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Funding revealed on eve of government talks is in addition to billions of dollars to be sent to the US

McArthur River at community of Borroloola predicted to peak at 18 metres, three metres higher than previous 2001 record

Vo Van Thuong has resigned after just over a year, as the country continues its blazing furnace' anti-corruption driveVietnam's government has announced the resignation of its second president in as many years amid an anti-corruption drive, sparking concerns for the country's political stability.President Vo Van Thuong's alleged violations and flaws have negatively affected public perception, as well as the reputation of the party and the state", state media reported on Wednesday, citing an announcement from the Central Committee of the Communist party of Vietnam. No further details of any alleged violations were released. Continue reading...

President sparks social media buzz as users ask whether he is getting ready to take on Vladimir Putin after images posted to InstagramThe release of official photos showing Emmanuel Macron hitting a punching bag have been met with a mixture of praise and consternation in France.The photos of the French president, posted on Instagram on Tuesday by his official photographer, Soazig de la Moissonniere, are coloured in moody black and white, and show the president with teeth gritted and biceps bulging as he works out. Continue reading...

Anies Baswedan has refused to concede and alleges there were many problems' with the voteLosing Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has filed a legal case at the constitutional court to challenge the outcome of last month's election, won overwhelmingly by defence minister Prabowo Subianto.Anies, a former Jakarta governor, said the aim of the case was to ensure democracy was improved and said there were many problems with the election that needed to be corrected. Continue reading...

Firm cites legal professional privilege after request for copy of report but provides more detail about scope of investigation

Chief commissioner says force will continue focus on youth offending as crime statistics show 29% increase on previous year

Benedict Bryant, whose unmarked police car was involved in crash that killed 16-year-old, pleads not guilty to dangerous and negligent driving

Public health experts say reforms will not affect prescription vapes after Greens and Nationals raise concerns of prohibition' approach

Latest ABS figures show the labour market added 116,000 jobs defying signs of weakness since September

Character actor, who appeared in more than 220 roles across seven decades, died in Vermont on TuesdayM Emmet Walsh, the character actor who appeared in more than 220 film and television roles including Blade Runner, Knives Out and the Coen brothers' films Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, has died aged 88.Walsh's manager, Sandy Joseph, confirmed to the industry publication Variety that he had died Tuesday in Vermont. Continue reading...

Peers voted for numerous amendments making it improbable the legislation will return to the Commons this side of EasterRishi Sunak's flagship Rwanda deportation bill is expected to be put on hold until at least next month after the House of Lords inflicted seven defeats on Wednesday.The safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) bill, which aims to block Strasbourg from halting the removal of asylum seekers to east Africa, is not expected to return to the Commons until after the Easter break. Continue reading...

Maria Corina Machado's campaign manager and eight others accused of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracyVenezuela's top prosecutor has announced arrest warrants for the presidential campaign manager of the prominent opposition figure Maria Corina Machado and eight other of her staffers, accusing them of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy.The attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said in a nationally televised news conference on Wednesday that the campaign manager Magalli Meda and the others were accused of being part of a destabilizing" plot that included demonstrations, a media campaign and plans to attack military barracks. Continue reading...

Israeli PM spoke via video link and answered questions, after his request to similarly speak with Democrats was turned downThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, virtually addressed Republican senators in Washington on Wednesday, days after the chamber's majority leader, the Democrat Chuck Schumer, called him an impediment to peace in an unsparing floor speech.The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, told reporters, shortly after leaving the Senate Republicans' policy lunch, that Netanyahu joined the gathering via video link, delivered a presentation, and answered questions. Continue reading...

State department organizes evacuation after nearly 1,600 US citizens ask for help amid reports of continuing violence in capitalThe United States has said it was starting to evacuate its citizens out of Haiti by helicopter, amid reports of fresh fighting in the Caribbean country's gang-dominated capital, with particularly fierce gunfire in some of the city's wealthiest enclaves.A state department spokesperson, Vedant Patel, told reporters on Wednesday that government-chartered aircraft were in the process of beginning to ferry evacuees from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Continue reading...

Both men U-turn within 24 hours of refusing to resign as colleagues and critics express dismay at club's continuing lack of diversity

Exclusive: Top civil servant Simon Case follows Richard Moore in announcing decision to quit male-only club

Modelling conducted for Treasury finds state's liability to competing terminals could be $600m in 2024 and $4.3bn by 2063

Latest chapter in sci-fi series comes from Evil Dead director Fede Alvarez but has approval of those behind the originalsThe first trailer for franchise relaunch Alien: Romulus promises a return to the roots of the iconic sci-fi horror series.The film comes from the director of Don't Breathe and Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez, yet has retained the director of the original, Ridley Scott, as producer and the Aliens director, James Cameron, as unofficial consultant. Continue reading...

Prospect of Israel facing war crimes charges has moved closer after UN condemnation of Gaza aid restrictionsThe accusation by the UN and other humanitarians that Israel may be committing a war crime by deliberately starving Gaza's population is likely to significantly increase the prospect of legal culpability for the country, including at the international court of justice.Amid reports that the Israel Defense Forces are hiring dozens of lawyers to defend against anticipated cases and legal challenges, the charge that Israel has triggered a man-made famine" by deliberately obstructing the entry of aid into Gaza is backed by an increasing body of evidence. Continue reading...

The writers group is also making a substantial financial contribution' to fund for distribution to Palestinian writersThe writers group PEN America has offered an olive branch to a group of prominent authors and literary figures who withdrew from its flagship World Voices Festival in protest at its perceived stance over the Israel-Gaza war.In an open letter published Wednesday, the organization said it wants to meet with the authors and others in a public forum to discuss sharply divergent views on questions of deep consequence". Continue reading...

Shop owner hatches plan to run charity competition so one person can win 100 of the spare eggsAn error by a shop on the Orkney island of Sanday has left it with 720 Easter eggs in the store - far more than its entire population.Sinclair General Stores needed to order 80 eggs, but instead accidentally ordered 80 cases of nine, giving them a total of 720 for the 500-strong population. Continue reading...

Proposal seeks to retain talent in Europe and end labour shortage - but criticised for not going far enoughThe EU is planning to clamp down on unpaid internships and bogus" traineeships offered by unscrupulous employers with a new directive.The move, which was criticised by some groups for not going far enough, is to be tabled on Thursday and is likely to be the last major legislative proposal before the mandate of the European parliament ends with the June elections. Continue reading...

Debates involving 99 randomly selected people were hailed as a model for the world, but some say faith has been erodedWhen Ireland shattered its history of social conservatism by passing a 2015 referendum on same-sex marriage and a 2018 referendum on abortion, progressives credited its citizens' assembly.Ninety-nine randomly selected people, who are brought together to debate a specific issue, had weighed evidence from experts and issued policy recommendations that emboldened the political establishment, and voters, to make audacious leaps. Continue reading...

Banksy claimed mural in Finsbury Park as his own on Monday and artwork has now been damagedA mural of a tree painted by Banksy on a residential building in north London has been defaced with white paint two days after it first appeared.The artwork in Finsbury Park features rough brushstrokes of green paint on a wall near a tree, giving an abstract appearance of foliage, with a stencil of a person holding a pressure hose next to it. Continue reading...

Tube drivers in Aslef union to stage two one-day strikes over changes to working conditions

UK bakery chain says it has now resolved tech problem, which follows McDonald's outages and issues' at Sainsbury's

Ex-UK PM was required to seek permission for paid role with Merlyn Advisors, for whom he spoke to Venezuela presidentBoris Johnson did not seek permission from the post-ministerial jobs watchdog before taking a role as a consultant to a hedge fund, on whose behalf he met the Venezuelan president.As a former minister, Johnson is required to seek the advice of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) for two years from September 2022, when he left office. The committee's advice typically comes with restrictions on lobbying and contact with the UK government. It was writing to Johnson on the matter, a source said. Continue reading...

Australian supermarkets blame hidden price hikes on changing manufacturing facilities, shortages of raw materials and rising supplier costs

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Research recommends bonus to help retain staff and make up for lack of hybrid working opportunitiesTeachers should be given a pay bonus to compensate for their inability to work from home and stop the rising numbers attracted away from the classroom for better working conditions elsewhere, according to a report.The research by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that very few teachers in England were able to work remotely, putting them at a disadvantage compared with the nearly 50% of their peers in other graduate-level professions who say they regularly do. Continue reading...

Council officers to be given power to issue fines in tobacco and vapes bill that will ban future generations from smokingPowers to issue 100 on-the-spot fines are to be handed to council officers enforcing a landmark law banning future generations from smoking, which Rishi Sunak has hailed as a chance to save thousands of lives and billions of pounds".The prime minister's plan will raise the legal age of smoking every year by a year across the UK so that eventually no one will be able to buy tobacco. Continue reading...

Sydney businessman formally enters not guilty plea in court for charge of reckless foreign interference

No body was found during a search near Buninyong where alleged murder victim's mobile phone was last detected

Maker of honest government' ad parodies says state's antiquated electoral laws could be weaponised to silence critics'

Foreign affairs minister says she raised concerns about China's human rights record during meeting with Wang Yi, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong

Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival will conduct testing onsite at the end of March and first fixed-site clinic will open in Bowen Hills in April

The cold front has been moving steadily across South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania

Israel's PM says he does not see an alternative to a ground attack on Gaza's southern city, in a sign of widening disagreement with the US presidentThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said he remains determined to carry out a ground invasion of Gaza's southern city of Rafah - where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering - despite the misgivings of US president Joe Biden.Netanyahu told lawmakers on Tuesday he had made it supremely clear" to the US president that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there's no way to do that except by going in on the ground". Continue reading...

Joe Penhall's new play marks the talkshow host's first theatre role since One Man, Two Guvnors and will see him star opposite Anna Maxwell Martin at the Old VicJames Corden is to return to the London stage for his first role since the National Theatre's blockbuster farce One Man, Two Guvnors.The star, who last year left his US late-night talkshow after eight years, will appear in a new political drama by Joe Penhall. The Constituent, at the Old Vic theatre, is set in an MP's constituency office. Corden will play an ex-serviceman with a life in freefall" while Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland, Line of Duty) is an opposition backbencher whose ideals of public office are tested by his demands. Zachary Hart completes the cast as a parliamentary protection officer. The play will be directed by the Old Vic's artistic director, Matthew Warchus, and is said to explore the conflict between public service and personal safety". Continue reading...

Lack of education, training and housing is behind loss of gen Z's traditionally positive outlook

Critics say Simon Case and Richard Moore's membership of all-male club shows poor leadership and judgment

Law letting state police arrest people suspected of illegally crossing US-Mexico border can proceed pending court challengeThe White House strongly criticised the US supreme court on Tuesday for allowing what it called a harmful and unconstitutional" Texas immigration law to go into effect.The law, Senate Bill 4 (SB4), allows state authorities to arrest, process and imprison people suspected of crossing the US-Mexico border illegally - thereby infringing on roles long reserved for federal authorities. Continue reading...

Grace Jabbari lawsuit also accuses Marvel actor of intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery and malicious prosecutionJonathan Majors' former girlfriend has filed a lawsuit accusing the Creed III and Marvel actor of battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution and defamation.Majors, 34, in December was found guilty of misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment in connection to a March 2023 altercation with his then-girlfriend, actor and dancer Grace Jabbari. Continue reading...

Christine Everett-Hickson, who was discovered at a flat in Riddings, will be missed beyond words'The family of a 21-year-old woman who died at a flat in Derbyshire have said she will be missed beyond words".Derbyshire constabulary said officers were called to reports that a woman had been assaulted at a home in Greenhill Lane, Riddings, at shortly after 1pm on 18 February. Continue reading...

In an update to healthcare leaders, Amanda Pritchard expresses shock at entrepreneur's comments about Diane AbbottThe boss of the NHS has condemned racist, sexist and violent" remarks by Frank Hester, the health tech entrepreneur and Conservative donor.Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, made clear her shock at Hester's comments about the former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott in a briefing to senior health service leaders. Continue reading...

High commissioner for human rights describes crisis as human-made as hunger levels worsen

Chancellor says month is last possible point that would also allow for review of Whitehall budgets before next April

Police told to rip out tune-playing horns and replace them with standard ones after young people seen dancing to passing lorriesThe Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet, has ordered a ban on musical vehicle horns after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing lorries blasted rhythmic little tunes.Hun Manet, who last year took over from his father, Hun Sen - who led Cambodia for 38 years, called on the ministry of public works and transportation and police across the country to immediately take action against any vehicle whose normal horn has been replaced by a tune-playing one by ripping it out and restoring the standard honking type. Continue reading...