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Top Ukrainian official criticises the ‘symbolic blow’ of Russia assuming the rotating presidency. This blog is now closed

Sadai Banowan violated ‘laws and regulations of the Islamic emirate’, says local Taliban officialA female-run radio station in Afghanistan’s north-east has been shut down for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, a Taliban official said.Sadai Banowan, which means women’s voice in Dari, is Afghanistan’s only female-run station and started 10 years ago. It has eight staff, six of them female. Continue reading...

The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched invasion of UkraineA top Ukrainian official has criticised the “symbolic blow” of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations security council.Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “It’s not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.” Continue reading...

Theatres such as now-closed Oldham Coliseum vital for northern working-class people, says actorChristopher Eccleston has said it would be impossible for him to become an actor in today’s world, in an impassioned interview after the closure of Oldham’s Coliseum theatre.The British actor spoke about how the closure of the historic theatre would affect the acting community and people from working-class backgrounds. Continue reading...

Man was killed near al-Aqsa mosque after allegedly firing officer’s gun, in what police describe as terrorist attackA man detained by Israeli police near a flashpoint mosque compound in Jerusalem grabbed an officer’s gun and fired it, prompting the unit to shoot him dead, the force said on Saturday, describing the incident as a terrorist attack.The incident overnight at the edge of al-Aqsa mosque complex, an icon of Palestinian nationalism, came at a high point of Muslim attendance for the holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...

Despite the arrest, Thames Valley police are currently treating the death as unexplainedA 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was found at a marina in Reading, Thames Valley police have said.Despite the arrest, the police are currently treating the death as unexplained. Continue reading...

Police in Karachi say nine women and three children dead after crush outside factory during Ramadan alms-givingPakistani police have arrested eight people in the southern port city of Karachi after a crush killed 12 people at a Ramadan food and cash distribution point a day earlier.Hundreds of women and children rushed to collect free food and cash outside a factory in an industrial area of the city on Friday. Business-owners during the Islamic holy month often hand out cash and food, especially to poorer people. An initial report from the police said nine women, aged between 40 and 80, and three children, aged between 10 and 15, had died in the crush. Continue reading...

Fortysomething ‘disillusioned surburban’ voters with little time for politics are key to winning big majority, Labour Together group claimsKeir Starmer needs to win over “Stevenage Woman” to reach Downing Street, senior Labour figures have been told, after being briefed that a group of socially conservative, predominantly female voters have become critical in the party’s quest for a stable parliamentary majority.Senior figures from Starmer’s team were last week privately presented with analysis that a segment of suburban voters – full-time workers in their early 40s who have children and who have become disillusioned with politics – hold significant power in the seats the party needs to win. Continue reading...

Social media influencer posts video about release from police custody in Romania after court rulingAndrew Tate has posted a video saying he has “absolute clarity of thought” after he was moved from police custody to house arrest.The social media influencer was released into house arrest on Friday after a Romanian court overturned a request by prosecutors for him to be detained until late April. Continue reading...

Airlines hope to avoid the chaos of last year as huge numbers head for the beaches of Europe, surpassing pre-pandemic bookingsHolidaymakers are heading to Europe in huge numbers this Easter, piling pressure on airlines to avoid a repeat of last year’s travel chaos.Flight bookings from the UK to Europe have leapt by 12% compared with the 2019 Easter period, before the pandemic, according to ForwardKeys, a flight data provider, while European tourists are tending to stay at home. Continue reading...

Police say man had been taking part in Ultra White Collar Boxing charity event at Harvey Hadden Sports VillageA man who was seriously injured in a charity boxing match has died, police said.The man was taking part in the Ultra White Collar Boxing event at Harvey Hadden Sports Village in Nottingham last Saturday. Continue reading...

The ancient treasure has been restored and will go on show at the British Museum before going back homeIt was carved almost 2,000 years ago and is such an important sculpture that if it appeared on the art market today it could fetch more than £30m.But this is a previously unrecorded antiquity that can never be sold. For the large fragment of a Sasanian rock relief – which depicts an imposing male figure carved in the 3rd century AD – has been freshly gouged from a cliff in Iran with an angle grinder. Continue reading...

Stephen Alderton, 66, remanded in custody after being charged with murders of Gary and Joshua DunmoreA man has appeared in court charged with the murders of a father and son who were shot dead in two villages six miles apart in Cambridgeshire.The bodies of Gary and Joshua Dunmore, aged 57 and 32 respectively, were discovered at properties in Sutton, and Bluntisham on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Frank Ospina’s death followed by reports of suicide attempts by other detainees at Colnbrook removal centreLawyers and charities have predicted an unfolding crisis in immigration detention after the death of a detainee and reports of subsequent suicide attempts by others.The Home Office confirmed that investigations had been launched by police and the prisons and probation ombudsman into the death of Frank Ospina on 26 March. He was being held at Colnbrook immigration removal centre near Heathrow next to the adjoining Harmondsworth immigration detention centre. He is believed to have been 39 and from Colombia. Detainees said he took his own life, although this has not been confirmed.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Labor’s Mary Doyle has two-party preferred swing of at least 6% in the count on Saturday evening. This blog is now closed

Labor secures first win at a byelection by a government from an opposition since 1920 as senior Liberals play down implications for Peter Dutton’s leadership

Police say 18-year-old male has died and 16-year-old in hospital after attack believed to have taken place in taxiA murder investigation has been launched after two teenagers were stabbed in Leeds.The teenagers are believed to have been in a taxi when they were attacked. Continue reading...

London charity ‘overwhelmed and touched’ by donations to tribute fund set up after death of ambassadorBattersea Dogs & Cats Home has been “overwhelmed and touched” by public donations, which have passed £100,000 after the death of the charity’s ambassador Paul O’Grady.The TV and radio presenter became an ambassador for Battersea in 2012 after the success of ITV’s multi-award-winning For the Love of Dogs, 11 series of which were filmed at the home. Continue reading...

Health officials apologise after women unable to obtain certificate for £19.30 annual feeHealth officials have apologised after women were unable to get a certificate online to allow them to access cheaper hormone replacement therapy prescriptions.Cheaper hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should have been available in England from Saturday under a scheme designed to reduce prescription costs. Continue reading...

Pope, 86, responded well to antibiotic infusion for breathing difficulties, medical team saysPope Francis has left hospital to return to the Vatican after being treated for bronchitis, quipping to journalists before being driven away: “I’m still alive.”The pope, 86, was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital three days ago after complaining of breathing difficulties. He had responded well to an infusion of antibiotics, his medical team has said. Continue reading...

The Daily Mail’s owner, the prince and Elton John could be on the road to one of the biggest media trials in British history

Long coalition talks may follow Sunday, with conservative NCP not ruling out deal with populist FinnsFour years after she became the world’s youngest prime minister, Finland’s Sanna Marin faces a battle to keep her job on Sunday in an unpredictable election so tight that it could be won by any of the country’s three main parties.Marin, now 37, took the reins of the Social Democratic party (SDP) – and the Finnish premiership – in 2019 and has since piloted the traditionally non-aligned Nordic country through the Covid pandemic and to the brink of Nato membership. Continue reading...

Body of Christopher Alder could have been seen by cadets after mixup of remains, says South Yorkshire forceSouth Yorkshire police have admitted that officers may have been shown the body of Christopher Alder, a former paratrooper who died in police custody, in a mortuary as part of their routine training years after he was supposed to have been buried.Alder, an ex-Parachute Regiment soldier, choked to death while handcuffed and lying face down on the floor of a Hull police station on 1 April 1998. CCTV footage showed officers laughing, joking and making monkey noises while he lay unconscious in a pool of blood. It was more than 10 minutes before police went to his aid. Continue reading...

Council tax and planning changes aim to make housing more affordable for those on local incomesRadical measures giving councils in Wales a raft of extra powers designed to stop second homes hollowing out communities, especially in coastal and rural areas, have come into force.Local authorities across Wales are using the powers to increase the amount of council tax that second home owners must pay and will also be able to bring in changes to planning rules to make it harder for houses and flats to be snapped up as holiday boltholes. Continue reading...

Experts say developers deterred by changes to planning system brought in by successive Tory governmentsPlanning applications in England have fallen to their lowest level in at least 16 years, according to figures published this week by the levelling up department that highlight the scale of the country’s housing crisis.Local authorities received fewer applications to build new buildings or improve old ones in 2022 than at any point since before 2006, the earliest year for which the government provides statistics. Continue reading...

The town infamous for a massacre at hands of Russia has become a symbol of Ukraine’s reconstruction effort, but experts say the influx of money from the west will bring challenges in such a corrupt countryStanding on the crumbling roof of a house, dozens of workers hammer in unison. Around them, cranes, bulldozers and trucks work frantically to repair roads and buildings destroyed by Russian artillery. It is hard to believe that this noisy construction site is in Yablonska Street, in the town of Bucha, in the north of Kyiv, at the precise crossroads where a year ago the bodies of dozens of civilians, brutally killed by Russian soldiers, were strewn over almost a mile, some with their hands bound behind their backs.Ukraine has already repaired, and in many cases fully rebuilt, many of the sites destroyed by Moscow, including bridges, roads and government buildings. It is only the beginning of what Kyiv has described as the largest rebuilding effort since the second world war and perhaps the most expensive in history, with an estimated cost of half a trillion dollars. But managing this unprecedented influx of money in a country with a long history of corruption will bring challenges, experts say. Continue reading...

Care home residents will be first to receive spring top-up jab as infections in England hit 2023 highMillions of people in England will be offered a Covid booster jab next week, health officials have announced, as recent estimates show infections have climbed to their highest level this year.Care home residents will be the first to receive the spring Covid-19 booster vaccine from Monday, with millions more people invited to book an appointment from Wednesday. Continue reading...

Ryde is the only count still in dispute as the Liberals hold on to Holsworthy and Terrigal, ABC election analyst Antony Green says

Taiwan sends aircraft to warn away nine Chinese fighter jets and one drone that breached unofficial barrier between two sidesTen Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, normally an unofficial barrier between the mainland and the island, Taiwan’s defence ministry has said.Nine Chinese fighter jets and one military drone crossed the median line in the 24 hours to 6am on Saturday, the ministry said in its daily report on Chinese military activities. Continue reading...

Daylight saving comes to an end on Sunday, as much of Australia’s south-east coast enjoys a well-deserved sleep in

Two more people found on Friday as authorities says dozens of Indian and Romanian migrants have been crossing through Mohawk territoryThe bodies of eight people believed to have died trying to cross from Canada into the United States have been found in the past two days, authorities said on Friday, including two children.Six people, described as members of two families of Romanian and Indian descent, were found on Thursday in a marshy area of the St Lawrence River, which forms part of the Canada-US border. And on Friday, the bodies of two more migrants were found, bringing the death toll to eight, according to police in the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne.Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

26-year-old man from an Arab village in southern Israel had grabbed and fired officer’s gun after being stopped for questioning, say policeA man detained near al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was shot dead after he grabbed an officer’s gun and fired it, police said.They identified the man as a 26-year-old resident of Hura, an Arab village in southern Israel. Continue reading...

West Lindsey council launches legal action, saying decision to use RAF Scampton for up to 2,000 asylum seekers is ‘irrational’West Lindsey district council has launched legal action against the Home Office to challenge the decision to use a local Royal Air Force station as a site for asylum seeker accommodation.It follows an announcement by the immigration minister on Wednesday to use RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire as a site for up to 2,000 asylum seekers. Continue reading...

Penny Sharpe says ‘there’s no place’ for Latham’s behaviour, while MP Alex Greenwich says he is ‘clearly unfit for office’

Joe Biden calls on Moscow to free US journalist, ‘absurdity’ as Russia takes charge of UN security council, and Bucha atrocities remembered Continue reading...

Messages newly released in Dominion Voting Systems defamation case show media mogul discussed when to call Trump’s defeatRupert Murdoch took a direct role in how Fox News finally called the 2020 US election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, newly unredacted messages in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation case showed on Friday.“It would be great if we call it for Biden as soon as he gets over, say, 35,000 ahead in Pennsylvania,” Murdoch, the now 92-year-old Fox News owner, wrote to the network’s chief executive, Suzanne Scott, on 6 November 2020, three days after election day but a day before Pennsylvania put Biden over the top. Continue reading...

Bucharest court of appeal rules in favour of divisive social media influencer who has spent months in a Romanian jailAndrew Tate, the divisive social media influencer who has spent three months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal along with his brother to be moved from detention to house arrest.The Bucharest court of appeal ruled in favour of their appeal, which challenged a judge’s decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days. Continue reading...

P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways say sailings hit by bad weather, surge of Easter getaways and border control hold-ups in FranceThe Port of Dover has declared a critical incident as high levels of traffic caused lengthy delays for coach passengers.P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways also reported delays to ferry and coach services, citing bad weather and hold-ups at French border controls. Continue reading...

Quebec authorities announced six people were in custody for criminal harassment, intimidation and forcible confinementPolice in Canada have arrested members of a vigilante “pedophile-hunting” group, charging them with distribution of child abuse images, amid frustration over the group’s controversial tactics.Quebec police announced on Thursday that six people had been arrested as part of an investigation into a group that had drawn complaints from the public. Continue reading...

Kashif Anwar is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed and her unborn child by pushing her from hillA woman walking on Arthur’s Seat on the night a husband is alleged to have pushed his wife off the Edinburgh hill claimed the alleged victim told her he had pushed her, a court has heard.Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, and her unborn child in September 2021 by pushing her from the landmark. Continue reading...

NUJ members’ 24-hour stoppage on 5 May will coincide with the reporting of poll resultsBBC journalists in England have announced a second 24-hour strike, to run from midnight on 5 May to coincide with the reporting of local election results, in a dispute over cuts to local radio.The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the broadcaster’s management want local radio stations to share programmes across the network from 2pm on weekdays and at weekends, going from more than 100 hours of local programming on every station each week down to 40. Continue reading...

Putin preparing for ‘forever war’; Ukrainian parents hiding their children in basements; Finland clears final hurdle to Nato membership

Giovanna Lewis, Amy Pritchard and Paul Sheeky were part of group who glued themselves to road in City of London in 2021Three climate protesters who stopped traffic to bring rush-hour chaos to the City of London are facing a retrial.Giovanna Lewis, 65, a councillor from Dorset, Amy Pritchard, 37, a horticultural worker and Paul Sheeky, 46, a screenwriter, were part of a large group of Insulate Britain protesters who glued themselves to the ground and blocked traffic between Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street on 25 October 2021. Continue reading...

Charles and Camilla also remembered the Kindertransport children, during a state visit to GermanyKing Charles and Germany’s president have lain wreaths in remembrance of the victims of the second world war, in the ruins of a bombed-out church in Hamburg.The monarch joined President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, to leave floral tributes at St Nikolai memorial church, whose spire was a landmark used by bomber crews during the conflict 80 years ago and has since become a monument against war. Continue reading...

Justice secretary, who denies bullying allegations, oversaw a toxic atmosphere, ex-staffer saysDominic Raab is “100% a bully”, and also took no steps to intervene in bullying by others, a former Foreign Office official has said in the latest accusations against the justice secretary and former foreign secretary.The claims, reported by ITV News, came as Rishi Sunak declined to say why an independent inquiry into Raab’s behaviour had not yet reported back after more than four months, or if he would sack Raab if it uncovered misconduct. Continue reading...

Margaret Barnes, 71, entered home of David Redfern and got into his bed while staying in Barmouth, GwyneddA “cowardly bully” has been jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years in prison for murdering a 71-year-old woman who mistook his home for a B&B and got into his bed.Margaret Barnes had been visiting Barmouth in Wales from her home in Birmingham when she mistook her accommodation for the home of David Redfern, a few doors away, Caernarfon crown court heard. Continue reading...

‘Nonno Mario’ avoided paying by nipping in behind prepaid Telepass customers before barrier descendedAn 80-year-old Italian man nicknamed “Nonno Sprint” (Granddad Sprint) risks going on trial after he brazenly dodged paying €4,000 (£3,514) worth of motorway tolls using a technique more frequently reserved for metro fare hoppers.In his Fiat Punto, the man, whose real name is Mario, “travelled far and wide” on Italy’s motorways for two years without paying a single euro, arguing that the charges were too pricey and not worth it for the poor service, according to Corriere della Sera. Continue reading...

Employment experts say proposals are ‘departure from established norms and treaty obligations’Rishi Sunak’s new anti-trade union legislation would make the UK one of the most difficult countries in the democratic world in which to go on strike and may breach treaty obligations, a group of top employment lawyers have said.The 10 academic experts in employment law said the proposed laws to enforce “minimum service levels” in sectors such as health, transport and schools would make the UK an “international outlier” among comparable countries. Continue reading...

Former Paralympic and Olympic star was automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half his sentenceThe former South Africa athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp 10 years ago.Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, when he fired four times through the bathroom door of his high-security house in February 2013. The parole board’s decision was taken at a hearing at the correctional facility on the outskirts of the capital, Pretoria, where the 36-year-old is being held. Continue reading...

Pedro Sánchez encourages dialogue between Xi Jinping and Ukrainian president during China visit