UBS says it will absorb costs related to litigation, regulatory matters and liability adjustments in emergency rescueUBS is in line to make an almost $35bn (£28bn) gain after its emergency takeover of Credit Suisse – but has said it will take a $17bn hit from costs related to the rushed rescue deal.The Swiss lender has said it will make gains of $34.8bn after taking on Credit Suisse, based on an initial assessment of data until the end of last year, according to a regulatory filing. The accounting gain will be one of the biggest ever reported by a bank in a single quarter. Continue reading...
by Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and agencies on (#6BS0T)
Court upholds sentence against ex-French president, saying he must serve one-year’s detention at homeA French appeals court has upheld a prison sentence against the former president Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence-peddling – maintaining he should serve one-year’s detention at home with an electronic bracelet.Sarkozy was originally convicted in 2021 of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. It was the first time in modern French history that a former president was given a prison sentence for corruption. He had appealed against the verdict. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#6BS0X)
E.ON Next, Octopus and Good Energy did not supply final bill on time to many households that had switchedThree energy suppliers have been made to pay compensation totalling £8m for failing to supply a final bill on time to more than 100,000 households that had switched provider.The energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, said E.ON Next was ordered to pay £5.5m to almost 95,000 customers because it did not provide them with a final bill within six weeks of moving to another supplier, nor did it pay compensation for the delay within 10 days of the missed deadline. Continue reading...
Sheeran prevails two weeks after winning copyright case that also alleged similarities with Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hitEd Sheeran has defeated a second lawsuit that alleged he imitated Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On for his song Thinking Out Loud, two weeks after he prevailed in another high-profile copyright case regarding the two songs.A district judge in Manhattan, Louis Stanton, dismissed the case that had been brought against Sheeran by Structured Asset Sales (SAS), a company owned by an investment banker David Pullman. Pullman essentially owns a portion of Let’s Get It On, namely part of the song’s copyright originally belonging to Ed Townsend, who wrote the song with Gaye in 1973. Continue reading...
In test case, UK financial ombudsman rules dental practice should be paid interest over delayed claimHundreds of thousands of small businesses that claimed on their insurance during the Covid pandemic but had their payouts delayed could be owed thousands of pounds after a ruling by the UK’s financial ombudsman.In what campaigners say is a key test case, the complaints body has ruled that a dental practice whose claim had been initially declined but later approved should be paid interest by QBE, one of the largest insurers in the world. Continue reading...
‘Embarrassed’ Daily Telegraph writer and Fox Sports host tells reporters outside court it is his turn in the spotlight of the ‘rugby league soap opera’
Former British PM says Taiwan is ‘on the front line of the global battle for freedom’ during trip that China has called a ‘dangerous political show’Free nations must commit themselves to a free Taiwan and must be prepared to back it up with concrete measures, Liz Truss has said in a keynote speech in Taipei, in which she called for an “economic Nato” to tackle Beijing’s growing authoritarianism.The former British prime minister said she had come to show support for Taiwan, which was “on the frontline of the global battle for freedom”, under threat from a totalitarian regime in China. Truss arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit, and is expected to meet senior government officials. Continue reading...
by Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington on (#6BRY2)
New Zealand police open homicide inquiry after at least six die in Loafers Lodge blazeA fire that erupted in a Wellington hostel, killing at least six people, is being investigated as arson by New Zealand’s police, who have started a homicide inquiry.Nobody has been arrested, Inspector Dion Bennett said on Wednesday. He would not say why officers believed the fire was deliberately lit, or whether accelerants were used. Continue reading...
Schools told to honour court order as families seek compensation and training for pupils who missed education because of their hairAbout 1,200 Rastafarian children in Malawi are expected to return to state schools over the next month after being banned for a decade because of their hair.After a landmark decision at the high court in March, letters have now been sent out to about 7,000 schools telling headteachers that the exclusion of children with dreadlocks from the classroom has been ruled as unconstitutional. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6BRY3)
Revenues rose to £990m last year as people unable to upsize their home opt to pile their possessions elsewhereBritons have packed away enough possessions to fill Buckingham Palace more than 60 times over as the housing crisis, enduring consumerism and a sentimental reluctance to let go of inanimate objects means self-storage is now on the brink of becoming a £1bn-a-year business.Self-storage units are proving cheaper than renting or buying a bigger home and are springing up alongside new housing developments across the UK, with at least 280 more stores planned between now and 2026 – a more than 10% increase. Continue reading...
Dictator visits assembly facility as state media says satellite will be ready for loading after final checksKim Jong-un has inspected North Korea’s first military spy satellite and given the go-ahead for its “future action plan”, according to state media.Kim met the “non-permanent satellite launch preparatory committee” on Tuesday before viewing the satellite, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Continue reading...
Labor MP Julian Hill says behaviour of some providers is harming students and could ‘destroy the social licence’ of the sectorThe vocational education and training (VET) sector’s reputation will be destroyed if urgent action isn’t taken to clean up malpractice among international education providers, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.In the past weeks, the committee has heard of providers working with unregulated international education agents to steal students from prestigious public institutions for massive commissions, sell work visas and open “ghost schools” where students don’t attend classes and get handed degrees. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6BRV5)
Scheme will then continue for 13 months at £2.50 for a single journey, on back of £500m fundingBus passengers in England will be able to keep travelling for £2 after the government extended funding by another £500m, easing fears about a further decline in local services.The fare cap on most local buses, brought in as a temporary measure last year to boost patronage, will be extended until the end of October and then for another 13 months at £2.50 for a single journey, in a move that the Department for Transport said would support people with the cost of living and ensure stability in the sector. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6BRV8)
Fatigue and lack of motivation top poll of reasons why people don’t improve diet and exercise moreIt’s the question many of us ask ourselves: why don’t I exercise more, eat better food and generally lead a healthier lifestyle?For many who want to, but just can’t seem to make it happen, it turns out the answer to that question is – feeling just too tired. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6BRV7)
Experts warn Michael Gove lack of detail would allow landlords to circumvent legal overhaulTenants and campaigners have warned Michael Gove not to create a “back door” for unfair evictions as private rented sector reforms are unveiled on Wednesday.The legal overhaul will ban no-fault evictions but strengthen landlords’ rights to throw tenants out for antisocial behaviour. Continue reading...
by Tess McClure in Wellington and agencies on (#6BR77)
Emergency services called to 92-room Loafers Lodge hostel just after midnight and a number of people remain unaccounted forNew Zealand was in shock on Tuesday after a “worst nightmare” fire at a hostel in the capital Wellington left at least six people dead and 11 others missing.The Loafers Lodge hostel in Newtown, in the city’s south, caught alight just after midnight on Tuesday. By dawn, the top floors of the building were charred black. Continue reading...
Gunmen attacked two police operatives and two consulate staff then abducted two policemen and a driverGunmen have attacked a US diplomatic convoy in south-east Nigeria’s Anambra state, killing four people and abducting three others. No US citizens were in the convoy, according to US and Nigerian officials.The gunmen “murdered two of the police mobile force operatives and two staff of the consulate”, before setting their vehicle on fire in the attack on Tuesday, said police spokesperson Ikenga Tochukwu. Continue reading...
by Luke Harding in Kyiv and Dan Sabbagh on (#6BRDQ)
Intense night-time bombardment of Kyiv damaged Patriot air defence system, air command confirmsUkraine has said it has neutralised the Kremlin’s most potent hypersonic weapon, shooting down six out of six Kinzhal missiles launched at Kyiv, but hours later it emerged the intense night-time attack had damaged a Patriot air defence system.Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air command, said Moscow had also bombarded the capital with nine Kalibr missiles and three ballistic rockets, as well as six attack drones and three reconnaissance drones. All were shot down, he said, thwarting what he called “air terrorism”. Continue reading...
Simon Murray was at a meeting about the slow rate of assistance five years after government apologisedA Home Office minister was heckled by people caught up the Windrush scandal during a heated meeting in Westminster called to draw attention to the slow progress in assisting those affected by the department’s mistakes.Simon Murray said it was “painful” to hear accounts from people describing their difficulties receiving documentation and compensation, five years after the government first apologised. Continue reading...
Prime minister uses summit address at Council of Europe in Reykjavik to talk of need to confront illegal migrationRishi Sunak has sought to convince European leaders to support his plans to detain and remove people to Rwanda – using a summit address to link the “lessons” of the Ukraine war to what he said was a need to confront threats such as illegal migration.Downing Street earlier hailed an agreement reached between Sunak and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to establish a new working arrangement to “strengthen cooperation” between the EU and the UK on migration. Continue reading...
Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte announced plans a day after Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv could soon receive fighter jetsThe UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch leader Mark Rutte have agreed to build an “international coalition” to help procure F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine, the British government has announced.A Downing Street spokesperson said Sunak and Rutte “would work to build an international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets”. Continue reading...
Nurse says she was looking forward to Ibiza trip at time she is alleged to have attempted to murder a baby boyLucy Letby has told jurors that “killing babies” was not on her mind at a time when she was looking forward to a holiday in Ibiza.The nurse is alleged to have attempted to murder a baby boy at the Countess of Chester hospital a day before she flew out to the Spanish island with a colleague and a friend. Continue reading...
Union says increased sentence against Khalifa Guesmi under anti-terrorism law represents ‘dangerous authoritarian drift’A Tunisian appeals court has sentenced a radio journalist to five years in prison for disclosing information about the country’s security services.Khalifa Guesmi, of the Mosaique FM radio station, had appealed against a one-year term handed down in November before the sentence was increased under an anti-terrorism law. Continue reading...
Health officials say there are no signs of person-to-person transmission, and contact tracing is being done as a precautionTwo poultry workers have tested positive for bird flu after coming into contact with infected birds on the same farm in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency.The cases were picked up through a screening programme for people who have come into close contact with the virus, though neither individual suffered symptoms and both have since tested negative. Continue reading...
by Luke Harding in Kyiv, Harry Taylor, Martin Belam, on (#6BR8T)
Ukraine says it has neutralised Russian hypersonic weapon; head of Ukraine’s supreme court arrested in bribery investigationUkraine said it had neutralised the Kremlin’s most potent hypersonic weapon, shooting down six out of six Kinzhal missiles launched at Kyiv during a sweeping and “exceptionally intense” night-time attack.The attack on Kyiv was one of the biggest since last year’s invasion, and followed Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s three-day trip to Europe. During meetings in London, Berlin, Paris and Rome, Ukraine’s president secured promises of more military assistance, including long-range attack drones from the UK.The Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, claimed Kyiv’s defenders shot down 18 out of 18 Russian rockets and drones. He said the city had came under an intense and sweeping attack from the “north, south and east”, and the missiles were fired from air, sea and land.Among the areas affected by falling debris in Kyiv was the city’s zoo.Russia’s defence ministry said it destroyed a US-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defence system overnight with a Kinzhal missile attack on Ukraine, the Zvezda military news outlet reports. This has not been independently verified by the Guardian.Ukrainian forces have taken back about 20 sq km of territory from Russian forces around the eastern city of Bakhmut in recent days, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Tuesday. She said Russian forces had advanced “somewhat” in the city of Bakhmut itself, and that heavy fighting continued.The head of Ukraine’s supreme court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, has been arrested as part of the biggest bribery investigation in the country’s history, as Kyiv pursues anti-graft measures required for closer integration with the EU. A prosecutor said Kniaziev was one of two people detained; he declined to identify the other.Six African leaders plan to travel to Russia and Ukraine “as soon as is possible” to help find a resolution to the war, the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said Tuesday. He said Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy had “agreed to receive the mission and the African heads of state in both Moscow and Kyiv”.A bill banning Russian uranium imports to the US gained momentum on Tuesday by passing a committee in the US House of Representatives. After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the US banned imports of its oil and imposed a price cap with other western countries on seaborne exports of its crude and oil products, but it has not banned imports of its uranium.About 2,000 people who helped defend the Azovstal plant and who were captured and became prisoners of war are still in the hands of the Russians, according to a charity set up to support families and those connected to the factory.Six people were killed in Kharkiv and Donetsk over the last 24 hours, according to the region’s governors.Russia has said it is still undecided on an extension of a landmark Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine that was brokered by the UN and Turkey and is due to expire on 18 May. “There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding our part of the deal … now we have to make a decision,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Continue reading...
Police in Nsanje say canoe was carrying 37 people across the Shire River when incident took placeA baby has died and 23 people are missing after a hippopotamus hit a boat travelling on the Shire River in Malawi, authorities have said.Police in the African country’s southern district of Nsanje said the canoe was carrying 37 people across the waterway when the incident took place on Monday morning. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#6BRPF)
Exclusive: ministers plan to exempt asylum seekers’ landlords from rules including minimum room sizesMinisters are removing basic housing protections from asylum seekers under new rules designed to move tens of thousands out of hotels and into the private rented sector.The changes would exempt landlords from regulations governing everything from electrical safety to minimum room sizes, leading campaigners to warn that the government is preparing to cram people into small spaces in an effort to alleviate the crisis in asylum seeker accommodation.A gas safety certificate every year.Working smoke alarms for every inhabited storey.If requested, a declaration that electrical appliances and furniture are safe.Written statement of the terms of occupancy to tenants.A carbon monoxide alarm in every inhabited room with a gas or oil heater.A declaration from a qualified electrician that electrical fittings are safe.Bedrooms that are at least:
Investor Brian Basham alleges that Lee Harpin threatened to blow the whistle on voicemail interceptionA leading Mirror journalist allegedly blackmailed the company as it attempted to cover up phone hacking, the high court has been told.Lee Harpin, who held a number of senior roles at the People and Sunday Mirror, was alleged to be a known phone hacker whose understanding of illegal behaviour at the newspaper group caused anxiety at board level. Continue reading...
by Nadeem Badshah, Harry Taylor, Martin Belam, Helen on (#6BR9K)
Deputy defence minister says Ukraine have taken back territory from around the eastern city but Russian forces had advanced ‘somewhat’ in the city. This live blog has closed
Scheme provided falsified passports to formers suspect in Stephen Lawrence case and Irish crime bossThe ringleaders of a gang that specialised in supplying fake passports to high-level criminals allowing them to evade arrest and identification have been jailed.Anthony Beard, 61, paid individuals for expired passports and applied for renewals using photographs of criminals who paid up to £20,000 to start new lives in Dubai, Portugal and Spain. Continue reading...
President of Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly says UK faces exclusion if it choses to ignore its obligationsToday the BBC is reporting that Javad Marandi, a businessman whose foreign companies were part of a global money laundering investigation, is a major donor to the Conservative party. Marandi, who strongly denies wrongdoing and who is not subject to criminal sanctions, has been named after losing a legal battle with the BBC to protect his anonymity.There will be an urgent question on the case at 12.30pm, tabled by the SNP MP Alison Thewliss. According to the Commons authorities, she has tabled a question asking a Home Office minister to make a statement “on the implications of the National Crime Agency’s investigation into Mr Javad Marandi”.Rishi Sunak’s food summit is little more than a stunt to hide years of inaction from his government.The Tories’ shambolic handling of food security has resulted in huge vegetable price increases across the country.No ifs, no buts, supermarkets must cut these basic prices now.Rishi Sunak needs to grow a spine and stand up for struggling families and pensioners by demanding supermarkets slash prices. They have no excuses, wholesale prices are down, yet food prices are up, with their profits soaring. Continue reading...
by Zeinab Mohammed Salih in Khartoum and Jason Burke on (#6BRN9)
Rapid Support Forces claim to have captured 700 soldiers at base during new battles in and around capitalAirtrikes and artillery fire shook much of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and its neighbouring cities on Tuesday as fighting between the country’s warring factions intensified sharply.New battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) flared from dawn in north and south Khartoum, as well as in the adjacent cities of Omdurman and Bahri, as the army sought to defend its bases from its paramilitary rival. Continue reading...
French first lady condemns what appears to be politically motivated attack in AmiensThe French president’s wife, Brigitte Macron, has denounced an attack on her great-nephew, who was beaten up outside her family’s chocolate shop in an apparent politically motivated assault.Jean-Baptiste Trogneux was returning to his apartment on Monday evening above the Trogneux chocolate shop that he runs in Amiens in northern France, when he was set upon by anti-government protesters. Continue reading...
Films in contention for this year’s Palme d’Or include Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, while Johnny Depp’s Louis XV kicks off proceedingsJury president Ruben Östlund struck a defiant note of optimism on the opening day of the 76th Cannes film festival, positioning the event as a stronghold of community in an increasingly atomised world. Cinema, he said, was more relevant and valuable than ever. The challenge is to connect it with a younger, post-pandemic audience that prefers to gorge its entertainment online.“If you look at today’s world, you see that cinema is unique for the simple reason that it offers a room where we can all watch films together,” he said. “All the other content, we’re accessing it on our devices, in our little bubbles, consuming culture like zombies and not reflecting what we’re looking at. So going to the cinema is almost a political stance. We come together and have a conversation about the world. We find out who we are and where we’re going. That is cinema’s strongest selling point. I think people want that collective experience.” Continue reading...
Chain’s heated debate with council because of fears over antisocial behaviour is resolvedA heated debate over Greggs’ right to trade into the early hours in central London, amid warnings it could cause a wave of crime and disorder, has been resolved.Greggs said it could now open its Leicester Square flagship store until 2am from Thursday to Saturday and until midnight through the rest of the week after Westminster council allowed it to sell hot drinks, such as tea and coffee, as well as its sausage rolls, pizza slices and steak bakes, after an 11pm curfew. Continue reading...
Speaking before Council of Europe summit, European Commission president says ‘accountability for Russia’ will be big topicThe president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is stepping up calls for a special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression.Speaking ahead of a summit of European leaders in Reykjavik on Tuesday, Von der Leyen said “accountability of Russia for the crime of aggression” would be a big topic. Earlier this week, she promised to “strongly support the creation of a dedicated tribunal to bring Russia’s crime of aggression to trial”. Continue reading...
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