Ukraine says Russian bombing has destroyed or damaged 400 hospitals and medical centres; Moscow rushes to declare victory in Mariupol

Making a defence funding announcement in WA, prime minister continues to face questions about his handling of national security issues

This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog

Strictly Come Dancing champion will make her debut in CBeebies story corner with Can Bears Ski? by Raymond AntrobusRose Ayling-Ellis, the actor and Strictly Come Dancing champion, is to become the first celebrity to use British Sign Language to read a CBeebies bedtime story.The 27-year-old, who has been deaf since birth, starred as Frankie Lewis in BBC soap EastEnders and went on to win Strictly last year. Continue reading...

Judge to examine whether police or Nicola Gobbo engaged in improper conduct, as part of Mokbel’s effort to appeal convictions

Australians’ wages are tipped to grow over the next two years, but are not predicted to catch up with rising prices until 2024

Group in favour of supplying Kyiv with weapons noticeably younger than those of opposing view

Former PM tells Washington Harvard Club the rise of the independents could mean the ‘capture’ of the Liberal party is thwarted by ‘direct democratic action’ in the 2022 federal election

Super industry urges major parties not to ‘walk past this entrenched inequality while talking a big game on gender equality’

Winds reaching 109km/h recorded at top of Hobart’s Kunanyi/Mt Wellington, as weather system bringing up to 250mm of rain approaches Queensland’s northWild storms have cut power and forced schools to close in southern Tasmania, as Queensland prepares for intense rainfall and thunderstorms across parts of the state next week.In Tasmania, a severe weather warning was in place on Friday morning for heavy rainfall and damaging winds across the state’s south and east, including Hobart. Continue reading...

Murder of veteran Luis Enrique Ramírez – found in bag beside road – brings estimated death toll of journalists in president’s term to 34A Mexican journalist has been found dead in Sinaloa state, authorities say, marking the ninth death of a media worker in a unprecedentedly bloody year for the country which has drawn international scrutiny.Luis Enrique Ramírez, a veteran journalist and columnist at El Debate, was found dead on the side of a highway, the state’s attorney general said on Twitter. Continue reading...

Russia violated its promise of Mariupol ceasefire, Kyiv says, as US says it shared intel on the location of Moskva cruiser sunk by Ukraine

TV station finds 54% of document was apparently copied but Pedro Castillo calls accusations ‘malicious’Peruvian prosecutors are investigating President Pedro Castillo and his wife for alleged plagiarism after a local television station said an investigation showed the couple may have copied more than half the master’s thesis they co-authored.Panamericana television’s Panorama program used a transparency request to obtain the text of the 121-page thesis and submitted it to the plagiarism detection service Turnitin. Panorama said the couple appeared to have plagiarized 54% of it from other authors. Continue reading...

The Food and Drug Administration said the shot should be given only to those who request it or cannot receive other vaccines

Labour and Lib Dem sources say turnout appears to be low in possible sign of Tory voters staying away

Workers at plant in Romont alert authorities to mysterious white powder found in sacks of coffee beansSwiss police have seized more than 500kg of cocaine from a shipment of coffee beans delivered to a Nespresso plant.Workers at the plant in Romont, in the western Swiss canton of Fribourg, alerted authorities to a mysterious white powder found in sacks of coffee beans, police said. Continue reading...

Foreign Office says company part-owned by billionaire ‘operates in sectors of strategic significance to government of Russia’

Alina Kabaeva likely to join Patriarch Kirill, who supports war in Ukraine, on draft document of travel bans and asset freezes

Victims of paramilitaries demand Dairo Antonio Úsuga come clean about atrocities committed by forces he commandedThe accused head of Colombia’s Gulf Clan cartel is due to appear in a federal court in New York on Thursday, as victims in his home country call for guarantees that he will come clean on atrocities committed by the feared paramilitary fighters he once commanded.Dairo Antonio Úsuga, who is Colombia’s most wanted drug suspect for nearly a decade, was extradited from Colombia late on Wednesday on cocaine and weapons charges. Continue reading...

British farmers say urgent support needed to stop more going out of business, as Waitrose extends £16m lifelineTesco has been criticised over its failure to support crisis-hit British pig farmers, as smaller rival Waitrose extended a £16m lifeline to help suppliers manage the jump in production costs caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine.In an open letter to Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy, the National Pig Association (NPA) said the retailer risked losing its British supply base if it did not pay a “fair price” for its pork. Continue reading...

Sajid Javid announces move after emergency meeting with manufacturers and pharmacists

First girls will join in 2025 after boarding school facilities have been expandedSt Paul’s Cathedral is to admit girls to its internationally renowned choir, breaking with a tradition stretching back 900 years.The move comes 31 years after Salisbury became the first Anglican cathedral in England to offer girls places in its choir. Many others, including York Minster, Durham and Exeter, have followed suit. Continue reading...

Head of PCS, Mark Serwotka, claims failure to disclose key documents raises suspicions plan is ‘built on sand’Priti Patel has failed to disclose key documents to Home Office staff detailing how they should decide which migrants might be eligible to be removed to Rwanda, the leader of the UK’s biggest civil service union has claimed.Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union that represents departmental staff and Border Force officers, said the home secretary’s decision to withhold framework documents explaining the government’s offshoring policy raises suspicions that it is “built on sand” and a cynical attempt to score “cheap political points”. Continue reading...

Re-elected French president seeking coalition of the centre to see off threats from Marine Le Pen and leftwing allianceEmmanuel Macron’s centrist party, La République En Marche, is changing its name to Renaissance as the French president attempts to win a ruling majority in parliament for his second term in office.The party’s rebranding was announced just as campaigning is due to begin for June’s parliamentary elections. Macron is hoping to secure a parliamentary majority against competition from a new alliance of leftwing parties led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which is seeking to increase its small number of seats. Continue reading...

Sculptures at the Walker depict members of Sandbach family, who made a fortune from slave tradeA sobering set of wrought-iron ankle shackles used to restrain people below deck as they were transported from Africa to enslavement have gone on permanent display in a room of beautiful sculptures at the Walker art gallery in Liverpool.The shackles have been placed near sculpted portraits of the Sandbach family made in the 19th century by John Gibson, Liverpool’s leading sculptor. The family members were part of the Sandbach, Tinne and Co dynasty that made an immense fortune trading in enslaved people and their output, including sugar, rum, molasses, timber and coffee. Continue reading...

Confusion reigns over fighting at Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol as war shifts to grinding artillery duel

Ted Jennings says his wife, Fern-Marie Choya, would have wanted him to have their baby using embryo frozen during IVFA man whose wife died while pregnant with twins after fertility treatment is fighting for the right to use their last remaining frozen embryo to try to have a baby with a surrogate, in a groundbreaking legal case.Ted Jennings, 38, from London, says he is certain that is what his wife, Fern-Marie Choya, would have wanted. But the fertility regulator says this would be unlawful because Choya did not consent to posthumous surrogacy before her sudden death in 2019, while pregnant with twin girls. Continue reading...

Surveyor Myrddyn Phillips believes status of high ground near Blaenau Ffestiniog should be upgradedA hillwalker, surveyor and map-maker has pinpointed what he believes is a new mountain in north Wales that has been created by quarrying.Myrddyn Phillips, who has spent the last two decades sizing up obscure peaks to judge if they qualify for mountain status, has concluded a piece of high ground at a quarry near Blaenau Ffestiniog passes the test. Continue reading...

Food and Drug Administration ‘concerned’ about unproven health claims and packaging that appeals to childrenThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings to companies selling products including delta-8 THC, a cannabis compound, for making unsupported claims about the health benefits of the items.The FDA said even though there is very little research on delta-8 THC, a substance found in the cannabis sativa plant, online retailers and cafes are claiming products containing the compound will reduce anxiety or help with sleeping. Continue reading...

Traces in shirts and T-shirts appear to contradict German firms’ promises to revise supply chainsResearchers say they have found traces of Xinjiang cotton in shirts and T-shirts made by Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss, appearing to contradict the German clothing companies’ promises to revise their supply chains after allegations of widespread forced labour in the Chinese region.Recent reports have suggested more than half a million people from minority ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs have been coerced into picking cotton in Xinjiang, which provides more than 80% of China’s and a fifth of the global production of cotton. Continue reading...

People urged to come and view 5cm Bible found during survey – but do bring a magnifying glassA library is keen for people to come and see a century-old lost treasure it discovered during lockdown – but do think about bringing a magnifying glass.“Or really strong glasses,” said Rhian Isaac, special collections senior librarian at Leeds Libraries, talking about an 876-page Bible with Old and New Testaments which is less than 5cm in size. “It just looks like small squiggles, it really is tiny.” Continue reading...

Ex-tennis star may have to represent himself in potential case that could set post-Brexit legal precedentBoris Becker will be considered for deportation, the Home Office has confirmed, as experts said the potential battle could set a legal precedent and Becker may have to represent himself in court if he wants to remain in the UK.Last week, the former tennis star was jailed for two years and six months for hiding millions of pounds’ worth of assets after being made bankrupt in June 2017. Becker, sentenced under the Insolvency Act, will serve half the full prison term. Continue reading...

‘Once-in-a-generation’ exhibition will show 22 of his paintings for first time in BritainTwenty-two paintings by the influential post-impressionist painter Paul Cézanne that have never before been seen in the UK will go on show in a “once-in-a-generation exhibition” at Tate Modern in the autumn.They include the acclaimed Still Life With Fruit Dish, on loan from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which confirmed Cézanne’s reputation as one of the most important modern European artists. Continue reading...

The Old Vic theatre says its much-anticipated production of 4000 Miles, co-starring Eileen Atkins, will no longer go aheadIt was one of London’s hottest theatre tickets for 2020: a Pulitzer-nominated play with the enticing pairing of actors Timothée Chalamet and Eileen Atkins. But just over two years after Amy Herzog’s drama 4000 Miles had been scheduled to have its first performance at the Old Vic, the long-postponed production has finally been cancelled.A message from Chalamet, Atkins and the Old Vic’s artistic director, Matthew Warchus, was emailed to ticket bookers on Thursday morning. “Despite an enormous amount of effort from all involved, we have now sadly and reluctantly concluded that we are unable to reschedule the show at a time possible for everyone involved,” it stated. Continue reading...

Land to be repurposed for military use in one of the biggest expulsion decisions since 1967 occupationAfter a two-decade legal battle, Israel’s high court has ruled that about 1,000 Palestinians can be evicted from an area of the West Bank and the land repurposed for Israeli military use, in one of the single biggest expulsion decisions since the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories began in 1967.About 3,000 hectares of Masafer Yatta, a rural area of the south Hebron hills under full Israeli control and home to several small Palestinian villages, was designated as a “firing zone” by the Israeli state in the 1980s, to be used for military exercises, in which the presence of civilians is prohibited. Continue reading...

Broadcaster proposes almost doubling staff outside capital and becoming ‘northern-based’Channel 4 has said it could sell its £100m London headquarters and almost double the number of staff working outside the capital, to become “northern-based” under a plan it hopes offers an attractive alternative to the government’s privatisation push.Describing itself in the proposals as the “levelling up broadcaster”, it said it intended to increase spending on TV shows commissioned by production companies outside of London by hundreds of millions of pounds annually by 2030, in a move it estimated would create at least 3,000 jobs. Continue reading...

Chief constable issues swift denial after Emily Spurrell becomes first PCC to call her area’s force institutionally racistA police and crime commissioner (PCC) has become the first to call her area’s force “institutionally racist”, a statement quickly followed by a categorical rebuttal from the chief constable.In a roundtable discussion between three elected PCCs on Policing TV’s Talking Crime programme, Emily Spurrell, the Merseyside commissioner, was asked if she accepted that Merseyside police were institutionally racist. Continue reading...

Russian and Ukrainian forces remain engaged in ‘bloody battles’ inside Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol as 344 more people are evacuated

Chancellor considered rise of more than 3.1% but was told he could only do it ‘once a year’ due to 40-year-old system

Women’s movements have fought hard to reverse anti-abortion laws in their countries and say it’s not the end for the USReproductive rights activists across Latin America have vowed to protect hard-fought gains in their own territories as they brace for potential ripple effects if the US supreme court overturns Row vs Wade – the 1973 ruling which guarantees the right to abortion.Latin America has some of the most draconian anti-abortion laws in the world. But feminist movements have fought for decades to chip away at the prohibitions, and in recent years a younger, diverse generation of activists has mobilized in massive numbers to help clinch a string of victories in traditionally conservative countries. Continue reading...

Bronnie Taylor says government accepts there is a ‘need to do more’ and will pore over 44 recommendations

In election debate, Labor’s Brendan O’Connor says defence minister’s line of attack on China is for his own political purposes

Josh Frydenberg debates Kooyong challenger Monique Ryan; at least 56 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Plane returns to Heathrow after ‘rostering error’ meant first officer didn’t meet Virgin Atlantic protocolsA Virgin Atlantic aircraft turned back to Heathrow after it emerged the first officer had not completed his final flying test.The Airbus A330 jet was nearly 40 minutes into its journey to New York on Monday when the two pilots on board became aware of the “rostering error”, the airline said. Continue reading...

Roberts-Smith’s former comrade admits failing to provide to court an email with marked-up pictures of Afghanistan compound, despite subpoena

The hip-hop star, whose music career ended in the late 1980s, stabbed a homeless man, John Jolly, with a steak knifeKidd Creole, a member of foundational hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter, after stabbing a homeless man in New York City.The rapper, real name Nathaniel Glover, 62, was convicted of the crime last month. Prosecutors said that Glover killed John Jolly, 55, with a steak knife after the two engaged in conversation; Glover’s defence was that he felt intimidated by Jolly, who, it is alleged, asked Glover “what’s up?” in a threatening manner. Continue reading...

Trevor Evans defends use of quotes from registered charities despite inclusion potentially breaching political advocacy rules

Bernie Finn’s Facebook post came after the leak of draft decision suggesting US supreme court may overturn Roe v Wade

This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blogDaniel Boffey reports for us from Brussels on the contents of Ursula von der Leyen’s speech to the European parliament:The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been detailing her proposal to the member states on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, which includes a total ban on oil imports.

Woman the 10th survivor of the disaster, in which at least five people perished after a six-storey building in Changsha caved inRescuers in central China have pulled a woman alive from the rubble of a building that partially collapsed almost six days earlier, state media reported Thursday.The unidentified woman is the 10th survivor of the disaster in the city of Changsha, in which at least five people have died and an unknown number, possibly dozens, are still missing. Continue reading...