Schools warn of ‘postcode lottery’ in which cash-strapped councils hold back money to cut budget deficitsSpecial schools in England are struggling to access crucial government funding worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to offset rising staff salaries and soaring fuel costs, headteachers have warned, with some facing cuts to class sizes.The autumn spending review set out £1.2bn in funding for schools to cover forthcoming national insurance increases and “wider cost pressures”, including the new £30,000 starting salary for teachers, as well as fuel price rises.

The Ukraine forces are picking up cut-price UK vehicles via a fund established by a comedian

Alyssa Healy soars to the highest score ever in a World Cup final as Australia beat England by 71 runs to lift the trophy4th over: Australia 11-0 (Alyssa Healy 5, Rachael Haynes 6)It’s a bit of a cat and mouse game going on so far - the English bowlers are mostly bowling very good line and length and the Australian batters are just waiting on the opportunities for the slightly looser balls to pounce on. It’s a very good over from Shrubsole, just one from it. Continue reading...

Civilians fleeing in cars mown down in the town of Bucha, north-west of Kyiv, where 20 bodies were found on the streets

Individual voluntary arrangements are an alternative to bankruptcy, but it is feared they are being widely mis-soldThe number of people with crippling debts who have entered into controversial official agreements to repay the money has reached an all-time high, new figures reveal.Individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) registered in England and Wales totalled 81,199 in 2021, more than double the number in 2015, according to the Insolvency Service. Continue reading...

Dangerous flash flooding possible in East Gippsland; NSW reports 11 Covid deaths and 16,807 new cases; Victoria has two deaths and 9,008 cases; Towke breaks silence over 2007 preselection fight with Morrison. This blog is now closedWe were expecting to hear from Scott Morrison this morning during his visit to Devils Gate Hydroelectric Power Station in Tasmania.There’s no media conference yet from that visit, but if and when it does happen we’ll let you know. Continue reading...

Attempts to find savings to help parents pay the bills would only trigger an exodus of low-paid staff, a government study warnsMinisters are being warned against loosening the rules around the number of children nursery staff can care for, after it was revealed that regulations are being examined as a way of cutting costs for parents.Expanding the number of children per staff member or relaxing other rules are being reviewed by children’s minister Will Quince, who is undertaking an international comparison as part of attempts to tackle the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Ukrainian forces liberating the town near Kyiv find streets littered with corpses of civilians and burned-out Russian tanksSee all our coverage of the Ukraine warThe retreat of Russian forces around Kyiv has left horrifying evidence of atrocities against civilians littered across the region’s suburbs and towns, turned into hellish war zones by Vladimir Putin’s invasion.As Ukrainian armoured columns rolled into Bucha, a town north-west of the capital, they found streets blocked by burned-out Russian tanks and military vehicles, and strewn with the bodies of civilians whom locals said had been killed by the invading forces without provocation. Continue reading...

Warnings in place for East Gippsland and the Snowy, Buchan, Bemm and Cann rivers with some areas likely to flood overnight

Seeing the tricolour as tainted, they took the ‘blood’ out to leave blue and white, then found others had done so too• Russia-Ukraine war: latest developmentsWhen Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine, anti-war Russians such as Kai Katonina, a 31-year-old designer who lives in Berlin, joined protests around the world. Katonina held up a sign that read “No to war”, but few in the crowd knew that they (Katonina’s preferred pronoun) were Russian.They said: “Onlookers thought we were Ukrainians because our people look the same. It was crucial for us to stand apart and show that Russians also oppose the war. We needed to identify ourselves.” Continue reading...

Ministers are considering another postponement to border controls amid fears of supply chain problems and higher pricesGovernment plans to waive border checks on goods from the EU – including food and livestock – will put the country at risk of importing devastating infectious diseases such as African swine fever and compound serious damage to UK trade caused by Brexit.The double warning has been issued by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) as ministers consider yet another postponement of post-Brexit inspections because of fears that checks will slow supply chains, add to bureaucracy and increase prices in shops at a time when UK consumers are already facing a cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Entrepreneur Selman Turk is being sued by a Turkish millionairess, in a case involving a payment to the Duke of YorkWhen the Turkish entrepreneur Selman Turk launched a new digital bank three years ago, he was entering a crowded market of online start-ups hoping to grab business from the traditional banks.It seemed there was little to distinguish the new London-based venture, Heyman A, from a host of other contenders. It had a rudimentary website, meagre funding compared to some of its digital rivals and no banking licence. “We are building a good bank for good people,” said its website. A footnote added that it was “in the application process” to become a bank in the UK. Continue reading...

Deputy defence minister says territory is ‘liberated from the invader’ as disturbing images in Bucha show bodies had been bound and hooded

Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, issues blistering attack on Seoul and ‘reckless remarks’ by Suh WookThe influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called South Korea’s defence minister a “scum-like guy” for talking about preemptive strikes on the North, warning that the South may face “a serious threat”.Kim Yo-jong’s statement on Sunday came amid heightened tensions between the rival Koreas over the North’s spate of weapons tests this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in more than four years. Continue reading...

The 13-year-old boy and a 51-year-old woman were rescued from the Glenelg River near South Australia border in early hours of SundayTwo kayakers missing in Victoria’s south-west were located after a resourceful 13-year-old used his watch to signal a police helicopter.The kayakers – a teenage boy and a 51-year-old Mount Gambier woman – failed to return to their rendezvous point near the Keegans Bend Track at Drik Drik about 8pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Shadow treasurer moves to make Labor policy crystal clear after Coalition seizes on ambiguity in Anthony Albanese’s comments

Russian retreat from Kyiv region reveals evidence of execution of civilians and mass graves; Kremlin has ‘accepted’ Ukraine’s position on all issues bar Crimea Continue reading...

Duke of York wrote about his experience in the conflict in a post on his ex-wife’s Instagram account that was quickly deletedThe Duke of York said he returned from the Falklands war “a changed man” in a piece posted to his ex-wife’s Instagram account.Andrew, who reached a multimillion-pound out-of-court settlement in a civil sexual assault case a few weeks ago, wrote more than 700 words about his experience in the Falklands. Continue reading...

P-28 plane took off from airfield in Warwickshire and was bound for Le Touquet in northern FranceRescue teams have carried out a search in the Channel after a plane flying from the UK with two people onboard went missing.The French coastguard told Sky News the aircraft is the “subject of a worrying disappearance” and a search for the plane was carried out “all afternoon”. Continue reading...

Jon Snow and other leading broadcasters express concern over appointment and call for C4’s public service remit to be protectedMinisters have been accused of another case of cronyism over the appointment of the new Channel 4 chair. Veteran businessman Sir Ian Cheshire has been chosen to oversee the broadcaster, which has been beset with rumours that it faces privatisation.Cheshire, former chief executive of Kingfisher, the B&Q owner, served on a business taskforce for former prime minister David Cameron. He also oversaw the selection process under which Tory donor Ben Goldsmith was appointed to the board of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He is chairman of Goldsmith’s investment firm. Continue reading...

The plane crashed in Upper Heyford near Bicester soon after midday on SaturdayA small plane has been destroyed and the pilot injured after crashing into a block of flats in Oxfordshire, emergency services have said.Oxfordshire fire and rescue service said it arrived at the scene of the collision in Upper Heyford, near Bicester, at 12.18pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Concerns women in abusive relationships or refuge accommodation face delays and poor communication with service providers

• MPs turn on Rishi Sunak over living costs crisis• Cut taxation not the deficit, chancellor toldThe chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is facing a growing Tory revolt over economic policy and his handling of the cost of living crisis, as senior Conservatives warn that high taxes will fatally undermine their party’s appeal to voters at the next general election.Former Tory cabinet minister David Davis said on Saturday that if the Conservatives were to become known as the party of high taxes, the damage to their economic reputation would be as deep and lasting as that inflicted on John Major’s government by the disaster of Black Wednesday in September 1992. Continue reading...

Whip withdrawn from Somerton and Frome MP after allegations handed to the Independent Complaints and Grievance SchemeA Tory MP was suspended from the parliamentary party on Saturday after a series of allegations relating to sexual harassment and cocaine use.The party has removed the whip from David Warburton, the Conservative MP for Somerton and Frome, who is understood to be facing allegations from three women, while a photo has emerged of the MP allegedly sitting alongside lines of cocaine. The picture of Warburton, published by the Sunday Times, is said to date from February. It is claimed it was taken at the home of a younger woman who he met through politics. Continue reading...

Demonstrators rally in London, Cardiff, Birmingham and other cities following major rise in cap on household billsThousands of people have taken to the streets in the UK in protest against the sharp rise in energy prices, as a cabinet minister said the government could not “completely nullify” the increases.Demonstrations took place on Saturday, including one near Downing Street in central London where crowds gathered to hear speeches, including from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Other protests took place in cities including Cardiff and Birmingham. They follow a major increase in the energy price cap on Friday, with average household gas and electricity bills rising to £1,971 a year. A further jump in October could take the cost up to £2,600. Continue reading...

The Rocketman star, who earlier in the run fainted and tested positive for Covid-19, was starring in CockTaron Egerton has withdrawn from the lead role in his West End play due to “personal reasons”.The Rocketman star, 32, had been performing in a revival of Mike Bartlett’s 2009 play Cock at London’s Ambassadors Theatre. Continue reading...

Former aide says Johnson seeking to protect himself and his wife CarrieDominic Cummings has accused Boris Johnson of encouraging attacks on junior civil servants over the “partygate” scandal in order to protect himself and his wife, Carrie.The prime minister’s onetime senior aide said senior officials had “turned a blind eye” to his behaviour. He referred to briefing against one No 10 private secretary, Hannah Young. It has emerged that her leaving party on 18 June led to the first fines announced this week. Continue reading...

Cause of blaze at Waheen market in Hargeisa, which destroyed hundreds of businesses, is not yet knownA massive fire tore through the main market in the city of Hargeisa in northern Somalia overnight, injuring about two dozen people and destroying hundreds of businesses, officials have said.Images posted on social media showed flames and huge billowing clouds of smoke in the night sky over the city, the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland. Continue reading...

Woman in her 80s pronounced dead at scene after emergency services were called to address in NewhamPolice have arrested a man after an elderly woman was stabbed to death in east London.Emergency services were called at 9.56am on Saturday to an address in Landseer Avenue, Manor Park, Newham, to a report of a woman in her 80s with stab injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Country’s biggest trade unions are taking on scores of employers to challenge low wage and salary offersUnionised workers are increasingly prepared to challenge inadequate pay offers and take strike action to ensure wages keep up with the sharply rising cost of living, amid signs that workplace militancy is growing in parts of the economy.Some of the UK’s biggest unions are battling scores of firms at the same time, with the number of industrial disputes well above pre-pandemic levels. GMB members entered into dispute with 42 employers between October 2021 and March 2022 – seven times the number of disputes in the same period in 2019-20. Unite members are currently involved in 30 disputes in England – almost four times the reported number involving the union three years ago. Continue reading...

Gardeners warned of frost damage to blooms on Saturday night ahead of a week of unsettled weatherThe UK is braced for more wintry weather across the weekend with frost creeping in overnight and temperatures set to plummet as low as minus 6C in some areas.Forecasters said the “peaks and troughs” of spring will hit most of the country over the next week, with sunny spells and windy intervals expected in most regions. Continue reading...

Levin, who worked for Ukrainian news website and contributed to Reuters, found dead in village north of Kyiv

The prime minister fails to feature on a number of Tory flyers for the 5 May polls, but his opponents are putting him front and centreAfter his ratings plunged in the wake of “partygate” and as his government faces demands to act over the cost of living, it may be a surprise to discover that Boris Johnson’s face can be found on leaflets for the forthcoming local elections. Unfortunately for the prime minister, it is not his own party’s literature that features his image.The Observer has seen Conservative leaflets circulated in London, the Midlands and the north of England in recent weeks. None of them shows Johnson, once regarded as the Tory politician able to reach voters that no one else in his party could. Continue reading...

New inspection system requires pupils to face questions without prior noticeSchools are being downgraded by Ofsted if children questioned by inspectors cannot recall the names of rivers in geography or struggle to explain key concepts in history, according to headteachers.Under a new inspection framework, schools risk being marked down if pupils fail to adequately recall or articulate what they have been taught, sometimes years before, when given an impromptu “pop quiz” by inspectors. At one flagship secondary school, an outstanding rating was lowered to good when 11- and 12-year-olds were unable to explain clearly “the principle of the rule of law”. Continue reading...

UK recruits to the legion of foreign fighters are heading for the frontline – fully aware of the horrors that may lie ahead

Russian scientists are turning to partners abroad to help them escape, but face an uncertain future even if successful

Coalition releases detainees as it prepares to face independents calling for more humane treatment of refugees, advocates suggest

Clovelly beach flooded over, Coogee Surf Club battered and boats ripped from moorings in Manly and Bronte

CEO Martin Hoffman says he regrets the practice and ‘it was a single case’ that will not be repeated

Prime minister says he did not say Towke was a Muslim or suggest he couldn’t be trusted because he was Lebanese

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Russia is trying to recruit conscripts from Crimea, as Kyiv denies being behind oil depot attack

Orlando Fraser to chair Charity Commission despite select committee calling him ‘slapdash and unimaginative choice’The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has pressed ahead with the appointment of former Tory parliamentary candidate Orlando Fraser to chair the Charity Commission, despite his rejection by an MPs’ scrutiny committee.The news that Dorries had ignored the cross-party group of MPs to appoint Fraser was slipped out in a brief statement by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) early on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Unions have been pressing for promised bill to be brought forward after sacking of hundreds of P&O staffThe Trades Union Congress (TUC) has reacted with fury to a report that an expected employment bill has been postponed despite anger over the sacking of hundreds of P&O workers.TUC said dropping the bill from next month’s Queen’s speech would “betray” workers. Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy are stuck at home – but that hasn’t made Victorian politics that much quieterBoth of Victoria’s political leaders were stuck at home this week – Daniel Andrews having tested positive for Covid-19 and Matthew Guy as a close contact of his nine-year-old son.But it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference if they weren’t. Continue reading...

Coalition spent $145m on advertising last financial year, with defence recruiting and Covid vaccines among biggest campaigns

Former judge Anthony Whealy says size of funding promises justifies keeping body to scrutinise water projects

Chancellor’s wife, Akshata Murthy, has £690m stake in Indian IT firm, which is now moving staff out of RussiaIndian IT services company Infosys, in which the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife owns an estimated £690m stake and collects about £11.5m in annual dividends, is “urgently” closing its office in Russia.Infosys’s decision to shut its Moscow office comes as pressure mounts on Sunak to answer accusations that his family is collecting “blood money” dividends from the firm’s continued operation in Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Families, friends and survivors listen in silence to recordings from inside theatre where 90 people diedOn the evening of 13 November 2015, about 1,500 concertgoers were watching the California rock band Eagles of Death Metal at the Bataclan theatre in central Paris. At the beginning it was “a great show”, fans reported afterwards. Youngsters were dancing in the pit in front of the stage and on the balcony; some were buying drinks at the bar.On Friday, for the first time, a French court heard audio recordings and saw photographs of what happened next. There was silence as the court was played three sound recordings from the Bataclan attack, one of a series of bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people and injured more than 300. Continue reading...

DJ responds to demand for nightlife that suits older people and other ‘Cinderellas’More than 40 years ago, the folk singer Fred Wedlock branded anybody showing a little grey hair who fancied a night on the tiles as that most tragic of figures: “the oldest swinger in town”.But, in 2022, refusing to give up dancing once your skin clears up is no longer a source of shame. Instead, there are enough people in middle age ready to go clubbing that they are taking over venues – until the clock strikes midnight, at least. Continue reading...