Presidential election comes as fuel shortages and currency woes take toll on continent’s most populous countryNigeria’s election on 25 February has been described as pivotal to the progress of democracy in Africa, where military coups and attempts by longstanding rulers to cling to power have raised fears of a “democratic retreat” from advances made since the end of the cold war.More than a dozen African countries go the polls in the coming 12 months, but experts agree that the presidential and parliamentary vote in the continent’s most populous country is the one that matters the most. Continue reading...

Swiss bank is cutting 9,000 jobs in restructuring programme after series of scandalsCredit Suisse has scrapped its annual bonus for top executives after the scandal-hit Swiss bank reported its worst full-year loss since the 2008 banking crisis.The lender on Thursday revealed a 7.3bn Swiss francs (£6.6bn) net loss for 2022, as clients withdrew their cash at a dizzying pace and the bank experienced a significant drop in income from its wealth, asset management and investment management divisions. Continue reading...

Disasters Emergency Committee coordinates rapid response by 14 charities including British Red Cross

Campaigners protest ‘inhumane’ Home Office policies and call for resignation of Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman at London fundraiserCampaigners infiltrated a Conservative party fundraiser demanding to know what happened to asylum-seeking children who have gone missing from hotels,

Coalition frontbencher breaks ranks with Peter Dutton saying taxpayer funds should not be used for referendum campaigns

Exclusive: Party treasurer Charlie Taylor has attended fundraisers hosted by the minister who appointed him

Natalie Baini says evidence was arising in both her court actions suggesting a former minister had sworn false documents and it had been concealed by a party director

Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns argue and interject over privatisation, infrastructure and public sector pay

More than 900 products made by Hikvision and Dahua discovered at 250 federal premises

Social Mobility Commission says students should be informed of ‘earnings implications’ of course choicesStudents should be given more details about how the courses they study after leaving school might affect their employment prospects, it has been suggested, as figures show near-record numbers of 18-year-olds applying to university.A review of research into the employment effects of higher and further education by the government’s Social Mobility Commission showed wide variations in earnings, with some courses failing to boost salaries, while the most lucrative courses for graduates often admitted few students in England from disadvantaged backgrounds. Continue reading...

National Audit Office praises expansion of care but says soaring demand means delays will persistMillions of people in England with mental ill-health are not seeking NHS help, and many who get it face long delays and a “poor experience”, a report says.Long waits for care will persist for years because soaring demand, exacerbated by Covid, will continue to outstrip the ability of severely understaffed mental health services to provide speedy treatment, the National Audit Office (NAO) found.An estimated 8 million people with mental health needs are not in contact with NHS services.There are 1.2 million people waiting for help from community-based mental health services.While the mental health workforce grew by 22% between 2016-17 and 2021-22, the NHS recorded a 44% increase in referrals over the same period.In 2021-22, 13% of mental health staff – 17,000 people – quit. Continue reading...

Turkish president rejects growing criticism as rescuers continue to pull survivors from freezing rubble

Kyiv outraged as Pink Floyd star accepts Russian invitation to speak at UN security council and calls for immediate ceasefireThe veteran Pink Floyd rocker, Roger Waters, has addressed the UN security council at Russia’s invitation, and called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. But he was denounced by the Ukrainian ambassador as “just another brick in the wall” of Moscow’s propaganda.Waters spoke via a video link, dressed in a light brown tweed jacket, appearing on a screen looming over representatives of the 15 nations on the council, convened on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak asks defence secretary to look at options after Ukrainian leader’s plea in speech to MPs and peers

Exclusive: Erkin Tuniyaz ‘played central role’ in persecution of Uyghurs, says inter-parliamentary alliance on ChinaThe Foreign Office has shocked cross-party opponents of the Chinese treatment of Uyghur groups by revealing that it has asked the Xinjiang governor for talks.MPs belonging to the inter-parliamentary alliance on China (Ipac) called it “incomprehensible” that “anybody within government would think it appropriate to meet with someone who has played a central role in the persecution of Uyghurs – crimes our own parliament has declared to be genocide”. Continue reading...

Ukrainian leader drew upon his showmanship during trip to ask for ongoing support and place on agenda

William Shawcross’s review said government programme needed to concentrate more on Islamist extremismA controversial and long-awaited report that claimed the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism programme needed to concentrate more on Islamist extremism has been severely criticised as “deeply prejudiced” and having “no legitimacy”.William Shawcross’s review of Prevent made 34 recommendations after months of delays caused by ministerial tussles over redactions and the language. Continue reading...

A shock election winner in 2017, O’Mara rarely went to parliament and ‘just lay in bed all day’Six years ago, Jared O’Mara was seen as a breath of fresh air for British politics. “You don’t see people like me – young, working-class lads with disabilities – in parliament, but now you’re going to,” he said with understandable pride.Today, O’Mara’s reputation is in tatters, his fall as spectacular as his rise. The former MP for Sheffield Hallam has been found guilty of trying to claim about £24,000 of taxpayers’ money to help fund a prodigious drug habit. Continue reading...

Theo Paphitis owns Boux Avenue and Ryman, which face ‘material uncertainty’ about remaining going concernsThe former Dragons’ Den panellist Theo Paphitis says retailers are facing “one of the most complex balancing acts ever”, as two of his retail businesses face “material uncertainty” about remaining going concerns after being forced into the red by the Covid crisis.His Ryman stationery chain is struggling to refinance a £10m government-backed loan, half of which is due to be repaid in March, after reporting a £2m pre-tax loss in the year. The loss narrowed from £13.2m a year earlier after sales increased almost 40% to £105.6m thanks to the easing of pandemic restrictions. Continue reading...

Public urged not to share footage showing ‘violent altercation’ outside Thomas Knyvett college in AshfordFive people have been arrested after video footage showing what police describe as a “violent altercation” outside a school in Ashford, Surrey, was circulated on social media.A 39-year-old woman, a 16-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, a 10-year-old girl and a 43-year-old man have been arrested in connection with the incident, according to Surrey police who were called after a fight broke out outside Thomas Knyvett college on Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

Contest was triggered by MP Rosie Cooper’s resignation after being targeted in rightwing plotWest Lancashire constituents will vote for their next MP on Thursday in a Westminster byelection triggered by the resignation of Labour’s Rosie Cooper.Cooper announced she was stepping down last autumn after more than 17 years, after being targeted in a rightwing plot in 2017 in which a 23-year-old extremist had planned to “replicate” the murder of Jo Cox using a machete. Continue reading...

More than 11,000 confirmed dead with more than 8,000 rescued; Erdoğan visits quake zone

Ukrainian president to meet king and address parliament, as Sunak reveals training for Ukrainian jet pilots

Archer says she would ‘potentially’ support reform, if she can be satisfied it won’t cause heavy industry to leave Australia

Police and military sent to Nduga area after Susi Air plane was stormed and then burned by separatists opposed to Indonesian ruleSeparatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua region have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting a small commercial plane alight when it landed in a remote highland area on Tuesday, a pro-independence group said in a statement.A police spokesperson in Papua province, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, said police and military personnel were sent to the area to locate the pilot and five passengers. Continue reading...

Carrick, 48, admitted 85 serious offences during 17-year campaign of terror and attacks against womenDavid Carrick, who believed his position as a Metropolitan police officer made him “untouchable” as he raped, assaulted and inflicted “irretrievable destruction” on at least 12 women before intimidating them into silence, has been jailed for life.The firearms officer, entrusted to guard parliament and diplomatic sites after the Met missed clue after clue about the danger he posed, will spend at least 30 more years in prison for his 17-year spree of crimes. Continue reading...

Aftershocks and freezing weather hamper efforts of rescue teams searching for survivors after 7.8-magnitude quake

The service let employers report jobseekers who rejected jobs or submitted inappropriate applications

Choosing its preferred candidate, the Perottet government once again finds itself having to answer questions about public sector recruitment

Controversial MP appointed as Greg Hands’ deputy; Michelle Donelan becomes minister for science, innovation and technology. This live blog is closed

City of Utrera’s mayor heralds ‘extraordinary’ proof that building is part of legacy of Spain’s exiled JewsArchaeologists in the Andalucían city of Utrera have rediscovered a staggeringly rare Spanish medieval synagogue, which was later used over the course of seven centuries as everything from a hospital and a home for abandoned children to a restaurant and disco-pub.The find, announced on Tuesday, makes the 14th-century building one of a precious handful of medieval synagogues to have survived the aftermath of the expulsion of Spain’s Jews in 1492. Continue reading...

The fires raging at the Tory party, from bullying to tax affairs to public ennui, have left the impression the government is in its end gameWhen Rishi Sunak appointed his first cabinet back in October he was forced to, out of necessity, make compromises. After a turbulent few months, he had just taken over a bitterly divided Conservative party which looked set on a path of self-destruction.Despite any new prime minister’s obvious preference for packing the cabinet with their own people, he recognised that he had to reach out across the party if it was to have any chance of patching it up, even if only temporarily. Continue reading...

The prime minister hopes this reorganisation will bring faster growth, but he will be disappointedRishi Sunak has become the latest occupant of Downing Street to shuffle the Whitehall pack in the hope that a reorganisation of the machinery of government will lead to faster economic growth. History suggests he will not be the last.Since Edward Heath created the Department of Trade and Industry as one of his new “super-ministries” in 1970, it has been a process of almost constant change for the department that looks after business. Responsibilities have been added and taken away under politicians who have barely had time to find their feet before being moved on again. Continue reading...

Mixed ethnicity suspects in England and Wales charged 10 percentage points higher than rate of white counterparts for similar offencesBlack and minority ethnic defendants are significantly more likely to be charged for a comparable offence than white British defendants in England and Wales, a study commissioned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has found.The findings, described as “troubling” by the CPS and experts, show that defendants from mixed ethnic backgrounds are most likely to be charged, with 79.1% of the suspects charged, almost 10 percentage points higher than the rate of white British defendants charged. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. You can read our full report on the sentencing here:

Halifax figures show average house price largely unchanged in January at £281,684UK house prices were roughly flat in January, having fallen in the previous four months, according to Halifax.Average prices were stable at £281,684 last month, the lender said, after sharp falls of 1.3% in December and 2.4% in November. Continue reading...

Abbott says ‘we need more genuine science and less groupthink’ in announcing position at Global Warming Policy Foundation

The man, now 20, texted 92 Optus customers demanding they give him $2,000 or face ‘financial crimes’

Harley Shaun Bartolo had initially lied to police investigating the 2021 death of 16-year-old Jason Galleghan

Explainer: doctors say the drugs can help patients work through psychotherapy for PTSD – a condition that will affect one in five people in their lifetimes

Diver says view is his ‘gut instinct’ as missing woman’s partner says daughters ‘miss their mummy desperately’An expert diver who is aiding the search for Nicola Bulley has said he “doesn’t think she is in the water”, as specially trained divers continue to scour the River Wyre.Bulley, 45, from Inskip in Lancashire, vanished on the morning of 27 January while taking her dog, Willow, for a walk close to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre. Continue reading...

Investigators to examine wreckage and interview two pilots who were responding to a bushfire in the Fitzgerald River national park

Beijing lodges formal complaint with US embassy as Washington throws criticism back at ChinaThe diplomatic row has escalated over the Chinese high-altitude balloon that flew across the US before being shot down, as the first wreckage was salvaged off the Atlantic coast.Beijing on Monday accused the US of “overreaction” and the “indiscriminate use of military force” in shooting down a Chinese balloon, warning of damage to bilateral relations. Continue reading...

Researchers say couples need not get along to benefit, and social isolation may increase type 2 diabetes riskPeople who cohabit with a partner have lower blood sugar levels, even if they do not get along with them, according to a study that warns social isolation may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.The researchers believe that living with someone is an important source of social support for adults in mid to later life, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal’s diabetes journal. They found the effects were the same regardless of whether the relationship was harmonious or acrimonious. Continue reading...

Party wants to shift MoD procurement to ‘urgent operational footing’ with stockpiles depleted by gifts of military aid to UkraineLabour will seek to shift defence procurement to an “urgent operational footing” to help buy fresh arms for Ukraine and replenish stockpiles depleted by previous gifts of military aid if it wins the next election.The opposition party believes it has taken too long for the Ministry of Defence to buy fresh munitions, citing a near year-long wait to agree a contract to replace the 4,000-plus Nlaw anti-tank bazookas sent to Kyiv before and in the early stages of the war. Continue reading...

Dozens of countries offer help as rescue workers and residents frantically search for survivors after devastating 7.8-magnitude tremor

GMB’s Rachel Harrison says staff will not be ‘fobbed off’ by PM ‘kicking the can’ into next year’s pay roundA health union leader has described Rishi Sunak as deluded for suggesting NHS staff should abandon their campaign to secure a bigger pay rise this year.The GMB’s national secretary, Rachel Harrison, made the remark in response to Downing Street’s insistence that it would not talk about improving the £1,400 pay award for frontline personnel for 2022/23 even though it has triggered the wave of NHS strikes. Continue reading...

Donetsk governor says Russian forces throwing new troops at frontline; António Guterres says ‘prospects for peace keep diminishing’. This live blog is now closed

Two powerful earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria within 12 hours on Monday, killing at least 2,600 people, with death toll expected to rise

Police were under pressure not to send more cases to courts at time of attack a year before Plymouth shootingThe decision to not refer Jake Davison’s assault of two teenagers to the Crown Prosecution Service a year before he shot dead five people in Plymouth was wrong and posed a danger to the public, a detective has admitted.DS Edward Bagshaw said a case should have been sent to the CPS for it to consider charging him with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and battery. But the police were under pressure not to send more cases to the courts, which were struggling to deal with backlogs caused by the pandemic, and instead he was put through a restorative justice programme. Continue reading...