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Ex-PM ratchets up rhetoric after surprise loss to former army chief and Nato military chair Gen Petr PavelThe former Czech Republic prime minister Andrej Babiš has set the scene for a bitter presidential election showdown dominated by rows over the country’s communist past by comparing his rival to Vladimir Putin after a surprise first-round poll defeat.Final tallies after polls closed on Saturday showed Babiš finishing a close second to Gen Petr Pavel, a former army chief of staff and Nato military chair, propelling the pair into a head-to-head ballot on 27-28 January for the right to succeed Miloš Zeman as Czech president. Continue reading...

Former Sex Pistol competing to represent Ireland with love letter to wife of 44 years who is living with the illnessJohn Lydon has said he is competing to represent Ireland at this year’s Eurovision song contest primarily in order to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. The former Sex Pistols frontman (once known as Johnny Rotten) will appear with his band, Public Image Ltd, on the Late Late Show on 3 February, performing Hawaii, a love letter to his wife of 44 years, Nora Forster, who is living with the illness.“I’m doing it to highlight the sheer torture of what Alzheimer’s is,” said the singer, who holds an Irish passport as well as US citizenship. “It gets swept under the carpet, but in highlighting it, hopefully we get a stage nearer to a cure.” Lydon insisted that spreading this message was much more important than competing to win, so he isn’t listening to the five other entrants. Continue reading...

Party has high hopes in a dozen or more blue wall seats – if it can persuade new Labour supporters to vote tacticallyAmong the many electoral subplots emerging ahead of the next UK general election, one in particular is occupying the minds of Liberal Democrat strategists: how to persuade a glut of new Labour supporters to vote tactically.What the Lib Dems are calling a “Labour squeeze” tactic could help shape the result in a dozen or more constituencies, and potentially remove a series of Conservative big-hitters including Dominic Raab and John Redwood. But, it is fair to say, this is intricate stuff. Continue reading...

Expansion in first six months of Albanese government beats record of Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke administrations

Anglican bishops to discuss and vote on proposal to be put to synod in FebruaryFor 23 years, Jay Greene and the Rev Marion Clutterbuck have devoted themselves to each other and to the Church of England.Clutterbuck, 66, was one of the first female priests to be ordained in the 1990s. Greene, 69, has served on the church’s parliament, the General Synod, and she is a church commissioner. Continue reading...

Coalition’s program allowing choice of annual tax over stamp duty could exceed projection of 6,000 applicants

People in social housing often face hottest conditions and struggle to pay for air conditioning, advocates say

Nine local authorities pause plans following government’s decision to drop mandatory targetsThousands of new homes are at risk after a series of local authorities cut or delayed their housebuilding plans after ministers decided to drop mandatory building targets.Nine local authorities in England have paused or scaled back their plans after Michael Gove announced last month that the government would no longer pursue a mandatory target of 300,000 new homes a year, a Guardian analysis has found. Continue reading...

Labour leader sets out views on health service, saying ‘if we don’t get real about reform, the NHS will die’Keir Starmer has said Labour is prepared to reform the NHS to prevent it dying, as he said the current system of GP visits “isn’t working”.The Labour leader said his party was going to tackle “bureaucratic nonsense” in the NHS and argued people should be able to self-refer themselves to a physio for back pain or to order a test for “internal bleeding” rather than having to see a GP.He had “concerns” about Scotland’s laws to allow people legally to change their gender without medical diagnosis, saying he did not agree that those aged 16 should be able to do this. The UK government is considering whether to block the legislation in a constitutionally controversial move.He had never dreamed of wanting to be prime minister when younger or when he first entered parliament, but his mission as Labour leader was now motivated by “duty”.He could not guarantee his leadership pledge that Labour would abolish tuition fees because the political landscape had changed after the Covid pandemic.Labour would not take the UK back into the EU or the single market, and he resisted the idea that Brexit was to blame for the country’s financial troubles. Continue reading...

Britain is falling behind European countries for mortality among mothers, and suicide is the leading cause of postpartum death

Critics say riders show only cursory respect for the rules of the roadParisians will be invited to vote on whether to allow electric scooter rental services to continue operating in the French capital as authorities weigh banning the controversial for-hire vehicles, the city’s mayor has said.The issue is “extremely divisive”, Anne Hidalgo told the weekend edition of Le Parisien newspaper, with critics saying riders show only cursory respect for the rules of the road. Continue reading...

Owner’s family to sell Dance on the Beach and split up to £20m with descendants of Jewish academic who had to sell it in 1934A painting by Edvard Munch that lay hidden in a barn alongside a version of The Scream, to keep it out of the hands of German soldiers, is to be sold at auction and the proceeds split with the family of the Jewish man who was forced to sell it when fleeing the Nazis.The monumental Dance on the Beach will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in London on 1 March and is estimated to fetch around £12-20m. Continue reading...

West Midlands commissioner and HSBC say moving illegally gained money is an offence that helps serious crimeThousands of young people in the UK are being exploited by criminals and used as “money mules” to move cash between accounts, undetected by police.The West Midlands police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, this week launched a campaign on TikTok and Instagram warning teenagers against the dangers of being offered cash to use their bank account to transfer funds to another account. Offenders recruit a third party to help move money in a way that avoids detection by police. Continue reading...

When a mother and daughter became destitute, a Citizens Advice centre that will benefit from the Guardian and Observer charity appeal stepped in• Donate to our charity appeal hereIt was three months ago that Samaira Riffat and her daughter, Eman, decided to start sleeping in the lounge of their two-bedroom terrace house in Bolton. “We can’t afford to heat more than one room,” said 21-year-old Eman on Thursday. “So, we moved a bed downstairs for mum, and I sleep on the sofa.”Their situation is, in the call centre worker’s own words, desperate. Both bedrooms have extreme damp and rat droppings have been found in the kitchen cupboards. In December, a burglar broke in – and left with nothing. “What could he have taken?” asked Eman. “Our secondhand air-fryer?” Continue reading...

Results due from more unions tomorrow, as NAHT chief stresses that disputes over pay haven’t gone awayTeaching unions are warning they will be forced to reballot their members over strike action in the coming months if ministers continue to resist a “sensible solution” to the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.Three unions had been threatening walkouts over pay, which they say has led to teachers and teaching assistants making the “heartbreaking” decision to leave the profession. Last week it was revealed that despite about 90% of NASUWT members voting in favour of industrial action, the turnout, 42%, was below the required 50% threshold. Two more unions, the NEU and NAHT, will announce the results of their ballots on 16 January. Continue reading...

Lib Dems condemn ‘scandalous situation’ as local authorities turn to agencies amid shortage of care spaces for people leaving hospitalPrivate brokers are making millions of pounds a year finding care home beds for NHS patients who are fit to leave hospital.Agencies are being hired to provide “discharge services”, finding suitable places for elderly patients amid pressures on the health system, Observer analysis shows. Continue reading...

Sports presenter tells BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that the tragedy led her to ‘take chances’, including trying out broadcastingGabby Logan said she assumed “a lot of responsibility” after her brother’s death at the age of 15.The 49-year-old presenter, who became one of the first female sports anchors to break into terrestrial television, said the tragedy also led her to “take chances” including an early start in radio. Continue reading...

Trend features feathered and furry PJs, posh robes and structured slippers as daytime dressing for housebound fashionistasForget your old university sweatshirts and saggy leggings. Post pandemic, there’s a whole new category of clothing emerging specifically created for wearing inside, rather than outside, the house.Homewear, rather than ware, comprises items that fall somewhere between loungewear and nightwear. Pieces comfortable enough to binge Netflix in but equally presentable enough that you don’t panic when a delivery driver knocks on the door. Continue reading...

President Dina Boluarte expresses regret for the death of at least 42 people in recent wave of demonstrations, but insists she will not stand downPeru’s government has declared a state of emergency in the capital of Lima and three other regions following weeks of protests against President Dina Boluarte that have claimed at least 42 lives.The measure, in force for 30 days, authorises the army to intervene to maintain order and suspends several constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and assembly, according to a decree published in the official gazette on Saturday. Continue reading...

Lula’s government claims it has ‘absolute control’ after storming of capital by Bolsonaro supporters, but failed putsch is not over, say insidersSônia Guajajara should have been making history last Tuesday afternoon, being sworn in as the head of Brazil’s first ministry for Indigenous peoples at a ceremony at the presidential palace in Brasília.Instead, with that building wrecked last Sunday by thousands of far-right extremists, she sat in her office overlooking Brazil’s similarly ransacked congress, reflecting on the stunning attempt to overthrow one of the world’s biggest democracies. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak portrays union chiefs as leftwing militants but some leaders are succeeding in blaming the impasse on No 10 – and half of voters agree• Read more: Most UK voters still back strikes by nurses and ambulance crewsSara Gorton thought the Covid pandemic was as bad as things could get for the NHS. But now, as nurses, ambulance staff and other health workers plan more strikes in a service already on its knees, the woman leading pay negotiations for the health unions believes she was wrong. “This is worse – because it is a situation we are in because of political choice,” she says.Prime minister Rishi Sunak and his ministers like to portray union leaders as leftwing militants, modern-day Arthur Scargills. By doing so they believe they can turn the public against the strikers as the disputes drag on and sympathy wears thin. Continue reading...

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Russian missile attacks in Dnipro kill at least 14; UK pledges to send Ukraine tanks to ‘push Russian troops back’; power outages across Ukraine

The first proper World Economic Forum for three years will take place against a humbling backdrop of crisis and conflictThe war in Ukraine. A rapidly slowing economy, fragmentation and de-globalisation. The rising cost of living. Climate change. There is plenty for the global great and good to get their teeth into this week as Davos resumes after a three-year hiatus.Strictly speaking, it not the first gathering of world leaders, businesspeople, academics and civil society since the start of the pandemic, but last May’s World Economic Forum event was a slimmed-down and not especially well-attended affair. As a dry run it was fine, but a real Davos traditionally happens in January, when the snow is thick on the ground in the Swiss village 1,500 metres up in the Alps. In the past, the mood at Davos has oscillated between extreme optimism and unbridled gloom, depending on the state of the world economy. This year it looks certain to be the latter. As Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chair of the WEF put it last week, “economic, environmental, social and geopolitical crises are converging and conflating”. The aim of this year’s Davos, he added, was to get rid of the “crisis mindset”. Continue reading...

Plane was unable to change course within seconds, investigation finds, leading to 25 people injuredA cloud shot up vertically like a plume of smoke in a matter of seconds before a Hawaiian Airlines flight last month hit severe turbulence and 25 people on board were injured, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.The captain of the 18 December flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that flight conditions had been smooth with clear skies when the cloud shot up in front of the plane and there was no time to change course, the report said. Continue reading...

RCN says if progress not made on pay negotiations, action in February will include all eligible members in EnglandDouble the number of nurses will be asked to strike in early February in a bid to increase pressure on the government, union leaders have warned.The Royal College of Nursing has said that if progress is not made in negotiations by the end of January, the next set of strikes will include all eligible members in England for the first time. Continue reading...

Another child and four women also injured in incident close to Euston following joint service for a mother and daughterA seven-year-old girl is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after a suspected driveby shooting outside a memorial service in north London, the Metropolitan police have said.A second child, a 12-year-old girl, was taken to hospital with a minor leg injury but has now been discharged. Continue reading...

Public support for industrial action by health workers remains strong in the face of government claims it is putting lives at riskA majority of voters continue to support striking nurses and ambulance workers, despite government claims that they are putting the public at risk, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.Labour has also increased its lead over the Tories by 1 percentage point, to 16 points, after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and other cabinet ministers tried to make political capital by accusing Keir Starmer and his party of being in the pockets of the unions at a time of industrial unrest, the survey shows. Continue reading...

State government is failing to deliver harm reduction programs needed to eliminate the virus, advocates say

Victorian MPs are adamant the premier’s views are based on principle, not political instincts

Culturally insulting language used by Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly will increase tension between the two countriesBritain’s relationship with Iran has a fraught, unedifying history, dating back to the 18th-century imperial tussle between England, Napoleonic France, and tsarist Russia for control of Persia. Iranians have long memories. To this day, they blame the UK for many of their woes.Britain invaded in 1941 to limit Nazi influence and protect the Anglo-Persian company’s oilfields. In 1953 it intervened again, mounting a coup, with US help, to overthrow a democratically elected government and bolster the rule of the autocratic, pro-western shah. Continue reading...

Opposition MPs call for government rethink on ‘reckless’ plans to rewrite almost 4,000 European regulationsCivil servants are estimated to be spending tens of millions of pounds establishing which laws and regulations could be scrapped under the government’s controversial retained EU laws bill.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) last week admitted it spent £600,000 on staffing costs alone in just two months as part of its review of the bill. Continue reading...

Romania’s crime agency searched properties as part of investigations into human trafficking charges against the social media influencerRomanian authorities have confiscated several luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce, a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz from Andrew Tate’s property in Bucharest.The luxury vehicles were taken from the compound of the former kickboxer, influencer and self-professed misogynist on Saturday and transported to a storage facility, according to Reuters. Continue reading...

Flooding likely in Wales and many areas of England, with severe cold to follow in some areas late on SundayFlood warnings have been issued across parts of the UK as heavy rain and blustery winds bring a weekend washout for many.The Met Office had 98 flood warnings and 169 alerts in place in England on Saturday, adding people should expect “an unsettled day ahead” as rain pushed eastwards. Continue reading...

Ratification will have to wait at least until after elections in May or June, says senior officialTurkey is unlikely to vote on Sweden and Finland’s accession to Nato before pivotal domestic elections expected in May or June this year, according to a senior Turkish official.“We are not in a rush here, they are in a rush to join Nato,” İbrahim Kalın, chief adviser to Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, told journalists. Continue reading...

In letter to Rishi Sunak, GMB union members say they feel ‘utterly betrayed’ by attempts to portray them as ‘uncaring about safety’A group of ambulance workers has sent a furious letter to the prime minister saying they feel “utterly betrayed” by the government’s attempts to paint them as “uncaring about safety standards”.Steve Rice, the head of the GMB union’s ambulance committee, sent Rishi Sunak a letter on behalf of ambulance workers protesting against the government’s plans to introduce anti-strikes legislation.PA Media contributed to this report Continue reading...

Prosecutor general punished as smuggled recording released of Akbari saying he was subjected to ‘3,500 hours of torture’

The London venue had its licence suspended after the surge, during a show by Asake, left two people deadBrixton O2 Academy is to remain shut for a further three months after a crush that left two people dead.A gig at the London venue by the Afrobeats singer Asake on 15 December was cut short after overcrowding in the foyer caused a surge. Continue reading...

Armour will allow Ukraine to mount a spring offensive – but it will also need support vehicles, and most Nato countries have a bare minimum of them. It’s time to investThe prospect of several countries providing Ukraine with Nato-designed main battle tanks offers a pathway towards renewed momentum in Kyiv’s bid to reclaim its territory from Russian occupation. The next six months will probably be critical to this effort. Enabling Ukraine to operate these vehicles, however, will require more than just the tanks to be delivered to the Ukrainian armed forces.The Russian military has been engaged in a sustained assault on the town of Bakhmut for months to little effect. The fields around the town are littered with the corpses of Russian soldiers, while the rate of fire from Russia’s artillery is declining as it faces shortages of spare barrels and some munitions. With much of Russia’s available forces committed, the spring offers the opportunity for Ukraine to go on the attack. Continue reading...

Former president shared a video questioning last year’s election result after his supporters stormed Brasília’s democratic institutionsBrazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro will be investigated as part of an inquiry into an alleged attempt to topple the country’s new government, the supreme court has announced.Thousands of radical followers of the far-right populist marauded through Brazil’s three most important democratic institutions last Sunday, apparently convinced by a tsunami of fake news that last October’s presidential election – which Bolsonaro lost – was rigged. Continue reading...

Ruling comes hours after UN called for charges to be dropped in ‘largest case of criminalisation of solidarity in Europe’A Greek appeals court has dropped espionage charges against 24 activists involved in rescuing people from migrant boats in the Mediterranean after recognising that the case was riddled with procedural errors.The three-member panel of judges upheld a prosecutor’s recommendation that the spying charges be dropped on the basis of being “overly vague”. The verdict was announced to the sound of applause in the courtroom. Continue reading...

Michael Lawrence accused of ignoring safety rules before crash that killed Emily Lewis, 15, on Southampton WaterA schoolgirl was killed in a speedboat crash after a “grossly negligent” skipper ignored safety rules and smashed into a large buoy at more than 40mph, a court heard.Michael Lawrence, who was highly experienced and qualified, is accused of taking risks by performing stunts before he ploughed into the metal buoy on Southampton Water, Hampshire, during what was meant to be a “high thrills” ride. Continue reading...

Ed Miliband accuses government of ‘dereliction of duty’ and demands extra support for householdsLabour has called for an immediate halt to the “shameful” forced installation of prepay gas and electricity meters, with the shadow climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, accusing the government of a “dereliction of duty” and demanding extra financial support for struggling households.The opposition wants a three-month moratorium on the installations – which are typically made when customers rack up debts with their energy supplier – and it has asked for an “urgent review of how energy vulnerability can be reduced”. Continue reading...

Court case revealed private life of Manchester City star, from his chat-up lines to profligate spendingBenjamin Mendy’s five-month trial lifted the lid on his private life off the pitch, offering unique “through the keyhole” access to his home and inner circle.The jury heard the defender’s chat-up lines: “I said to her, ‘Show me your bum.’ She showed me her bum and I said: ‘Do you want to have sex?’” They discovered he never used contraception, despite regularly sleeping with multiple women in the course of a night. They heard that Mendy and his friends sometimes had sex with the same women, albeit separately, on some nights. Continue reading...

Sportswear company claimed fashion label’s motif was too similar to its trademark three-stripe logoAdidas has lost a court case against the designer Thom Browne, after the sportswear company said the use of four stripes in his designs was too close to its trademark three-stripe logo.A jury in New York on Thursday rejected the accusation. If successful, Adidas had been asking for more than $8m (£6.55m), comprising $867,225 in potential licensing fees and more than $7m to represent the profit Adidas believes Browne made by using the stripes. Continue reading...

Leader of the Labour party made the comments during a speech on Brexit in Northern Ireland. This live blog is closedThe UK culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, has said she is “not ruling out” changing the online safety bill to allow regulators to prosecute social media bosses who are found not to have protected children’s safety.Donelan told the BBC she was open to making changes that have been demanded by dozens of Conservative MPs, saying she would take a “sensible approach” to their ideas.Obviously this is a very sensitive area and I know there were very robust debates and exchanges on it as the bill was passing in Scotland. What I’m concerned about is the impact of the bill across the United Kingdom.There may be impacts across the UK that we need to be aware of and understand the impact of them, and that’s what we’re doing, and once the government has received final advice it will set out next steps.This is not just a question about the GRR people’s individual views on it. This is about democracy.The Scottish parliament has voted in favour of legislation that sits within devolved competencies, and it’s incumbent upon Westminster to ensure that legislation is passed in full. Continue reading...

Prime minister flew to Scotland with RAF plane days after he flew by jet from London to Leeds

Unions representing staff in NHS, transport and beyond warn of disputes escalating unless ministers give ground on payThe end of 2022 was marked by mass industrial unrest as employees across the transport network, NHS, Royal Mail, schools and the civil service took strike action. The start of 2023 has brought further stoppages by rail workers, bus drivers, teachers in Scotland, nurses, ambulance workers and civil servants.Paul Nowak, the new general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, has warned of a “rolling wave” of strikes this year unless ministers give ground on pay, with unions taking coordinated action so that stoppages happen either on the same day or in quick succession. Continue reading...

Charities say 24/7 monitoring for people on bail from immigration detention risk ‘total surveillance’People facing deportation have been told they must scan their fingerprints several times a day using devices installed with GPS technology under plans from the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.Those required to carry one of the handheld devices will be subject to 24/7 location tracking, with information including an individual’s name, date of birth and nationality stored on the device and shared with the government, police and other authorities. Users will receive alerts throughout the day to submit their biometrics and are obliged to carry the device with them at all times. Continue reading...

EU sources say progress in protocol dispute is slow despite growing momentumThe UK government is to further delay calling an election in Northern Ireland to give Brexit talks a chance.Senior EU sources said “slow progress” was being made in talks between the UK and Brussels, dampening hopes of a breakthrough by the end of January on the protracted dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol. Continue reading...