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Past supreme court ruling meant Siac judges found themselves unable to contradict home secretaryAlmost exactly four years after she was stripped of her citizenship, Shamima Begum’s hopes of returning to the UK have been dealt a bitter blow, with the special immigration appeals commission (Siac) upholding the decision.It is the latest development – and unlikely to be the last – in a legal fight that Begum’s family began in March 2019, one month after the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, took his controversial decision, shortly after she was found in a refugee camp in north-east Syria. Continue reading...

Lancashire constabulary, already subject to an IOPC inquiry, now to undergo College of Policing reviewThe police force behind the search for Nicola Bulley is facing two investigations into its handling of the case amid further criticism of its release of highly personal details about the missing mortgage adviser.The College of Policing, the national policing standards body, is to launch a wide-ranging independent review of Lancashire constabulary’s investigation. The Lancashire police and crime commissioner, Andrew Snowden, said he ordered the review because “there remain questions” about how the force had handled the high-profile search. Continue reading...

China’s top diplomat meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow; Biden meets leaders of Bucharest Nine; Ukraine seeks extension to Black Sea grain deal

Shaye Groves, from Hampshire, killed Frankie Fitzgerald after discovering Facebook messages to teenagerA woman who decorated her house with pictures of serial killers and who stabbed her boyfriend to death has been jailed for at least 23 years.Shaye Groves, 27, was sentenced at Winchester crown court on Wednesday for slitting the throat of Frankie Fitzgerald, 25, before stabbing him 17 times in the chest in July last year. Continue reading...

Latest census reveals 1.2m more unmarried 25- to 35-year-olds in England and Wales than in 2011A slump in the number of younger people in England and Wales getting married has sparked fresh calls to protect rights for those not in legally registered partnerships.Amid a continuing decline in marriage, figures from the 2021 census showed the biggest fall came among people aged 25 to 35, with 1.2 million more people unmarried in that age bracket than there were in 2011. Continue reading...

Subversive Slovenian quintet, who performed in North Korea in 2015, to play full concert at Bel Etage Music HallSubversive Slovenian industrial rock band Laibach are set to be the first foreign group to perform a full concert in Kyiv since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The group will play Bel Etage Music Hall on 31 March, under the concert title Eurovision – an arch reference to the fact the Eurovision song contest, won by Ukraine in 2022, will not be hosted in the country this year, but rather Liverpool in the UK. Continue reading...

Deputy first minister John Swinney intervenes as activists call for Forbes to withdraw from leadership campaign

Labour leader urges PM to ‘just get on with it’ and reach deal with EU over Northern IrelandKeir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of being too weak to take on Brexit “malcontents” on the Conservative benches and reach a deal with the EU over Northern Ireland, as the pair tussled over Brexit at prime minister’s questions.In a rare airing of the issue at the event, Starmer reiterated Labour’s pledge to “put country before party” and help Sunak push a deal through parliament, even if hardline Brexiter Tories rebelled. Continue reading...

Firms urged to allow contracts with Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PwC to expireThe Chinese government has reportedly instructed state-owned companies to phase out contracts with the big four accounting including KPMG and EY, as authorities try to address security concerns and curb the influence of western-linked auditors.China’s finance ministry is among the government entities that have issued informal guidance last month, urging state-owned corporations to let contracts with Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PwC expire, according to Bloomberg News. Continue reading...

Reason could be shrinking pool of most vulnerable, say experts as report shows first fall in deaths since 2013The growing epidemic of drug-related deaths in Scotland may finally have peaked, data suggests, with experts warning that one reason could be that the pool of people most at risk of dying from overdoses is shrinking.Scotland has long had the highest drug-related death rate of any country in Europe. Continue reading...

Officials meet in Tokyo to discuss concerns at China’s cooperation with Russia and Japan’s military buildupChinese and Japanese officials met in Tokyo on Wednesday for formal security talks for the first time in four years, in a meeting aimed at stabilising increasingly strained relations.In Japan’s national security strategy, released in December, China was described as “the greatest strategic challenge” to Japan’s peace and security. Continue reading...

Harry Potter author tells podcast she had to lock away unpublished manuscriptThe Harry Potter author JK Rowling has spoken about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her former husband, saying he tried to lock away the unpublished manuscript of the series’ first book to stop her leaving him.Speaking on the Witch Trials of JK Rowling, a podcast series released on Tuesday, the author described her relationship with Jorge Arantes as violent and controlling, saying she had to sneak pages of the work away in small batches to photocopy in case he burned them. Continue reading...

Firm’s owner says closure of coking ovens is down to global economic challenges and rising energy billsBritish Steel is closing the coking ovens at its Scunthorpe works with the loss of 260 jobs, as the UK steel industry struggles amid high energy prices and the need to invest heavily in lower-carbon technologies.The company’s owner, China’s Jingye Group, said the move was partly “to overcome global economic challenges” and also due to £190m in extra costs last year from higher energy bills and carbon credits. Continue reading...

John Apter was suspended in 2021 amid accusations over his conductThe former head of the Police Federation is to face gross misconduct proceedings over allegations about his behaviour in late 2021.John Apter, who is retired, was suspended in December 2021 amid accusations over his conduct on four occasions late that year, including at a bravery awards ceremony. Continue reading...

Actor accuses government of ‘further dividing communities’ as 138-year-old theatre faces closure after losing £1.8m grantThe actor Maxine Peake has accused the government of “further dividing communities” after one of Britain’s oldest theatres lost its arts subsidy.Management at the 138-year-old Oldham Coliseum have said it will be forced to lower the curtain for the final time next month after losing its £1.8m grant from Arts Council England. Continue reading...

Oleato range is now on sale in Italy and rolls out in the US, UK, Japan and Middle East later this yearForget chocolate sprinkles and vanilla syrup, Starbucks now wants to tempt you with olive-oil infused coffee.The Oleato range of drinks, each containing Partanna extra virgin olive oil, launches in Italy on Wednesday and the US this spring before coming to the UK, Japan and Middle East later this year. Continue reading...

Special immigration appeals commission decides revocation of her citizenship was lawful

Minister Jason Clare will sign agreement on upcoming trip to India as experts point to ‘tremendous opportunities’ for Australia

Process servers have been unable to find three Liberal party members identified by the parliamentary investigation

Heide Victoria Bos sentenced to six years for orchestrating the 2021 assault on Nick Cameron in car park

Special immigration appeals commission decision will not determine whether woman can return to UKJudges will give their decision on Wednesday whether the removal of British citizenship from Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join Islamic State (IS), was lawful.Begum left her home in east London in 2015 with two school friends to travel to Syria, marrying the Dutch national Yago Riedijk, 27, shortly after. She was found in a refugee camp in 2019, stripped of her British citizenship and banned from entering Britain. She has been fighting to return to the UK ever since. Continue reading...

‘Australia in many ways is addicted to contact sport. We love it even though it kills us,’ researcher tells Senate committee

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Somalis arrive in Ethiopia from disputed town of Las Anod, where at least 82 people have died in fightingMore than 60,000 Somali refugees have fled to Ethiopia after an escalation in fighting in the town of Las Anod, in the Sool region, where tensions between local people and the governing Somaliland authorities have been building for weeks.The UN said the refugees had arrived in part of Ethiopia that had been badly hit by drought after five consecutive failed rains, and that many people were sleeping in the open, or sheltering in schools and other public buildings. Continue reading...

Fewer than half of customers were satisfied in Which? survey where British Airways only scored 56%, while Jet2.com scored highestWizz Air has been named the worst short-haul airline by UK passengers.Passengers surveyed by consumer group Which? gave the Hungary-based carrier one star out of five for boarding experience, cabin environment and seat comfort. Continue reading...

About 1.5 metres in diameter, the mysterious metal sphere has been the source of intense speculation onlinePolice and residents in a Japanese coastal town have been left baffled by a large iron ball that has washed up on a local beach, with authorities admitting they have no idea what it is – only that it isn’t about to explode.The sphere, measuring about 1.5 metres in diameter, has been at the centre of fevered speculation since it washed up on Enshu beach in the city of Hamamatsu on the country’s Pacific coast, local media reports said. Continue reading...

December quarter wage index rose from 3.1% to 3.3%, but 7.8% inflation indicates a 4.5% decrease in real wages

Court shown texts between woman and friend in which she disclosed alleged behaviour of adviser, who is pleading not guilty

NSW emergency services respond to hundreds of calls for help amid wild weather

Charity says police recording has improved but online grooming has risen and tech firms are failing to actPolice have recorded a surge in child abuse image offences in the UK, with more than 30,000 reported in the most recent year, according to a report from the NSPCC.That is an increase of more than 66% on figures from five years ago, when police forces across the country recorded 18,574 such offences. Continue reading...

Garcia Luna took millions in bribes from Sinaloa gang, Brooklyn corruption trial toldA former Mexican law enforcement official once in charge of the fight against drug traffickers has been convicted at a US corruption trial over his ties to the Sinaloa cartel.Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Genaro Garcia Luna accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the cartel once run by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in exchange for protection from arrest, safe passage for cocaine shipments and tipoffs about forthcoming law enforcement operations. Continue reading...

Peers rejected letting police exercise stop and search without suspicion and sanction people without convictionProposed legislation aimed at curbing tactics used by protest groups has suffered eight defeats in the House of Lords.Peers rejected key measures of the controversial public order bill, including ditching a measure to let police exercise stop and search without suspicion to tackle disruptive demonstrations. Continue reading...

Jim Chalmers says Labor has not changed its position but had to acknowledge ‘pressures on the budget’ in a time of debt

England’s chief medical officer voices concern as vape use among 11- to 17-year-olds doubles in two yearsChildren are being targeted with “appalling” and “utterly unacceptable” marketing of vapes, England’s chief medical officer has warned as he called for urgent action to reverse a rise in the number of adolescents vaping.Although it is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, national surveys suggest the proportion of children aged 11 to 17 who vape has nearly doubled in just two years. In 2022, the figure was 7% – up from 4% in 2020, according to a YouGov survey for Action on Smoking and Health. Continue reading...

US president delivers speech in Poland on anniversary of Russian invasion of Ukraine after Putin says he will suspend participation in New Start treaty. This live blog is now closed

US president issues rallying cry in Warsaw but warns of ‘very bitter days’ ahead in defence of democracyJoe Biden has claimed Vladimir Putin’s year of war on Ukraine had left behind “burned-out tanks and Russian forces in disarray” but he also warned of “very bitter days” ahead in the defence of democracy in eastern Europe.Biden issued a rallying cry in an address to mark the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion, standing before the arches below Warsaw’s royal castle to address a crowd of 30,000, mostly Poles and Ukrainians, on Tuesday evening. Continue reading...

Leader targets traditionally Tory voters in ‘persuasive and coherent’ address at NFU conference about value of sector and its challenges

First minister hopeful lost backers and was fiercely criticised after saying she would have opposed equal marriage legislationSNP leadership hopeful Kate Forbes has said she will continue with her campaign to replace Nicola Sturgeon “at the moment”, after her personal faith-based views on equal marriage and having children outside marriage prompted an immediate and furious backlash.Forbes, who has been on maternity leave from her role as finance secretary, told the BBC the public were “longing for a politician to answer straight questions with straight answers” and later told STV she was “committed to seeing the campaign through, at the moment”. Continue reading...

Health secretary, Steve Barclay, to take part in talks on pay, conditions and ‘productivity-enhancing reforms’Ministers and the nursing union will hold “intensive talks” on Wednesday to try to resolve the increasingly bitter dispute that has already resulted in six strikes by NHS nurses.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called off a 48-hour walkout planned to begin in England on 1 March after the health secretary, Steve Barclay, agreed to hold face-to-face talks on pay with its general secretary, Pat Cullen, for the first time since 9 January. Continue reading...

RCN suspends 48-hour strike in England planned for March with health secretary to meet union leaders. This live blog is now closed

Barrister says ‘women were used casually’ by officers according to their personal preferencesUndercover officers regularly deceived women into sexual relationships because of a culture of “endemic” sexism within the Metropolitan police, a public inquiry has heard.A barrister representing 25 women described how “entrenched” misogyny and a cult of masculinity pervaded the police force, amounting to institutional sexism. Continue reading...

Master brand chosen for pay-TV channel as it is already used in international marketsEurosport is to disappear from UK television after more than three decades after the new pay-TV home of sports including Premier League, Champions League and Olympics rebrands as TNT Sports.BT and the US media giant Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), which have formed a multi-billion pay-TV sport joint venture, also announced on Tuesday that the BT Sport brand name is to be scrapped. Continue reading...

Those who want to work need guidance, support and flexible jobs, employment leaders tell MPsEmployment experts have hit back at the chancellor’s suggestion that over-50s should get off the golf course and return to work to help tackle the UK’s labour shortages.MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy committee were told that while millions of older people want to work, they often have long-term health conditions, care responsibilities, or are struggling to find a flexible job. Continue reading...

European Commission vice-president claims ‘finishing line’ in sight but DUP says deal on the table ‘falls short’The European Research Group of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs are demanding to see the full text of any deal on the Northern Ireland protocol, piling the pressure on the prime minister to meet their demands of radical changes to the Brexit trading arrangements.Their demands come as Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice-president in charge of Brexit said the EU and the UK could “see the finishing line” for a deal. Continue reading...

Fake works linked to Guillermo CT include pieces allegedly by Munch, Lichtenstein, Chillida and GuerreroA Spanish court has sentenced an art collector and fraudster to four years in prison for trying to sell 15 fake works, including a forged Edvard Munch print and a copy of Roy Lichtenstein’s famous Whaam! diptych, at a Madrid auction house.The audiencia provincial in Madrid heard that the defendant, named as Guillermo CT, signed a contract with the Setdart auction house in the capital in January 2018 to sell 16 works, including seven by the late Spanish sculptor and engraver Eduardo Chillida, a Munch lithograph, two Lichtensteins, four lithographs by José Guerrero and one lithograph by Saul Steinberg. Continue reading...

White House says US president will discuss strengthening Nato’s eastern flank with Andrzej Duda today

James Graham’s Dear England follows ‘gentle revolution’ implemented by men’s football managerA play chronicling “the gentle revolution” led by England men’s football manager, Gareth Southgate, is to be staged at the National Theatre.James Graham, the writer of the acclaimed television series Sherwood, has written Dear England, about the shift in the national team’s culture under Southgate.Dear England will run at the National Theatre from 10 June until 11 August. Tickets go on sale on 9 March. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Letter signed by refugee groups concerned about Islamophobia and racismThe government has failed to address the threat of the far-right in the UK while tacitly endorsing the violence asylum seekers are facing, according to an open letter written by prominent charities and equalities organisations.The open letter, addressed to the prime minister, home secretary and other cabinet and shadow cabinet ministers, and signed by groups including the Community Policy Form, Refugee Council, and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, claims that the government has continually failed to “adequately address the dangers posed by Islamophobia and racism against vulnerable people seeking protection and racialised communities in the UK”. Continue reading...

Casualties relatively low since few remain in region devastated by twin earthquakes two weeks agoThe toll from two earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday – two weeks after powerful quakes killed more than 47,000 people – has risen to eight, with up to 300 recovering from injuries and up to a dozen buildings toppling on both sides of the border.The widespread anxiety and panic sparked by the latest tremors has rattled a region that is still coming to terms with the devastation caused earlier this month. Continue reading...

Scott McDougall alarmed at Palaszczuk government plan to make breach of bail an offence for children