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The only member of the US rock band to appear on all of its albums, Rossington survived the 1977 plane crash that killed several of his bandmatesGary Rossington, the Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist and the last surviving original member of the band, has died at the age of 71.No cause of death was given for Rossington, who died on Sunday, nearly four months before the band was set to embark on their next tour. Continue reading...

Ideas that future conflicts would be economic or fought in cyberspace have been proved wrongIt was Boris Johnson who declared, in November 2021, four months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that “the old concepts of fighting big tank battles on the European landmass … are over”. Today, dozens of destroyed Russian tanks dot Ukraine’s eastern Donbas fields near Vuhledar, smashed, rusting emblems of a traditional heavy warfare that has returned to Europe.Events have moved fast since Russia invaded last February, but it is worth restating how far planning for conventional war had gone out of fashion before then. Although it was recognised that Russia was a threat, the dominant military thinking was that the goal of authoritarian regimes was “to win without going to war”, as then chief of general staff Sir Nick Carter said in September 2020. Continue reading...

Smoke enters cabin of US Boeing 737 after nose and engine were struck during departure of flight 3923 for FloridaA US jetliner taking off from Cuba had engine trouble after hitting birds and returned to Havana for an emergency landing on Sunday, Cuban authorities said.Smoke entered the cabin of the plane but no one was injured in the incident involving Southwest Airlines flight 3923 to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said the airline and the Cuban civil aviation authority, Cacsa. Continue reading...

Regulator finds firm did not inquire as to source of Gavin Fineff’s funds and instead ‘provided attractive bonuses’

Coalition ‘concerned government is putting fingers on the scales’ and independent David Pocock says information should be fact-checked

Her Reform party secured 31% against far-right’s 15% but Kallas must now form a coalition to governThe Reform party of Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, secured first place in Sunday’s parliamentary election, a result that should ensure Tallinn remains one of Europe’s most staunchly pro-Ukraine governments.Results with 98% ballots counted showed the far-right EKRE party in second place, with 16.1% versus 31.5% for Kallas’ liberal group, reflecting concerns among some voters over the rising cost of living in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Rail employee, who was in post for only four days before the accident, addressed court for seven hours over disaster in which 57 people diedGreece’s prime minister has apologised for the worst rail accident in the country’s history as a station master facing multiple charges including involuntary manslaughter was remanded in custody after giving testimony in court.Amid mounting protests prompted by the disaster, magistrates unanimously agreed that the 59-year-old should be detained pending trial. The employee, described by the Greek media as being in post for only four days before Tuesday’s tragedy, has not been named publicly. He appeared in court in Larissa, the city where the doomed locomotive last stopped before ramming, head-on and at high speed, into a freight train using the same track. Continue reading...

Prime minister’s proposed legislation aimed at stopping Channel crossings branded ‘a joke’ by a former ministerRishi Sunak is facing criticism that his proposed laws on small boat crossings will be unworkable and lead to tens of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution being locked up.The prime minister is set to publish new legislation this week aimed at detaining and deporting all those who enter the UK via small boats crossing the Channel. Continue reading...

Cabinet secretary warned Matt Hancock that public unlikely to follow then PM on Covid isolation rulesSimon Case, the most senior civil servant in the government, described Boris Johnson as “nationally distrusted figure” and warned that the public were unlikely to follow rules around isolation if they were set out by him.The remarks were published as part of the latest tranche of the more than 100,000 private WhatsApp messages involving the former health secretary Matt Hancock sent at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which have been leaked to the Daily Telegraph. Continue reading...

Eastern Ukrainian city has been mostly reduced to rubble during longest and bloodiest battle of the invasion

Yellow warnings for snow across part of Scotland, possibly leading to the coldest temperature of the year so far on MondayYellow warnings for snow across parts of Scotland have been brought forward as Arctic air moves over the country and down to northern England, possibly leading to the coldest temperatures of the year so far.The Met Office said temperatures could drop below minus 10C on Monday night on higher ground in northern Scotland, with northerly winds making it feel even colder. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Total amount given to campaign groups around the UK passes £500,000 since 2020Black Lives Matter UK have released a further £350,000 in funding to black-led organisations and campaign groups across the country, bringing the total money redistributed since 2020 to more than half a million pounds.BLMUK received £1.2m in donations from over 36,000 people following widespread protests during the summer of 2020.Peaks of ColourThe Blak ArkDecolonising the ArchiveUnjust UKBlack Obsidian Sound SystemBlack People TalkBlack Medics ScotlandAccount HackneyAya African Learning CommunityClass 13Reproductive Justice InitiativeAfruika Bantu Saturday SchoolOut & Proud LGBTIThe Hope Project Scotland492 Korna KlubManchester Migrant SolidarityNational Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fun Continue reading...

Daughter of Said Ferjani, who lived in UK for more than 20 years, says he has been falsely imprisoned and asks MPs to intervene

French institution targets young audiences by confronting issues of misogyny and colonialism with Paul Smith’s helpVintage floral wallpaper, wonky flyposters, green astroturf and brown kraft paper are not the usual backdrop for Pablo Picasso masterpieces.But Paris’s Picasso museum has radically reinvented its rooms to win back a younger generation that is shying away from the influential Spanish artist over controversy about his alleged cruel treatment of women and his use of African artefacts. Continue reading...

Leak has provided unique insight into how UK government operated at height of the Covid pandemicThe government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has been thrust into the spotlight after the leak to the Daily Telegraph of more than 100,000 private WhatsApp messages involving Matt Hancock.The cache of messages, which reveal private conversations between several senior politicians and officials, provide a unique insight into the way the UK government operated at the height of the pandemic. Continue reading...

Ex-PM and former international cricketer is facing charges of misusing his office to sell state giftsPakistani police served arrest warrants to the former prime minister Imran Khan to ensure his appearance in court on charges of misusing his office to sell state gifts, authorities have said, after Khan’s supporters tried to prevent police entry into his home.The election commission of Pakistan in October found the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician guilty of unlawfully selling gifts from foreign dignitaries. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Home Office documents show officers referred more than 2,000 victims of serious crimeChildren who have been sexually exploited and women who have been attacked by their partners are among more than 2,000 victims of serious crime who police reported to immigration enforcement, two government documents reveal.Between 2020 and 2022, UK police reported 2,546 victims of crimes such as domestic abuse, child sexual exploitation, adult sexual exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery to immigration enforcement, a Home Office document shows. Continue reading...

Former health secretary conspired with Dominic Cummings to remove Simon Stevens in early 2020Matt Hancock plotted to try and oust Sir Simon Stevens, a longtime thorn in the government’s side, from his role as the head of the NHS in England, the former health secretary’s leaked messages reveal.Hancock conspired with Dominic Cummings, the chief adviser to then prime minister Boris Johnson, to remove Stevens before the Covid-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020. Continue reading...

The centre-left party’s new leader is a bisexual feminist, ready to challenge authority. Some colleagues worry she is too radicalOne is bisexual, a feminist and passionately pro-European. The other is a conservative who promotes the traditional family, is against “pink quotas” and who, until she came to power last October, was a passionate Eurosceptic.The political views of Elly Schlein – the first woman to lead Italy’s centre-left Democratic party (PD) – and the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy, could not be more different. Continue reading...

Hotter overnight temperatures for Sydney and much of the north-east coast have prompted warnings about heat stress

Ensuring First Nations siblings remain in contact must also be a priority, former Victorian Aboriginal children’s commissioner says

Chris Minns says reducing government spend on third-party workers will allow the party to reinvest extra savings into health and education

Several family members of Mr A, from Iran’s Ahwazi Arab community, have been killed by security forces during the Iranian uprising

Bombing inquiry brings call from terror watchdog for franker approach at spy agencyBritain’s terror watchdog has called on the security services to ensure they promptly share any intelligence requested by MPs investigating the fallout of the Manchester Arena attack.Last week’s public inquiry concluded that MI5 had missed a significant chance to take action that may have prevented the 2017 bombing that killed 22 people. Continue reading...

Law would also place duty on home secretary to send anyone who arrives on small boat in UK to Rwanda or another countryRishi Sunak is to announce new laws stopping people entering the UK on small boats from claiming asylum, with the prime minister saying: “Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not to be able to stay.”The prime minister and his home secretary will launch the legislation this week, as part of the government’s drive to “tackle illegal migration”, one of its main priorities. Continue reading...

Explorer hid his torment as he regaled officials in Port Stanley with jokes and storiesThe marine archaeologist who headed the 2022 Antarctic expedition that discovered the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has found two previously unknown letters which describe the explorer in the Falklands while he was trying to save 22 of his men stranded on the “hellish rock” of Elephant Island.Ahead of today’s anniversary of the wreck’s discovery, Mensun Bound told the Observer that the correspondence is remarkable because there is no witness account of him in Port Stanley during this crucial period in 1916 after their ship had become trapped in ice. Continue reading...

‘Shocking’ analysis reveals only three trusts managed to treat 85% of patients within two months of urgent referralPatients are being warned of a “shocking gap in cancer care” as new figures reveal that fewer than 3% of England’s NHS trusts met a key waiting-times target last year for cancer patients to be treated within two months of an urgent GP referral.Of 125 hospital trusts in England analysed, only three (2.4%) hit the standard of treating 85% of patients within 62 days after an urgent referral in 2022. Some trusts have not hit the standard for at least eight years. Continue reading...

Queen Mary accused of ‘turning students into spies’ to gather data on academics who did not reschedule missed teachingA prestigious London university has become the first in the country to use a “student snitch form” to encourage students to report striking staff, while threatening to dock full pay for 39 days if those named fail to reschedule missed teaching.Queen Mary University of London was branded the “worst university employer in the UK” by the Universities and Colleges Union last July, after it deducted 21 days of full pay from more than 100 staff who refused to mark students’ work in June as part of a national boycott. But staff claim the university, a member of the esteemed Russell Group, has reached a new low and “destroyed trust” by “turning students into spies” to gather data on who went on strike in November and February, and which classes have not been rescheduled. Continue reading...

Rust, leaks and broken glazing – and high repair costs – have been blamed for plan to shut ‘world-class’ venueWhen the National Glass Centre in Sunderland was opened by Prince Charles in October 1998, it was hoped that the £17m glass and steel building would help revitalise the city’s waterfront and serve as an enduring monument to its industrial heritage.It received £6.9m of national lottery funding and houses installation spaces and resident glass-makers. It was cited as a “world-class cultural asset” in Sunderland’s 2021 UK City of Culture bid, and was the venue of a government cabinet meeting on the first day of Brexit. The centre also houses the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. Continue reading...

Workers urged to mobilise against far-right groups as senior Tory politicians are accused of demonising refugeesSome of Britain’s biggest unions have accused the government of being “complicit” in attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers, and are urging members to “mobilise” against far-right groups seemingly emboldened by the rhetoric of senior Tory politicians.The first big intervention by trade unions on the increasingly politicised issue follows comments on Friday by the Conservative party’s deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, who said he had sympathy with people protesting outside hotels. Continue reading...

Officers responding to alleged domestic violence attack were threatened by man with two knives, police say

Economic crisis prompts renowned artist’s foundation to award special rescue grants for 50 artists totalling £100,000Henry Moore, the son of a coalminer, would never have created great works of art if he had not received a gift of financial aid as a young man.A survivor of the battlefields of the first world war, he returned to his hometown of Castleford, West Yorkshire, believing he would become a school teacher. But the intervention of a former art mistress led him to apply for an ex-serviceman’s grant. Continue reading...

Historian and TV presenter is among those to speak out as protest grows over settler violence against PalestiniansBritish Jews must speak out over the “complete disintegration of the political and social compact” that underpins the state of Israel, the historian Simon Schama has said.His call comes amid mounting disquiet among Jews in the UK and the US at the threats to Israeli democracy, violent attacks on Palestinians and a police crackdown on Israeli protesters. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak faces calls for inquiry into whether medical evidence was ignored before the launch of his £849m initiativeRishi Sunak faces calls for an inquiry into whether Treasury officials buried or ignored evidence that his £849m “eat out to help out” scheme fuelled the spread of the pandemic.Officials dismissed a Warwick University study in October 2020 that said Sunak’s initiative may have caused a significant rise in Covid-19 infections. The report estimated 8%-17% of detected new clusters could be linked to the scheme. Continue reading...

State’s attorney general, Jaclyn Symes, says Andrews government has ‘no plans to weaken the laws’ for offenders who pose a serious community safety risk

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Prime minister received hero’s welcome as state opposition pledged $93m to hire 1,000 apprentices and trainees in the public sector

March helps draw to a close 17-day festival, which will wrap up on Sunday evening with a concert in the Domain

The teenager was swimming with two friends when they lost sight of him, while a man’s body was found at a lake in Melbourne’s outer east

Jim Chalmers has accused shadow treasurer of waging a ‘ridiculous scare campaign’ that doesn’t stand up to the facts

Passengers will be hit by biggest increase in ticket prices since 2012Train passengers will be hit by the largest increase in fares for more than a decade on Sunday despite record levels of poor reliability.Fares in England and Wales will rise by up to 5.9% on average, adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of many annual season tickets. Continue reading...

Interactive map designed to help people ‘find activities, events and celebrations nearby’, says culture secretaryThe public has been encouraged to share how they will celebrate King Charles’s coronation – whether it is attending a street party or sitting in the pub all day – on a digital map set up by the government.People will be able to share events they are hosting over the coronation weekend from 6 May to 8 May such as coronation big lunches and volunteering activities in an attempt to foster local community spirit. Continue reading...

First class stamp £1.10 from April and second class 75p as firm predicts £450m operating lossThe cost of a first class stamp will rise to £1.10 early next month, Royal Mail has announced, breaking the £1 barrier for the first time.The company said it would increase the price of a first class stamp by 15p from 3 April, a year after it went up by 10p to 95p. The price of a second class stamp is also going up, by 7p to 75p.The secondary headline on an earlier version of this article gave the incorrect price for second class stamps. This has now been corrected. Continue reading...

Government set to publish legislation that will prevent people who cross Channel from claiming asylumNew powers to crack down on small boat crossings in the Channel are expected to be announced by the UK government next week.The legislation, promised as part of efforts to tackle illegal migration, is understood to likely be launched by Rishi Sunak and the home secretary, Suella Braverman. Continue reading...

Sergei Lavrov says Moscow ‘trying to stop’ war in remarks at India’s Raisina Dialogue conference

Party chair also says taxpayers should not foot bill for former PM’s legal fees during Partygate inquiryThe Labour chair Anneliese Dodds has said Boris Johnson should face “political repercussions” if he is found to have misled parliament, as fresh evidence emerges over lockdown parties.A cross-party interim report into Partygate released on Friday found there was significant evidence that Johnson misled MPs over lockdown parties and that he and aides almost certainly knew at the time they were breaking rules. Continue reading...

Rafael Grossi to meet president to ‘relaunch dialogue’ on nuclear programme, says source, following discovery of 83.7% enrichmentThe UN nuclear watchdog chief has said he has had “constructive” meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran after the discovery of uranium particles enriched to near weapons-grade level.The two-day visit by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, comes as the Vienna-based organisation seeks greater cooperation with Iran over its nuclear activities. Continue reading...

Charity urges Jeremy Hunt to spend more on social care, as it warns of ‘tragedies behind closed doors’Thousands of older people have died without getting the care they needed, a charity has said.Age UK said it was “deeply concerned” about the plight of elderly people whose needs are not being met and urged the chancellor to direct more resources towards social care. Continue reading...

Exclusive: British-Iranian man says he was attacked after protesting against an assault on a teenage girl by security servicesThis story contains graphic imagesA British-Iranian health worker who joined anti-regime street protests in Tehran still has five shotgun pellets lodged in his body after being fired at repeatedly by Iranian security forces at point-blank range.It is thought the security officers were using shotguns to fire buckshot cartridges containing multiple pellets that then spread through the victim’s body. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Several NHS organisations have asked unqualified medics to provide support during strikes later this monthUnqualified medical students are being urged to provide clinical support in English hospitals when tens of thousands of junior doctors go on strike this month, the Guardian can reveal.The NHS faces the prospect of unprecedented disruption to services from 13 March when junior doctors strike for 72 hours in an increasingly bitter row over pay, morale and safe staffing levels. Continue reading...