Assault unit members claim in video that superiors ‘want to execute us’ after ‘huge’ losses in eastern Ukraine

Zelenskiy meets UN nuclear chief Grossi in Zaporizhzhia region; criticism mounts of Russian plan to put nuclear weapons in Belarus Continue reading...

Party leader to propose motion that will not endorse his predecessor as he vows to show Labour has changed

Exclusive: ‘Baffling’ levelling-up plan to move company to another city may lead to staff exodus, says EquityMost chorus members at the English National Opera (ENO) would be forced to leave their jobs if the company relocates outside London, because of ties that include children at school, caring responsibilities, and partners with jobs in the capital.More than two-thirds would leave the profession altogether, according to a survey carried out by Equity, the union that represents chorus members. Continue reading...

Lawyers working for Associated Newspapers successfully argue there is no justification for naming 73 journalists and executivesThe Daily Mail’s parent company has successfully invoked the Human Rights Act to stop other media outlets naming its journalists in a phone hacking court case.Prince Harry and a group of other prominent individuals are bringing cases alleging widespread illegal behaviour by reporters at Associated Newspapers. In their claims they name 73 journalists and editorial executives who have worked at the Daily Mail and its sister titles over several decades. Continue reading...

Ammar al-Khudairy’s remarks about Swiss lender spurred investor panic that led to emergency takeoverThe chair of the Saudi National Bank has resigned for “personal reasons” less than two weeks after his comments spurred investor panic over Credit Suisse that ended in an emergency takeover by its larger Swiss rival, UBS.The Saudi National Bank (SNB), which was Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder, announced on Monday that it had “accepted” Ammar al-Khudairy’s resignation, and that he would be immediately replaced by its chief executive. Continue reading...

The Creed III actor’s ads were a key element in the army’s drive to revive struggling recruitment numbersAds for the US army featuring Jonathan Majors have been pulled after the actor’s arrest.Majors, who authorities said was arrested on Saturday in New York on charges of assault and harassment, was the narrator of two ads at the heart of a broader media campaign that kicked off at the start of the NCAA’s March Madness college basketball tournament. Army leaders were hopeful that the popularity of the star of the recently released Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would help them reach the youth audience. Continue reading...

Council of Europe commissioner raises concerns that legislation may not meet human rights standards

Amendments could remove safeguards as Home Office minister says government is ‘in listening mode’Ministers appear set to at least partly give way to Conservative rebels over removing safeguards from the illegal migration bill after a Home Office minister said the government was “in listening mode”.Up to 60 Tory backbenchers are believed to be sympathetic to a series of amendments to the bill, which returns to the Commons on Monday, which would prevent judicial oversight that could stop refugees and asylum seekers from being deported. Continue reading...

Prime minister says people shouldn’t look for ‘distractions’ on voice to parliament’s ability to advise executive government

DeSantis has signaled he will sign the proposed bill, which would slam the door shut for many patients traveling to the state for careA six-week abortion ban proposed by Florida Republicans earlier this month threatens to reverberate across the American south.Following the supreme court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the federal right to abortion, Florida became a strategic refuge for women seeking to access reproductive healthcare from states that banned abortion – places as varied as Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. Continue reading...

Monday’s transport stoppages include workers at airports, railways, buses and metro linesGerman commuters face serious disruption on Monday as transport staff across the country staged a strike to push for wage rises in the face of brisk inflation.Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines throughout much of Europe’s biggest economy heeded a call from the Verdi and EVG unions to take part in the 24-hour stoppage. Continue reading...

Former mayor of Wollondilly is the only teal candidate on track to win a seat while Pittwater vote remains neck and neck

Coalition MPs say exclusion of Australian journalists from Victorian premier’s trip will force public to rely on coverage by China’s state-run media

The party has definitively won 45 seats and with leads in Ryde and Kiama, it is likely to secure the numbers to govern outright

Teo tells hearing that slap was an attempt to wake patient and was not a ‘Will Smith-type slap’

Thousands took to the streets on Sunday after Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence minister for opposing the controversial changes

Author of One Hundred Years of Solitude tops list of those most translated into 10 languages this century ahead of Don Quixote creatorThe solitary denizens of Macondo appear to have proved too much for a famously insane knight errant, according to research that shows Gabriel García Márquez has overtaken Miguel de Cervantes to become the most translated Spanish-language writer of the century so far.However, the genius who gave the world Don Quixote – and with him the first modern novel and a byword for impractical idealism – can take comfort in the fact that he remains the most translated writer in Spanish over the past eight decades. Continue reading...

Upper house MP was instead suspended for nine months after a two-hour meeting over her future

Staff reportedly complained to state librarian John Vallance about the $20,000 painting by the Australian’s Johannes Leak, which can only be viewed by appointment

Peak body says medicines should be cheaper and easier to access to save money for patients and the budget

‘Why should it be possible to do something in the virtual world that is prohibited in the real world?,’ Anna Bligh says

Crews spent several weeks learning how to operate tanks expected to be used in a Ukraine counteroffensive

NAO warns cost of station in London almost double initial budget and pause on work could push it higherThe cost of HS2’s revised and postponed London Euston terminus has almost doubled to £4.8bn since 2020, according to the the public spending watchdog, with millions wasted on botched decisions.The government announced last month that work on the high-speed line’s central London station would be paused. But the National Audit Office warned on Monday that the move would “lead to additional costs and potentially higher costs overall”. Continue reading...

Former chancellor boasted of his political career in hope of securing £10,000-a-day second jobKwasi Kwarteng told representatives of a fake South Korean firm that he could introduce them to Boris Johnson – the “best campaigner you will ever see” – in the hope of securing a £10,000-a-day second job.Kwarteng also indicated that Conservative whips would allow him to skip his parliamentary duties in order to further the interests of the fake firm, after apparently being duped by the campaign group Led By Donkeys. Continue reading...

Gender-critical activist was booed and heckled in Auckland and cancelled event in WellingtonThe anti-trans activist known as Posie Parker cancelled a planned event in Wellington and left New Zealand, after chaotic and at times violent protests curtailed an appearance in Auckland before she was able to speak in public.Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull had been due to speak in Auckland on Saturday morning. The British activist was met by crowds of pro-trans rights counter-protesters estimated to be in the thousands, substantially outnumbering the speaker’s supporters. She left the event after being booed, heckled and doused with tomato juice. Continue reading...

Although Alexander Lukashenko has agreed to host nuclear bases little construction work seems to have startedLike a lot of what Vladimir Putin says about nuclear weapons, his suggestion that Russia would start storing its bombs in Belarus may add up to less than it appears.In February last year, Putin said he was putting Russia’s nuclear arsenal on high alert, but there was no perceptible change in the country’s nuclear posture, or any unusual movements of its weapons. Continue reading...

Prime minister told to expect ‘biggest rebellion of this parliament’ as migration bill returns to CommonsLabour will seek to put Rishi Sunak’s inability to secure an EU migrant returns deal under fresh scrutiny with a vote on the government’s migration bill.The bill will return to the Commons on Monday for its committee stage, where MPs will examine it line by line over two days. The prime minister has been told to expect the biggest rebellion of this parliament, with at least 60 Conservative MPs likely to vote against the bill amid concerns that it is not tough enough. Continue reading...

Senior US administration official says there are no signs Moscow intends to use its nuclear weapons

Sergey Cherkasov studied in US under false identity and is accused of working for Russian intelligenceUS authorities have released new details about an alleged Russian spy who attempted to penetrate the international criminal court in The Hague, using a false identity developed over a decade.An indictment made public on Saturday accuses Sergey Cherkasov, who US intelligence believes is an elite “illegal” operative of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. Cherkasov posed as Brazilian citizen Victor Muller Ferreira over many years. Continue reading...

Concerns raised about links between ads, increased betting and risky behaviour, as well as prevalence of chances to gamble

Exposure to chemo-signals from body odour enhances response to mindfulness therapy, trial suggestsPeople with social anxiety may benefit from mindfulness therapy combined with exposure to odours from others’ sweat, according to a study.The approach could be used in treatment for the mental health condition, where people worry excessively about participating in social situations, it was suggested. Continue reading...

James Hall believes painting’s ‘pyrotechnical music of the stars, sky and clouds’ recalls Paris monument’s spectacular openingArt experts have long struggled to explain the inspiration behind Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, in which towering cypress trees are depicted against a swirling night sky over a hillside village. Created during his incarceration in an asylum near Saint-Rémy in the south of France, it is one of a series of paintings of cypress trees interpreted as an exploration of abstraction or a mystical evocation of nature.Now the art historian Prof James Hall, a former Guardian art critic, has a new theory to explain Van Gogh’s fascination with these colossal evergreens: the Eiffel Tower. Continue reading...

Creed III actor charged with strangulation, assault and harassment after woman sustained head and neck injuriesThe actor Jonathan Majors has been arrested in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment.New York City police said Majors, the star of Creed III and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, was involved in a domestic dispute on Saturday with a 30-year-old woman. Police responded at about 11am to a 911 call inside an apartment in the Chelsea neighbourhood in Manhattan. Continue reading...

Committed football supporters disavow ‘idiots’ threatening to disrupt the competitionEngland football fans have vowed to travel to Germany in large numbers for Euro 2024 and show that “idiots” wanting to provoke trouble in the host country are a minority.There were fears that some of England’s travelling fans would try to cause trouble next year after some fans sang the theme tune to the 1955 British war film The Dam Busters during last week’s match in Italy. During the match some fans also chanted about the death of Diego Maradona – in an arena known for its devotion to the former Napoli player who gave the stadium its name. Continue reading...

Corporation denies breach of impartiality rules by ‘rigging’ show in favour of Oxford and CambridgeThe BBC has rejected charges of elitism aimed at its University Challenge quiz show and defended allowing separate Oxford and Cambridge colleges to enter the contest while limiting other universities to one entry each.The long-running show, which will broadcast a quarter-final match on Monday in its 52nd series, typically includes at least 10 entries from Oxbridge colleges, with the remaining 18 places going to other universities. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis of global search engine traffic reveals growing interest in Ukrainian pornography since Russian invasion

Widely touted frontrunner to replace Dominic Perrottet says he wants to spend more time with family after NSW election loss

Rows about the football pundit’s tweets and the appointment of a Tory donor as chairman have prompted concerns about political pressures on the corporationA root and branch review of the BBC’s operations – including how its chairman and board are appointed – was announced on Sunday by Labour amid growing doubts about the corporation’s political independence under the Tories, and its future as a public service broadcaster.The move follows bruising rows over Gary Lineker’s suspension from Match of the Day for criticising language used by ministers to describe immigration policy, and the appointment by former prime minister Boris Johnson of Conservative donor and supporter Richard Sharp as the BBC’s chairman. Continue reading...

Debate over direction of party highlights challenges for Peter Dutton, as Coalition searches for answers after NSW election loss

Review launched after accusations former minister Stuart Robert has rejected flags 19 contracts for further investigation over lack of proper record-keeping

Letter to the Observer signed by experts from around the world says proper government policies are neededA “growing reliance” on food banks across the world risks discouraging proper state policies to deal with poverty, according to a joint warning issued by academics and charities.A letter to the Observer, signed by scores of organisations and academics from several countries, warns that food banks are not a permanent solution. They add that the planned expansion of food banks to new countries could exacerbate the problem. Continue reading...

Honduras becomes the ninth diplomatic ally that Taipei has lost to Beijing since pro-independence president Tsai Ing-wen first took officeHonduras has cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the Latin American country announced on Saturday, saying it recognises “only one China in the world”.Honduras is the ninth diplomatic ally that Taipei has lost to Beijing since pro-independence president Tsai Ing-wen first took office in May 2016. The move leaves Taiwan recognised by only 13 sovereign states. Continue reading...

Premier hails ‘momentous legislation for our First Nations people’ while acknowledging it does not have unanimous support in state parliament

Netanyahu’s changes are causing a ‘growing social rift’ that present an immediate security threat, says Likud party member Yoav GalantTens of thousands of Israelis have rallied in Tel Aviv against a controversial judicial overhaul, as defence minister Yoav Galant broke ranks to call for a pause in the process.The latest demonstration to hit Israel’s commercial hub came days after the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to press on with the changes despite mounting international alarm. Continue reading...

Submissions to the TGA include comments from 13-19-year-olds who want restrictions in place to help them with nicotine addiction

Blackmailer reportedly threatened This Morning presenter that they would spread lies to damage her careerA man has been arrested by police investigating claims of blackmail targeted at the This Morning presenter Alison Hammond. West Midlands police confirmed the arrest of a 36-year-old man from Warwickshire on Saturday evening.Hammond regularly presents the ITV show alongside Dermot O’Leary and was recently announced as the new cohost of The Great British Bake Off. In an earlier statement, West Midlands police said: “We are investigating an allegation of blackmail of a woman in her 40s. We take reports of this kind very seriously and our inquiries are progressing swiftly.” Continue reading...

Deal with allied neighbour will not violate non-proliferation agreements, Putin saysRussia has reached an agreement with Belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons on its smaller neighbour’s territory, so bringing some of its arsenal closer to the rest of Europe, Vladimir Putin has said.The Russian president made the announcement on state television, arguing that it would not breach non-proliferation agreements and that it would match similar arrangements that the US has with several of its European allies. Continue reading...

Oscar-winning composer says son, also a successful composer, died on Saturday in hospital surrounded by familyAndrew Lloyd Webber has announced that his eldest son, Nicholas, has died from gastric cancer aged 43.The Oscar-winning composer wrote on Twitter that his son, who was also a successful composer, died on Saturday at Basingstoke hospital in Hampshire surrounded by his family. Continue reading...

Police have arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of murder and are looking for a second after attack in OpenshawA 32-year-old man has been killed in a suspected targeted shooting in Manchester, police have announced.A 33-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and detectives are looking for a second man who is thought to have escaped in a vehicle shortly after the attack in Openshaw, at about 2pm. Continue reading...