reality show
- Boris Johnson among dozens warned they face criticism in Sue Gray’s report
- Bristol University found guilty of failings over death of student
- Trump pays $110,000 in fines after being held in contempt of court – live
- Ginni Thomas reportedly urged Arizona Republicans to overturn 2020 result
- ‘His heart is broken’: Buffalo mourns shooting victims as first funeral held
- Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit electric guitar to be auctioned
- Armageddon Time: film featuring Trump family is attack on capitalism, says maker
- Dave Chappelle attack suspect charged with attempted murder over roommate stabbing
| Doncaster and Milton Keynes among eight towns awarded city status Posted: 19 May 2022 10:00 PM PDT Stanley in Falkland Islands also becomes city after contest marking Queen's platinum jubilee year Doncaster, 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... |
| UN human rights commissioner criticised over planned Xinjiang visit Posted: 20 May 2022 08:34 AM PDT Exclusive: Politicians accuse China of organising a 'Potemkin-style tour' for Michelle Bachelet A group of 40 politicians from 18 countries have told the UN high commissioner for human rights that she risks causing lasting damage to the credibility of her office if she goes ahead with a visit to China's Xinjiang region next week. Michelle Bachelet is scheduled to visit Kashgar and Ürümqi in Xinjiang during her trip, which starts on Monday. Human rights organisations say China has forced an estimated 1 million or more people into internment camps and prisons in the region. The US and a number of other western countries have described China's treatment of the Uyghur minority living there as genocidal, a charge Beijing calls the "lie of the century". Continue reading... |
| Biden security agents sent home from Seoul after reported drunken assault Posted: 20 May 2022 07:30 AM PDT Unnamed team member reportedly got into dispute with South Korean citizen outside hotel where Biden is expected to stay Joe Biden's visit to South Korea and Japan has got off to a bad start with two Secret Service agents set to be sent home after one was accused of drunkenly assaulting a South Korean the day before the president arrived in Seoul, officials said. Earlier reports said a member of his advance security detail was arrested for allegedly assaulting a South Korean citizen in Seoul. Continue reading... |
| Ancient forest found at bottom of huge sinkhole in China Posted: 20 May 2022 05:11 AM PDT Scientists believe site in Guangxi with trees up to 40 metres tall may contain undiscovered species An ancient forest has been found at the bottom of a giant sinkhole in China, with trees up to 40 metres (130ft) tall. Scientists believe it could contain undiscovered plant and animal species. Continue reading... |
| ‘Sleepwalking through extinction’: China urged to end delays to Cop15 summit Posted: 20 May 2022 03:56 AM PDT Covid lockdowns in host country frustrate scientists as no date in sight for key UN conservation conference after two years of delays
After two years of delays, governments had been scheduled to meet in Kunming, China, for Cop15 in late April to negotiate this decade's targets to halt and reverse the rampant destruction of ecosystems and wildlife crucial to human civilisation. It had been hoped the summit would be a "Paris moment" for biodiversity, with China holding the presidency for a major UN environmental agreement for the first time. Continue reading... |
| Cabinet committee blocked plan to double Australia’s support to Pacific, election-eve leak reveals Posted: 19 May 2022 08:12 PM PDT 'Extraordinary' revelation about national security decision shows the government is 'falling apart', Labor says
The Morrison government has been hit by an election-eve leak that cabinet's national security committee blocked a proposal by the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, to double Australia's support to the Pacific. Labor said the "extraordinary" pre-election leak, first reported by the Australian newspaper, showed the government was "falling apart", while Scott Morrison insisted the committee was "extremely tight". Continue reading... |
| NSW government underspent on PPE and mental health, audit of $7.5bn Covid spending finds Posted: 20 May 2022 02:23 AM PDT Auditor general says state agencies forked out close to $200m on faulty imported masks and ventilators The New South Wales government underspent on personal protective equipment and mental health services and forked out close to $200m on faulty imported masks and ventilators as part of the state's $7.5bn pandemic expenditure, a review has found. The auditor general released a detailed report on Friday after examining the state's spending from the first case detected in January 2020 to the middle of 2021. Continue reading... |
| Chris Dawson’s former student tells court she wanted his missing wife to come back Posted: 20 May 2022 12:30 AM PDT Woman known as JC told Dawson's murder trial she felt obliged to move in with him and had wanted to return to her life as a 17-year-old
Chris Dawson's former student and babysitter has admitted working on a book titled The Schoolgirl, Her Teacher and His Wife, but denied it was because she wanted revenge. Questioned by defence barrister Pauline David in the NSW supreme court on Friday, the woman known only as JC rejected the suggestion her claims she had been Dawson's sex slave were a good way to sell her book. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading... |
| Guardian Australia readers: who do you think is going to win the federal election? Posted: 19 May 2022 11:50 PM PDT So far we've had a dugong, a crocodile, a turtle, betting agencies and multiple polls try to predict the result of the 2022 election. Now it's your turn to tell us who will win
With the polls tightening in the final days of the campaign, Saturday's election is expected to be a close match. Labor is desperately hoping the widespread anti-Morrison sentiment will be enough to deliver victory and polls suggest they are in front, but the party is still scarred by the experience of 2019, when polling pointed to an ALP win, only for its advantage to evaporate on the day. Continue reading... |
| Triple-zero overhaul: 21 Victorians died waiting for an ambulance in past six months, inquiry hears Posted: 19 May 2022 11:31 PM PDT Failures in triple-zero system blamed for 18 of the deaths, Ambulance Victoria chief tells budget estimates hearing Twenty-one Victorians have died waiting for an ambulance over the past six months, a budget estimates hearing has been told. Failures in the triple-zero system have been blamed for 18 of the deaths with three attributed to paramedics not getting to patients on time, Ambulance Victoria's acting chief executive, Libby Murphy, said on Friday. Continue reading... |
| Robbie McEwen apologises for using ‘offensive phrase’ during Giro d’Italia broadcast Posted: 19 May 2022 11:01 PM PDT Robbie McEwen, the former cyclist and now commentator, says he's 'genuinely sorry' for using a homophobic slur during a broadcast, which he says was 'unintentional' Robbie McEwen, the former cyclist and now commentator, has apologised for using a homophobic slur during a broadcast of stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia. The Australian three-time Tour de France points classification winner, who retired from professional cycling in 2012, said he "unintentionally" used the phrase during commentary on Eurosport and GCN+ earlier this week. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 20 May 2022 11:34 AM PDT Gazprom will suspend gas sales to Finland from Saturday; G7 vows to keep Ukraine's devastated economy afloat
Serhiy Gaidai, Ukraine's governor of Luhansk, has given a short update on the situation in Severodonetsk. He writes on Telegram: The Russians are shelling Severodonetsk very powerfully. Up to 15,000 people remain in bomb shelters. Wells in the old districts of the city were preserved to provide people with water. All mobile towers are de-energized. 70% of high-rise buildings are destroyed or damaged, many of them need to be demolished and new ones built. Speaking of "friends", it is notable that US senators were visiting Stockholm on the day the "historic" decision was announced. Not rank-and-file congressmen, but leader of the Senate Republicans Mitch McConnell. Sweden has not yet joined the alliance, but the Americans are already dictating to the Swedish authorities what to say to their people. And this is just a demo of what is in store for them. More than 200 years of neutrality, which guaranteed the Kingdom's security and prosperity, are now history. Continue reading... |
| Unacceptable for one party to block Stormont, says Irish PM Posted: 20 May 2022 09:36 AM PDT Micheál Martin visits Belfast to try to break deadlock over DUP's opposition to Brexit protocol Ireland's taoiseach has said it is unacceptable for one party in Northern Ireland to block others from taking power, as he visited Belfast to try to break the deadlock over the Brexit protocol and power-sharing at Stormont. After meetings with party leaders, Micheál Martin said the Northern Ireland assembly and executive should be formed while negotiations continued between the UK government and the EU over the protocol. "Our view is there should be parallel discussions," he said as he urged the DUP to abandon its decision not to return to power-sharing until "decisive action" was taken over reforms to Northern Ireland's Brexit arrangements. |
| Russia may scrap age limits for soldiers to bolster Ukraine invasion force Posted: 20 May 2022 08:48 AM PDT Legislation would allow recruitment of older professionals as military faces infantry shortage Senior Russian officials have proposed a new law that would eliminate age limits for military contract soldiers, in another sign the country is facing a shortage of infantry to continue its offensive in Ukraine. Two members of the ruling United Russia party who introduced the law said the move would enable the military to utilise the skills of older professionals. Continue reading... |
| Cosmopolitan no more: Russians feel sting of cultural and economic rift Posted: 20 May 2022 08:32 AM PDT Magazines, production lines and consumer choices suffer as isolation from the west bites A trip to the mall in Russia is a different experience today than it was just a few short months ago. "When I had my first child, there was all this choice. Mothercare, Zara, you name it," said Evgenia Marsheva, a 33-year-old architect. But when she went shopping in Moscow this month for her newborn, many of those large retail brands had been shuttered. Continue reading... |
| Intense fighting around Severodonetsk as Zelenskiy says Donbas is ‘hell’ Posted: 20 May 2022 08:10 AM PDT Russian forces thought to be trying to cut one of the main supply routes to Ukrainian defenders in the area Intense fighting has been reported around the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk as Russian forces appear to be stepping up an offensive to encircle its Ukrainian defenders. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk – known collectively as the Donbas – were being turned into "hell" and warned that what he called the "final stage of the war" would be the bloodiest. Continue reading... |
| Tamil refugees detained by UK on Chagos Islands go on hunger strike Posted: 20 May 2022 07:23 AM PDT Forty-two hunger strikers are part of group of 89 Sri Lankans whose boat was intercepted in Indian Ocean by UK military Dozens of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who have been detained for more than seven months in a military base on an overseas territory claimed by Britain have gone on hunger strike in despair at their plight. The 42 hunger strikers are part of a group of 89 Sri Lankans, including 20 children, whose boat was intercepted and escorted to Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean by the British military after running into distress while apparently headed to Canada from India in October. Continue reading... |
| UK universities urged to boost mental health support after student death Posted: 20 May 2022 11:33 AM PDT Office for Students calls for effective support services after Bristol University found guilty of failings over Natasha Abrahart's suicide Universities could face "immense difficulties" in adjusting their teaching and learning support for students with hidden or emerging disabilities, after a landmark ruling awarded £50,000 in damages to the estate of a student after her suicide. A judge ruled that the University of Bristol failed to make adjustments to how it assessed Natasha Abrahart's academic work, leading to her suicide in 2018 while in the second year of an undergraduate physics degree. Continue reading... |
| Paul Willer, refugee from Nazis taken in by Attlee family, dies aged 94 Posted: 20 May 2022 11:28 AM PDT Willer was taken in by the Labour leader and future prime minister after fleeing Germany following Kristallnacht A refugee who fled the Nazis and was quietly taken in by the family of Clement Attlee in the run up to the second world war, has died. Paul Willer, 94, escaped Germany in 1939 with his Jewish mother and brother after being sponsored by the then Labour leader. Continue reading... |
| Police chiefs to apologise for ‘racism, discrimination and bias’ in race plan Posted: 20 May 2022 11:06 AM PDT New 50-page plan will avoid admitting institutional racism which critics say could doom promised reforms Police chiefs will declare they are "ashamed" about racism remaining in law enforcement, and apologise for the "discrimination and bias" still plaguing forces in a new race plan launching next week. The plan from National Police Chiefs Council and College of Policing will avoid admitting institutional racism, which critics brand a failure which could doom the promised reforms. Continue reading... |
| Production outfit refutes Nadine Dorries’ claims Channel 4 faked reality show Posted: 20 May 2022 11:03 AM PDT Makers of Tower Block of Commons deny paying actors to play real people from deprived communities Nadine 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... |
| Boris Johnson among dozens warned they face criticism in Sue Gray’s report Posted: 20 May 2022 10:50 AM PDT PM notified before publication next week, as an ex-civil service chief says 'real issue' is the No 10 leadership Boris Johnson is among dozens of No 10 officials warned by Sue Gray they are facing criticism in her Partygate report next week, as a former civil service chief said the "real issue" was the leadership of the prime minister and his cabinet secretary, Simon Case. Johnson is one of 20 to 30 current and former staffers who have been notified by letter that accounts of their conduct will feature in her final report on the lockdown-busting parties. This is now likely to be published next week after Scotland Yard handed out 126 fixed-penalty notices to people from No 10, including one for Johnson but many for more junior staff. Continue reading... |
| Bristol University found guilty of failings over death of student Posted: 20 May 2022 10:39 AM PDT Parents of Natasha Abrahart argued Bristol failed to make allowances for their daughter's severe anxiety A leading university has been ordered to pay £50,000 in damages to the parents of a vulnerable student who took her own life, after a senior judge ruled it had discriminated against her. In a landmark case that has deep implications for other higher education institutions, the parents of Natasha Abrahart successfully sued the University of Bristol under the Equality Act. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org Continue reading... |
| Trump pays $110,000 in fines after being held in contempt of court – live Posted: 20 May 2022 11:05 AM PDT
The Washington Post said Friday it had obtained emails showing that Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, pressed Arizona lawmakers to set aside Joe Biden's 2020 victory in the state and choose "a clean slate of electors". Thomas wrote to two unidentified lawmakers on 9 November 2020, the newspaper says, six days after the general election, arguing they needed to intervene because the vote had been marred by fraud. Continue reading... |
| Ginni Thomas reportedly urged Arizona Republicans to overturn 2020 result Posted: 20 May 2022 10:49 AM PDT Wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas emailed six days after election already called for Joe Biden Ginni Thomas, the wife of the US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, pressed Republicans in Arizona to overturn Joe Biden's victory there in 2020, the Washington Post reported. Repeating Donald Trump's lie that the vote had been marred by fraud, Thomas wrote: "Please stand strong in the face of political and media pressure. Please reflect on the awesome authority granted to you by our constitution. And then please take action to ensure that a clean slate of electors is chosen for our state." Continue reading... |
| ‘His heart is broken’: Buffalo mourns shooting victims as first funeral held Posted: 20 May 2022 10:44 AM PDT Civil rights and community leaders gathered the night before to plead with the nation to confront and stop racist violence The first of 10 funerals for the 10 Black people killed in a Buffalo supermarket was held on Friday following an impassioned gathering of Black civil rights and community leaders at a church the night before where speakers pleaded with the nation to confront and stop racist violence. Set against accused shooter Peyton Gendron's silence in court earlier on Thursday, the community and relatives of Andre Mackneil, Geraldine Talley and Ruth Whitfield gave voice to the grief and anger coursing through East Buffalo. Continue reading... |
| Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit electric guitar to be auctioned Posted: 20 May 2022 10:07 AM PDT The 1969 Fender Mustang, on display in Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, is expected to have a starting price of over $600,000 The electric guitar played by Kurt Cobain in the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video will be put up for sale this weekend by Julien's Auctions. Speaking about the 1969 Fender Mustang during his final interview with Guitar World, Cobain said: "I'm left-handed, and it's not very easy to find reasonably priced, high-quality left-handed guitars. But out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite. I've only owned two of them." Continue reading... |
| Armageddon Time: film featuring Trump family is attack on capitalism, says maker Posted: 20 May 2022 07:44 AM PDT New movie set in 80s US and starring Succession star Jeremy Strong with Jessica Chastain as Donald Trump's sister, traces fault lines of political and social division back to Reagan era A new film set in 1980s New York, in which Donald Trump's property mogul father, Fred, and high-achieving lawyer sister Maryanne appear as characters is a direct attack on late-stage capitalism, according to its principal cast and director. Armageddon Time, which is premiering at the Cannes film festival and stars Succession's Jeremy Strong alongside Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain as Maryanne Trump, in a cameo, is set during the run-up to the election of Ronald Reagan as president and examines the layers of privilege that determine the future of children attending different schools in the same city. Continue reading... |
| Dave Chappelle attack suspect charged with attempted murder over roommate stabbing Posted: 20 May 2022 06:35 AM PDT Isaiah Lee, 23, pleads not guilty over stabbing that took place in December, months before incident during Chappelle's standup set A man charged in an on-stage attack of comedian Dave Chappelle has now also been charged with the attempted murder of a roommate months earlier, authorities said on Thursday. Isaiah Lee, 23, has pleaded not guilty in the December stabbing that occurred during a fight at a Los Angeles transitional living facility, the LA county district attorney's office said. Continue reading... |
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