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Andrew Abdo has promised the NRL will do all it can to protect its players and eradicate racist fans, after Latrell Mitchell was allegedly abused

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Match of the Day host says he does not fear BBC suspension for comparing government language to that of 1930s Germany

Health secretary said Forbes had ‘given our opponents so much ammunition’ after she criticised his track record in governmentHumza Yousaf has told Kate Forbes that the Scottish Tories are “rooting for you to win so that your words are on every single leaflet”, as the first UK-wide televised debate between SNP leadership contenders saw further clashes between the frontrunners, while polling for the Channel 4 hosts suggested the contest remains too close to call.Referring to heated exchanges at first minister’s questions earlier on Thursday, when Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross jeered that finance secretary Forbes had “torched” the Scottish government’s record, Yousaf said: “What unfortunately happened in the last TV debate, Kate, was that you essentially gave our opponents so much ammunition to attack us with.” Continue reading...

Paris gathering is first such UK-France summit in five yearsRishi Sunak and a series of his ministers are heading to Paris for a summit at which he will push Emmanuel Macron to assist him over Channel migrant crossings – but with little apparent chance of securing an immediate deal on returning people.The gathering in Paris, the first such UK-France summit in five years, is also based around wider bilateral issues such as defence and Ukraine. However, for Sunak’s domestic focus, it seems set to be dominated by the issue of small boats. Continue reading...

Placing of media boss on resignation honours list despite previous rejection puts Rishi Sunak in difficult positionBoris Johnson has once again nominated Paul Dacre for a peerage as part of a pared-back resignation honours list despite the Daily Mail chief having previously been rejected by the appointments watchdog, the Guardian has learned.Sources with knowledge of the list have said that Johnson has put forward Dacre’s name for a second time. He had been knocked back last autumn after reported doubts raised by the House of Lords appointments commission. Continue reading...

Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf take part in debate hosted by Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-MurthyLucy Frazer won’t be happy. (See 10.40am.) Interviewed by reporters leaving home this morning, Gary Lineker said that he had had a conversation with the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie. He would not reveal what was said. “We chat often,” was all Lineker said.But Lineker did not look chastened. In fact, he was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Asked if he regretted sending his tweet, he replied “No,” and, asked if he stood by what he said, he replied, “Of course.” Continue reading...

Lafrenz was arrested twice by the Gestapo and eventually liberated in April 1945 and settled in the USThe last surviving member of the White Rose resistance movement, which urged Germans to stand up against Nazi tyranny during the second world war, has died, according to the group’s historical foundation.Traute Lafrenz died at her home in South Carolina on Monday at the age of 103, the group said in a statement on Thursday, paying tribute to her “courageous resistance and lasting testimony”. Continue reading...

Mother of murdered Hull student says incidents should be treated as red flags for more serious sex offencesJust weeks before Libby Squire was raped, murdered and dumped in a river, a stranger exposed himself to her on her way home.Her mother, Lisa Squire, said the assault left the 21-year-old University of Hull student feeling “absolutely furious”. “But I never thought to say to her, you need to report that, you need to ring the police, and she didn’t report it either,” said Squire. “We’re almost conditioned to ignore indecent exposure. I didn’t know better then, but I know better now.” Continue reading...

Joe Ucuzoglu posts 20-minute video to Deloitte’s public websiteDeloitte’s chief executive has launched a thinly veiled criticism of rival EY after its controversial plans to split the business into two were thrown into turmoil.EY initially announced plans for a radical breakup of its global operations last year, that would separate its audit and advisory businesses. Continue reading...

Alexander Lukashenko signs bill allowing execution of officials and military personnel for harming national securityBelarus’s authoritarian president has signed a bill introducing capital punishment for state officials and military personnel convicted of high treason.The amendments to the country’s criminal code endorsed by President Alexander Lukashenko envisage death sentences for officials and service personnel who cause “irreparable damage” to Belarus’s national security through acts of treason. Continue reading...

Marathon trial, which lasted a year and a half, sees people convicted on charges ranging from gang membership to murderFifteen people have been convicted on charges ranging from gang membership and gun possession to murder, in a landmark gang-busting trial hailed by Jamaican authorities as a major blow to one of the island’s deadliest criminal organisations.Twelve other defendants were acquitted and the cases against five others were not pursued, but police and prosecutors described the verdicts this week as historic. One defendant was murdered while on bail. Continue reading...

Police estimate 60,000 people joined protests across Greece called by labour unions and student groupsA further three railway employees are to face criminal charges in connection with the train crash last week, Greece’s worst ever, that left 57 dead and scores injured.Judicial authorities investigating the head-on collision of two locomotives in Tempe pressed the charges as outrage over the tragedy showed little sign of abating. Marching through Athens on Thursday, student protesters screamed “murderers” as they directed their fury at state officials blamed for an accident many believe could have been avoided had the nation’s rail network not been so neglected. Most of those killed were young with at least a third of the victims enrolled at university. Continue reading...

Birmingham to Crewe stretch put on hold and major roadbuilding schemes slowed in response to inflation surgeHS2 will be delayed by another two years and major roadbuilding schemes will be mothballed, ministers have confirmed, after soaring inflation added billions to the cost of transport infrastructure projects.Ministers insisted they remained committed to Britain’s high-speed rail network scheme, but the budget constraints have cast further doubt over prospects for the rail project’s full implementation. Continue reading...

City called off its dogs and said it would review its sign approval process after canine owners called the prohibition ‘lunacy’Officials in Canada’s most populous city have their tails between their legs after they were forced to call off an effort to stop dogs barking in local parks.Inhabitants of Toronto are grudgingly accustomed to a daily soundtrack of city life: gridlocked traffic, rumbling trucks, heavy machinery and noisy neighbours. Continue reading...

In video played to jury, Cheryl Korbel recounts seeing bullet wound in daughter’s chest after masked gunman opened fireThe mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her home in Liverpool last August, has described seeing a bullet wound in her daughter’s chest after a masked gunman opened fire into her home.Cheryl Korbel recounted how the nine-year-old was “gasping for breath” after being shot by a man, alleged to have been 34-year-old Thomas Cashman. Continue reading...

Increase expected in spring budget, which could also mandate upfront childcare payments from DWPMinisters are considering allowing parents on universal credit to claim back more cash on childcare as a way of easing rising cost of living pressures.The government’s childcare offer is also expected to help boost the number of childminders by making it easier for them to register with agencies rather than signing up via Ofsted. Continue reading...

Harbour Energy says it had to cut jobs and investment at same time as announcing new shareholder payouts taking total to $1bnThe North Sea’s biggest producer has complained that the windfall tax on oil and gas companies “all but wiped out” its profits last year, at the same time announcing new shareholder payouts that take the total to $1bn since the end of 2021.Harbour Energy said on Thursday its pre-tax profits rose by nearly 700% in 2022 to $2.5bn (£2.1bn) on higher production and bigger margins making it the latest oil and gas company to report a huge increase in underlying profits, after the war in Ukraine pushed up wholesale gas prices and sent household bills soaring. Continue reading...

Dominion Voter Systems asks judge to rule in its favour without a full trial as cable news network frames case as free speech issueDominion Voter Systems and Fox News have exchanged further barbs in the $1.6bn defamation case brought by the voting machine company against the rightwing US cable news network over its broadcast of Donald Trump’s lie that his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden was the result of electoral fraud.In a court filing, Dominion asked a judge to decide the case in its favour because, it said, Fox News had “produced no evidence – none, zero – supporting those lies. Continue reading...

Soldiers and analysts suggest defending city has become more of a political than practical issue, as Russian push continues

Siyabonga Twala, who has lived in the UK since he was 15, barred from taking flight back to Britain because of cannabis convictionFor more than two months, Siyabonga Twala’s life has been in a strange state of purgatory, waiting in an unfamiliar country to see if the Home Office will let him back into Britain.Since New Year’s Eve he has been stuck in Turkey after being barred from boarding a return flight to Manchester, waking each day and wondering if he will ever live with his British son again. Continue reading...

Letters to Trump will contain 150 private letters written over more than 40 years, including correspondence with North Korean leaderDonald Trump has not yet announced a deal to write a White House memoir but he will publish a second post-presidential book next month – reportedly including controversial correspondence with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea.According to Axios, which reported the news on Thursday, Letters to Trump will contain 150 private letters written over more than 40 years, and from figures also including Hillary Clinton, Richard Nixon and Oprah Winfrey. Continue reading...

Critics of withdrawn ‘foreign agents’ bill feared it would undercut bid for EU membership

Mohammad Dawood Muzammil one of the highest-ranking figures killed as Afghan security situation deterioratesThe Taliban governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, known for fighting Islamic State (IS) jihadists, was killed in a suicide attack at his office on Thursday, officials said.The killing, a day after he met top government officials visiting from Kabul, makes Mohammad Dawood Muzammil one of the highest-ranking figures killed since the Taliban stormed back to power in 2021. Continue reading...

Pioneer of phone-in horoscopes, real name Margaret Lake, became household name as host of slot on National Lottery drawMargaret Lake, the British astrologer known as Mystic Meg, has died aged 80.She became a household name in 1994 when she hosted a slot on the National Lottery draw where she looked into a crystal ball to predict a future winner. Continue reading...

New figures show ex-PM’s outside pay this year accounts for about 85% of that for all MPs

Electoral commission says it is pushing back polling due to problems with digital voting systemNigeria has postponed Saturday’s crucial state elections amid wrangling over a presidential vote that opposition parties claim was rigged.The electoral commission emerged from an hours-long meeting on Wednesday night to announce it was pushing back polls to elect powerful state governors by a week. Continue reading...

Finalists for honour spotlighting the best of the non-fiction prize’s 25-year history include studies of the Beatles, Shakespeare and the Treaty of VersaillesSix books of “high ambition, formal innovation and thrilling originality” make up the shortlist for the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction’s winner of winners award.The £25,000 prize marks the 25th anniversary of the prize, with the judges choosing their shortlist from the previous 24 years of the prize. The shortlist spans history, narrative-driven reportage, investigative journalism, and literary and cultural biography. Continue reading...

Rural Fire Service says blaze north of Hill End could burn for weeks as locals struggle to save properties

After criticism law was similar to Russian legislation used to stifle dissent, ruling party says it will withdraw bill

Widespread rainfall expected in state’s south-east this weekend but nowhere near the 500mm recorded in the north-west

Just a third of candidates are women and NSW premier says he is open to all ideas, including quotas

Document sent to parliament’s presiding officers included claim that government MPs sought to undermine integrity watchdog

This blog is now closed.

In today’s newsletter: In September divers planted explosives on the Russian gas pipeline – this is what German investigators now say about what happened

Andrew Wilkie claims church money spent on ‘the kind of shopping that would embarrass a Kardashian’ as he tables alleged whistleblower documents

Federal opposition leader, who trails the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in opinion polls, is not on list of party dignitaries expected at the launch

Richard Glenn tells inquiry that knowing what he does now he should have referred department to AAT in 2017

Deal secures passage of NRF bill through lower house and provides likely pathway to pass it in Senate

Committee members support a suite of policies that would radically adjust Australians’ work-life balance

Police in Castro Valley said they were investigating car break-ins when woman and two daughters were handcuffed in parking lotA California jury awarded a Black mother and her two daughters more than $8m after they were unreasonably detained by police during a stop for coffee.In September 2019, after a long drive from the family’s home in Las Vegas, Nevada, Aasylei Loggervale and her two daughters stopped at a Starbucks in Castro Valley, California. They were on a nine-hour journey to drop the older daughter at Berkeley City College, for a statistics exam. Continue reading...

Domestic and family violence calls down more than 30% after restrictions came in as advocates warn primary drivers of harm must be addressed

Cybersecurity attack ruled out as rail shutdown puts pressure on NSW government before state election

Prosecutors close their sexual abuse case against former ultra-Orthodox Jewish principal, urging jurors to convict her of 27 charges

Rishi Sunak said to have been ‘buzzing’ about result of 18-month negotiations, part of Aukus defence pact with USAn enthusiastic Rishi Sunak has told ministers to expect a positive outcome next week when he travels to San Diego to unveil a deal to supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of the Aukus pact with the US.Multiple sources said they believed the UK had succeeded in its bid to sell British-designed nuclear submarines to Australia, a deal that will safeguard the long-term future of the shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness. Continue reading...

After pharmacy giant pledged not to dispense abortion medicine in states that restrict its use, Gavin Newsom cancels agreementCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday withdrew a $54m contract with Walgreens after the pharmacy giant indicated it would not sell an abortion pill by mail in some conservative-led states.Newsom ordered state officials to not renew a contract with Walgreens to purchase specialty pharmacy prescription drugs for California’s prison healthcare system, including antiviral and antifungal drugs and medication used for congestive heart failure. Walgreens has received about $54m from the contract, which expires 30 April. Continue reading...

Rics data for February shows improvement in new buyer inquiries and salesThe UK housing market remains in decline but there are some signs of stabilisation, with an improvement in new buyer inquiries and sales last month, according to surveyors.Many told the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) that a return of optimism, and lower than expected interest rates, had given the housing market some hope for the coming months after a sluggish start to the year. Continue reading...

Defence department reportedly unwilling to share intelligence over fears precedent could be set against US soldiersThe Pentagon has been accused of blocking the sharing of US intelligence with the international criminal court (ICC) about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.The Biden White House and state department have been a proponent of cooperation with the Hague-based ICC, as a means of holding Russian forces accountable for widespread war crimes, but the defence department is firmly opposed on the grounds that the precedent could eventually be turned against US soldiers. Continue reading...

Former health secretary was asked to make clear in Pandemic Diaries that he was not reflecting government’s viewMatt Hancock was instructed by the Cabinet Office to tone down claims in his memoir that the Covid-19 pandemic originated from a laboratory leak in China, according to leaked correspondence.Officials warned it would “cause problems” if Hancock repeated the claim in his Pandemic Diaries and insisted he must make clear he was not reflecting the government’s view, the Daily Telegraph reported. Continue reading...

West Midlands police officer said to have filmed encounters at a Christmas party without women’s knowledgeA firearms officer who allegedly secretly filmed himself having sex with two women before sharing the footage online with his colleagues is under criminal investigation, it has been reported.The West Midlands police officer was said to have filmed the encounters at a Christmas party without the women’s knowledge before sending the videos to members of his team via social media, Channel 4 News said. Continue reading...