World news | The Guardian

Daylight saving comes to an end on Sunday, as much of Australia’s south-east coast enjoys a well-deserved sleep in

Two more people found on Friday as authorities says dozens of Indian and Romanian migrants have been crossing through Mohawk territoryThe bodies of eight people believed to have died trying to cross from Canada into the United States have been found in the past two days, authorities said on Friday, including two children.Six people, described as members of two families of Romanian and Indian descent, were found on Thursday in a marshy area of the St Lawrence River, which forms part of the Canada-US border. And on Friday, the bodies of two more migrants were found, bringing the death toll to eight, according to police in the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne.Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

26-year-old man from an Arab village in southern Israel had grabbed and fired officer’s gun after being stopped for questioning, say policeA man detained near al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was shot dead after he grabbed an officer’s gun and fired it, police said.They identified the man as a 26-year-old resident of Hura, an Arab village in southern Israel. Continue reading...

West Lindsey council launches legal action, saying decision to use RAF Scampton for up to 2,000 asylum seekers is ‘irrational’West Lindsey district council has launched legal action against the Home Office to challenge the decision to use a local Royal Air Force station as a site for asylum seeker accommodation.It follows an announcement by the immigration minister on Wednesday to use RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire as a site for up to 2,000 asylum seekers. Continue reading...

Penny Sharpe says ‘there’s no place’ for Latham’s behaviour, while MP Alex Greenwich says he is ‘clearly unfit for office’

Joe Biden calls on Moscow to free US journalist, ‘absurdity’ as Russia takes charge of UN security council, and Bucha atrocities remembered Continue reading...

Messages newly released in Dominion Voting Systems defamation case show media mogul discussed when to call Trump’s defeatRupert Murdoch took a direct role in how Fox News finally called the 2020 US election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, newly unredacted messages in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation case showed on Friday.“It would be great if we call it for Biden as soon as he gets over, say, 35,000 ahead in Pennsylvania,” Murdoch, the now 92-year-old Fox News owner, wrote to the network’s chief executive, Suzanne Scott, on 6 November 2020, three days after election day but a day before Pennsylvania put Biden over the top. Continue reading...

Bucharest court of appeal rules in favour of divisive social media influencer who has spent months in a Romanian jailAndrew Tate, the divisive social media influencer who has spent three months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal along with his brother to be moved from detention to house arrest.The Bucharest court of appeal ruled in favour of their appeal, which challenged a judge’s decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days. Continue reading...

P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways say sailings hit by bad weather, surge of Easter getaways and border control hold-ups in FranceThe Port of Dover has declared a critical incident as high levels of traffic caused lengthy delays for coach passengers.P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways also reported delays to ferry and coach services, citing bad weather and hold-ups at French border controls. Continue reading...

Quebec authorities announced six people were in custody for criminal harassment, intimidation and forcible confinementPolice in Canada have arrested members of a vigilante “pedophile-hunting” group, charging them with distribution of child abuse images, amid frustration over the group’s controversial tactics.Quebec police announced on Thursday that six people had been arrested as part of an investigation into a group that had drawn complaints from the public. Continue reading...

Kashif Anwar is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed and her unborn child by pushing her from hillA woman walking on Arthur’s Seat on the night a husband is alleged to have pushed his wife off the Edinburgh hill claimed the alleged victim told her he had pushed her, a court has heard.Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, and her unborn child in September 2021 by pushing her from the landmark. Continue reading...

NUJ members’ 24-hour stoppage on 5 May will coincide with the reporting of poll resultsBBC journalists in England have announced a second 24-hour strike, to run from midnight on 5 May to coincide with the reporting of local election results, in a dispute over cuts to local radio.The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the broadcaster’s management want local radio stations to share programmes across the network from 2pm on weekdays and at weekends, going from more than 100 hours of local programming on every station each week down to 40. Continue reading...

Putin preparing for ‘forever war’; Ukrainian parents hiding their children in basements; Finland clears final hurdle to Nato membership

Giovanna Lewis, Amy Pritchard and Paul Sheeky were part of group who glued themselves to road in City of London in 2021Three climate protesters who stopped traffic to bring rush-hour chaos to the City of London are facing a retrial.Giovanna Lewis, 65, a councillor from Dorset, Amy Pritchard, 37, a horticultural worker and Paul Sheeky, 46, a screenwriter, were part of a large group of Insulate Britain protesters who glued themselves to the ground and blocked traffic between Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street on 25 October 2021. Continue reading...

Charles and Camilla also remembered the Kindertransport children, during a state visit to GermanyKing Charles and Germany’s president have lain wreaths in remembrance of the victims of the second world war, in the ruins of a bombed-out church in Hamburg.The monarch joined President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, to leave floral tributes at St Nikolai memorial church, whose spire was a landmark used by bomber crews during the conflict 80 years ago and has since become a monument against war. Continue reading...

Justice secretary, who denies bullying allegations, oversaw a toxic atmosphere, ex-staffer saysDominic Raab is “100% a bully”, and also took no steps to intervene in bullying by others, a former Foreign Office official has said in the latest accusations against the justice secretary and former foreign secretary.The claims, reported by ITV News, came as Rishi Sunak declined to say why an independent inquiry into Raab’s behaviour had not yet reported back after more than four months, or if he would sack Raab if it uncovered misconduct. Continue reading...

Margaret Barnes, 71, entered home of David Redfern and got into his bed while staying in Barmouth, GwyneddA “cowardly bully” has been jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years in prison for murdering a 71-year-old woman who mistook his home for a B&B and got into his bed.Margaret Barnes had been visiting Barmouth in Wales from her home in Birmingham when she mistook her accommodation for the home of David Redfern, a few doors away, Caernarfon crown court heard. Continue reading...

‘Nonno Mario’ avoided paying by nipping in behind prepaid Telepass customers before barrier descendedAn 80-year-old Italian man nicknamed “Nonno Sprint” (Granddad Sprint) risks going on trial after he brazenly dodged paying €4,000 (£3,514) worth of motorway tolls using a technique more frequently reserved for metro fare hoppers.In his Fiat Punto, the man, whose real name is Mario, “travelled far and wide” on Italy’s motorways for two years without paying a single euro, arguing that the charges were too pricey and not worth it for the poor service, according to Corriere della Sera. Continue reading...

Employment experts say proposals are ‘departure from established norms and treaty obligations’Rishi Sunak’s new anti-trade union legislation would make the UK one of the most difficult countries in the democratic world in which to go on strike and may breach treaty obligations, a group of top employment lawyers have said.The 10 academic experts in employment law said the proposed laws to enforce “minimum service levels” in sectors such as health, transport and schools would make the UK an “international outlier” among comparable countries. Continue reading...

Former Paralympic and Olympic star was automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half his sentenceThe former South Africa athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp 10 years ago.Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, when he fired four times through the bathroom door of his high-security house in February 2013. The parole board’s decision was taken at a hearing at the correctional facility on the outskirts of the capital, Pretoria, where the 36-year-old is being held. Continue reading...

Pedro Sánchez encourages dialogue between Xi Jinping and Ukrainian president during China visit

Paul Hinchcliffe, 46, imprisoned for eight months for sexual assault during night outA police officer who pulled down a woman’s top and photographed her breasts during a night out has been jailed.Paul Hinchcliffe, 46, was sent to prison for eight months on Friday by a judge who told him his behaviour “betrays your fellow officers who do a decent, committed job, and makes women mistrustful of the police force”. Continue reading...

Artists have lived in area since 1968 and community hopes museum will bring more visitors to the areaDespite their striking two-piece suits and longstanding artistic credentials, Gilbert and George don’t draw much attention from passersby as they stroll down London’s Brick Lane.George Passmore, 81, and his husband, Gilbert Prousch, 79, have lived in the area since 1968. They work as a piece of living sculpture, the idea being that everything they do is art, and they are very much part of the local community. On Saturday, they will open the first permanent site for their work, in a former industrial building on Heneage Street just a stone’s throw from their home and studio. Continue reading...

Boys arrested in connection with death of 82-year-old woman who was robbed at her home in PakefieldTwo teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murdering an elderly woman who died after she was robbed at her home.The 14-year-old and 15-year-old, from the Lowestoft area, were being held after the death of Joy Middleditch, 82, who lived in Pakefield, Suffolk constabulary said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: England on track to become first country to eliminate disease after landmark deal for new drugsMore than 200 children in England have been cured of hepatitis C in a world-first treatment programme on the NHS that is likely to eradicate the disease.Hepatitis C is a devastating virus that can infect the liver. Left untreated, it can cause life-threatening damage, including liver cancer. Amid global concern over the disease in recent years, the World Health Organization tasked every country with eliminating it by 2030. Continue reading...

Incident at Peacock theatre in London comes amid growing concerns about antisocial audience behaviourA performance of the musical Bat Out of Hell in London’s West End was halted for several minutes on Thursday evening due to a disruptive audience member who eventually left the venue before the show continued.One theatregoer told the Guardian that “it got a bit heated” and that swearing in the audience could be heard over the music. An argument occurred in the stalls after several people had been singing along with the actors. The show came to a stop, the houselights were brought up and the cast left the stage as security staff dealt with the incident and other audience members chanted “out, out, out”. Continue reading...

Decision against Milan city council is part of broader government attack on LGBTQ+ people, says European parliamentThe European parliament has condemned Italy’s conservative government after it demanded that a council stop registering the children of same-sex parents, in its first move to restrict LGBTQ+ rights since taking power.MEPs said they feared the move against Milan city council, which until recently had been transcribing children born overseas to same-sex couples via surrogacy or IVF into its civil register, was “part of a broader attack against the LGBTQI+ community in Italy”. Continue reading...

Helen McCabe joins from BP where she worked alongside Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic

Staff at outsourcing firm resort to radios, pen and paper as they are unable to access computers and emailComputer systems have abruptly stopped working at the outsourcing group Capita, triggering fears that the company that runs crucial operations for the NHS and the military could be under cyber-attack.Staff are understood to have been unable to access IT systems since Friday morning, and an early investigation has yet to establish the cause. Continue reading...

Venue that helped launch careers of many actors forced to close after losing £1.8m Arts Council England grantOne of Britain’s oldest theatres, the Oldham Coliseum, will close “on its own terms” on Friday night, its artistic director has said, with a star-studded final show.The 138-year-old venue has been forced to close after losing its £1.8m government subsidy in a move decried by leading arts figures. Continue reading...

Stoppage by 1,400 members of Unite union mainly affects Terminal 5 and is due to last until Easter Sunday

Worshippers in Indore fell into communal water source as they gathered to mark Ram NavamiAt least 36 people have died after the floor of a Hindu temple collapsed in Indore, central India, plunging them into a well.It has emerged that the floor which covered the stepwell – a stair-lined communal water source – consisted only of tiles laid over a metal grille. Continue reading...

The 7.30 political correspondent will sit on the broadcaster’s board alongside chair Ita Buttrose. This blog is now closed

Even if deceased man Aubrey Donahue had a knife, ‘he hasn’t got a knife like Crocodile Dundee’, says Prof Gracelyn SmallwoodFor Prof Gracelyn Smallwood, a late-night phone call about another Aboriginal man being shot and killed by police was the final straw.Aubrey Donahue, 27, died after being shot four times by police, who say he advanced on officers while armed with a knife in Mareeba, west of Cairns, on Saturday. Continue reading...

UK supermarkets heavily reliant on strawberries from southern Spain, where workers allege they are regularly underpaid, have passports withheld and are forced to live in unsanitary shacksAbusive conditions are endemic in parts of Spain’s fruit sector, a new report alleges, with workers telling the Guardian they have been regularly underpaid and forced to live in dilapidated shacks.During the winter, at least 60% of strawberries eaten in the UK are likely to be from vast farms across the south-west Spanish province of Huelva. In 2020, the UK imported €310m (£272m) worth of the fruit from the Andalucia region, of which 91% is believed to be grown in Huelva. Continue reading...

Monthly rotation of presidency of 15-member council has been unaffected by Ukraine warIn Ukraine, Moscow is pursuing an unprovoked war of aggression. In The Hague, Vladimir Putin is facing an arrest warrant for war crimes. But at the UN, Russia is about to take charge of a powerful international body, the security council.From Saturday, it will be Russia’s turn to take up the monthly presidency of the 15-member council, in line with a rotation that has been unaffected by the Ukraine war. Continue reading...

US security spokesman says new evidence suggests Moscow offering food to ‘rogue’ nation in return for dozens of kinds of weapons and munitions

Tsai Ing-wen’s trip causing controversy in China, with the government labelling it a ‘provocation’Chinese officials have warned of “serious” consequences if Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, meets the US House speaker next week, after Tsai arrived in New York to crowds of supporters and protesters.Tsai is stopping in the US twice during her 10-day visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize. Her itinerary has not been disclosed and none of the events were open to the public or media. Continue reading...

Christopher Elgifari, 31, is alleged to have stolen the delivery van, whose 54-year-old driver is in a critical conditionA man has been charged with attempted murder after a delivery driver was hit by his own stolen van and left fighting for his life.Christopher Elgifari, 31, is alleged to have stolen a white van from the 54-year-old victim on Tuesday in Cardiff, south Wales. Continue reading...

Court hears Kashif Anwar, accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed in Edinburgh, had told her it would be ‘OK’ if she died in childbirthA man accused of murdering his wife by pushing her from Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh was overheard in hospital telling her that if she died in childbirth it “would be OK” because he “would be free”, a court has heard.Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of killing Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021 by pushing her from the peak in Holyrood Park, causing her multiple blunt force injuries that led to her death and that of her unborn child. Continue reading...

Several arrest warrants requested after video emerges which appears to show guards leaving as fire engulfs a cell with migrants locked insideThe deaths of at least 39 migrants in a fire at a Mexican detention centre are being investigated as suspected homicides, a prosecutor has said, accusing those in charge of doing nothing to evacuate the victims.Authorities faced mounting scrutiny of their handling of the disaster after video surveillance footage appeared to show guards leaving as flames engulfed a cell with migrants locked inside. Continue reading...

Inspectors say ‘deeply troubling’ behaviour found at fire and rescue services across England may be ‘tip of the iceberg’Every fire brigade in England is plagued with bullying, harassment and discrimination complaints, a damning report has found, and officials have called for drastic measures to clean up the service.Inspectors urged bosses to carry out background checks on every firefighter, with those who fail being sacked, after long-awaited findings shone a light on “deeply troubling” behaviour in the emergency service.A senior officer accused of calling a black colleague the N-word dismissing it as simply “having a laugh”.A firefighter reporting a superior for making a racist comment, only to find his account dismissed because the alleged offender “wouldn’t behave in such a way”. The senior officer in question then threatened “to make his life hell”.Two male firefighters mockingly told a female colleague they were “going to rape her”, before simulating it with her.Some staff being reluctant to speak up after being told it would be “career suicide” to do so. Continue reading...

Terry Sanderson experienced ‘sudden and precipitous change’ following 2016 ski collision in Utah resort of Park City, lawyers sayThe eight-member jury in the Utah ski crash trial involving the actor and wellness entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow and the retired optometrist Terry Sanderson has gone into deliberations, following closing arguments from the prosecution and defense.Sanderson, 76, claims the 50-year old Paltrow broke his ribs and inflicted concussion in the ski collision in 2016. Paltrow counters that the crash was not her fault. Continue reading...

Department of Health and Social Care in England has removed 269,500 pallets of PPE from its stockThe government has disposed of more than 3bn items of personal protective equipment (PPE) it bought during the pandemic, figures have revealed.An estimated 3.14bn items have been shed through a mixture of recycling, energy from waste processes – including some incineration – donations and sales. Continue reading...

Publisher pays tribute to ‘genius’ who was an ‘inspirational leader’Peter Usborne, the founder of the children’s books publisher Usborne and the co-founder of Private Eye magazine, has died aged 85, the publisher has announced.He died “unexpectedly but peacefully” surrounded by his family this morning, the Bookseller reported. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDymtro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has tweeted to criticise the fact that Russia will take over chairing the UN security council on 1 April. He writes:Russian UN security council presidency on 1 April is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it is waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children. The world can’t be a safe place with Russia at UNSC. Continue reading...

Final evaluation of Unboxed science and arts festival finds it delivered on its economic objectivesAt a cost of £116.8m to the taxpayer, it was hoped that the Unboxed science and arts festival would bring the UK together in a post-Brexit love-fest and enhance our international reputation – to “showcase what makes our country great today”.The final evaluation has found that the festival, commissioned by Theresa May in 2018 and named a “festival of Brexit” by Jacob Rees-Mogg, brought together a fraction of the audiences initially hoped for. It nevertheless met later, radically downgraded predictions and delivered on its economic objectives. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bosses of childcare firm part owned by PM’s wife were at No 11 reception hours after he was quizzed by MPs about linksBosses of the childcare firm at the centre of a Rishi Sunak conflict of interest row attended a Downing Street reception just hours after he was pressed by MPs over his links with the provider, the Guardian has learned.Koru Kids, which lists the prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty as a shareholder and is expected to benefit from major changes announced in the budget, was understood to be present at a No 11 reception for the education sector on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

US secretary of state Antony Blinken issues strongly worded statement after arrest of Evan GershkovichAntony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has condemned Russia’s arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as Moscow was accused of engaging in “hostage taking” by arresting a high-profile journalist who could be used as leverage in a potential prisoner swap.“In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress and punish journalists and civil society voices,” Blinken said in a statement. Continue reading...

Executives helped Sergei Roldugin deposit millions of francs in Swiss accounts between 2014 and 2016Four bankers who helped Vladimir Putin’s close friend Sergei Roldugin move millions of francs through bank accounts in Zurich have been convicted of financial crimes in Switzerland.The four were found guilty on Thursday of failing to carry out proper checks on financial transactions involving Roldugin’s accounts with the Swiss branch of the Russian bank Gazprombank. Continue reading...