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Tornado with speeds of up to 114mph swept up sheep and caused extensive damage to farm in PennalStrong winds that caused “at least £100,000” of damage to a farm in north Wales have been confirmed as a tornado by experts.The extreme weather struck Gogarth Hall Farm in Pennal on Wednesday, uprooting trees and lifting a ewe and lambs into the air. Continue reading...

Chancellor obfuscated while imposing steep tax rises on ordinary Britons, says shadow ministerRishi Sunak and his family potentially avoided paying tens of millions of pounds in taxes through his wife’s “non-dom” status while the chancellor imposed tax rises on the public, Labour has said.The chancellor’s wife, Akshata Murty, gave in to mounting pressure on Friday, announcing she would pay UK taxes as Sunak’s position began to appear increasingly tenuous. Continue reading...

Tony Ikin, a dog breeder, had been travelling to Royal Easter Show when his car was submerged at CobbityA UK-born man has died after being caught in flood water on the outskirts of Sydney.The body of the 68-year-old was found in his van on Friday morning at Cobbity about 43 miles south-west of Sydney’s central business district, New South Wales police said in a statement. Continue reading...

Analysis: While the chancellor says his wife paid all UK taxes due, pressure is building over what he hasn’t said about their financesRishi Sunak is under huge pressure over his financial affairs and those of his wife, Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire who made his money in IT. These are the key unanswered questions: Continue reading...

Scott Morrison takes credit for saving 40,000 lives from Covid in social media video; prime minister expected to call federal election this weekend; hundreds of NSW residents still under evacuation orders; NSW records 10 Covid deaths; seven Covid deaths in Victoria; Queensland reports two virus deaths; police officer and driver killed in Victoria crash. This blog is now closedExclusive: Schools chaplaincy provider bans cohabitation and ‘sexually intrusive’ behaviour in staff’s private life

Anthony Albanese says Labor the underdog and prime minister treating the election as a ‘game’

Staff shortages, delays and rising prices are playing havoc with the healthcare, education, farming, hospitality and travel sectorsAlthough the UK no longer faces the threat of lockdowns or intensive care units being imminently overrun, coronavirus is still disrupting much of society and the economy.As Britain learns to live with Covid, the virus is still playing havoc with our daily lives, and these difficulties have been compounded by post-Brexit chaos in some in sectors. Continue reading...

On a two-day visit, tales emerge of killings and looting by a demoralised invasion forceThe day the Russians arrived in the sleepy, windswept village of Staryi Bykiv, they killed six men. By the time they had departed 32 days later, the soldiers had carried out at least three more killings, destroyed the school, systematically looted dozens of houses and turned much of the central street into a wasteland of charred buildings and rubble.The images from Bucha, west of Kyiv, have shocked the world and intensified Ukrainian anger over the Russian invasion, but the story emerging in harder-to-access small towns and villages east of the Ukrainian capital suggests those war crimes are far from an anomaly. Continue reading...

Three divers and their instructor had been unable to find their boat after surfacingA British man and a French woman were rescued in Malaysia on Saturday three days after going missing while diving, but the Briton’s son was still missing, police said.The trio and their instructor got into trouble on Wednesday after they surfaced from a dive near a southern island but could not find their boat. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy likens missile strike to Bucha atrocities after dozens die at train station where civilians were being evacuated to safety

Frustrated travellers complain of backlog at HM Passport Office prompting many to cancel breaksTravellers are being forced to cancel Easter travel bookings because of a backlog at HM Passport Office which is delaying renewals.Some passengers have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket because their new passports failed to arrive before their departure date. Continue reading...

Houston, who resigned as global senior pastor last month, attacks church he founded in online postThe founder of Hillsong, Brian Houston, has accused the megachurch of “losing its soul” and says his wife has been made redundant by the church’s board “through no choice of her own”.Houston resigned last month from the megachurch he founded in Sydney two decades ago after internal investigations found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct of “serious concern” with two women. Continue reading...

PM also agrees with view that some Covid rules appear ‘inhumane’ in retrospectBoris Johnson has agreed with the view of one of his minister’s that some Covid regulations appeared “inhumane” in retrospect, while arguing it was impossible to rule out another lockdown in the future.In an interview with GB News conducted by two backbench Tory MPs, Philip Davies and Esther McVey, Johnson also argued that “a lot of nonsense” had been said about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street. Continue reading...

Covert flow of information from BND enabled Konrad Adenauer to cement his hold on power, historians revealGermany’s first democratically elected chancellor used the country’s foreign intelligence service to systematically spy on his biggest political rivals for almost a decade, a group of independent historians tasked with researching the formerly West German spy agency’s history have discovered.The covert and illegal flow of information between the offices of Konrad Adenauer and the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) chief, Reinhard Gehlen, enabled the conservative politician to cement his hold on power through accurate insider knowledge on the campaign strategies, parliamentary manoeuvres and internal power struggles of the Social Democratic party (SPD), which led the opposition in the Bundestag at the time. Continue reading...

Dmitry Muratov posts picture and says his assailant shouted ‘here’s one for our boys’ in assault on train

Decision taken after MPs rejected draft bill is seen as humiliating defeat for chancellor Olaf ScholzThe German government has buried its plans to introduce a coronavirus vaccine mandate after parliament rejected it, but says further restrictions may be inevitable to protect more vulnerable citizens.MPs voted against the draft bill on Thursday, which had it passed would have made it compulsory for over-60s to receive a vaccine, in what is seen as a humiliating defeat for the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who has long been calling for the legislation. Continue reading...

Emerging footage adds weight to sense that number of deaths is far greater than officials admit

Lockdown had been due to end on Tuesday, leaving residents unprepared to be indefinitely houseboundStories of desperation are emerging in Shanghai as the city enters its third day of strict lockdown, with increasingly widespread reports of residents being unable to access food, medicine and other essentials.The city’s Covid lockdown was extended indefinitely earlier this week after staggered restrictions failed to contain infections. City officials had promised the staggered lockdown would end on 5 April, leaving many residents of the Chinese megacity unprepared to be indefinitely housebound. Continue reading...

Second adjournment prolongs agony of Afghans Amir Zahiri and Akif Rasuli, serving 50-year sentences for piloting a migrant boatMEPs appalled by “shocking” legal proceedings against two Afghans convicted of people smuggling in Greece have vowed to raise the issue with the European parliament.Lawmakers who had flown into Lesbos for a scheduled appeals court hearing of the asylum seekers on Thursday – the second in three weeks – were outraged when judges again adjourned the case, prolonging the agony of the refugees, who are currently serving 50-year prison terms. Continue reading...

Staff were uneasy after Koci Selamaj booked room at his estranged wife’s workplace, but police did not attendStaff at a hotel were uneasy about the behaviour of Koci Selamaj and called the police hours before he murdered Sabina Nessa, but officers failed to attend, it has emerged.On the day of the killing, Selamaj, 36, a petrol station worker who lived in Eastbourne, booked a £300-£400 room at the Grand hotel in the seaside town, where his wife, Ionela, worked. Continue reading...

Despite Covid deaths and enduring drug violence, voters look poised to keep president in office in referendum he supportsMaria de Lourdes loves her leader and is desperate for him to stay.“He’s the best president we’ve had in 70 years,” the retiree enthused this week as she prepared to bombard her phone contacts with calls urging them to back him on Sunday, when Mexico goes to the polls. Continue reading...

The AFL-CIO is leading a coalition demanding Fifa address concerns around human and labor rights at the 2026 World Cup in United States, Canada and MexicoThe US’s largest federation of labor unions is leading a coalition demanding Fifa address concerns around human and labor rights at the 2026 World Cup in US, Canada and Mexico and commit to minimum standards on these issues.The 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be held later this year has already been marred in egregious human rights and labor violations, including the deaths of thousands of migrant workers who were brought into the country to build stadiums and infrastructure for the event, evidence of forced labor, reports of withheld wages, exorbitant recruitment fees charged to workers, and paltry pay. Continue reading...

PM expected to visit governor general this weekend to trigger mid-May election after court refused to hear appeal against ‘captain’s picks’

Chancellor says Murty has ‘followed letter of the law’ with non-dom status and ‘loves her country like I love mine’The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has defended his wife after revelations that she claims non-domiciled status, meaning she does not legally have to pay tax in the UK on her income earned abroad.The businesswoman Akshata Murty, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, is an Indian citizen and is reported to hold a 0.91% stake in Infosys, an IT business founded by her father. Continue reading...

Rusal chair Bernard Zonneveld urges impartial investigation into killing of civilians in Ukrainian town

Oscar Piastri is turning heads, but Formula One star Fernando Alonso won’t readily step aside

Human rights group accuses Assad regime of profiting from detainees forced to sign away their rights, some while blindfoldedMore than $1.5bn (£1.2bn) worth of personal property including cars, olive groves, shops, houses, electronics and jewellery has been seized by the Syrian government from citizens accused of joining anti-government protests, according to a rights group.The Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) estimates that almost 40% of those detained after the Syrian uprising of 2011 were subject to property seizures.

Air travellers told to allow extra time for queues, while Eurotunnel expects rising traffic and P&O ferries remain suspendedAirlines and cross-Channel services are braced for their busiest weekend since the start of the pandemic, with outbound and returning holidaymakers set to swell numbers at ports that are already struggling to cope with surging demand.With all areas of the UK now on Easter holidays, passengers have been told to allow extra time to negotiate airport queues, as high rates of Covid infections worsen staff shortages at check-in and security. Continue reading...

Volunteers run makeshift classrooms for ‘hundreds’ of children at hotels facing long waits to get into schoolsThe children of refugees and asylum seekers are receiving lessons in hotel car parks in Manchester because no places have been found at local schools, charity workers say.Children thought to number in the hundreds, who have fled with their families from countries including Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and Syria, are being put up in hotels across the city by the Home Office while they await news about their asylum applications. Continue reading...

Briton Benjamin Hall, who lost half of one of his legs, has paid tribute to his colleagues who died, Oleksandra Kuvshynova and Pierre Zakrzewski

Alan Joyce says travellers are ‘not match fit’ after Covid as queues for security stretch outside domestic terminals

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Kremlin spokesperson says Russia has lost ‘significant’ number of troops, as Ukraine prepares to defend against major offensive in the east

Parliamentary inquiry says an asset holding company used to run NSW transport ‘off the books’ must be scrapped

Former MP says regional communities need independent representation in parliament for inland rail concerns to be heard

Former rugby league player, who has pleaded not guilty, to stand trial after high court denies application for special leave to appeal

Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg hold stakes in the Gladstone based refiner, which has been under pressure to cut ties after Ukraine invasion

Mechanical failure prompted pilot to request emergency landing shortly after plane took off from Juan Santamaria airportA Boeing 757-200 cargo aircraft operated by DHL has made a dramatic emergency landing at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria international airport, skidded off the runway and broke in two, losing its tail.DHL, part of Deutsche Post AG, said the crew was unharmed and that one member was undergoing a medical review as a precaution. Continue reading...

Aníbal Torres said his words were misunderstood but offered to apologize in person to Israeli ambassador Asaf IchilevichThe Israeli embassy in Lima has led a wave of protest after Peru’s prime minister Aníbal Torres praised Adolf Hitler, on the grounds that the fascist dictator turned Germany into the “first economic power in the world”.In a week in which the government of Pedro Castillo has been engulfed in a political crisis caused by rising fuel and fertiliser prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and the president’s own blundering efforts to calm the unrest – Torres’ inopportune remark on Thursday drew opprobrium from all quarters. Continue reading...

Koci Selamaj did not attend sentencing for murder of 28-year-old primary school teacher in LondonSabina Nessa’s family called her killer a “coward” when he refused to come to court to be sentenced for her murder on Thursday.Koci Selamaj, 36, drove to London from his home in Eastbourne on the south coast to carry out a premeditated attack on a woman after being spurned by his estranged wife. Continue reading...

Police officer denies making comments, which are alleged in an interview and statement released by Northern Territory supreme court

CWU bosses say increase is relative cut in salary but BT says it is its biggest award in two decadesBT has given 58,000 workers a £1,500 pay rise that it says is its biggest award in two decades, despite its largest union rejecting the deal and saying it intends to ballot members over strike action.Last week BT had a £1,200 pay rise offer rejected by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents about 40,000 of the company’s 100,000 employees, with union bosses describing it as “insulting” and a “relative pay cut” as soaring inflation fuels a cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

72 people were killed in the fire but Pickles said 96, the number first thought to have died in the Hillsborough disasterA former cabinet minister has challenged the Grenfell inquiry not to waste his time while giving evidence, before getting the death toll from the disaster wrong.Lord Pickles, who served as secretary of state at the then Department for Communities and Local Government between 2010 and 2015, sparked anger after he advised the inquiry’s senior counsel to “use your time wisely” as he had an extremely busy day. Continue reading...

Pressure grows on chancellor over tax affairs of wife, who pays £30,000 a year to be classed as non-domiciledRishi Sunak’s wife has potentially avoided up to £20m in UK tax by being non-domiciled and pays £30,000 a year to keep the status – revelations that come amid growing political pressure on the chancellor.Akshata Murty gets about £11.5m a year in dividends from a stake in an Indian IT firm and declares non-dom status, which allows people to avoid tax on foreign earnings, it emerged on Wednesday. Continue reading...

UK and Ukrainian ministers met to view missile systems and armoured vehicles that could be used in next phase of fighting

Supreme court rules PM acted unconstitutionally in dissolving parliament before confidence votePakistan’s supreme court has dealt a devastating blow to the prime minister, Imran Khan, by ruling that he acted unconstitutionally in dissolving parliament prior to a confidence vote he was expected to lose, and ordering the vote to go ahead this weekend.In the conclusion to a hearing that has gripped Pakistan for the past four days, the chief justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, said Khan had violated the law in his attempt to stop the vote, which was widely expected to oust him. Continue reading...

Decision to allow in unvaccinated travellers is reversed within hours from announcementThe Spanish tourist board in London has performed a U-turn on its announcement that the country will open its doors to unvaccinated British holidaymakers.The tourist office first told travellers that Spain would open up to all Britons, regardless of vaccine status, as long as they could provide a negative pre-departure test. Continue reading...

Adrian Chesters and son Nathen, 14, and Alexia Alexandra Molina from France did not return from training diveRescuers are searching for a British father and son off the coast of Malaysia after the pair disappeared on Wednesday during a group training dive.Adrian Chesters, 46, and his 14-year-old son, Nathen, were diving off the coast of Mersing, in the southern state of Johor. Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, from France, also remains unaccounted for. Continue reading...

Babis Anagnostopoulos alleged to have confessed to the Athens murder and to hanging her puppyThe trial of a Greek helicopter pilot accused of strangling his British wife as she slept next to their baby daughter is due to begin on Friday in Athens.Nearly a year after Caroline Crouch was found dead in the couple’s maisonette, her husband, who had originally attempted to pin the murder on ruthless “foreign thieves”, will appear before a mixed jury court in the Greek capital. It will be the first time that Babis Anagnostopoulos, 33, has been seen in public since his alleged confession to a crime that has gripped the nation. Continue reading...