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Geoffroy de Lagasnerie says focus on friendships over relationships or family is radical act in today’s societyBuilding your life around close friendships rather than family or romance is a joyous and necessary act of rebellion, and governments should put in place Friendship Ministries to radically rethink the way society is organised, a key French philosopher has argued.Geoffroy de Lagasnerie this week publishes a manifesto for friendship, 3 Une Aspiration au Dehors, detailing his close friendship with two other writers, Didier Eribon and Édouard Louis. The three friends eat together in the evening, speak many times daily, wish each other goodnight and good morning every day and synch their schedules to make sure they prioritise friendship moments, namely meeting up for long chats. He described the friendship as the centre of their lives, “one long discussion that never ends”. Continue reading...

Contaminated earth in Almería is result of 1966 air crash involving a B-52 loaded with hydrogen bombsNearly 60 years after a midair collision dumped four US hydrogen bombs in south-eastern Spain, strewing radioactive plutonium across the landscape, Spanish officials have renewed efforts to have Washington cart off tens of thousands of cubic metres of contaminated soil to the US for storage.A source at Spain’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed on Monday that it had formally requested the US takes action to remove the radioactive earth. The request is in line with a non-binding agreement struck between the two countries in 2015 and which included a US commitment to “arrange for disposal of the contaminated earth at an appropriate site in the United States”. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak to announce funding before next week’s budget, aimed at urgently modernising military

Labour leader points to looming May elections as refugee groups condemn PM’s proposal for deporting asylum seekers

FBU members overwhelmingly accept offer, ending prospect of strikes

Fears of future blazes after health, learning and religious facilities also destroyed in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, tells Old Bailey he paid Dr Obinna Obeta £1,800 to find kidney donor for his daughterA Nigerian politician accused of organ trafficking to the UK issued an “abide by the law” instruction to a doctor who offered to find a kidney donor for his sick daughter for a fee, the Old Bailey has heard.Ike Ekweremadu, 60, former deputy president of the Nigerian senate, admitted paying Dr Obinna Obeta an initial fee of 1m naira (£1,800) in September 2021 to find a suitable kidney donor for his daughter Sonia, a postgraduate media student at Newcastle University, the court heard. Continue reading...

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says culprits should be severely punished, amid signs hundreds of girls have been treated in hospitalIran’s supreme leader has called the suspected poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls in recent months an “unforgivable” crime amid signs that hundreds of schoolgirls have been treated in hospital, many more than the regime had previously admitted.“Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students’ poisoning. This is an unforgivable and big crime … The perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. He added there would be no amnesty for those found guilty. Continue reading...

Average student debt balance has risen 10% and taking longer to pay off, affecting major life events such as starting a family

The proportion of dwellings listed for under $400 a week has more than halved to an average of just 15% across the country

Home affairs department’s submission to inquiry is the only one opposing Greens senator’s bill calling for refugee evacuation to Australia

Conservationist organisation Environment Victoria finds closing state’s coal-fired power plants will still leave substantial ‘emissions gap’

Exclusive: UK professor also says findings should be made public as with ‘every other country I’ve worked in’

Exclusive: Single mother’s struggle to enforce child custody deal leads to high court dispute over policyA single mother and domestic abuse survivor is taking the Ministry of Justice to court this week after being refused legal aid because she was deemed to have no dependents, even though she had applied for the funding to enforce a child custody arrangement.Susie (not her real name) and her abusive ex-partner initially shared custody of their son equally, but when he breached their agreement, limiting her access, she applied for legal aid to assert her rights. Continue reading...

Perrottet government to bring forward $1bn in construction work and legislate right to universal pre-kindergarten if re-elected

The constable who shot and killed Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 will be stood down, police chief tells inquest

Exclusive: Business group hires law firm to investigate alleged improprietyTony Danker, the boss of the Confederation of British Industry, has stepped aside amid an investigation into complaints about his conduct.The decision to hire a law firm to investigate him comes after the Guardian approached the CBI last week about a formal complaint that was made in January, as well a number of alleged informal reports of concerns over his behaviour. Continue reading...

Short spell of wintry conditions likely to be replaced by spring-like temperatures early next weekThis week northern Europe is likely to be plunged back into winter as temperatures are forecast to fall considerably below the seasonal norm under a very cold Arctic air mass. Meanwhile, in more southern parts of the continent, more tropical conditions will arise.The UK is likely to be on the northern boundary of these air masses, which, in combination with low pressure systems moving in from the west, could lead to some significant outbreaks of sleet and snow in places by midweek. Continue reading...

Labour leader says Boris Johnson ‘desperate’ to downplay Sue Gray’s report but refuses to say when he first approached her

Drivers say cost of upgrading colourful vehicles, a crucial part of transport system, completely unaffordableA week-long strike by drivers of Philippine jeepneys began on Monday, prompting schools and universities across major cities to suspend in-person classes, while businesses have also been urged to work from home.The local authorities in Manila, Quezon City, Marikina, Muntinlupa and Pasig City in the national capital region told schools to switch to distance learning classes due to disruption caused by the strike. The local government of Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, also called on businesses to work online. Continue reading...

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The former actor, drag performer, sex worker and radio host pulled off a surprise victory as a Labour MP and later played a pivotal role in decriminalising prostitutionFormer New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has led tributes to Georgina Beyer, the world’s first openly transgender MP, who has died.Friends announced “with the heaviest of hearts” on Facebook on Monday that the 65-year-old had died at a Wellington hospice. Continue reading...

Heritage and property groups outline plan to boost energy efficiency at historical sites to create jobs, cut emissions and meet net-zero targetsRetrofitting the UK’s historicsl buildings, from Georgian townhouses to the mills and factories that kickstarted the Industrial Revolution, could generate £35bn of economic output a year, create jobs and play a crucial role in achieving climate targets, research has found.Improving the energy efficiency of historical properties – those built before 1919 – could reduce carbon emissions from the UK’s buildings by 5% each year and make older homes warmer and cheaper to run, according to a report commissioned by the National Trust, Historic England and leading property organisations. Continue reading...

Joint committee warns that proposed laws are ‘not justified and need to be reconsidered’Controversial legislation designed to curb strike action fails to meet the UK’s human rights obligations, MPs and peers have warned.The joint committee on human rights has said the government’s proposed anti-strike laws are “not justified and need to be reconsidered”. Continue reading...

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...