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Boat occupants on a surfing trip found clinging to the hull as more than 110mm of rain falls over the outskirts of Cairns in 24 hours

Church court says Aleksiy Uminsky broke his oath by refusing to recite Prayer for Holy Rus', which church has made compulsory at servicesA prominent liberal priest faces expulsion from the Russian Orthodox church for refusing to read out a prayer asking God to guide Russia to victory over Ukraine.In a verdict published on Saturday, a church court said Aleksiy Uminsky should be expelled from holy orders" for violating his priestly oath. The decision was forwarded for approval to Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian church who strongly backs President Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

Dozens of people also injured after mudslide in mountainous area on road connecting major citiesThe death toll from a mudslide in western Colombia has risen to 34, authorities have said.The mudslide struck a busy municipal road on Friday in a mountainous area connecting the cities of Quibdo and Medellin. Continue reading...

This blog is now closing. You can read our full report on the latest developments in the Middle East here and all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here.US strikes in Yemen, including the latest one on a military base in Sana'a, had no significant impact on Houthis' capabilities to continue preventing Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, Yemen's Houthis' spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters.Houthi Ansarullah official Nasruldeen Amer speaking to Al Jazeera, said that there were no injuries in the latest US strike in Yemen and vowed a strong and effective response". There were no injuries, no material nor human losses," he said. Continue reading...

Fiona was told that the landlord needed to move into the flat, which was then relisted for $300 more a week when Fiona moved out

After criminals storm TV station and take prison guards hostage, Daniel Noboa pledges to stop his country becoming a narco-stateEcuador's president, Daniel Noboa, has denied that his government is embarking on an indiscriminate campaign to hunt down and kill gang members, as the South American country continues to reel from a week of chaos and deadly violence that he has classified as a war.In his first interviews since the turmoil began last Monday, Ecuador's 36-year-old leader said he was determined to stop his country becoming a narco-state" and believed the only way to do so was with a hardline crackdown on the organised crime groups bringing terror" to its prison system and streets. Continue reading...

Flyers indicate protesters came from as far as Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin to protest war and US aid to IsraelThousands of marchers descended on Washington DC on Saturday to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to protest US aid to Israel, more than three months into an Israeli offensive against Hamas that is killing 250 Palestinians per day, according to the Oxfam charity.The protest, called a march on Washington for Gaza, was promoted as likely to be the largest pro-Palestinian demonstration in the US since the 7 October attack on southern Israel by Hamas fighters emerging from Gaza, which killed almost 1,200 people and led to a massive military response from Israel, backed by the US government. Continue reading...

About 1,700 officers on duty in UK capital to police demonstration on day for action involving 30 countries

World Bank warns of surging energy prices, slower growth and higher inflation as threat rises of disruption to world tradeA prolonged conflict in the Red Sea and escalating tensions across the Middle East risk having devastating effects on the global economy, reigniting inflation and disrupting energy supplies, some of the world's leading economists warn this weekend.Before a statement expected on Monday by Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons about UK and US airstrikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, economists at the World Bank say the crisis now threatens to feed through into higher interest rates, lower growth, persistent inflation and greater geopolitical uncertainty. Continue reading...

Woman charged with driving offence after witnesses said black car drove into crowd and minor injuries were reportedA 70-year-old woman has been charged with a driving offence after a car collided with pro-Palestine protesters in Edinburgh.There were reports of minor injuries but no one needed medical attention. Continue reading...

Met Office warns of travel disruption in Scotland as arctic winds and snow showers move inland from northern coastsThe cold snap will continue across most of Britain throughout Sunday and into early next week, with warnings of potential travel disruption in Scotland.The Met Office has put in place yellow weather warnings of snow and ice for much of the north of Scotland throughout Sunday and Monday. Continue reading...

Letter shows the Lib Dem leader initially refused to meet a campaigner when he was a minister responsible for the serviceLib Dem leader Ed Davey has seen his personal popularity take a significant hit in the wake of the Post Office scandal, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.Davey was one of a series of ministers responsible for the Post Office during the crisis, holding the role between 2010 and 2012. He has received criticism after a letter emerged in which he refused to meet Alan Bates, the former postmaster and campaigner fighting for justice, telling him: I do not believe a meeting would serve any useful purpose." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Boy's mother says she had to withdraw her super and re-mortgage home to pay off his debts to criminals

A quote from Amol Rajan, host of the highbrow British quiz, has inspired a stream of samples in tracks - and invitations for him to perform liveDJs and musicians looking for a new sound usually draw on classic movies and hit songs for inspiration - not University Challenge. But the venerable BBC quiz show's new presenter, Amol Rajan, went viral last week after music producers decided something he said was too perfect to pass up.The 40-year-old journalist said he had become rather emotional" and had reconnected ... with my younger self" at the attention from DJs, record labels and music fans. Continue reading...

Parents fear government accountancy rules are severely impacting the chances of getting a care programme for Send childrenA council has warned that it could in effect become insolvent this year because of the huge financial deficits it has racked up on special education needs, in the latest development in the local government funding crisis.Most councils in England have overspent their budgets on special education needs and disabilities (Send) since 2015, when the government extended the age range of young people who qualify for Send support without providing councils with the necessary funding. These deficits have fed into councils' overall education budgets - known as the dedicated schools grant (DSG). Continue reading...

All Nippon Airways flight was en route to Toyama airport when crack found in window of Boeing 737-800A domestic flight of Japan's All Nippon Airways returned to its departure airport on Saturday after a crack was found on the cockpit window of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft midair, a spokesperson for the airline said.Flight 1182 was en route to Toyama airport but headed back to the Sapporo-New Chitose airport after the crack was found on the outermost of four layers of windows surrounding the cockpit, the spokesperson said, adding there were no injuries reported among the 59 passengers and six crew. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereRussia's defence ministry has said it destroyed its targets in a series of strikes on facilities producing ammunition and drones in Ukraine.This morning the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a group strike ... against facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex," the defence ministry said in a daily briefing, AFP reports. Continue reading...

Lai's Democratic Progressive party wins unprecedented third term in result likely to anger ChinaTaiwan has voted for Lai Ching-te to be its next president, ushering in a historic third term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive party (DPP), in a result that will anger Beijing and heighten tensions across the Taiwan strait.The victory of Lai, who since 2020 had served as vice-president to Tsai Ing-wen, marks the continuation of a government that promoted a sovereign Taiwan and a national identity separate to China, and oversaw some of the deepest cross-strait tensions in decades as Beijing pushed towards its goal of annexation. Continue reading...

Charities report record demand for services as pressure increases on the government to address the problem nationallyThere has been a dramatic rise in the number of homeless young people in the UK since Christmas, charities have warned.The New Horizon Youth Centre in London said a record number of young people had asked it for help in the first week of January, while the charity Akt, which supports homeless LGBTQ+ young people, said it had seen more referrals than it would expect in a month. Roundabout in Sheffield and YMCA Trinity, which operates in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, also reported increases. Continue reading...

Before publishing his vampire classic in 1897, the author was employed as a personal secretary at the Actors' Benevolent FundThe imagination of Bram Stoker gave life to one of literature's most enduring terrors, Count Dracula. But the Irish-born writer's mind was not only full of flapping cloaks, dripping fangs and creaking coffins. Stoker, it can now be confirmed, also had a strong vein, or shall we say streak, of bureaucratic efficiency running through his personality.Researchers working for the Actors' Benevolent Fund, the charity that supports actors and stage managers in need, have discovered that the minutes of its founding meeting, back in 1882, were taken by Stoker. It has now been confirmed that the handwriting matches documents held by the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, with images of the notes released this weekend. Continue reading...

Mompati Dodo Isaacs remanded into custody over death of Keotshepile Naso Isaacs on New Year's DayA 37-year-old man accused of murdering his wife on New Year's Day has appeared in court.Keotshepile Naso Isaacs, known as Naso, was found dead at a property in the Scottish seaside town of North Berwick on 1 January. Continue reading...

Books by bestselling author Grigori Chkhartishvili, who writes under pen name Boris Akunin, removed from shelves

Somaliland hoped to be recognised as a country after port deal with landlocked Ethiopia - but move has sparked fury in SomaliaSomalia is prepared to go to war to stop Ethiopia recognising the breakaway territory of Somaliland and building a port there, a senior adviser to Somalia's president has said.A memorandum of understanding signed on 1 January allowing landlocked Ethiopia to develop a naval base on Somaliland's coast has rattled the Horn of Africa, one of the world's most volatile regions. Continue reading...

Dan Neilde says Post Office unlawfully' claimed 934m relief for its payouts to victims of Horizon scandalThe Post Office could be facing a 100m bill and insolvency after claiming tax relief for its compensation payments to post office operators, according to a tax expert.Dan Neidle, the head of non-profit organisation Tax Policy Associates, said the Post Office claimed 934m tax relief for its compensation payments, and suggested it could be unlawful. Continue reading...

Beijing has criticised frontrunner Lai Ching-te as a separatist' as it seeks to intimidate self-ruling islandVote counting got under way on Saturday in Taiwan's presidential election, held under the shadow of threats from China that choosing a leader it disapproves of could set the stage for war on the self-ruled island.Beijing criticised frontrunner Lai Ching-te, the current vice-president, as a dangerous separatist" in the days leading up to the poll and, on the eve of the vote, its defence ministry vowed to crush" any Taiwanese independence attempts. Continue reading...

Ousting of Keith, Sian Phillips and others in 2022 led to watchdog admitting it made errors in handling of rowA long-running and acrimonious dispute at an actors' charity involving some of the best-known names of the British stage and screen is to return to the spotlight next week amid claims of boardroom coups and electoral gerrymandering.The quarrel at the 40m Actors' Benevolent Fund (ABF) has also triggered fierce criticism of the Charity Commission. In a rare admission of fault, the watchdog has accepted it made serious errors in its two-year handling of the controversy. Continue reading...

Younger employees could increase their retirement pot by more than 100,000 by saving monthly gainThe millions of workers who will get a bit more cash in their pay packet from this month have the perfect opportunity to increase their retirement savings before they get used to having the extra money, say experts.Younger employees could eventually increase their retirement pots by more than 100,000 by diverting their monthly gain from the national insurance (NI) cut into their pension. Continue reading...

Legal bodies, academics and human rights groups say treaty risks undermining rule of lawRishi Sunak's Rwanda treaty is unlikely to address concerns raised by the supreme court about the country not being a safe place to send asylum seekers, a House of Lords inquiry has been told.Ahead of next week's showdown on the Rwanda legislation, the Law Society, academics and human rights groups said the treaty risked undermining the rule of law and highlighted the untested nature of the proposed asylum system to be adopted by the east African country. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Review ordered by police commissioner Karen Webb after string of fatalities last year is more than two months overdueNew South Wales police have failed to hand a promised review of the way they respond to mental health crises to the government, as pressure again mounts on the force to enact reforms after the fatal shooting of a mentally unwell man.Alexander Stuart Pinnock died on Wednesday after being shot at by multiple officers outside a medical clinic in Nowra on the south coast following an almost two-hour standoff that began when the 34-year-old pulled out a gun, police said. Continue reading...

With a fraud investigation into Chiara Ferragni under way, she and fellow social media stars are under sharp scrutinyChiara Ferragni amassed a fortune through incessant selfie-taking as part of a marketing strategy that included imparting pearls of wisdom to her millions of online followers on how to be effortlessly cool".But now the influencer - one of Italy's most powerful - is struggling to maintain her own prestige after a scandal over a Christmas cake triggered a fraud investigation, leaving her empire teetering on the edge in what has become a cautionary tale for other social media stars. Continue reading...

Robin Garbutt hopes for fresh appeal against conviction that came after jury heard evidence using data from discredited IT systemA post office owner serving a life sentence for murdering his wife hopes to submit a fresh appeal against his conviction, claiming the discredited Horizon computer system was used to wrongly frame him for the killing.Robin Garbutt has maintained his innocence ever since his wife, Diana, was bludgeoned to death in their flat above the post office in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, in the early hours of 23 March 2010. Many of his former customers still visit him in prison regularly, refusing to believe he was capable of the brutal murder. Continue reading...

Department of Fire and Emergency Services issue emergency level warning for fast-moving blaze at WA town of Chittering

Bombing comes after Houthis threaten retaliation and anti-ship ballistic missile is fired at vessel in Red SeaThe US has carried out fresh strikes on Yemen, a day after a first raid triggered mass protests in the country's capital and other Middle Eastern countries voiced concern that the attacks could trigger further unrest in the region.The strike, carried out by the USS Carney early on Saturday, targeted a Houthi rebel radar site in Yemen and was a follow-on action" on a target associated with strikes taken on Jan 12 designed to degrade the Houthi's ability to attack maritime vessels", the US military said in a statement on Twitter. Continue reading...

The accused, 80, has been refused bail and will appear in Parramatta local court

Documents released by inquiry into Post Office scandal show ex-PM and adviser discussing concernsSir Tony Blair was warned the IT system at the centre of the Post Office scandal was flawed" before it was rolled out, a document shows.The warning appears in a memo written to the former prime minister by special adviser Geoff Mulgan in 1998, which has been released by the public inquiry into the scandal. Continue reading...

Authorities believe extreme heat and physical activity, rather than a single bad batch, exacerbated drug's impact at Hardmission

About 100 young athletes learn their contractual responsibilities and how wagering companies operate in session organised by the players association

Reporter Casey Newton takes more than 170,000 subscribers elsewhere over company's failure to police extremist contentPlatformer, a prominent tech newsletter founded by the veteran reporter Casey Newton, is leaving Substack over the company's failure to police extremist content.In a post explaining the decision, Newton said his team had identified seven Substack publications that conveyed explicit support for 1930s German Nazis and called for violence against Jews, among other groups". He said after weeks of back-and-forth discussions with company leaders about their laissez-faire approach to content moderation", he decided to part ways with the platform. Continue reading...

Wife of Desi Bouterse, sentenced last month to 20 years for 1982 killings of opponents, says he's not going to turn himself in'Surinamese authorities are searching for ex-president Desi Bouterse after he failed to turn himself in to start a prison sentence for involvement in the murder of 15 political opponents in 1982, the prosecutor general's office said on Friday.Bouterse was ordered this week to report to jail, but his wife, Ingrid Bouterse-Waldring, told journalists outside their home early on Friday: He's not going to turn himself in." Continue reading...

China mediates truce that would halt months of conflict that has displaced half a million people in country's northMyanmar's military and an alliance of armed ethnic minority groups have announced a China-mediated ceasefire after months of conflict that has posed the biggest threat to the junta since it seized power in 2021.Fighting has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced more than half a million people since October, when the alliance launched an offensive against the junta. Continue reading...

Saturday's march for Gaza ceasefire as part of global day of action will be followed by static rally for Israel on SundayHundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in London over the weekend in protests over the war in Gaza as the conflict widens to Yemen.On Saturday, protesters are expected to gather at Bank Junction at midday as part of a global day of action involving 30 countries, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said. Continue reading...

Angela Rye, once a contributor, says she believes texts from former host were related to her contract not being renewedThe former CNN host Chris Cuomo is accused of sending explicit texts to then colleague Angela Rye about a picture she posted on social media, with Rye connecting the incident to later not having her contract renewed with the TV network.The former CNN political commentator shared her experience involving Cuomo during an episode of her new podcast Native Land Pod, describing it as one of the most embarrassing, humiliating experiences I had". Continue reading...

As cartels and crime syndicates flock to Ecuador for cocaine trade profits, its murder rate has soared, with a TV station assault the crescendo of a week of bloodshedPolitical upheaval and street protests, gun battles and floods. Jose Luis Calderon has seen it all during his 23 years as one of Guayaquil's top television journalists. Never had the Ecuadorean reporter been the story himself.That changed just after lunch last Tuesday when the 47-year-old reporter heard shouts and the sound of people running in the corridors of TC Television, the channel where he works. At first ... we thought it was a fight," he remembered. But as the yelling intensified, it became clear it was not. Continue reading...

Rev Franco Reverberi is accused of crimes against humanity during country's military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980sItaly's justice minister has refused Argentina's request to extradite a priest accused of crimes against humanity during the country's military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s.The Rev Franco Reverberi, 86, who served as military chaplain during Argentina's 1976-1983 military regime, faces charges related to the alleged murder in 1976 of the 20-year-old political activist Jose Guillermo Beron, and his alleged participation in torture. Continue reading...

Foreign policy displays in Yemen and Ukraine may win PM reflected glory - but capping inflationary pressures will be his foremost wishReturning from an overseas trip last year that had been broadly seen as a success, Rishi Sunak was heard privately observing that a truism of foreign policy is that even when you get things right, voters tend to not especially notice or care.Time will tell whether Sunak's decision to throw in the UK's lot with US-led attacks on Houthi forces will stem a spate of attacks on international shipping. But for now, the strike has won support from the bulk of British MPs, despite a few qualms about a lack of prior parliamentary consultation. Continue reading...

Thousands flock to see the Palace of Aigai, the largest surviving classical Greek building, after 16-year reconstruction completedFor 2,170 years it had lain in ruins: a palace that symbolised the golden age of antiquity, three times bigger than the Parthenon, unprecedented in architectural ambition, unparalleled in beauty.It was here in 336BC that the king of ancient Macedonia, Philip II, was murdered; and here in the great peristyle - or columned courtyard - around which its banqueting halls coalesced that his 20-year-old son, Alexander the Great, would be proclaimed king, a moment that would change the course of history. Continue reading...

Party may allow non-domiciles to live in Britain for four years before ending tax break, it is understoodLabour plans to scrap non-dom tax breaks would raise about a billion pounds less than the 3.2bn previously claimed, under an option being considered to allow a four-year grace period for those with the status.Research suggesting that scrapping the breaks could raise 3.2bn a year was cited by Labour when it announced the plans in 2022 to scrap rules allowing some wealthy people to avoid tax on foreign earnings if they have lived in the UK for less than 14 years. Continue reading...

For those living out in open, lack of clothes, blankets and firewood is exacerbated by harsh winds and rain

Air Astana, which is 49% owned by the British defence firm, announces plans to float on London stock marketKazakhstan's national airline has announced plans to float on the London stock market, bringing a potential windfall to BAE Systems, which has been an investor for more than two decades.Air Astana, which is 49% owned by the British defence company, hopes to list in London and Kazakhstan and raise $120m (94m). The airline, which is majority owned by the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund, did not say how much of the company would be floated and is yet to confirm an expected valuation range. Continue reading...

Thousands were without power as cold snap spreads across country, promising bone-chilling caucuses in IowaThe National Weather Service posted on social media on Friday that a very active weather pattern" across the nation had prompted some kind of weather warning or advisory in every US state.Airlines in the US canceled more than 1,600 flights on Friday after a massive winter storm knocked out power and affected businesses in 12 states ahead of a likely brutal freeze over the weekend. Continue reading...