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Robert Habeck says ‘half of our eggs were in the basket of Putin’ but Germany is now recovering capacity

New programme for primary school pupils will teach them about different jobs, training and skillsPrimary school pupils as young as five and six are to be the target of a new careers programme in England encouraging them to think about future jobs early, the government has announced.Children in years 1, 2 and 3, between the ages of five and eight, will be given age-appropriate lessons designed to introduce them to different careers, training and skills, and inspire them about the world of work. Continue reading...

Callum Baker-Osborne, 18, drowned after rescuing three young relatives caught in riptide and letting sister reach safety in 2021 incidentAn 18-year-old man sacrificed his own life by letting go of his older sister in the sea having just saved his two nephews and a niece from a fierce riptide off the Dorset coast, an inquest heard.Callum Baker-Osborne was exhausted after swimming to the rescue of the three young children and briefly clung on to his sister, Samantha Osborne-Ward, for help. Continue reading...

Bakery chain to pay shop staff at least £10.60 an hour after price of sausage rolls went up to £1.20Greggs has handed a 10% pay rise to workers as it warned of “material cost inflation” that prompted a third rise in the price of its sausage rolls in a year.The bakery chain said its shop workers would be paid at least £10.60 an hour from 1 January up from £9.62 brought in last year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Harry writes in autobiography Spare of being told he was ‘living the life she couldn’t … the life she wanted for you’In his highly anticipated autobiography, Spare, Prince Harry describes how his sadness over the death of his mother, Princess Diana, led him to seek help from a woman who “claimed to have ‘powers’” and to be able to relay a message.“You’re living the life she couldn’t,” Harry says the woman told him. “You’re living the life she wanted for you.” Continue reading...

Regulator is looking into allegations of unlawful advertising of the drug amid huge demand

Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris says sorry after account posts ‘deeply unpleasant stuff’A second cabinet minister has said they fell victim to hackers and was forced to apologise after their Twitter account posted a series of offensive tweets about race, sexuality and gender identity.Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, said others temporarily gained access to his account and posted some “deeply unpleasant stuff”. Continue reading...

Two drivers in hospital after alleged ‘high-speed accident’ at four-way intersection near Shepparton

Police allege Mariam Raad knowingly entered ‘declared area’ of Syria in 2014 to be with her husband, who had joined the terrorist organisation

He calls himself a misogynist – and has millions of followers. Now the former kickboxer from Luton turned social media star has been arrested on charges that include human trafficking. What happened?Andrew Tate is everywhere and nowhere. While some may not have heard about the social media influencer, for many young people it can feel like he is all but inescapable – on chat shows, podcasts, YouTube and all over their social media feeds.Tate, a former reality TV star, is known for making controversial and misogynistic statements, while dispensing advice to his followers on how men should behave. Charities and teachers say his videos and interviews are normalising damaging attitudes towards women – but his fans insist he is misunderstood. Continue reading...

PM makes five pledges for public to judge him against, but gives little detail or timescale

Bloc recommends negative coronavirus tests from all arrivals despite warnings from Beijing of retaliationThe European Union wants all travellers from China to take pre-departure Covid tests, in response to surging levels of the virus after Beijing hastily abandoned strict controls.EU officials meeting on Wednesday in the “integrated political crisis response” format said there should be a requirement for a negative Covid test from all travellers from China, despite warnings from Beijing of retaliation. Continue reading...

Publication by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo ‘will not go without effective response’, says Tehran foreign ministerIran has summoned the French ambassador over publication of caricatures of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.The weekly magazine published dozens of cartoons ridiculing the highest religious and political figure in the Islamic republic as part of a competition it launched in December in support of the protest movement that began in Iran last September. Continue reading...

Critics warn changes will weaken supreme court and undermine country’s democracyBenjamin Netanyahu’s justice minister has unveiled the new government’s long-promised overhaul of the judicial system that aims to weaken the supreme court. Critics say the plan will undermine Israel’s democracy by giving absolute power to the most rightwing coalition in the country’s history.The justice minister, Yariv Levin, a confidant of Netanyahu’s and a longtime critic of the supreme court, presented his plan a day before the justices debate a new law passed by the government allowing a politician convicted of tax offences to serve as a cabinet minister. “The time has come to act,” Levin said. Continue reading...

Residents watched in amazement as tents, caravans and seven stages set up near village centreThe music blared for days, thumping through dozens of speakers hastily erected in the dusty fields. Against the backdrop of Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains, thousands of revellers danced while others perused stands selling homemade soap, piercings and slices of pizza from a makeshift mud oven.The illegal rave began on Friday, choking off traffic and leaving pulsating beats wafting over the nearby village of La Peza. “It was 24 hours a day of chin chin boom,” said Fernando Álvarez, the mayor of the municipality. Continue reading...

Consortium spearheaded by Direct Line founder, Sir Peter Wood, have swooped for companyA consortium spearheaded by Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood has swooped for the funeral services company Dignity in the first UK takeover attempt of the year.A subsidiary of Valderrama – a joint venture between Wood’s investment firm SPWOne and investment house Castelnau Group – has made a possible offer for the London-listed company, whose board recommended the deal to shareholders. Continue reading...

PM admits waiting times are too long as he makes five promises in new year speech

Company valued last year at £1.4bn says revenues rose almost threefold to £27mEuan Blair’s apprenticeship company, Multiverse, made a pre-tax loss of £14.2m last year – the sixth straight year of losses since the son of the former prime minister set it up in 2016.Despite the losses – including £10.9m in 2021 and just over £5m in 2020 – the company was awarded the coveted tech “unicorn” status when it was valued at £1.4bn in fundraising driven by US venture capital firms in June 2022. Continue reading...

Union leader Mick Whelan brands reported £2,000 rise per year just before latest 24-hour strike as ‘tokenism’The train drivers union has dismissed as “tokenism” a pay offer reportedly being drawn up by the government before a new strike by its members on Thursday.Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said the union had received no offer nor entered new talks, but said a possible £2,000 rise reported in the Sun “would not fly”. Continue reading...

Warnings of thousands of excess deaths this winter as official data highlights plight of most vulnerableMore than 700,000 people in England and Wales are living in homes without central heating this winter, one in 10 of whom are elderly and ill, according to figures that lay bare the plight of the most vulnerable.The new official data highlights the extreme end of the conditions being suffered by those who live in 4m homes the government rates as “non-decent” for failing to meet basic standards. Continue reading...

Defendants aged 21 and 22 ordered to stand trial on 3 July after fatal Boxing Day stabbing at Birmingham nightclubTwo men will go on trial in July for the murder of the 23-year-old footballer Cody Fisher, who was stabbed on the dancefloor of a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day.Kami Carpenter, 21, and Remy Gordon, 22, appeared at Birmingham crown court on Wednesday, where Judge Paul Farrer KC ordered a trial to start on 3 July. Continue reading...

Defence industry minister says purchase of rockets ‘largest expansion of army strike capability in living memory’ with range extended from 50km to 300km

The Victorian capital is still on track to outpace Sydney as the biggest city in Australia but Covid lockdowns slowed that growth

Umbrella body for country’s 32 councils says plans would be too costly and disruptive at time of financial crisisScottish council leaders have called for Nicola Sturgeon’s government to suspend its plans for a new national care service, in a growing battle over funding.The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the umbrella body for the country’s 32 councils, said setting up the service would be unjustifiably costly and disruptive during a time of financial crisis. Continue reading...

Crisis affects all country’s hospitals, while 838 patients wait on trolleys in wards or emergency departmentsIreland’s hospitals are reeling from record overcrowding amid what the government has called a “perfect storm” of respiratory infections.The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said on Wednesday no hospital was unaffected by the crisis and called for an “extraordinary response” from the state. Continue reading...

Michelle Donelan has reportedly written to PM saying ‘pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision’

Former prime minister wanted to scrap mandatory staff-child ratios in nurseriesLiz Truss has urged Rishi Sunak not to ditch her childcare changes aimed at helping parents struggling with rising costs.The former prime minister was aiming to scrap mandatory staff-child ratios in nurseries while increasing free childcare support by 20 hours a week, to help tackle the labour crisis. Continue reading...

UK company makes decision because of growing tensions between Beijing and the islandBrompton, the UK’s largest bicycle maker, has said it is planning to reduce its dependence on China and Taiwan for parts, amid fears of a growing military threat to the island from Beijing.The company known for its folding bikes is among a range of western firms looking to ensure they can source supplies from other countries, as concerns mount over an increase in geopolitical tensions, and even a possible future invasion of Taiwan by China, which considers it to be a breakaway province. Continue reading...

Mark Drakeford and economy minister Vaughan Gething were guests of host nation at five-star Ritz-Carlton

Paul Nowak warns action could be stepped up as he urges Rishi Sunak to facilitate pay negotiations

Exclusive: Centrica expresses ‘profound concern’ over financial resilience of some competitorsBritish Gas owner Centrica has expressed “profound concern” over the financial resilience of some of its competitors in the domestic energy market and has written to Citizens Advice to ask for support in its efforts to protect consumers.Centrica’s group general counsel, Raj Roy, has written to the charity’s chief, Dame Clare Moriarty, to voice concerns over the regulator Ofgem’s recent consultation on the financial health of energy suppliers. Continue reading...

Amount of water surging down river in one day equivalent to what Perth uses in 20 years, Bureau of Meteorology says

Sean Patterson, 33, reportedly killed by gunman while he was standing by pool at guest house in Bogue HillA British man has been shot dead at a villa in the St James parish of Jamaica.Sean Patterson, 33, a personal trainer from west London, was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head at around midday on Monday in Bogue Hill, police said. Continue reading...

Record flooding in Western Australian region forces evacuations. This blog is now closed

Fifty retail outlets to close by April but owner says ‘online business will continue to operate and will service many loyal customers’

Plans by the government to review up to 4,000 pieces of EU legislation could be delayed by the LordsMembers of the House of Lords are preparing to slow down attempts to axe thousands of pieces of European Union legislation, with some warning there is no chance of the bill passing by the end of the year as promised.Ministers have promised to review about 4,000 pieces of EU law that derive from Britain’s membership of the bloc, and have set a deadline of the end of the year to decide which ones to keep. Continue reading...

Neil Hansford says operators around Australia face pressures after a fall in patronage during pandemic

Federal police warn ‘smuggling drugs internally is idiotic’ after man, 28, charged with importing 120g of cocaine into Melbourne airportAn Irish man is behind bars after he was stopped at Melbourne airport and taken to hospital for a CT scan which allegedly revealed six Kinder Surprise capsules packed with cocaine.The passenger’s bags were searched at the international airport in late December with Australian Border Force alleging there was a positive result for the presence of cocaine. Continue reading...

Commission opens ‘regulatory compliance case’ after complaints that the charity is politically partisanThe Charity Commission has said it is “assessing concerns” about the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was at the forefront of antisemitism allegations against Labour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.The commission has opened a regulatory compliance case against the CAA, after complaints including that the charity is politically partisan. Continue reading...

Lost animal was moved to a nearby paddock where it got stuck up to its stomach in mud overnight and had to be lassoed with firefighters’ hose

Passengers advised to travel only if necessary on Wednesday, although No 10 and Network Rail optimistic about reaching deal• UK strike calendar: service stoppages in JanuaryMore disruption awaits commuters returning to work after the Christmas break on Wednesday, the second of five consecutive days of rail strikes.Once again, much of Britain’s rail network will not be operating, with only about a fifth of trains expected to run, leaving only a skeleton service for commuters on some urban and intercity lines. Continue reading...

Burial place has fallen into severe disrepair, to dismay of families of those laid to rest thereWild vegetation smothers the crumbling tombs, most of them dating back to the 1800s, that line the square beneath the imposing Chiesa Madre, or Mother Church, at Poggioreale monumental cemetery in the southern Italian city of Naples.In the middle of the square, a makeshift storage area has been installed for coffins containing retrieved skeletal remains of the dead that were flung out of burial niches after a series of collapses at multistorey marble columbariums last year. Continue reading...

The woman’s body was found after the man, 66, walked into a police station on the NSW north coast and reported concern for her welfare

Prabodh Malhotra, 71, set a course from the MCG to Sydney via Canberra which took 52 days and saw him go through four pairs of shoes

Problem appears to be limited to users in Australia and New Zealand and follows significant global outage in December

Avengers actor posts photo from hospital bed as authorities reveal more details of ‘tragic accident’ that saw star ‘run over’ by 6,500kg snow plowJeremy Renner has issued his first statement since he was hit by his own snow plow, with authorities revealing that the 6,500kg vehicle had “run over” the star of The Avengers when it began to unexpectedly roll.On Tuesday afternoon Renner, who remains in a critical condition and is being kept in intensive care, shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed to his Instagram. “Thank you all for your kind words,” the caption read. “Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.” Continue reading...

A clean sweep led by Harry Styles was an ‘astonishing’ high note for the music industry – but the domination of older songs reflected the impact of streamingFor the first time since year-end charts were introduced more than 50 years ago, British artists have made up the entirety of the year’s 10 most popular songs in the UK.Topping the biggest songs of 2022 in the UK was Harry Styles’ omnipresent As It Was; Ed Sheeran had two songs on the list, while new artists such as south London songwriter Cat Burns and Scottish dance duo LF System rubbed shoulders with Kate Bush, whose 1985 single Running Up That Hill topped the UK singles chart for the first time last year after being featured in the latest series of Netflix drama Stranger Things, having originally peaked at No 3. Continue reading...

Protracted campaign of Iranian drones to ‘exhaust’ Ukraine, says president. This live blog is now closed

Tehran parliament told plan was for national football team to defect on pitch in Qatar but plot was foiledThe UK was plotting for the Iranian national football team to defect on the pitch at the World Cup in Qatar, the minister of sport and youth has told the Iranian parliament, without providing any evidence.The sports minister, Hamid Sajjadi, told MPs the country’s enemies had attempted “the height of sedition”. He said the “Old Fox”, by which he meant the UK, had planned for Iran’s players to walk off the pitch at specified moments and seek to defect. Continue reading...

Some firms cut capacity by 20% to match supply and demand as custom fades, bills rise and government support dwindlesPubs and restaurants face a “perfect storm” of challenges this year as cash-strapped consumers slash spending and the government reduces its energy bills support – forcing many to cut their opening hours.The industry faced a plethora of challenges in 2022, including soaring energy bills, staffing shortages, rampant food inflation and fragile consumer confidence. Continue reading...