World news | The Guardian

Moscow makes claim as leaders of four countries bordering Russia arrive in Kyiv in show of support for Ukraine

Sarah Everard’s killer accused of the flashing incidents in Swanley, Kent, in 2021Sarah Everard’s killer, Wayne Couzens, has requested a trial by jury to face four charges of indecent exposure.The alleged flashing incidents are said to have taken place in Swanley, Kent, in January and February last year while he was a serving Metropolitan police officer. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Junta detained at least 26 intellectuals last year as it sought to suppress oppositionMyanmar jailed more writers and public intellectuals in crackdowns last year than any other country, according to a freedom of expression advocacy group.PEN America’s annual census of detained writers, the Freedom to Write Index, found Myanmar’s junta detained at least 26 writers in 2021 as it sought to suppress opposition after seizing power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Continue reading...

Lawyers acting for Coleen Rooney, who Vardy is suing for libel, want her to disclose conversations with agentRebekah Vardy is unable to disclose potentially crucial WhatsApp messages in the ongoing “Wagatha Christie” legal case because an IT expert has “forgotten the password” to the data.Vardy is suing fellow footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney for libel, after Rooney publicly alleged that Vardy leaked private information to the Sun. The wife of Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy strongly denies the claims made by the partner of Derby County manager Wayne Rooney. Continue reading...

On a now-deleted website, Katherine Deves criticised NSW police for endorsing Wear it Purple Day and makes a series of inflammatory posts about trans people

Detailed business case for Queensland project includes analysis that shows a negative return on investment

City’s weekend foot traffic was up 15% due to F1 and comedy festival, but office occupancy still lags behind rest of Australia at 30%

‘Whole security landscape’ changed with Russian invasion of Ukraine, say leaders at joint press conferenceFinland and Sweden could both seek to join Nato within weeks, their prime ministers have announced, saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed Europe’s “whole security landscape” and “dramatically shaped mindsets” in the Nordic countries.The Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, said on Wednesday that her country, which shares a 1,300km (810 mile) border with Russia, would decide whether to apply to join the alliance “quite fast, in weeks not months” despite the risk of infuriating Moscow. Continue reading...

Moscow claims Ukrainian marines in Mariupol have surrendered as Zelenskiy asks for arms to prevent ‘endless bloodbath’

Bear walks 150km ‘home’ to Abruzzo town three weeks after being returned to natural habitatAn errant bear has reappeared in his favourite Italian town after a failed attempt to rewild him.The two-year-old Marsican brown bear, affectionately known as Juan Carrito, walked 150km “home” to Roccaraso, a small mountain town in the Abruzzo region, bypassing several other towns along the way. Continue reading...

Three-year-old girl and five-year-old boy die after being taken to hospital following blaze on FridayTwo children have died after a house fire in Preston.Lancashire police said the three-year-old girl and five-year-old boy died on Tuesday after they and their mother were taken to hospital on Friday evening. Emergency services had been called to the address in Coronation Crescent at about 8pm following reports of a house fire with several people trapped inside. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says 178 of those targeted helped prop up self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk

The wide-ranging legislation, which comes amid a rise in such cases, is heralded as a victory ‘for all women’Indonesia has passed a landmark bill that for the first time outlaws forced marriage and sexual harassment.To tears and cheers from supporters in the gallery, on Tuesday the House of Representatives passed the long-awaited legislation that criminalises nine forms of sexual violence, including physical and verbal assault, harassment, forced sterilisation and exploitation. Continue reading...

Mason, a 20-year veteran at the BBC seen as a safe pair of hands, did not originally apply for jobChris Mason has been named as the BBC’s new political editor, replacing Laura Kuenssberg in one of the most prominent and powerful roles in British journalism.The 41-year-old Yorkshire-born reporter has been at the BBC for 20 years, including a decade reporting on Westminster for television and radio. The role gives him an unparalleled ability to shape how the UK interprets Westminster politics – and the government’s policies. As a result, he will face enormous pressure from Downing Street and opposition parties who want to shape narratives to fit their agenda. Continue reading...

Committee summons Paul Bew to give evidence on No 10’s role in Standard owner’s appointment to LordsThe chair of the commission that advised on the appointment of the Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords has been summoned to give evidence to MPs when parliament returns next week.Paul Bew, an Irish historian, will appear before parliament’s public administration committee on Wednesday to answer what its chair described as “very serious questions” about Downing’s Street’s role in the appointment. Continue reading...

Despite the cabinet rallying to defend the prime minister, some MPs are calling for him to resign

Residents express dismay online about tribute to city’s handling of outbreak after extended lockdownA state-owned TV station in Shanghai has postponed a show that highlights the positive sides of the city’s response to an Omicron outbreak after an online backlash.Shanghai Dragon Television, the city’s main TV channel that also broadcasts via satellite to Chinese-speaking audiences globally, announced the decision on social media late on Tuesday night, hours after it was criticised online. Dragon TV said it welcomed “valuable feedback to our work”. Continue reading...

Morrison says Warringah candidate Katherine Deves has ‘apologised’ over social media posts; nation records at least 39 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Decision over Spirit of Britain comes as firm planned to resume cross-Channel services for Easter weekendAnother P&O Ferries vessel has been detained after surveyors identified “a number of deficiencies”, casting doubt on the firm’s plans to restart the Dover-Calais route before Easter.The Spirit of Britain, which is based at Dover, has been detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and will not be released until a further inspection is carried out. Continue reading...

News Corp Australasia executive chairman issues all-staff memo, with scrutiny on election coverage likely to increase

UN agency intervenes in wake of claims predatory men using Homes for Ukraine scheme to target vulnerable

Former LNP MP backtracks on retirement plans, saying he should have made the move to Pauline Hanson’s party ‘a long time ago’

Archbishop of Canterbury says Church of England has long way to go on journey towards racial justiceThe archbishop of Canterbury has intervened for the second time in a dispute over a contested memorial in the chapel at Jesus College, Cambridge, stating emphatically that “memorials to slave-traders do not belong in places of worship”.Commenting on the legal battle over a memorial plaque to Tobias Rustat, a 17th-century benefactor who invested in slavery, Justin Welby gave his unequivocal support to those seeking its removal and suggested the Church of England still has a long way to go on its journey towards racial justice. Continue reading...

Attorney general asks for legal clarification in wake of acquittals of Black Lives Matter protestersThe attorney general has asked for clarification from the court of appeal over the circumstances in which defendants can cite their human rights as a defence in a case of criminal damage.Suella Braverman made the referral in the wake of the acquittals of four people accused of pulling down the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest. Continue reading...

Ukrainians who had narrow escape from missile attack are being treated for devastating injuriesThe evacuation train that was supposed to arrive in the Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk last Friday was late.Andrei Kovalov was standing on the busy platform waiting for the service that would take him west, far away from the fighting, which is on the verge of engulfing his home town of Bakhmut in Donetsk. The 45-year-old was among up to 4,000 other civilians at the train station that morning fleeing the advance of Russian troops across the country’s east. The station was hot and crowded, witnesses said; everyone was willing to stand on the long train journey, if it meant at least they could leave. Continue reading...

Coles pulls salad bags from stores in Queensland, ACT and NSW, while Ferrero issues global recall of Kinder products over food poisoning risk

Investigation launched by Ambulance Victoria and hospital in East Gippsland after the man died from cardiac arrest

Queensland Audit Office finds concessional loan scheme beset by administrative problems

Outfit worn by costume designer Sandy Powell bought by charity boss who has given it to museumThe costume designer Sandy Powell’s one-of-a-kind “autograph suit”, which was signed by more than 200 Hollywood celebrities and luminaries including Leonardo DiCaprio, Spike Lee and Donatella Versace, has been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum.The suit, worn by Powell during the 2020 film awards season, was auctioned as part of a fundraising effort by Art Fund to save Prospect Cottage, the creative studio of Powell’s mentor and friend Derek Jarman. It was bought by Edwina Dunn, the chief executive of the educational charity The Female Lead, who has given it to the V&A. Continue reading...

Chancellor and PM’s wife, Carrie Johnson, also said to have paid fines for lockdown breaches

Analysis: chancellor’s woes have considerably thinned the field of potential candidates to replace PM

A look at how this all began – and whether Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak will have to resign

Final copies of erstwhile listings and entertainment bible to be printed in June after 54-year run in capitalTime Out will stop publishing its London print edition after 54 years, becoming the latest in a long line of media outlets to abandon their physical presence and go online only.Generations of Londoners used to rely on the listings and entertainment magazine to plan nights out, circling events in the magazine and reading reviews of what was on in the capital – but the final print copies will now be printed at the end of June. Continue reading...

PM, chancellor and Carrie Johnson given fixed-penalty notices for attending No 10 lockdown party

President dismisses killing of civilians in Bucha by Russian forces as ‘fake’

FamilyVoice says Labor not to blame for ‘Morrison’s failure’ to pass the bill as Albanese pledges to extend school chaplaincy program with secular pastoral care

Exclusive: two Victorian councils limiting maternal and infant service, despite government lifting statewide pause enacted during Covid surge

Announcement comes alongside policies to strengthen Medicare and ‘make it easier to see a doctor’ as ambulance wait times blow out

Jobless rate set to sink to lowest rate since 1974 as employers say finding workers is ‘No 1 issue’, despite offering higher wages

Winners chosen from over 150 entries to awards run by Cartoon Museum and British Cartoonists’ AssociationA duck haphazardly flying into the jaws of a sitting bear and a witty depiction of the effects of arts funding cuts are among the winning entries to this year’s young cartoonist of the year competition.The Cartoon Museum and the British Cartoonists’ Association announced the winners on Tuesday after receiving more than 150 entries. Continue reading...

Navy and air force – who reportedly bought over 30,000 pills – claim drug supposedly being used to treat pulmonary hypertensionOpponents of the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, are demanding answers after the revelation that the country’s armed forces had splashed out on tens of thousands of impotence pills.“We must understand why the Bolsonaro administration is spending public money on buying such large quantities of Viagra,” the lawmaker Elias Vaz declared after Brazilian media reported the seemingly unorthodox acquisitions on Monday. Continue reading...

Campaigners are calling for the release of all foreign nationals being held, as conditions deteriorate after the Russian invasionHuman rights groups are calling for the urgent release of detainees in Ukrainian immigration centres, after allegations that conditions have dangerously deteriorated since the Russian invasion in February.At least 45 people are thought to remain in the EU-funded Zhuravychi migrant accommodation centre, a former army barracks situated in a pine forest in the Volyn province, according to the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW). Continue reading...

Kemarni Watson Darby murdered in 2018 by Nathaniel Pope while mother, Alica Watson, guilty of allowing child’s deathA man has been found guilty of murdering his partner’s three-year-old son who died in 2018 from severe abdominal injuries after weeks of “horrendous” cruelty.Nathaniel Pope, 32, was found unanimously guilty at Birmingham crown court on Tuesday, while Kemarni Watson Darby’s mother, 30-year-old Alicia Watson, was cleared of murdering her son but found guilty of causing or allowing the child’s death. Continue reading...

Badreddin Abadlla Adam, shot dead by police at scene, made repeated calls to Home Office and contractorsAn asylum seeker who stabbed six people before being shot dead by police had made more than 70 calls seeking help from the Home Office and its contractors, it has emerged.Badreddin Abadlla Adam was shot after he attacked a police officer, hotel staff and fellow asylum seekers at the Park Inn hotel in Glasgow in June 2020 after a serious breakdown in his mental health. Continue reading...

Airline plans for surge in bookings by recruiting employees amid disruption and cancellations

Analysis: Imran Ahmad Khan case puts Westminster’s culture of bullying and abuse back in spotlightThe intervention by Crispin Blunt to attempt to taint a court’s verdict of sexual assault against the former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan will put the apparent culture of impunity at the Palace of Westminster in the spotlight again.While the #MeToo scandal led to major reforms to try to protect staff members and parliamentary aides from bullying and abuse, there have been multiple attempts over the past few years to cast aspersions on those seeking justice. Continue reading...

Hazel McCallion retired as mayor of Mississauga after 36 years in 2014 but the ‘pragmatic populist’ has shown little sign of easing upWhen Hazel McCallion retired in 2014 as the mayor of the Canadian city of Mississauga, she was 93.But while most people her age typically retreat from the spotlight of public life, “Hurricane Hazel” has shown little interest in slowing down. At 101, she recently accepted an offer to extend her role as a director for the greater Toronto airport authority, a contract that will last three years. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says breaches of Covid regulations inside No 10 call into question Boris Johnson’s integrity