World news | The Guardian

Government yet to overhaul family worker exemption, which permits live-in staff to be paid less than national minimum wageCampaigners are calling on the government to close a minimum wage loophole, two years after the independent Low Pay Commission warned that it allowed vulnerable migrant workers in private homes to be exploited.The commission (LPC) was asked by the government to examine the family worker exemption, which permits employers to pay domestic staff less than the national minimum wage if they live-in and are treated like a member of the family. Continue reading...

Security minister denies only route for women’s rights activist from Iran is via a boat across the ChannelThe security minister, Tom Tugendhat, has defended the government’s illegal migration bill, swerving repeated questions on whether there were any safe and legal routes for refugees from countries such as Iran to come to the UK.The bill, which will see asylum seekers who come to the UK via “illegal” routes deported, has come in for harsh criticism from the former prime minister Theresa May and others, but Tugendhat said the government was determined to end the suffering caused by traffickers. Continue reading...

Creation of £63m fund comes after Guardian reveals loss of almost 400 swimming pools since 2010England’s floundering swimming pools are to be offered a lifeline in the budget with the creation of a £63m fund to ease cost pressures.On Wednesday, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, will outline that the new money will be made available for one year and managed by Sport England. Continue reading...

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Some traders are even pricing in a cash rate cut in Australia later this year, a position that had little support just a week ago

Foreign minister set to visit south-east Asia and the Pacific to reassure countries Australia does not seek to escalate military tensions

Yeoh also made first on-screen appearance while in Australia in 1980s – in a Guy Laroche watch advertisement alongside Jackie ChanMichelle Yeoh on Sunday became the first Asian woman to win best actress at the Academy Awards – but an Australian broadcaster has since unearthed archival footage of the actor at a beauty pageant at a Melbourne community festival in 1984.Yeoh, who was born in Malaysia, was studying at London’s Royal Academy of Dance in the early 1980s when a spinal injury forced her to return home. Continue reading...

Steve Barclay accused of ‘wasting months’ by failing to meet unions and being dismissive of their demands for improved payJunior doctors’ leaders have blamed Steve Barclay for triggering their three-day strike this week by ignoring their concerns and being “dismissive” of their demands for improved pay.Hospitals in England functioned effectively on Monday, the first day of the stoppage, with consultants – senior doctors – covering work usually done by junior colleagues. Many thousands of trainee medics refused to work, forcing hospitals to cancel outpatient appointments and operations. Continue reading...

Activists fear a systematic ‘witch-hunt’ against sexual minorities by parliament, police and religious conservativesA dramatic surge in attacks on LGBTQ+ people in Uganda has been recorded by rights groups this year, as the environment for sexual minorities turns increasingly hostile.More than 110 people reported incidents including arrests, sexual violence, evictions and public undressing, to advocacy group Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) in February alone. Transgender people were disproportionately affected, said the group. Continue reading...

Some members of Tikrit’s Sunni population feel they still unjustly bear the legacy of dictator’s brutal reignPerched on a cliff above the Tigris River, Saddam Hussein’s half-destroyed palaces loom over his home town of Tikrit, the deserted grounds bearing the traces of invaders come and gone. American soldiers etched the date of their 2003 arrival into the sand-coloured walls. A decade later, Islamic State dug mass graves in the hilly soil and blew up part of the complex.Far less obvious than the relics of Saddam’s bygone regime are the enduring rifts left in this community, the centre of power during Saddam’s rule, 20 years after the dictator’s fall. The prospect of reconciliation over his crimes has been complicated by the repeated waves of violence that have struck the country since, layering grievance upon grievance, reopening old wounds and perpetuating strife. Continue reading...

Terry Ryan says shooting could have been prevented by more proactive approach to arrest Ricky Maddison

A tweet by Gary Lineker led to his suspension by the BBC and set off a weekend of chaos in its schedules. Now with a truce agreed, Archie Bland reports on whether it can holdViewers of the BBC’s most popular football programme, Match of the Day, tuned in last Saturday to find no presenter, no commentators, no analysis and no player interviews. Instead of the slickly produced hour-plus review of the day’s Premier League action, they got 20 minutes of chopped together raw match footage and nothing else.As the Guardian’s Archie Bland tells Michael Safi, the chaos that engulfed the BBC’s sports coverage stemmed from the reaction to a tweet by the corporation’s highest-paid host, Gary Lineker. His criticism of government asylum policy led to a backlash from the rightwing press and then his suspension on Friday afternoon. Instead of carrying on without him, his colleagues began pulling out of planned programmes in solidarity and eventually the schedules had to be torn up. Continue reading...

Police investigating if incident was deliberate and say there is no further danger in the town of Amqui north of Quebec CityTwo men have died and nine other pedestrians were injured in Canada, after they were hit by a truck on Monday, police said.Quebec police spokesperson Helene St Pierre said a 38-year-old man had been arrested and investigators were looking into whether the incident in the town of Amqui, north of Quebec City, was deliberate. Continue reading...

Leader Chris Hipkins also surged in preferred prime minister rankings after reorientation towards ‘bread and butter issues’New Zealand’s governing Labour coalition has pulled ahead in a new poll, putting it closer to staying in government after the upcoming election than it has been in a year.It is the second poll this month to show strong results for Labour or the Greens, with support for the coalition parties rallying after the government coordinated national disaster responses, grappled with extreme weather events, and announced that it would be abandoning parts of its policy agenda to focus on economic issues. Continue reading...

Allowing mother and child, who was crying, to remain during closing remarks would distract jurors, judge says

Two Johns Hopkins professors say loanDepot lowballed them by nearly $300,000 on their Baltimore home due to their raceThe Department of Justice on Monday intervened in a federal lawsuit alleging that an appraiser and a mortgage lender discriminated against a couple who are both Johns Hopkins University professors by significantly lowering the value of their Baltimore home and denying a loan because they are Black.In response to a pending motion to dismiss the lawsuit by the mortgage lender, loanDepot, justice department civil rights attorneys filed a “statement of interest” in a federal district court in Maryland arguing that the case raised significant questions about appraisal racial bias, noting that President Joe Biden had identified the issue “as a priority for the federal government”. Continue reading...

Launch comes days after Pyongyang fired two ‘strategic’ missiles in an apparent protest over Washington-Seoul military drills

Professor predicts further outages as Labor attacks NSW government over $670m maintenance backlog

Programme spent £2.7bn between 2016 and 2021 but is fragmented and lacks a clear rationale, report saysBritain’s aid programme to India is fragmented, lacks a clear rationale and does little to counter the negative trends in human rights and democracy in the country, the government’s aid watchdog has found.The findings are likely to be used by those who claim the UK government risks using its aid programme to deepen its relationship with India, including seeking free trade deals, rather than attempting to reduce poverty, which is the statutory purpose of UK aid. Continue reading...

Prison specialising in people convicted of violent crimes was changed into a category C training prison in OctoberA prison which specialised in people convicted of violent crimes has been “thrown into chaos” by a policy change introduced by Dominic Raab’s Ministry of Justice to cope with a national rise in inmate numbers, an official watchdog has found.HMP Aylesbury was “suddenly and without sufficient consultation, notice or support” changed into a category C training prison in October, the chief inspector of prisons said.Only four out of every 10 prisoners went into settled accommodation on release from custody.Just 8% of those available for work went into employment.Recall rates were high, with 30% on average being returned to custody – four in 10 of these were within 28 days of being released.There is an 30% shortfall of full-time employed probation officers in post against the required staffing level of 6,160. Continue reading...

‘Staggering’ figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show that less than 1% of those accused have been sackedMore than 1,500 police officers have been accused of violent offences against women and girls over a period of six months, and less than 1% have been sacked, according to new figures.Overall, 1,483 unique allegations were reported against 1,539 police officers – or 0.7% of the workforce. There were 1,177 cases of alleged police-perpetrated violence, including sexual harassment and assault, reported between October 2021 and April 2022, according to data from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Continue reading...

Exclusive: Home secretary’s ‘racist’ immigration plans condemned by former Tory campaignerSuella Braverman should consider her position for putting forward “cruel and heartless” immigration policies that discriminate against war refugees of colour, a former Home Office adviser has said.Nimco Ali, a one-time Conservative campaigner who in December left her job as an adviser on violence against women, said the home secretary was “the wrong person not just for the Conservative party but for the country”. Continue reading...

Opposition amendment to stop the government barring small boat arrivals claiming asylum defeated by 312 votes to 249Junior hospital doctors in England started a 72-hour strike this morning. My colleagues Denis Campbell and Aubrey Allegretti have the story.This morning Prof Philip Banfield, the chair of the BMA’s council, claimed that, paradoxically, hospitals could be safer than normal, because elective operations won’t be taking place and because more senior doctors, consultants, would be covering for the doctors on strike. He told the Today programme:What is going to happen over this next three days is that we are going to see senior doctors – I don’t like the words junior and senior, this is just a level of experience and training – so we’re seeing consultants and specialist doctors cover.They will stop, or should stop, their elective work and actually the NHS is maintaining a great deal of elective work. So we should see that the service is safe. In fact, actually, we should see it is even safer than normal.Because the care is going to be given by consultants, consultants seeing patients, doing things that they normally wouldn’t do. Continue reading...

Kate Forbes and Ash Regan describe author, who opposed Nicola Sturgeon’s gender recognition reforms, as ‘brave’ in TV debateTwo of the candidates seeking to be the next leader of the Scottish National party have described author JK Rowling as a “national treasure” despite her branding their predecessor Nicola Sturgeon a “destroyer of women’s rights”.Kate Forbes and Ash Regan who are vying with Humza Yousaf to become the next first minster, both described Rowling as “brave” when asked on a Sky News leadership debate on Monday evening about the Harry Potter author, who has made regular, often highly personal, interventions in opposition to Sturgeon’s gender recognition reforms. Continue reading...

Chancellor will pledge in budget to create 12 investment zones in eight areas ‘to drive business investment’Tech hubs clustered around universities in England will benefit from almost £1bn in extra funding as part of a range of measures in the budget on Wednesday to boost business investment in the regions.The chancellor will make the pledge to create 12 investment zones in eight areas “to drive business investment and level up” the country, each backed with £80m of government funding. Continue reading...

Mexico’s president pushes back against US critics of his security record after kidnapping near the border that left two dead

‘Rotational forces’ of US and UK nuclear-powered submarines set to visit Australia from 2027 as part of landmark pact

Corporation’s reinstatement of Match of the Day presenter described as a ‘capitulation’The BBC’s leadership was facing renewed pressure on Monday after the corporation U-turned to bring Gary Lineker back to Match of the Day, cancelling the presenter’s suspension without requiring him to make any significant concessions.Three days after Lineker was taken off air for criticising the language used by ministers when discussing the government’s asylum policy, Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, announced an independent review of the corporation’s social media guidelines. Continue reading...

Disgraced pop star was released in February after serving half of an eight-year sentence for sexually abusing three girlsThe paedophile former pop star Gary Glitter has been recalled to prison after a breach of his licence conditions, the Probation Service has said.Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was released in early February from HMP The Verne, a low-security category C jail in Dorset, after serving eight years of a 16-year sentence for sexually abusing three schoolgirls. Continue reading...

PM responds to news he will pay tens of thousands for local electricity grid upgrade to meet power demandsRishi Sunak has rejected suggestions he is detached from the everyday concerns of the public after it emerged his new heated swimming pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded to meet its power demands.The Guardian revealed that, while many Britons are trying to limit their energy use in the face of increased electricity bills, extra equipment had been installed in North Yorkshire to provide more capacity from the National Grid to Sunak’s constituency home. Continue reading...

David Simmonds says rules were complied with after his local party association received thousandsA Tory MP is facing questions over issues he raised in the House of Commons about a constituent’s business interests after his local Conservative association received thousands in donations.Labour has said David Simmonds should justify the comments after it was revealed he received a £1,500 ticket to a Tory fundraiser from a local businessman whose hotel supplies firm he had asked a parliamentary question about. Continue reading...

ICC expected to open two war crimes cases; Xi Jinping planning to visit Putin in Moscow and also to speak to Zelenskiy

In The Abuse of Power, former PM will look at how public institutions close ranks ‘to serve themselves’Theresa May is to release a book about a series of political scandals, titled The Abuse of Power, which promises to reveal the way institutions close ranks in order to avoid dishonour.The former prime minister has never released a memoir but the book – due to be published in autumn 2023 – promises to reveal the story behind famous scandals including the Hillsborough and Grenfell tragedies, the Daniel Morgan police corruption case and parliamentary dramas. Continue reading...

Two war crimes cases to be opened over abduction of Ukrainian children and targeting of civilian infrastructure

Monarch delivers his first Commonwealth Day message from great pulpit in Westminster AbbeyKing Charles has hailed the “extraordinary potential” of the Commonwealth and spoken of the “imperative to act” on its ideals to improve the lives of its 2.6 billion people, in his first Commonwealth Day message as monarch.Delivered from the great pulpit at Westminster Abbey, Charles recalled his mother’s “particular pride” in Commonwealth Day, and said: “The Commonwealth has been a constant in my own life, and yet its diversity continues to amaze and inspire me.”Commonwealth Day was an occasion of particular pride for my beloved mother, the late queen – a treasured opportunity to celebrate our Commonwealth family, to whose service she dedicated her long and remarkable life.In succeeding Her Majesty as head of the Commonwealth, I draw great strength from her example, together with all that I have learned from the extraordinary people I have met throughout the Commonwealth over so many years. Continue reading...

Country Garden’s 2022 forecast is another blow for country’s embattled sectorChina’s top property developer expects to record a loss in 2022 – its first since the company went public in 2007 – in another blow for the country’s embattled property sector.In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, Country Garden said that the losses for 2022 would amount to between 5.5bn yuan and 7.5bn yuan (£663.6m-£904.9m). In 2021 Country Garden’s profits reached 26.8bn yuan. Continue reading...

Experiences told to sentencing hearing for Eleanor Williams on nine counts of perverting course of justiceThree men who were falsely accused of rape by the same woman said they tried to kill themselves as a result of her lies and one was twice sectioned in a psychiatric unit, a court has heard.Eleanor Williams, 22, from Barrow-in-Furness, was convicted in January of nine counts of perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...

Thomas Mayo says it is now ‘crunch time’ for Australian government’s relationship with advisory group

Parker review shows progress – but a handful of top companies still fail to bring end to all-white boardroomsNearly all the UK’s 100 largest listed companies now have at least one minority ethnic director on their boards, according to the latest update from the government-backed Parker review, which was set up to improve diversity in Britain’s boardrooms.The voluntary survey of FTSE 100 companies showed that 96% of companies in the index had at least one director from an ethnic minority background on their board by the end of 2022. Continue reading...

Director dedicates award to all political prisoners after film about Russian opposition leader wins best feature documentaryRussian liberals on Monday celebrated the Oscar win of Navalny, a documentary about the poisoning and imprisonment of “hero” Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.The film, which won best feature documentary at the Academy Awards in LA on Sunday, follows an investigation by Navalny’s team together with the Bellingcat group as they unmask FSB agents who were sent to poison Navalny in 2020. The Kremlin has always denied involvement. Continue reading...

BBC announces review of social media guidance after presenter was stood down over comments on asylum policy language

Concerns that Scotland lagging behind rest of UK as anti-abortion protests continue outside clinicsPro-choice campaigners are urging all Scottish National party leadership candidates to commit to accelerating the imposition of protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics as healthcare professionals describe the “remorseless” impact of anti-choice activity on their working lives.Amid growing concern that Scotland is trailing behind the rest of the UK, after safe access zones passed their final parliamentary hurdle in the Commons last week, there was a protest and counter-protest outside the Sandyford clinic in Glasgow at the weekend. The clinic offers a range of services including abortion, support for sexual assault victims and transgender healthcare. Continue reading...

Iwao Hakamada, 87, was convicted of four murders in 1968 but granted ‘temporary release’ in 2014 after new evidence emergedA court in Japan has granted a retrial to a man – thought to be the world’s longest-serving death row inmate – who was sentenced to hang for the murders of a family of four almost six decades ago.The Tokyo high court ruled on Monday that Iwao Hakamada, 87, should be tried again for the crimes in a decision campaigners said was a “step towards justice”. Continue reading...

Lauren Anne Cranston was arrested in 2017 along with several others including her older brother Adam Cranston, who was found guilty last week

Far from the romanticised notion of Old Havana, this project documents the city’s housing situation as a microcosm of the country’s collapse. Many buildings have collapsed or been declared uninhabitable, forcing people to live in shelters or squat in unsafe conditions while new hotels are built around themCubans face a precarious present and an uncertain future. While the government focuses on the recovery of the tourism sector, people’s living conditions are driving the largest migratory exodus in the country’s history.Inflation, the economic blockade and mismanagement mean many are unable to meet their basic needs. Continue reading...

Two weeks out from the NSW election, Victor Dominello has made a series of allegations about ClubsNSW’s influence on politics

German language war epic triumphs in the category for non-English language films• Follow the action live from this year’s ceremony!All Quiet on the Western Front has won the Oscar for best international feature film at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.The German-language first world war film is an adaptation of Erich Remarque’s landmark 1928 novel; an earlier Hollywood adaptation, directed by Lewis Milestone, won the best picture Oscar in 1930. This version, directed by Edward Berger, stars Felix Kammerer as initially eager soldier Paul Bäumer who is traumatised by life in the trenches. Continue reading...

Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartialityBBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row. Continue reading...

Tweet, now deleted, was in response to Rachel Shabi’s comments on Holocaust educationThe Board of Deputies of British Jews has apologised to the journalist Rachel Shabi after a message on its official Twitter account described her as an “asshole”.The tweet from the organisation’s account on Saturday was in response to Shabi’s comments on Holocaust education. Continue reading...

Both sides claim hundreds of enemy troops killed in past 24 hours. Follow all the latest developmentsThe Turkish defence minister, Hulusi Akar, said on Sunday that he believed the deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea will be extended from its 18 March deadline.The initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the UN and Turkey last July, was intended to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia’s invasion to be exported safely from three ports.Zakharova’s statement is noteworthy and supports several of ISW’s longstanding assessments about deteriorating Kremlin regime and information space control dynamics. The statement supports several assessments: that there is Kremlin infighting between key members of Putin’s inner circle; that Putin has largely ceded the Russian information space over time to a variety of quasi-independent actors; and that Putin is apparently unable to take decisive action to regain control over the Russian information space.It is unclear why Zakharova – a seasoned senior spokesperson – would have openly acknowledged these problems in a public setting. Zakharova may have directly discussed these problems for the first time to temper Russian nationalist milbloggers’ expectations regarding the current capabilities of the Kremlin to cohere around a unified narrative – or possibly even a unified policy. Continue reading...