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Parramatta-based developer Kotiota also made false representations about its relationship with The Pokémon Company International, court hears

Review says perceptions former PM failed on Covid and ‘was not attuned to the concerns of women’ drove result

As he received thunderous cheers and standing ovations, Ukraine’s president made a case for financial support that would ensure his country’s survivalFor a former actor and comedian, it was the curtain call of a lifetime.His address delivered, Volodymyr Zelenskiy walked up the centre aisle of the House of Representatives chamber to thunderous cheers, a standing ovation, eager handshakes and some members clamouring to touch him with almost religious reverence. One group had brought a giant Ukrainian flag. Others wore blue and yellow, the national colours. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy calls for strengthening of sanctions against Russia in address to US CongressIf you’re just joining us, we’re waiting to hear from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his first foreign visit since Russia’s devastating war on Ukraine started in March.My name is Helen Sullivan, and I’ll be bringing you the latest. You can find me on Twitter here – ask a question and I’ll do my best to answer it. Continue reading...

Exporters optimistic as Penny Wong raises trade with her Chinese counterpart but many are also wary of being ‘burned again’ by volatile diplomatic relations

Guitarist Neal Schon issues cease-and-desist order to keyboardist Jonathan Cain over performance of Don’t Stop Believin’ at Mar-a-LagoA member of prog rock band Journey has served a fellow bandmate with a cease-and-desist order for performing their hit Don’t Stop Believin’ with several high-profile Republicans for Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month, calling the performance “harmful” to the band.Keyboardist Jonathan Cain, guitarist Neal Schon and singer Steve Perry co-wrote the 1981 song, which returned to public consciousness 30 years later when it was used in the final episode of The Sopranos. Continue reading...

Missing man’s gun licence had been suspended after he left firearms at the Queensland-NSW border in December 2021

Alexander Carr, 33, arrested in London in connection with murder of 47-year-old whose body was discovered on 3 DecemberA man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 47-year-old grandmother, police said.Michelle Hanson’s body was discovered at a house in Brady Street, Sunderland, on 3 December. Continue reading...

Former committee members tell Channel 4 News investigation of efforts made to persuade them to toe lineCurrent and former members of the government’s honours committees have said they faced pressure from Downing Street to reward Tory donors, and that if they failed to comply with requests they were informed their services were no longer required, an investigation by Channel 4 News has revealed.Talking of one candidate, Sir Vernon Ellis, chair of the arts and media honours committee between 2012 and 2015, told the programme: “I felt that if he was given the honour, it would bring the honours into a bit of disrepute because people would say how can he possibly deserve this honour when in this other field there was so much kind of going on and noise and some of that was at his door, right or wrong.” Continue reading...

Weeks of negotiations conclude with what will be the most rightwing and anti-Arab government in country’s historyBenjamin Netanyahu has informed Israel’s president that he has succeeded in forming a coalition, paving the way for the swearing in of the most rightwing and anti-Arab government in the country’s history.“I have managed [to form a government],” Netanyahu said on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline set by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog. Continue reading...

US and Ukrainian presidents hold two-hour meeting before press conference, as Zelenskiy seeks more aid against Russia

Ukrainian president is meeting with president Joe Biden and Congressional leaders on Wednesday evening

The chef said he devised the recipe for ‘Britain’s favourite curry’ after a customer complained that his meal was too dryA chef who is believed to have invented the chicken tikka masala, regarded as Britain’s favourite curry, has died aged 77.Ali Ahmed Aslam’s death on Monday was announced by his Shish Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, which closed for 48 hours as a mark of respect. The eatery announced: “Hey, Shish Snobs … Mr Ali passed away this morning … We are all absolutely devastated and heartbroken.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: ‘We need to do more to improve access to and affordability of the full range of contraceptive options,’ Senate inquiry told

Ukrainian president makes first known foreign trip since invasion before vote on package worth $45bn

Natalie McNally, 32, died at her home in Lurgan after being stabbed on Sunday nightPolice have launched a murder investigation after a pregnant woman was stabbed to death at her home in County Armagh. Natalie McNally died on Sunday in Lurgan in what police have described as a “double tragedy”.DCI John Caldwell confirmed on Wednesday that McNally was 15 weeks pregnant. He said the 32-year-old had died after being stabbed a number of times and sustaining defensive injuries. Continue reading...

Leading campaigner Tim Costello ‘laughed out loud in disbelief’ at peak body claim existing restrictions ‘had the balance right’

Justine Greening argues against move to restrict number of international students at British universitiesJustine Greening, the former Conservative education secretary, has attacked Rishi Sunak’s proposals to limit the number of international students at British universities, arguing that the move could have a “severe negative impact” on the country.In a letter co-signed by 12 university vice-chancellors, Greening urges the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, to make the case against new restrictions on students said to be supported by Sunak in the wake of record levels of inward migration. Continue reading...

Intellectual Property Office says people using services such as Netflix without paying could face prosecutionMillions of UK viewers are breaking the law by sharing their passwords for services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, according to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).The IPO, which has published the new guidance in conjunction with the Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, said password sharing breaks copyright laws. Continue reading...

Home secretary also rejects claims there is public support for allowing asylum seekers to work while their claims are consideredDawn Primarolo, a Labour peer, goes next. She asks how the Home Office will streamline claims as it processes the backlog of asylum claims.Braverman says some people have been waiting more than a year. The Home Office wants to speed up processing. Continue reading...

Support comes on top of £1.1bn paid to handle collapsed energy firm’s administration costsThe UK government has committed to provide up to £4.5bn to fund the takeover of collapsed energy company Bulb by its rival Octopus.Bulb spent more than a year in a state-handled administration and its 1.5 million customers transferred to Octopus on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

Nepalese supreme court orders release on account of old age of man jailed for murders of two touristsThe Nepalese supreme court has ordered the release of the French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, known as “the Serpent”, who preyed on western tourists travelling on the hippie trail in south Asia in the 1970s and was jailed for life for the murder of an American woman.Sobhraj, who has French citizenship and is of Indian and Vietnamese descent, has been linked to the killings of 20 foreign tourists across Thailand, Nepal and India. He is said to have lured them in before drugging, robbing and murdering them. Continue reading...

Imber, on Salisbury Plain, was cleared for D-day preparations and is still under MoD controlA “ghost village” evacuated almost 80 years ago is to host what might be its final funeral for a man who lived there when he was a boy.The settlement of Imber on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire was cleared during the second world war so that the area could be used to prepare troops before the D-day landings. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Volker Türk critical of scheme he considers ethically problematic and believes government must look again at how to deal with people-smuggling gangs and the treatment of refugeesThe new UN human rights chief has urged the British government to reconsider its plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, warning that in the past similar “offshoring” schemes had led to “deeply inhuman” treatment of refugees.In his first public comments on the controversy since taking office two months ago, Volker Türk rejected prime minister Rishi Sunak’s description of the £140m deal as “common sense”, saying that as well as being legally and ethically problematic it was also “very costly” and unlikely to work. Continue reading...

Home secretary attacks rate of decision-making and does not rule out using cruise ships to house refugeesSuella Braverman has questioned the productivity of civil servants who process asylum claims and declined to rule out using cruise ships to house people seeking refuge in the UK, after admitting that the cost of providing accommodation for claimants will rise to £3.5bn this year.The home secretary told peers on Wednesday that the productivity of her department’s staff had been “too low”, resulting in caseworkers processing one case a week on average. Continue reading...

SNCF apologises to up to 200,000 passengers likely to be affected by wildcat strikes by conductorsUp to 200,000 passengers whose trains have been cancelled because of wildcat strike action by conductors over the Christmas weekend will be reimbursed double the price they paid for their tickets, the French national railway company SNCF has said.“Not being able to travel during a period like Christmas is frankly unacceptable,” Christophe Fanichet, boss of the company’s passenger transportation division, said on Wednesday. “I would like to offer the company’s apologies.” Continue reading...

A third of train services are cancelled on key northern routes, with the rail operator blaming IT issuesOne of the UK’s worst-performing railway operators issued a “do not travel” alert on Wednesday, blaming an internal computer failure which resulted in a third of all of its trains being cancelled yet again.Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, urged the government to “step in – now” after TransPennine Express (TPE) urged against all travel on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Many objected to I’m a Celebrity appearance but regulator found neither reality TV show breached broadcasting codeLove Island and Matt Hancock provided the most complained about commercial television moments of the year, as Britons once again attempted to get the media regulator to intervene in reality programmes.Ofcom, which oversees the regulation of British broadcasting, said it received the most complaints about alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the Love Island villa. This was closely followed by the former health secretary’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here – although in that case the complaints were split between people who did not think he should have been on the show and those who felt he was being treated unfairly by other contestants.Love Island, ITV2, 17 July – complaints related to alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the villa.I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, ITV, 6-27 November – viewers objected to the inclusion of Matt Hancock in the series.Friday Night Live, Channel 4, 21 October – complaints related to a performance by trans performer Jordan Gray.Love Island, ITV2, 19 July – complaints related to alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the villa.Good Morning Britain, ITV, 15 February – complaints related to comments made by Richard Madeley about death threats made to Keir Starmer.Jeremy Vine, Channel 5, 24 January – viewers complained about a health consultant’s inaccurate statement about numbers of unvaccinated people in hospital with Covid-19.Love Island, ITV2, 18 July – complaints related to alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour by some contestants in the villa.I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, ITV, 13 November – viewers objected to bullying behaviour against Matt Hancock.Fifa World Cup final 2022: Argentina v France, ITV, 18 December – complaints related to comments by Gary Neville about striking British workers.Sky News, 10 September – a Justice for Chris Kaba walk was reported as people on their way to pay tribute to the late Queen. Continue reading...

Martin McDonagh’s film receives nine nominations, one ahead of widely acclaimed father-daughter drama AftersunMartin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin consolidated its place as frontrunner in the year-end awards race after the London Critics’ Circle announced the nominations for its film awards. The Banshees of Inisherin leads the field with nine, just ahead of indie debut Aftersun which picked up eight.The Banshees of Inisherin, which reunites McDonagh with his In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson and is McDonagh’s first film since 2017’s Oscar-winning crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, is nominated for film of the year and British/Irish film of the year; Farrell and Gleeson are nominated for actor and supporting actor of the year respectively, with co-stars Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon also nominated for supporting actor and actress. Farrell is also up for British/Irish actor of the year, while McDonagh is nominated for director and screenwriter of the year. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain ‘stabbed us in the back’ after delisting products, says Proctor & AssociatesLidl is being sued for £2.6m by a fruit and vegetable supplier that claims it was wrongly cut out of deals by the discount chain in a series of moves it alleges “destroyed our business”.Proctor & Associates, which once supplied Lidl with up to 57 different kinds of fruit and vegetable, has filed a claim at the high court in which it says it had to stop trading after the German-owned discounter delisted a number of its products, including asparagus, squash, chillies, apples, plums and broccoli, without notice and poached Proctor’s suppliers. Continue reading...

Damien Bendall pleads guilty to murder of Terri Harris, her children, John and Lacey, and Lacey’s friend Connie GentDamien Bendall has pleaded guilty to the murder of a woman and three children in a series of “brutal, vicious and cruel attacks” in Killamarsh last year, which included the rape of one of the children.At Derby crown court on Wednesday, Bendall, 32, admitted murdering his pregnant partner Terri Harris, 35, and her two children from a previous relationship, John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey Bennett, 11, as well as Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, 11. He also admitted raping Lacey. Continue reading...

Judge says Home Office rule that puts those with ‘pre-settled status’ at risk of deportation is ‘wrong in law’

Committee chair says it would be ‘entirely appropriate’ for MPs to scrutinise firm linked to Tory peer while NCA inquiry continues

Health secretary says system will be ‘under severe pressure’ as thousands of workers in England and Wales strike

As an Arctic blast crosses the country, states scramble to shelter new surge of migrantsRecently arrived migrants in the US are expected to be hit hard by below-freezing temperatures forecast for much of the country, especially those making dangerous crossings or who lack reliable shelter.Almost 33 million people are under winter storm watches as an Arctic blast and major storm system hit several parts of the country, Axios reports. An estimated 27 million Americans are also under wind-chill alerts. Continue reading...

Crunch vote looms after marathon Holyrood debate in which only half of tabled amendments were discussed

Jawad Al Hussein, 41, charged over the October incident at Bevendale, west of Goulburn

Food delivery drivers must meet additional criteria in order to be eligible for rideshare

British nationals and EU spouses say they were told by Home Office that children born abroad are not eligible for British citizenshipChildren born outside the UK to a British parent in a same-sex relationship are being left stateless by the Home Office, the Guardian has learned.British nationals and their EU spouses say they have been told by the department that children born abroad to a British parent who was also born outside the UK are not eligible for British citizenship. If the UK is unwilling to issue documentation, this has the added effect of leaving some children stateless in cases of EU countries that don’t recognise two mothers. Continue reading...

Premier says police officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold dedicated their lives to being ‘a force for good’

Former PM praised as ‘the best China analyst by far’ by leading US national security council figure

ACT chief minister and attorney general have announced inquiry following claims police pressured director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC not to pursue the Lehrmann case

Archeologist says artwork was ‘unique in Australia’, calling for better protection at Koonalda Cave

Canterbury Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour tells committee he’s had a ‘target on my back’ since the pandemic

New Zealand PM features in the follow up to Netflix’s Harry and Meghan documentary that was released this monthNew Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern says she learned she would feature in Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new documentary series the day the trailer was released.Ardern featured prominently in the first trailer for 'Live to Lead, a new documentary project, which will feature “leaders committed to making a difference in the world share[ing] their inspiring life stories”. The series is a follow-up to Harry & Meghan, Netflix’s documentary series by and about the pair, released this month. Continue reading...

Hillsong founder maintains it was victim’s explicit wish for incident not to be made public or for there to be an investigation, court hears

Thousands gather in Brisbane to farewell the two constables killed in Wieambilla shooting

Twelve-hour police operation results in suspect’s arrest in Blue Mountains after Finlay-Jones’ body was found in Sydney on Sunday

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission finds deal would lessen competition and leave consumers worse off

Anomaly in dates of suspension means individuals whose reporting date falls after 2 January treated different to others