PM rejects ‘far-fetched’ claims casting doubt on McSweeney’s account of phone theft

Italian newspapers claim singer and actor, who is tipped to be next James Bond, are planning ‘wedding of the year’ in the cityLast July, Dua Lipa shared a series of photos on Instagram while on holiday in Palermo with Callum Turner, the British actor she had become engaged to weeks earlier. In these photos, the pair appeared radiantly in love with each other – and the Sicilian capital.There were pictures of the couple strolling through the city’s vibrant baroque alleys, admiring the ceiling frescoes in its striking cathedral and enjoying sunset boat trips. In another, a smiling Turner is holding a pair of ricotta-filled cannoli, the Sicilian dessert. One photo even captured the word ‘“amore” scrawled on a wall. Continue reading...

Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid allegations of an affair and steering grants to politically connected figuresThe secretary of the Department of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, resigned this week after several controversies surrounding her brief tenure at the helm of the agency. But labor officials say even though her troubled reign is over, the US labor authority remains in a state of “constant turbulence”.Chavez-DeRemer was under investigation over claims she had an affair with a subordinate and allegedly misused travel funds, and that her aides allegedly steered grants to politically connected figures. Her husband was banned from the agency’s headquarters over allegations of sexual assault by at least two staffers. Continue reading...

Overnight incident in Romania did not lead to hostilities as potential target stayed within Ukrainian airspaceTwo RAF Typhoons have been scrambled from a Romanian air base to engage Russian drones close to Nato air space although did not fire or shoot any down.British defence sources said the fighter jets did not enter Ukrainian airspace, contradicting reports that Russian drones had been shot down by the RAF there, an event which would have represented a major escalation in hostilities between the western alliance and Moscow. Continue reading...

Study of 1,300 campaigners finds arrests, fines and jail terms increase determination of activists to take direct actionThe criminalisation of direct action climate protests in the UK is counterproductive and increases the determination of activists to undertake disruptive demonstrations, according to a study of 1,300 campaigners.New findings suggest arrests, fines and lengthy prison sentences given to nonviolent climate protesters who have blocked roads or damaged buildings may actually radicalise them. The repression of protest could even be one driver of recent covert actions such as the cutting of internet cables, they said. Continue reading...

A previously unknown species of bacteria found in patients with noma could be key to creating treatments for the neglected tropical diseaseThe “astonishing” discovery of a new bacteria could open the door to better ways to prevent, detect and treat a fatal and disfiguring childhood disease, researchers hope.Noma, which is fatal in 90% of cases without treatment, begins as a sore on the gums but goes on to destroy the tissues of the mouth and face. Continue reading...

West Midlands police confirm deaths in blaze on Friday eveningTwo young children have died in a house fire in Wolverhampton on Friday evening, West Midlands police have confirmed.More details soon … Continue reading...

Uncle Jack Pearson, an army captain, says heckling ‘not in the Anzac spirit’ after welcome to country booed in Sydney, Melbourne and PerthIndigenous speakers booed while Ben Roberts-Smith attends separate Gold Coast eventMarcia Langton: The AFL bans disruptive racists. Surely police can do the same for morons who boo welcome to countryGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIndigenous leaders have condemned people who booed welcome to country speeches at Anzac Day dawn services across the country, with an army captain stating “racism is a cancer”.Elders who spoke at services in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth on Saturday morning were booed following a campaign by Fight for Australia, the group formerly known as March for Australia, which has previously staged major anti-immigration rallies. Continue reading...

Haris Doukas warns that with 700,000 residents and 8 million tourists, people are being pushed out of their neighbourhoodsIn the heart of ancient Athens, on narrow streets and around archaeological sites, visitor groups appear to be everywhere, snaking their way behind tour guides.Previously, officials would have welcomed such scenes. But for Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital’s congested city centre for its citizens, the start of tourist season leaves the city at risk of “over-saturation.” Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development. Continue reading...

Iranian foreign minister has landed in Islamabad but his ministry says there will be no direct negotiations with the US envoyThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched strikes in three areas in southern Lebanon against what it claimed were Hezbollah rocket launchers.The strikes hit the villages of Deir al-Zahrani, Kfar Reman and al-Sama’iya, which are north of where IDF forces are located in southern Lebanon. Continue reading...

Former Liberal party senator, who was elected to state upper house in March, says flights ‘worth every cent’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation’s South Australian leader has paid back Australia’s richest person for private flights he took while campaigning in the state’s recent election.Cory Bernardi confirmed on Saturday that he had reimbursed a “substantial” sum of money to Gina Rinehart’s company S Kidman & Co, to comply with new state laws that prohibit political parties and candidates from receiving electoral donations or gifts from individuals, businesses or unions. Continue reading...

Relatives of London pupils and German villagers mark anniversary of ‘English misfortune’ that Nazis turned into propaganda coupOn 17 April 1936, the bells of St Laurentius church in the Black Forest rang out to guide to safety a group of London schoolboys trapped in deep snow on a mountain hike gone very wrong. Ninety years on to the day, as the bells sounded again, there was hardly a dry eye in the congregation of British relatives and German villagers remembering the night that had brought together their parents and grandparents.The people of Hofsgrund risked their lives heading out with sledges and lanterns in the deadly weather to rescue the party of 27 and their teacher after two boys, fumbling though fog and frozen to the bone, had reached a farmhouse and told its startled inhabitants there were many more of them strewn over the Schauinsland mountain.The Daily Sketch from 20 and 29 April 1936 Continue reading...

The 32-year-old jailed for life for a racially motivated sex attack on a Sikh woman had a collection of hate-filled uploadsJohn Ashby is a man who did not hide his hatred of women.In fact, the rapist, who was sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum of 14 years for a racially motivated sex attack on a Sikh woman, vented his misogyny online for all to see. Continue reading...