Dentsu Group charged after arrest of Tokyo 2020 committee official accused of rigging Games-related tendersJapan’s biggest advertising agency and five other companies have been indicted for allegedly violating an anti-monopoly law, in a corruption scandal over allegations of bid-rigging during the Tokyo Olympics.The indictment followed the arrest this month of a senior Tokyo 2020 organising committee official and three others who were accused of rigging a string of Olympic Games-related tenders. Continue reading...

PM hints that Westminster is optimistic about return of power-sharing after unveiling Stormont brake

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Homelessness charity says it is ‘incredibly disappointing’ to see rough sleeping on rise across country

Outreach and charity workers talk about the day-to-day issues they face when dealing with the city’s homelessness problem

More than 20,000 people died in 2022 after spending at least 12 hours waiting for care, figures showOne patient is dying every 23 minutes in England after they endured a long delay in an A&E unit, according to analysis of NHS figures by emergency care doctors.In all, 23,003 people died during 2022 after spending at least 12 hours in an A&E waiting for care or to be admitted to a bed, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). Continue reading...

Company announces biggest product expansion in years as pets increasingly become part of Australian families

The changes, which will not come into effect until 2025-26, will apply to around 80,000 people

Federal government hopes to draft ban to combat silicosis by end of year with support from states and territories

Leader says agriculture needs ‘fundamental transformation’ and makes hitting grain targets a priority as country isolated by sanctions strugglesNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has urged government officials to engineer a “fundamental transformation” in agricultural production, state media reported, amid fears that the country’s food shortage is worsening.Kim said hitting grain production targets this year was a priority and emphasised the importance of stable agriculture production during the second day of a key meeting of the Workers’ party, the state news agency KCNA said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Energy company says it is ‘well placed’ to take advantage of ‘remaining opportunities’ during the exit from fossil fuels

A 28-year-old man stabbed at Auburn train station minutes earlier in stable condition in hospital

A representative for the Saving Private Ryan and Heat actor confirmed his family is deciding end-of-life matters, 10 days after he was hospitalisedTom Sizemore has no hope of recovery after he suffered a brain aneurysm, his family has said, confirming they are making an end-of-life decision for the Saving Private Ryan actor.The 61-year-old has been in a coma in the intensive care unit of Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Los Angeles since he was hospitalised on 18 February. Continue reading...

Prime minister is hailed for his achievement in facing down Tory rebels and winning over the EU to break trade deadlockRishi Sunak’s Windsor framework has been welcomed, at least initially, on the front pages in the UK and Ireland, as a way to break the Brexit impasse over Northern Ireland.Some papers look ahead to the blue skies of greater European cooperation, while others focus on the potential storm clouds ahead if Tory rebels or the Democratic Unionist party opt to reject it. Continue reading...

Corporate regulator claims the company misled members in a fund that promoted its sustainable credentials

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says analysis will ‘help increase public awareness and inform debate about the fairness and efficiency of the tax system’Superannuation tax concessions are costing the budget $50bn a year, with almost 40% of the benefit of tax breaks on earnings flowing to the top 10% of income earners.That is one of the central findings of the tax expenditures and income statement, released by the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on Tuesday.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Review shows only 10 of FTSE 350 companies still have all-male executive teamsThe proportion of women in board roles in Britain’s biggest listed companies has risen above 40% for the first time, according to analysis that suggests only 10 of the UK’s 350 largest listed companies still have all-male executive teams.The number of women on boards in the blue-chip FTSE 100 companies and the mid-sized FTSE 250 companies rose by 3% in 2022, according to the government-backed FTSE women leaders review, published on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Budget airline links decision to airspace risks from war in neighbouring Ukraine and tensions with RussiaWizz Air will suspend all its flights to and from Moldova next month due to security concerns linked to growing tensions with Russia.It comes after a Russian missile was fired over Moldovan airspace earlier this month. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen say ‘Windsor framework’ has been reached after four months of negotiations. This blog is now closed

Windsor agreement is intended to end poisonous disputes of Brexit years

Fixing the detail with Von der Leyen was the easy part – winning over Tory hardliners and the DUP will be harder

Teachers in north of England to strike on Tuesday followed by members in other regions over course of three days

Joshua Sutcliffe denies regulator’s charge of prioritising his convictions over pupil’s interestsA maths teacher “failed to separate the teacher from the preacher” when he allegedly misgendered a transgender pupil repeatedly and inappropriately shared his religious beliefs in the classroom, a misconduct panel heard.Joshua Sutcliffe, 32, was accused by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) of “conduct that negatively affected pupils” on multiple occasions during his time at schools in Oxford and London. He denies the charges of professional misconduct. Continue reading...

European Commission president, said to have a love of British history, met Charles after Northern Ireland deal agreed

Ombudsman report says students treated unfairly and changes to exams since pandemic created uncertaintyUniversities have been reprimanded over unfair treatment of students accused of academic misconduct in a report by the higher education ombudsman for England and Wales.The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) said changes to assessments, accelerated by the Covid pandemic when university examinations moved online, had led to uncertainty among students about what is and is not allowed. Continue reading...

The attacks on female students – called an act of ‘biological terrorism’ – are thought to be retaliation for protests against hijabs in the countryIranian authorities have confirmed they are investigating reports that several schoolgirls have been poisoned as “revenge” for the role young women played in recent protests against the mandatory hijab.Iran’s deputy education minister, Younes Panahi, told reporters yesterday: “After the poisoning of several students in [the city of] Qom … it was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed.” Continue reading...

Action on 15 March likely to coincide with PCS strike, taking number of civil servants participating above 100,000Tens of thousands of public sector workers will strike on 15 March and work to rule indefinitely after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action over pay.The civil service members of Prospect union work for organisations such as the Met Office, Health and Safety Executive and Natural England. Continue reading...

Occupant of flat above shop says crash involving two police vehicles was ‘like a bomb’ going offA collision involving two police cars has caused major structural damage to a parade of shops in Bradford, with one resident describing it as “like a bomb” going off.Pictures and video show the ground and first floors of the shops in Frizinghall extensively damaged after the incident on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Consumers will pay more because 1 April is also date for reduction of government support

Tinubu appears on course for victory despite Labour candidate Peter Obi taking Lagos in surprise resultEarly results in Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections have put the ruling party’s candidate well ahead, but also revealed a surprise victory for the outsider Peter Obi in Lagos, the country’s biggest city and commercial powerhouse.Analysts speak of a “bellwether” election that could be a crucial turning point for Nigeria after several years of worsening insecurity and acute economic troubles. Many believe a credible poll and progress in tackling the country’s multiple problems are key to stability across a swath of Africa. Continue reading...

Birkenhead outsider art flat is up for auction but campaigners set hopes on rich benefactor or institutionCampaigners say the clock is ticking to prevent an extraordinary palace of outsider art created in a ground floor flat in Birkenhead from being lost forever.“Ron’s Place” is a one-of-a-kind property that stops you in your tracks because its former tenant, the late Ron Gittins, spent three decades obsessively decorating it in a manner no one else would. Continue reading...

Government terrorism laws reviewer Jonathan Hall KC joins growing number of voices opposing exclusionA top government terrorism adviser is to say that Shamima Begum should be allowed to return to the UK, as the number of expert voices opposing her exclusion from Britain grows.Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, will say in a speech on Monday that Begum, who fled her east London home aged 15 to join Islamic State (IS) in Syria, could still pose a risk even though she is oversees and that “repatriation, if it took place, should not be confused with moral absolution”. Continue reading...

Reza Pahlavi, whose father was deposed in 1979, urges west to give active support and proscribe Revolutionary GuardsThe Iranian revolution is at a do-or-die moment, requiring western governments to give their full, active support or risk seeing the movement’s impact wane, Reza Pahlavi, the oldest son of the former Shah of Iran who was deposed in 1979, has said in a Guardian interview.Pahlavi said there were signs that if the west imposed maximum pressure, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and some reformist politicians would desert the regime. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Sudanese man launching action say questionnaire being circulated to 12,000 asylum seekers is discriminatory

Labour leader tells business leaders he is determined ‘to fix the fundamentals’ of the British economy

First female speaker of the House of Commons was ‘one of a kind’, says Sir Lindsay Hoyle• Betty Boothroyd obituaryBetty Boothroyd, the first female speaker of the House of Commons, has died, aged 93.Lady Boothroyd, a former Labour MP, was speaker from 1992 until her retirement in 2000, and was the first person to be elected to the role after the Commons debates started being permanently televised in 1989. Continue reading...

In industry first, Melbourne Theatre Company has formed an advisory council of artists including Zoë Coombs Marr, Tony Briggs and Patricia Cornelius

Some clinics not accepting the gold card that entitles war veterans to free healthcare as rebates fail to keep up with cost of delivering care

Nuclear subs are the first ‘pillar’ of Aukus, but defence experts are pointing to the second pillar – hypersonic weapons, AI and drones

NT Racing Commission vows to continue its own low-tech system unless changes are made to federal government’s BetStop scheme

National science agency warns of a ‘post-antibiotic world’ in 2050, marked by declines in lifespan, quality of life and livestock production

Allies for Uluru to act as ‘conduit’ for organisations to support yes campaign, and include Fred Hollows Foundation and Oxfam

Two-part special will feature previously unreleased interviews with late television presenterThe life of Paula Yates, the television presenter who died at the age of 41, is to be the subject of a two-part documentary for Channel 4.The programmes will centre on four “extraordinarily compelling” interviews with Yates, recorded in 1998 and 1999 shortly before her death and have never been heard before. Continue reading...

Group says it used drones to hit early warning aircraft at Machulishchy airfield 12km from Minsk

Former minister speaks out as Rishi Sunak prepares to meet Ursula von der Leyen for ‘final talks’• UK politics live – latest news updatesThe former Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, has said it is “crucial parliament has a vote” on the much-anticipated deal to end the dispute with the EU over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.Villiers was speaking hours before the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, was due to meet Rishi Sunak for what No 10 has billed “final talks” over a revised Northern Ireland protocol pact. Continue reading...

Oleksandra Matviichuk says putting Russians on trial for crime of aggression may prevent further atrocities

Associated British Foods says six-month figures helped by stronger-than-expected clothing performanceThe owner of the clothing retailer Primark said annual profits would be higher than previously expected after Britons started shopping early for the summer and as inflation eased.Associated British Foods (ABF) said people were planning for their holidays despite the cost of living crisis, with strong sales of luggage and beachwear. Continue reading...

Remains of wooden boat are strewn along Calabrian coast alongside passengers’ belongingsRescuers have recovered two more bodies from the sea after a wooden sailing boat believed to be carrying refugees wrecked against the coast of Italy’s Calabria region, taking the death toll to 62.The bodies of many victims, including children, were found washed up on a tourist beach in Steccato di Cutro, while others were found at sea, after the tragedy early on Sunday. Continue reading...

Angus Taylor says Coalition will fight any changes but Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer says we should not ‘shy away from having a conversation’

Hearing into Labor’s changes to the scheme told a 75% reduction in methane was possible using commercially competitive existing technology