‘We underperform every key competitor out there,’ staff are told in global address by Tufan ErginbilgicThe new chief executive of Rolls-Royce has told staff that the engineering company is a “burning platform” that must transform to survive.Tufan Erginbilgic, the former BP executive who replaced Warren East as chief executive at the start of January, said the coronavirus pandemic could not be blamed for what in reality was a perennial underperformance of the business compared with rivals. Continue reading...
Actor says recent conversations about role of monarchy ‘opened his eyes’ to suffering of Indigenous people around the worldWe tend to receive things on our birthdays, but on his 58th Alan Cumming has given something back: the OBE he was awarded in 2009.In a post on Instagram, the Scottish actor talked about how he had recently “opened his eyes” to the “toxicity” of the British Empire. He said his soul-searching was prompted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the conversations the event sparked. Continue reading...
Since Covid pandemic ‘whole world of work has gone crazy’, adds Tony DankerMost bosses secretly want to get all staff back to working in the office, according to the head of Britain’s leading business lobby group.Tony Danker, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said the whole world of work had “gone crazy” since the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a major shift to more working from home for many people who used to work solely from the office. Continue reading...
Tropical storm upgraded to cyclone status, hitting Indian Ocean island with 75mph winds and intense rainfallMadagascar continued to be hit by intense rainfall this week, resulting in serious flooding and several landslides. Severe Tropical Storm Cheneso made landfall in the north-east last week, and had weakened as it pushed south-west across the island. But after reaching the warm waters of the Mozambique channel on Monday, Cheneso restrengthened, achieving tropical cyclone status by Wednesday with sustained wind speeds of 75mph, equivalent to a category 1 hurricane.Unusually, the system remained near-stationary for almost four days, stalling just off the west coast of Madagascar and bringing more than 100mm of rain each day to some coastal areas. Cheneso’s lack of movement resulted in weakening of the system on Thursday, as upwelling of cooler water beneath the storm reduced the energy available to the cyclone, and sustained winds decreased to about 55mph. The storm has now started to accelerate to the south, and begun the process of curving out towards the southern Indian Ocean. Cheneso may briefly restrengthen during this period, before becoming extratropical by Monday. Continue reading...
Grocery wholesaler may look to make further market purchases of supermarket’s sharesBestway, the owner of the Costcutter chain and is one of the UK’s largest grocery wholesalers, has taken a near £200m stake in Sainsbury’s and could seek to increase its stake further.The privately owned Bestway, which also owns the UK’s third-largest pharmacy chain and 2,000 convenience stores under the Costcutter and Best-one brands, has bought almost 81m shares, giving it a 3.45% stake in the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain. Continue reading...
by Henry Belot, Jordyn Beazley and Natasha May on (#687WT)
This blog is now closedUkrainian loss would embolden leaders in Pacific region, ambassador saysThe ambassador of Ukraine to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, stresses that the reason Australia’s assistance needs to continue is because it’s in Australia’s interests to support the Ukraine:The reason why we need to keep up and step up that assistance because this war in Ukraine is disrupting everything. It’s really undermined security, regionally, globally.It’s having a major impact on your partners here in the region. Look at Indonesia. I mean, they are really suffering from the lack of food that can get on their market. They have 275 million people to feed and they really rely on grain from Ukraine, which now they have a hard time getting hold of as the prices have surged. We’ve seen the impact on the energy markets on the volatility of the commodity markets.What’s important is that Australia continues to support Ukraine. We are truly thankful for what Australia has done so far, especially the last package which was announced in October where another 30 Bushmasters were allocated and the troops which are now in Britain have already been able to train Ukrainian soldiers. It’s really a big help. Continue reading...
Case of soldier charged with being ‘disorderly in female attire’ among stories told in Queer Lives tourIn June 1916, a 22-year-old soldier from the Royal Fusiliers appeared at Highbury magistrates court charged with desertion and with “being an idle and disorderly person in female attire”. Though the soldier was charged under the name Frederick Wright, they appeared wearing a veiled hat, a wig and makeup, and told the court they wished to be known as Kathleen Woodhouse.The soldier had already appeared in court earlier that year after attempting suicide, which was illegal at the time. They had been ordered to enlist in the army. When arrested for a second time, they had told police: “I wish I had been a woman, as I love wearing beautiful clothes and all my tastes are feminine.”Queer Lives is at the Tower of London from 18-24 February 2023. Continue reading...
Behind in the polls, the former PM has resorted to a no-holds-barred attack on his presidential rival, Petr PavelThe former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš faces a potentially career-defining reckoning this weekend when voters deliver their verdict in a presidential election that polls indicate he could lose heavily.The combative Babiš, who together with his ally the outgoing president, Miloš Zeman, has dominated the central European country’s politics over the past decade, is up against a decorated military figure, Petr Pavel – a retired general and former Nato second-in-command – in a head-to-head runoff that many observers see as pivotal to the future of Czech democracy. Continue reading...
But reporting from inside China during the lunar new year period suggests rates of infection and fatalities exceeding official reportsChina’s health authorities have said the Covid wave is past its peak, with rapid decline in both severe cases and deaths in hospitals, but experts remain wary of the government’s official data.According to China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), the number of critically ill patients in hospital peaked in the first week of January, then rapidly declined by more than 70%. The number of deaths also reached its highest level that week, the data said. Continue reading...
Hindenburg Research accusations denied by Adani as ‘baseless’ while activist investor claims legal action will reveal accounting fraudThe US investor targeting Indian conglomerate Adani Group over what it claims is the “biggest con in corporate history” has dared the company to sue, given it would open the coal producer to further scrutiny.Hindenburg Research’s report has already wiped billions of dollars of value from the sprawling empire of Gautam Adani, the world’s third richest man, and drawn in the contentious Carmichael coal and rail project in Queensland. Continue reading...
Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza on Friday morning, to which Israel responded with missile strikesWashington has raised concern over the escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence after Israeli forces on Thursday killed nine Palestinians during a West Bank raid in the deadliest single day in the territory in decades.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he feared the security situation could worsen after two rockets were fired from Gaza early on Friday and Israel responded with airstrikes on the territory. Continue reading...
Conflict and economic hardship force farmers to rely on opium, with poppy cultivation rising by 33% in 2022Production of opium has flourished in Myanmar since the military’s seizure of power, with the cultivation of poppies up by a third in the past year, according to a UN report.In 2022, in the first full growing season since the military wrested control from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, Myanmar saw a 33% increase in the cultivation area to 40,100 hectares, according to the report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime released on Thursday. Continue reading...
Comedian says C of E’s position is ‘untenable’ after meeting archbishop of CanterburySandi Toksvig has said the Church of England’s position on same-sex marriage is “untenable” after a meeting with the archbishop of Canterbury.The comedian met Justin Welby after she expressed her dismay last year that he had reaffirmed the church’s 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin. Continue reading...
Mohammad Farooq, 27, from Leeds, faces charges of firearm possession and keeping explosiveA man has been charged with a terror offence after being arrested at St James’s hospital in Leeds last Friday.Mohammad Farooq faces one charge of engaging in an act of terrorism, one charge of possessing an imitation firearm, and one charge of keeping an explosive with intent to endanger life or property. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent and Severin Ca on (#687AJ)
Move follows Nicola Sturgeon telling MSPs Isla Bryson would not be detained at all-female Cornton ValeIsla Bryson, a transgender woman found guilty of raping two women before transitioning, has been moved from Scotland’s all-female Cornton Vale prison to a male facility after an intervention by Nicola Sturgeon.The first minister told MSPs earlier on Thursday that Bryson would not be incarcerated in the women’s prison “either short term or long term”, after a report saying the offender had been transferred there on Tuesday prior to sentencing prompted outrage across the political and campaigning spectrum. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose, Léonie Chao-Fong and Fran Lawther on (#6876X)
Tory chairman announces decision amid continued row over his tax affairs. This live blog is now closedThe former chancellor Philip Hammond has said he would not have accepted the job if he had been involved in an HMRC investigation.Asked by Sky News if it was “acceptable” that Nadhim Zahawi paid an HMRC penalty to settle a tax dispute while in charge of the Treasury, Hammond said:My own personal view is that I would not want to accept the office of chancellor if I was at that time involved in a live negotiation of an outstanding tax case with HMRC.If he was aware of these issues, then I think the question falls at his door. Why did he appoint somebody to this role who clearly was not in a position to carry out that function?”Carelessness is a concept in tax law. It can be relevant to how many back years that we can assess, can be relevant to whether someone is liable to a penalty and if so, what penalty they will be liable to for an error in their tax affairs. There are no penalties for innocent errors in your tax affairs. So if you take reasonable care, but nevertheless make a mistake, whilst you will be liable for the tax and for interest if it’s paid late, you would not be liable for a penalty. But if your error was as a result of carelessness, then legislation says that a penalty could apply in those circumstances. Continue reading...
National Audit Office finds ‘extraordinary waste’ along with failures of governance, oversight and financial controlsThe Department of Health has wasted a total of £15bn on unused personal protective equipment, Covid tests and vaccines, prompting heavy criticism from the Whitehall spending watchdog.The department spent £8.9bn during 2020/21 and another £6bn last year on such supplies, including masks and gowns for NHS staff that have proved unuseable and are now being burned. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#687TX)
Daniel Harris faces jail after being convicted of publishing terrorist material from his grandfather’s house in GlossopA teenage extremist from Derbyshire inspired the suspect accused of killing five people and wounding 17 others in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the US, a judge has been told.Daniel Harris, 19, is facing jail after being convicted of publishing far-right terrorist material from his grandfather’s spare bedroom in Glossop. Continue reading...
Senior civil servant admits budget of £220,000 for ex-PM to defend claims he misled parliament could riseBoris Johnson could get more taxpayers’ money to cover extra legal support as the inquiry into his Partygate denials drags on, it has emerged.The cost of helping the former prime minister defend himself over claims he misled parliament about law-breaking parties during Covid “could potentially exceed” the current £222,000 budget, a senior civil servant admitted. Continue reading...
Outlet declared ‘undesirable’, with journalists, sources and donors facing threat of prosecutionRussia has declared the news outlet Meduza an “undesirable organisation”, in effect outlawing one of the country’s best-known sources of independent reporting on the Kremlin and war in Ukraine.Meduza, founded by Russian journalists in Riga, Latvia, in 2014, was declared an undesirable organisation by the general prosecutor’s office on Thursday for “posing a threat to the foundations of the Russian Federation’s constitutional order and national security”. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#687R0)
Actor is suing White Lantern Films and SMC Speciality finance for fee for A Patriot but two firms are countersuingThe Hollywood actor Eva Green has been unfairly portrayed as a “diva” by producers and financiers in an attempt to shift blame for the collapse of a sci-fi film in which she was supposed to star, the high court has heard.The former Bond Girl is suing White Lantern Films and SMC Speciality finance for her $1m (£807,000) fee for A Patriot but the two companies are countersuing, alleging that Green pulled out of and breached her contract. Continue reading...
The fourth season of the critically acclaimed HBO series about a tumultuous media conglomerate family will return on 26 MarchThe Roy family is back and seemingly as dysfunctional and cutthroat as ever. A new teaser trailer for Succession, the popular show from British creator Jesse Armstrong, suggests the media conglomerate-owning, billionaire family’s travails and scathing power struggles will continue in the fourth season, which HBO announced will return in March.The trailer finds the Roy siblings – futile presidential candidate Connor (Alan Ruck), former golden boy Kendall (Jeremy Strong), puerile Roman (Kieran Culkin) and scheming daughter Shiv (Sarah Snook) – in turmoil following their failed coup in the third season finale and their father’s proposed sale of the company to tech mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). Continue reading...
Former security official Viktor Yahun says Ukraine’s SBU agency has long been overly close to Russia’s FSBRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesThe arrest of a high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence agent accused of spying for Russia has highlighted the urgent need for a cleanout of the country’s key security service, a former deputy head of the agency has said.The Ukrainian security service (SBU) reported on Thursday that they arrested a lieutenant colonel in their ranks on suspicion of “high treason” and published a photograph of bundles of cash found in his home. Continue reading...
Kyron Hibbert, who couldn’t swim, died in Stewartby lake during last summer’s heatwaveA “happy, cheeky, funny, intelligent” 13-year-old boy drowned when he jumped from a rope swing over a lake during last summer’s heatwave, a coroner has heard.Kyron Hibbert, who could not swim, disappeared under the water of Stewartby lake as his friends tried vainly to save him. His body was recovered early the following morning, the inquest heard on Thursday. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#687EB)
Co-chair of memorial foundation says urgency of need to start work has increased given number of survivors dyingLord Pickles, co-chair of the body overseeing a new £100m UK Holocaust memorial, said he is “desperate” to finally start building, given the dwindling number of survivors.On Wednesday, the prime minister said he would legislate to work around a court ruling preventing the memorial and learning centre being erected on the Grade II listed Victoria Tower Gardens beside the Houses of Parliament. The scheme has been in development since 2014 but has been mired in controversy. Continue reading...
High street banks have now announced 87 closures so far this year – see full list of NatWest closures belowNatWest is to shut another 23 branches in England and Wales, adding to a raft of high street banking closures already announced this month.The sites will close in the first half of this year. The bank said the closures were due to more customers moving to mobile and online banking. Continue reading...
About 7,500 Spanish Republicans who fled to France were deported to Mauthausen camp in AustriaWhen, on 5 May 1945, two tanks from the US army’s 11th Armored Division finally rolled into Mauthausen, one of the camp’s prisoners caught a glimpse of himself and his fellow inmates in their liberators’ faces.“Before their eyes,” recalled Alfonso Maeso, “marched a dismal procession of men devastated by years of suffering, massing before them, some whispering, others sobbing inconsolably.” Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff and Peter Walker on (#6878B)
Jim Harra says his officials will help ‘in any way we can’ with ethics inquiry into Tory chair’s tax affairsThe head of HM Revenue and Customs has told MPs there are “no penalties for innocent errors” in relation to tax affairs, raising further questions about the circumstances that led to the Conservative party chair, Nadhim Zahawi, being fined by the tax office.HMRC’s chief executive, Jim Harra, said his department did not penalise taxpayers who were deemed to have taken “reasonable care”. Continue reading...
Geza Tarjanyi accused of attack on former health secretary and two public order offences, police sayA man has been charged with assaulting the former health secretary, Matt Hancock, on the London underground.Geza Tarjanyi, 61, from Leyland in Lancashire, will appear in court next month, accused of common assault and two public order offences, British Transport Police (BTP) said on Thursday. Continue reading...
Mark Wedgwood traverses territory covered by every one of the 204 Landrangers and says none of his trousers fit any moreBeloved by armchair explorers and outdoors enthusiasts alike, Ordnance Survey’s Landranger maps have inspired countless adventures.But for one keen cyclist they sparked a challenge that is almost certainly a first: riding across every map in Great Britain in a journey of more than 7,000 miles (11,250km). Continue reading...
String of mishaps of cantankerous subway system could throw a wrench in Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidential aspirationsSmoke filled the subway station, the tunnel turning gray in the choking haze as hundreds of passengers were evacuated from the train. More than a dozen were treated for smoke inhalation, the authorities said, after a short circuit apparently caused the wafting fumes.The incident on Monday, which soon billowed across Mexican social media, is just the latest in a string of mishaps on Mexico City’s cantankerous subway system which have left more than two dozen people dead – and potentially thrown a major wrench into the presidential aspirations of the capital’s mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum. Continue reading...
Progress in key areas has stalled because of Covid, conflict and the climate crisis, but peaceful nations are performing betterAfrica is less safe, secure and democratic than a decade ago, with insecurity holding back progress in health, education and economic opportunities, according to an assessment of the continent.The Ibrahim index of African governance, which examines how well governments have delivered on policies and services, including security, health, education, rights and democratic participation, said Covid had contributed to the stalling of progress over the past three years. Continue reading...
Dr Farbod Akhlaghi argues that everyone has a right to ‘self authorship’, which is violated even by well-meaning adviceGiving friends and relations advice about crucial life choices such as whether to take a new job or start a family is immoral, according to a new paper by a Cambridge philosopher.Dr Farbod Akhlaghi, a moral philosopher at Christ’s College, argues that everyone has a right to “self authorship”, so must make decisions about transformative experiences for themselves. Continue reading...
by Luke Henriques-Gomes Social affairs and inequality on (#68772)
Pub chain Mantle Group under under pressure to ‘negotiate a fair dinkum EBA’ after ‘zombie’ deal replaced by ‘another substandard agreement’, union says
by Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro on (#68773)
São Paulo registry office snubs music star Seu Jorge’s choice for newborn son, despite far more unusual names being acceptedAs the country that produced footballers called Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira and Élvis Vieira Araújo, Brazil is no stranger to unconventional – albeit familiar-sounding – names.A scan of the names of the far-right vandals who were arrested for storming government buildings in Brasília earlier this month confirms the Brazilian penchant for eye-catching monikers. The list throws up a Bach and a Mozart, as well as a Ditter Marx and creative twists on more conventional first names, such as Marileide (Mary Lady), Rosemeire (Rosemary), and Dawydy (David). Continue reading...
Study reports one in 40 primary schools in England produce entire classes likely to earn more than their peersNever mind getting a place at Oxbridge – a child’s future earnings can be significantly improved by the quality of their teachers at the age of four, according to new research.The researchers used Department for Education (DfE) databases to connect adults’ earnings to the reception classes attended. The results highlight the outsized influence of early years’ education, finding that one in 40 primary schools in England produce entire classes likely to gain more money than their peers. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Political correspondent on (#6875B)
Suella Braverman pushing plan to change law on nitrous oxide as part of crackdown on antisocial behaviourThe Home Office is preparing to introduce a long-mooted ban on the sale or possession of nitrous oxide, one of the most popular recreational drugs among young people, as part of a wider crackdown on antisocial behaviour.The plan is being pushed by the home secretary, Suella Braverman, according to officials, and would lead to people found with laughing gas, which is usually inhaled from balloons filled via small metal cylinders, facing prosecution. Continue reading...
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