World news | The Guardian

Deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, who has been sanctioned by US and EU, faces up to 15 years in jailA well-connected Russian deputy defence minister has been charged with bribe-taking, in the highest-profile corruption scandal in the country in years, triggering speculation about a possible purge within Moscow's elites.Timur Ivanov, 47, who was responsible for Russia's military infrastructure projects, was detained by the FSB services late on Tuesday evening at his work. Continue reading...

Gaye Grant argues conviction for unlawful sexual relationship with a child should be quashed as women could not be held legally responsible for the crime at the time

Vintner Tom Gilbey raised more than 13,000 for hospice charity with challenge that went viral on social mediaA wine merchant who blind tasted a different glass of wine at each mile of the London Marathon has said he feels honoured" his challenge went viral on social media, as he surpassed his fundraising target.Tom Gilbey, nicknamed the wine guy", sampled 25 glasses of wine during the race, stopping to guess the drink's grape variety, country of origin and vintage at each mile. Continue reading...

Sampha and Dayes get nods for best album and share in nomination for Sampha's song Spirit 2.0 at awards for British songwriting and compositionNeo-soul singer Sampha, jazz drummer Yussef Dayes and composer Daniel Pemberton have topped the nominations for the 2024 Ivor Novello awards, which recognise the best in British and Irish songwriting and composition for the screen.Sampha and Dayes are individually nominated for best album, while they share a joint nomination for co-writing Sampha's track Spirit 2.0, which is up for best song musically and lyrically. Continue reading...

Regular worshippers joined by newcomers for first 15-minute service at St David's in PenllergaerOutside, the hustle and bustle of everyday life carried but for a few minutes - precisely 15 actually - there was a little bit of space for a calm coming together and reflection in the church of St David's in Swansea.Regular worshippers were joined by commuters and families who had popped in to sample the first micro service" being led by the Rev John Gillibrand, the vicar of Pontarddulais with Penllergaer. Continue reading...

Figures show 34,500 people incurred overpayments last year after falling foul of rules, landing many with huge debtsMPs have called for a full-scale review of carer's allowance and an end to harsh benefit rules that have resulted in tens of thousands of unpaid carers being fined huge sums and in some cases prosecuted for minor infringements of earnings limits.The calls came as new official figures showed that the number of unpaid carers incurring fines after inadvertently falling foul of earnings rules soared to more than 34,000 last year, with more than 1,000 individuals hit with sums of between 5,000 and 20,000. Continue reading...

Inquiry has not backed up allegations of ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which led to loss of $450m as people died in droves

Exclusive: Review finds government has yet to substantiate claims UN relief agency staff have ties to Hamas or Islamic JihadIsrael has yet to provide supporting evidence of its claims that employees of the UN relief agency Unrwa are members of terrorist organisations, an independent review led by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna has said.The Colonna report, which was commissioned by the UN in the wake of Israeli allegations, found that Unrwa had regularly supplied Israel with lists of its employees for vetting, and that the Israeli government has not informed Unrwa of any concerns relating to any Unrwa staff based on these staff lists since 2011". Continue reading...

Prosecutors say trio are accused of passing on technical military knowledge and export of a laser without permissionsThree German citizens, a married couple from Dusseldorf and a man from Bad Homburg, have been arrested on suspicion of spying on behalf of China, prosecutors have said, in the second high-profile alleged espionage case reported in the country in days.The three are accused of passing on technical military knowhow to Chinese authorities in return for money. The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency said it could be just the tip of the iceberg" of spy rings operating in Germany. Continue reading...

Official UK figures show 33% jump in deaths from alcohol-specific causes from 2019 - the highest since records began in 2001Alcohol killed a record number of people in 2022 as heavier drinking in the Covid pandemic took its toll in the UK, official figures have revealed.Nearly 2,500 more people died from drinking than in 2019 (7,565 deaths), the year before the virus hit and caused already heavy drinkers to increase their intake, the Office for National Statistics said. Continue reading...

Gideon Falter, the antisemitism campaigner involved, says Dal Babu's comments go far beyond victim-blaming'An initial account of an exchange between a police officer and an antisemitism campaigner that sparked heavy criticism of Scotland Yard did not show the full picture, a former senior officer has said.Footage released by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) last Friday showed its chief executive, Gideon Falter, being told by a police officer that his openly Jewish" appearance risked antagonising pro-Palestinian marchers. This precipitated claims Falter was prevented from going about his business simply because he was a Jewish man in the vicinity of a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Continue reading...

About 46,000 aircraft have logged GPS problems over Baltic Sea since August, says reportFlights in and out of Britain are among thousands that have been affected by suspected Russian jamming of GPS systems.More than 2,300 Ryanair flights have reported incidents of GPS interference since last August, according to a report, as well as almost 1,400 at Wizz Air, 82 at British Airways and four from easyJet. Continue reading...

Green light created impression both bike and bus had right of way when 20-year-old Max Patrick McDowall was killed, coroner's court hears

Batoul Sleibi El Dirani sped into home of Robyn Oxley, throwing her out of bed and through her back window, court hears

Musician had held top roles at Glyndebourne opera and in Chicago, Melbourne and Toronto orchestrasSir Andrew Davis, a conductor who performed with many of the world's finest orchestras, has died at the age of 80.Throughout his long career Davis held many roles, including for more than a decade those of chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBCSO) and musical director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Continue reading...

Patrick Harvie said party faces biggest crisis in its history after rebellion over climate policyPatrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, has admitted his coalition deal with the Scottish government could collapse after a rebellion by party members over climate policy.Harvie said the Scottish Greens faced the biggest crisis in their history after party activists forced the leadership to hold an emergency meeting on whether to remain in government with the Scottish National party. Continue reading...

Faced with competition from rival sporting events, the future of the Games hung in the balance. A century on, new hurdles are loomingParis 1924 was the sixth and last Olympics presided over by Baron de Coubertin, the modern movement's founder. He had good reason to be pleased with his work. The French government had enthusiastically backed the enterprise, providing a budget of 20m francs and a new stadium. The Olympic rituals - the parade of nations, the rings, the oath, gold, silver and bronze medals - had been established.Above all, the Games remained the preserve of amateur athletic gentlemen - aristocrats, college kids and military officers - performing what the baron eulogised as a display of manly virtue". Continue reading...

Navigation buoy sails 4,000 miles across Atlantic, joining storied history of wrecks upon shores of tiny Scottish island of EriskayFrom Bonnie Prince Charlie's ill-fated 1745 landing, to the shipwreck of a whisky-laden cargo freighter two centuries later that inspired a bestselling novel and blockbuster movie, the tiny Scottish island of Eriskay has a rich and outsized history of notable maritime events.Now, the arrival of a visitor from Florida following a 4,000-mile solo voyage across the Atlantic has added another curious chapter. It is a navigation buoy that slipped its mooring in the Florida Keys and rode the Gulf Stream to the British Isles, coming ashore in Eriskay and discovered by one of its 143 residents. Continue reading...

Force reviewing available information after claims that Menzies used political donations to pay off bad people'Allegations that the MP Mark Menzies misused campaign funds have been referred to Lancashire police. The force said it was reviewing the available information after receiving a letter detailing concerns around this matter".The PA news agency understands that the Labour party chair, Anneliese Dodds, wrote to Lancashire police calling for an investigation into the allegations about Menzies. Continue reading...

Delays mean just 404m of the money donated by nine countries has been committed or spentMore than half of a 900m military fund for Ukraine run by the British Ministry of Defence has not been used because of bureaucratic delays in handing out contracts.The UK-led International Fund for Ukraine counts nine countries among its donors. Critics claim its provision of weapons to the frontline has been slow. Continue reading...

Israeli prime minister's main concern is his political survival but a multi-front war is still a strong possibility

The prime minister is trying to win a third term in the elections and has set his sights on exceeding Ghandi as he morphs into a religious leader, experts sayAs the distant rumble of a helicopter drew closer, cheers erupted from the gathered crowds in anticipation. By the time India's prime minister finally stepped out on to the stage, bowing deeply while immaculately dressed in a white kurta and peach waistcoat and with a neatly trimmed beard, the chants had reached a deafening pitch: MODI, MODI, MODI."These scenes, at a campaign rally on the outskirts of the Uttar Pradesh town of Meerut, have been replicated across the country in recent weeks as Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seek to win a third term in India's election, which begins on 19 April and goes on for six weeks. Continue reading...

Production examines why Scottish poet's The Living Mountain lay unpublished in a drawer for 30 yearsNan Shepherd, the Scottish poet and nature writer whose vivid reflections on her treks through the Cairngorms have brought posthumous acclaim, is celebrated in a new play that aims to unravel the mystery of why her masterwork remained unpublished in a drawer for 30 years.Shepherd is recognisable to many from her striking pose on the Royal Bank of Scotland's 5 note after preceding Jane Austen by a year to become the first female writer on British paper currency. While she enjoyed bursts of public recognition in her lifetime, it is since her death in 1981, and the 2011 republication of her seminal meditation on the Cairngorm range, The Living Mountain, that she has reached a global audience. Continue reading...

Dozens of secretly filmed, voyeuristic videos feature women often in short dresses on nights outWomen who have been secretly filmed on nights out are being urged to contact UK police after videos posted online have racked up millions of views and attracted an abundance of misogynistic comments.Police are trying to catch people responsible for dozens of voyeuristic TikTok and YouTube videos that have titles such as Manchester nightlife" and feature women who do not know they are being filmed. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to Jitendranath Karuturi and Chanhakya Bolisetti, who are believed to have slipped while taking selfiesTributes have been paid to two students at the University of Dundee who drowned after falling into a waterfall at a Highland beauty spot.Jitendranath Karuturi, 26, who was known as Jitu, and Chanhakya Bolisetti, 22, are believed to have been taking selfies at the Linn of Tummel waterfall, near Blair Atholl, on Wednesday evening when they slipped and fell into the river. Continue reading...

IOPC to examine whether two forces missed chances to protect Kulsuma Akter before she was fatally stabbed in front of her babyTwo police forces are being investigated over contact they had with a woman before she was stabbed to death in front of her baby, the police watchdog has said.Kulsuma Akter, 27, was fatally stabbed as she pushed her baby in a buggy in Bradford city centre on Saturday 6 April. Habibur Masum, 25, has been charged with her murder. Continue reading...

Watchdog rules that vote should be held at Coventry warehouse to test support for union recognition

Commission to seek approval from leaders to start talks with UK on visa-free exchanges for 18- to 30-year-oldsThe European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK to allow mobility enjoyed before Brexit to millions of 18- to 30-year-olds in a major concession.It said it would now seek approval from individual EU leaders to start the talks, which could partly eliminate one of the most controversial elements of Brexit, a block on the right to live in one another's countries, albeit for a limited period and with conditions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Project Timber could see some lenders lose up to 40% of their money under the plansThames Water could be renationalised with the bulk of its 15.6bn debt added to the public purse under radical plans being considered by the government, the Guardian can reveal.The blueprint, which is codenamed Project Timber, is being drawn up in Whitehall and would see Britain's biggest water company turned into a publicly owned arm's-length body. Some lenders to its core operating company could lose up to 35-40% of their money under the plans. Continue reading...

European commission floats opening negotiations with London to allow under 30s in UK and EU the same rights they enjoyed before BrexitCharles Michel, the European Council president, opened today's session.He welcomed Enrico Letta, who prepared a report on the future of Europe's single market for the leaders' consideration. Continue reading...

Prosecutors accuse suspects of working with Russian secret service in attempt to undermine support for Ukraine

Alexei Blinovsky reported to have joined unit popular with politicians and VIPs keen to curry favour with the KremlinWhen his wife, a prominent Russian Instagram influencer, was threatened with years of imprisonment over tax evasion charges, Alexei Blinovsky opted for what seemed the most viable means to secure her freedom in Russia today: he joined Vladimir Putin's military campaign in Ukraine.Months earlier, his wife, Yelena Blinovskaya, a former beauty queen turned famous self-help coach, made a last-ditch attempt to escape the country, but was arrested on the border with Belarus and charged with large-scale tax evasion. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says people such as security guard Muhammad Taha, who showed extraordinary courage' during the attack, should be thanked

Investigation urged into alleged bid to turn Rai into propaganda channel for ruling parties before electionsThe European commission has been urged to investigate alleged attempts by Italy's far-right government to turn the public broadcaster, Rai, into a megaphone" for the ruling parties ahead of the European elections.The appeal from the European Green party came after the Italian parliament's supervisory committee for Rai approved a measure allowing the broadcaster's news channel to televise political rallies in full and without any journalistic mediation in the run-up to the vote in early June. Continue reading...

Rachael Dixon, 53, identified as person police believe died after ingesting a drink at Soul Barn in Clunes, near Ballarat

Military spokesperson says Nobel laureate is among prisoners to be moved out of prison as a precaution during hot weatherMyanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, according to the military junta.A spokesperson said the measure was taken due to extremely hot weather and that it was trying to prevent heatstroke among all those who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners". Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak suffers blow to his authority as 57 of his own MPs vote against his plan and over 100 abstainA ban on smoking for future generations moved a step closer last night, but Rishi Sunak suffered a blow to his authority after dozens of Conservative MPs voted against it.The House of Commons voted by 383 to 67 in favour of the prime minister's plan to make it illegal for anyone born in 2009 or later to buy tobacco products in the UK. Continue reading...

Health leaders have welcomed plan to create smoke-free generation - but PM is facing trouble from some Tory MPs

Kyiv brings in higher payments for volunteers and new punishments for draft dodgersWe have more in from Agence France-Presse (AFP) on the German chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Beijing to meet China's president, Xi Jinping (see earlier post at 08.46 for more details).Xi laid out what state media described as four principles to prevent the Ukraine crisis from spiralling out of control and to restore peace". Continue reading...

International Paper settles all-share deal after tussle with British rival Mondi

The 54-year-old faces 19 charges relating to alleged incidents on the Sunshine Coast between December and April

Labour leader was responding to a question from the BBC about Vivienne Groom, who was prosecuted over breach of benefit rulesKeir Starmer has called for fairer treatment of unpaid carers plunged into poverty after being forced to pay back thousands of pounds - and in some cases facing criminal prosecution - for minor breaches of benefit rules.Last week the Guardian revealed thousands of carers had run up big debts, were given criminal records and forced to sell their homes when chased by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over honest mistakes" that officials could have spotted years earlier. Continue reading...

Met Office says it could not verify if strong gusts in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire were a tornadoStrong winds and hundreds of lightning strikes have battered much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a possible tornado reported in Staffordshire.The Met Office said it could not verify if the strong gusts in Newcastle-under-Lyme were a tornado but added that the winds forecast on Monday morning had some potential" to create one. Continue reading...

Closure between junctions 9 and 10 will be second of five planned weekend closures on motorwayThe second weekend closure of the M25 will take place between 10 and 13 May, National Highways has confirmed, with a seven-mile stretch of the road between junctions 9 and 10 in Surrey due to be shut.In March a five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed for a three-day period, the longest planned closure on the road since it was opened in 1986. Continue reading...

Simon Taylor, who taught between 1990 and 2013, fell in love' with male student who was 16 or 17 at the time, court toldA former English and drama teacher at an exclusive private school engaged in sexual activity with a emotionally vulnerable" pupil after directing him in a play, a jury has heard.Simon Taylor, 78, who taught at Winchester college, fell in love" with the male pupil, inviting him round to his house, where he kissed and cuddled him, the court heard. Continue reading...

The Pakistani citizen - who fled religious persecution to settle in Australia - was working his first day shift as a security guard at Westfield Shopping Centre

The federal court justice Michael Lee gave a two-and-a-half hour oral summary of his judgment that at times strayed into unexpectedly colourful references Continue reading...

Supermodel says her hand got jammed' in a machine at Brighton station for an hour and a halfWith her famous nickname, you might think Twiggy is the perfect person to call on if your sweets get stuck in a vending machine.But the supermodel has told how she once became stuck at Brighton railway station as she tried to retrieve a chocolate bar. Continue reading...

Police were made aware of unlicensed gun after Carroll testified in court she kept a revolver by her bedNew York writer E Jean Carroll has handed over a gun to police that she was keeping, but without a license, during her long legal battles with Donald Trump after she sued him over sexual abuse, according to a new report.Police in Warwick, New York, took possession" of the firearm after discussing the matter with the former Elle magazine columnist, NBC News reported, citing a police report the TV network had obtained. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Failure to do so would betray working-class people, shadow health secretary saysWes Streeting has defended Labour's plans to use the private sector to help cut the NHS care backlog, arguing that a failure to do so would result in a betrayal" of working-class people who cannot afford to pay for care.The shadow health secretary said his approach was a pragmatic but principled one" as he doubled down on his remarks this week about middle-class lefties" whom he said risked putting ideological purity ahead of patient care. Continue reading...