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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...

Pub chain Mantle Group under under pressure to ‘negotiate a fair dinkum EBA’ after ‘zombie’ deal replaced by ‘another substandard agreement’, union says

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...

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...

Explosions and air raid sirens as one official says air defences shot down 15 cruise missiles heading to Kyiv

Paramedics administered CPR to 10-year-old, as Bureau of Meteorology issues severe thunderstorm warning for eastern NSW

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Attendees at the Sydney rally say the strong opposition to the voice to parliament by organisers was shaping how they will vote

Several bids are understood to have been made for assets of failed electric vehicle battery startupThe battery startup Britishvolt owed as much as £120m to creditors when it collapsed last week in a major blow to hopes of sustaining the British car industry, it can be revealed.Creditors are expected to recover a very small proportion of the debts, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, although there are understood to be several bids for the company and its assets. EY, a professional services firm, is handling the administration. Continue reading...

MSF charity reports 33% rise in malnourished patients at giant Dadaab complex after influx from drought-stricken SomaliaMalnutrition among children in one of the world’s largest refugee camps has surged over the past year as concerns grow at worsening conditions at the site in Kenya.Médecins Sans Frontières said its health facility in Dagahaley, a camp in the Dadaab refugee complex, has treated 33% more patients – mainly children – for malnutrition over the past year, while the rate of malnourishment in the camps grew by 45% in the last six months of 2022. Continue reading...

Journalist and activist Claudia Jones among five women whose life and legacy will be marked by English HeritageThe woman described as the “founding spirit” of the Notting Hill carnival is to be commemorated with a blue plaque at her former London home this year.Claudia Jones, a feminist, political activist and journalist who was born in Trinidad in 1915, is one of five women whose achievements and legacy will be marked by English Heritage. A sixth blue plaque will commemorate the violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Continue reading...

With Australia increasingly uneasy about celebrating its national day, recognition of Indigenous people in the constitution has become a new flashpointTens of thousands of people have marked Australia’s national day by attending protest rallies in cities across the nation, amid a rising political and social reckoning with the country’s colonial history.Australia Day – 26 January – commemorates the landing of the British First Fleet of convicts at Sydney Cove in 1788, the beginning of the settlement that entrenched European colonisation of the Australian continent. Continue reading...

It is claimed 6,543 Russian personnel have surrendered since the hotline launched in September 2022More than 6,500 Russian military personnel have sought to surrender through a bespoke “I want to live” hotline, Ukraine’s government has claimed, with the call centre said to have been recently moved to a secret location to avoid Moscow interference.Vitaly Matvienko, spokesperson at the department for prisoners of war, said those who had made contact through the service had been verified as serving in the Russian forces using their personal data and service number. Continue reading...

Campaigners say bloc’s plan to use development aid, trade policy and access to visas as ‘leverage’ fails to put human rights firstThe European Union could use development aid, trade policy and access to visas as “leverage” over non-EU countries that are deemed to be failing to take back their citizens denied the right to stay in Europe, according to a draft communique seen by the Guardian.The EU’s 27 national leaders could endorse a plan at a summit in Brussels next month to use “all relevant EU policies, instruments and tools, including development, trade and visas as well as opportunities for legal migration” as “leverage” over migrants’ countries of origin. Continue reading...

Thousands sign petition calling for better postnatal care amid concerns over conditions in maternity unitsControversy is mounting in Italy over conditions in hospital maternity units after a newborn is believed to have died by suffocation under the weight of his mother who fell asleep after breastfeeding him.An investigation is under way into the tragedy, which occurred at the Sandro Pertini hospital in Rome on 8 January. The results of the autopsy are expected within 60 days. Continue reading...

Arrest of 32-year-old, reportedly Mark Horne, ends a nationwide manhunt that started last October

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the decision by western allies but urged speed in the delivery of new weaponry

Roiland, who has pleaded not guilty, will no longer work on Hulu shows Solar Opposites or Koala Man, as well as being dropped from Rick and MortyJustin Roiland has been dropped from two more animated shows, Solar Opposites and Koala Man, after being charged with felony domestic violence against a former girlfriend, a day after he was dropped from hit series Rick and Morty.US network Hulu announced on Wednesday that it had “ended our association with Justin Roiland”, a day after Rick and Morty distributor Adult Swim released a similar statement saying he would no longer voice the titular characters or work as showrunnner. Continue reading...

Co-chair of Indigenous voice to parliament co-design group says proposed body is ‘first step’ to First Nations contributions to policymaking

Environmentalists are giving England’s newly announced post-Brexit subsidies system a cautious welcome

Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused of orchestrating mass wiretaps of political allies and foesThe leader of Greece’s main opposition party has tabled a motion of no confidence against the government, accusing the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, of orchestrating mass wiretaps of political friends and foes.“For the past six months, Greek society has been witness to disclosures of an inconceivable number of phone taps, the deepest deviation from rule of law that the country has seen in its modern history,” said Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the leftist Syriza party, as he submitted the motion. “We have a historic duty to act.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Insiders believe depth of inquiry and severity of some claims means deputy PM will struggle to keep jobDominic Raab is facing a much broader bullying investigation than originally anticipated with at least 24 civil servants involved in formal complaints against him, the Guardian understands.Government insiders believe the depth of the inquiry and severity of some of the claims means the deputy prime minister will struggle to survive in post, and throws further doubt on Rishi Sunak’s judgment for having him in such a senior position.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or by emailing jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

President lauds ‘unflagging commitment to Ukraine’ as officials approve 31 M1 Abrams tanks to add to Germany’s 14 Leopard 2A6sJoe Biden has approved sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a significant escalation in the US effort to counter Russian aggression as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront falls away.The reversal of the US’s previous position came after Germany confirmed it will make 14 of its Leopard 2A6 tanks available for Ukraine’s war effort, and give partner countries its permission to re-export other battle tanks to aid Kyiv. Continue reading...

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Politicians, campaigners and UN special rapporteur concerned by case of Isla Bryson, who offended before she had transitionedPoliticians, campaigners and a UN special rapporteur have all expressed grave concerns that a transgender woman found guilty of raping two women before transitioning is being remanded in a female prison.Opponents of the Scottish government’s gender recognition reforms – which the UK government has blocked from going for royal assent because of “safety issues for women and children” – said that the case vindicated their concerns about lack of safeguards in the bill. Continue reading...

Police say 61-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting ex-minister at Westminster stationA man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting Matt Hancock on the London Underground.The former health secretary and reality TV contestant is not thought to have been hurt in the incident, but his spokesperson said it was an “unpleasant encounter”. The alleged assault began on Tuesday morning at Westminster station before continuing on a busy tube train. Continue reading...

Sudden restart of investigation sets off developments leaving doubts justice for victims will be deliveredMore than two years since the huge explosion that levelled Beirut’s port and horrified the world, a blazing row has broken out that has seen Lebanon’s leading judges file charges against each other and all suspects in the stalled investigation released.The surprise moves come after Tarek Bitar, the judge tasked with investigating the blast, suddenly resumed his work. The probe had been stalled for more than a year, opposed by the country’s political factions, which have shown no interest in delivering justice for the 202 people killed and the hundreds more maimed. Continue reading...

YouTuber who posted videos on how to be an alpha male knifed woman 80 times and tried to kill her new partnerA self-styled expert in “seduction” and “masculinity” has been jailed for life for the murder of his ex-girlfriend in a town outside Paris in 2020.Mickaël Philétas, 41, a former French railworker who retrained as an aerobics coach and posted videos online about living the life of an alpha male, was found guilty of stabbing to death his 34-year-old ex-girlfriend at her home in Ecquevilly. Continue reading...

Labour MP on trial for fraud ‘appeared to be on some sort of substance’, says former caseworkerA former Labour MP held a constituency staff meeting where he was gurning, grinding his teeth and “talking a million miles an hour”, a court has heard.Jared O’Mara “appeared to be on some sort of substance,” said Kevin Gregory-Coyne, a former caseworker for the MP. Continue reading...

The group behind the awards faced widespread criticism after nominating the young star of FirestarterThe organisers of the Razzie awards have removed the 12-year-old actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong from the worst actress category after backlash.The young actor, also known from Black Widow and The Tomorrow War, was included in the annual list of worst of the year nominees for her performance in the thriller Firestarter, a remake of the Stephen King adaptation starring Drew Barrymore. Armstrong was 11 at the time of filming. Continue reading...

Campaigners welcome vote by MSPs to close loopholes they say were smokescreen for illegal foxhuntingAnimal welfare campaigners have hailed the decision by the Holyrood parliament to toughen anti-hunting laws as a wake-up call to Westminster.Màiri McAllan, the Scottish government’s environment minister, said chasing and killing a wild mammal with a dog had “no place in modern Scotland”, as MSPs voted 90 to 30 for the hunting with dogs bill, which aims to close loopholes 20 years after a ban on foxhunting was first put in place, in 2002. Continue reading...

German chancellor’s hesitation about sending Leopard 2 vehicles finds sympathy among public

Hindenburg Research says world’s third-richest person, Gautam Adani, is pulling ‘largest con in corporate history’More than $9bn (£7.3bn) was wiped off the fortune of companies partly owned by the world’s third-richest person, after an activist investor accused him of “pulling the largest con in corporate history”.Shares in listed companies tied to Adani’s empire Adani Group lost $9.4bn in market value on Wednesday after short seller investment firm Hindenburg Research published a detailed investigation into accusations of “brazen stock manipulation”, “accounting fraud” and “money laundering.” Continue reading...

We would like to hear what parents and carers have planned for the school break in FebruaryIn February, school aged children across the country will break for the half term holidays.As the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze families’ budgets, we want to know how you plan to keep your kids occupied. Maybe it is a visit to your local library, or a sports camp to fit with your work schedule. Continue reading...

Washington joins Berlin in agreeing to send tanks – but offer will only go so far to keep Russians at bay

Exclusive: Solicitors launch case on behalf of civil servant dismissed after calling for resignation of cabinet secretaryA GCHQ employee who was sacked after calling publicly for the resignation of the UK’s most senior civil servant during the final weeks of Boris Johnson’s government is launching a legal claim under whistleblowing legislation.The former mandarin of 17 years, known as Stuart, was forced out of his job at the spy centre after using a radio interview with James O’Brien to demand that the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, step down. Continue reading...

Nurse denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others at neo-natal unit in ChesterA “smiling” nurse offered to take photographs of a baby soon after murdering her on the fourth attempt, a court has heard.Lucy Letby, 33, is accused of harming the newborn by injecting air into her feeding tube and bloodstream before she died at the Countess of Chester hospital on 23 October 2015. Continue reading...

Convicted triple killer sought asylum in UK while on run from murder charges in SerbiaA convicted triple killer who sought asylum in the UK has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years after murdering an aspiring Royal Marine outside a Subway takeaway shop.Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was on the run from murder charges in Serbia when he arrived in the UK, but his violent past went undetected and he even managed to dupe officials into believing he was 14 – up to six years younger than his actual age. Continue reading...

Key Putin ally who founded Wagner mercenaries tried to ‘subvert sanctions and silence journalist’, says Pat McFaddenThe Treasury is reviewing its procedures after the Russian founder of a mercenary army was given permission to circumvent sanctions to attempt to silence a British journalist.The Treasury minister James Cartlidge said changes could be made after an outcry over the case, which the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, called an “unconscionable” decision to make it easier for Yevgeny Prigozhin to pursue an unfounded claim. Continue reading...

Berlin’s decision could unlock offers from Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland and Norway to provide German-made machines

Coca-Cola claimed juice was healthy despite toxic ‘forever chemicals’ levels ‘hundreds of times’ above federal limits, suit saysA new class-action lawsuit in the US alleges Coca-Cola and Simply Tropical fruit juice deceived customers with claims of an all-natural, healthy product when the juice has been found to be contaminated with toxic PFAS at levels “hundreds of times” above federal advisory limits for drinking water.PFAS are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of consumer products resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and they are linked to cancer, fetal complications, liver disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders and other serious health issues. Continue reading...

Australian peak GP body says ‘overall picture’ of patients’ health will be lost if Medicare changes split care across multiple providers

Entonox gas and air is safe for pregnant women but exposure to staff over long periods could pose health riskA hospital in Harlow has withdrawn painkilling gas and air for women because of the air quality of its maternity unit after high levels of nitrous oxide were found.The Princess Alexandra hospital in Essex is the latest to withdraw the treatment. The Health and Safety Executive is already investigating Basildon hospital amid concerns over staff exposure to high levels of nitrous oxide used in Entonox. Continue reading...

Delays, cancelled flights and dangerous road conditions possible, with 24 flood warnings in placeFlooding and travel disruption has been forecast as cold temperatures continue to set in across southern England.The Met Office said on Wednesday: “Mist, fog and freezing fog – including freezing drizzle – will be slow to clear across southern parts of England this morning.” Continue reading...

Move leaves British Museum and Science Museum isolated as arts institutions with fossil fuel sponsorsCampaigners have hailed a “seismic shift” in arts funding after the Royal Opera House confirmed it had severed its sponsorship relationship with BP after more than three decades.The oil and gas multinational has been a sponsor of the ROH since 1988, most recently under a five-year deal that began in 2018. However, in a statement on Wednesday the opera house said there had been an “agreement” that the funding would not be renewed. Continue reading...

Olaf Scholz confirms decision after weeks of pressure, with Berlin providing 14 tanks and allowing partners to re-export others

Labour leader and SNP make reference to former non-domiciled status of PM’s wife at question time in Commons

Mark Rowley tells London assembly that police bracing for corrupt officers in court until 2025 as ‘systemic failings’ rooted outThe commissioner of the Metropolitan police has predicted that “two to three” officers a week will face trial for crimes such as violence against women and dishonesty, as he said hunting down wrongdoers in the ranks would be long and painful.Mark Rowley was speaking after the scandal of the Met officer David Carrick, convicted last week of 85 rapes and serious crimes despite repeated reports to the force that he was a potential danger to women. Continue reading...

Nick Sands, the brother of Julian Sands, who has been missing for 12 days in California, has said ‘I know in my heart that he has gone’A brother of Julian Sands, the actor who went missing while hiking in California almost two weeks ago, has spoken of his fears that his sibling may not be found.In an interview with Yorkshire paper the Telegraph & Argus, Nick Sands, a financial adviser who still lives and works in Gargrave, the North Yorkshire town where they grew up, has detailed the regular trips home his brother would make, which often involved considerable amounts of hill-climbing. Continue reading...