Irene Silsby describes terrible pain after fracturing pelvis at Rutland care home and waiting to go to hospitalA woman has described how she spent more than six hours of her 100th birthday waiting in agony for an ambulance after slipping and fracturing her pelvis while getting ready for a family lunch.Irene Silsby was due to be picked up by her niece, Lynne Taylor, for a celebration to mark her centenary on 9 April. But she fell in the windowless bathroom of her care home in Greetham, Rutland, and staff called an ambulance at 9am after she managed to summon help. Continue reading...

Shelling and strikes in Donbas increasing but Russians hampered by logistical problems, Ministry of Defence claims

War critics grow increasingly vocal while state media fuels hatred for the west

The story of the real-life escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944 is to be told at the London venue used as an internment camp for ‘enemy aliens’ during the first world warThe story behind the audacious 1944 escape from the Luftwaffe’s Stalag Luft III prison camp is to be retold in a new play at London’s Alexandra Palace, which was itself used as an internment camp for German, Austrian and Hungarian “enemy aliens” during the first world war.Tom, Dick and Harry will recount the breakout of 76 allied airmen from the camp at Sagan in Germany (now Żagań in Poland) which inspired the 1963 film The Great Escape, featuring an all-star cast and a thrilling though fictitious motorbike exploit for Steve McQueen. The play is written by Theresa Heskins, Andrew Pollard and Michael Hugo with Heskins also directing. Continue reading...

Actor takes stand in defamation trial and denies Heard’s domestic abuse claims, saying ‘I have never struck any woman in my life’Taking the stand in his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp said her domestic abuse allegations against him were disturbing, heinous and “not based in any species of truth”.“Nothing of the kind ever happened,” Depp said in court on Tuesday. “Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms Heard in any way. Nor have I ever struck any woman in my life.” Continue reading...

Latest updates: the prime minister apologises for breaking Covid lockdown rules but Labour says the public ‘don’t believe a word he says’

Streaming giant blames factors including increased competition, war in Ukraine and the number of people who share their loginsNetflix lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years at the start of the year and said it expects to lose even more in the spring, sending its share price crashing again on Tuesday.The streaming giant’s share price initially fell close to 20% on news that ​​it had lost 200,000 subscribers globally during the first quarter. Wall Street had been expecting the company to add 2.5 million subscribers. Netflix expects to lose 2 million global subscribers in the current quarter. Continue reading...

Aiden Aslin’s relatives say he is speaking under duress and was legitimate combatant with Ukraine

Stephen Watson spoke of how force had dealt with grooming gangs and ‘things that would not be done now’One of the UK’s biggest police forces has historically failed children and was “borderline incompetent” in the way it previously dealt with organised grooming gangs, its current chief constable has said.Stephen Watson, the head of Greater Manchester police, last week apologised in person to three women who were victims of gangs in Rochdale more than 10 years ago. It came with “substantial” damages and after a long, attritional campaign to get the force to admit failures. Continue reading...

MPs will vote on whether the privileges committee should look at PM’s alleged misleading of CommonsA vote will be held later this week on whether a special parliamentary investigation should be launched into Boris Johnson’s Partygate denials.Separate from the Whitehall and police inquiries, this would specifically look at if the prime minister purposely misled parliament. Continue reading...

Federal health data shows 4,547 people have died of Covid-19 this year to date, compared to 2,239 over 2020 and 2021

Under state law, sex workers can be evicted, refused accommodation and charged higher rents or fees

Albanese’s disapproval rate rose by five points but over half of all respondents still believe Labor will win the next election

Despite the release of 80,000 extra packages, thousands of people are still waiting for adequate in-home care

Maritime agency found issues with crew’s training, fire safety and lifeboat drills on European CausewayMaritime inspectors listed an unprecedented 31 separate failings on a P&O Ferries vessel detained last month, ranging from problems with fire safety to lifeboat drills.Inspectors for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) refused to allow the European Causeway to keep sailing from Larne, Northern Ireland, after discovering issues with labour conditions, navigation and documentation. Continue reading...

Country takes pride in limited-edition design featuring soldier giving middle-finger salute

Speaker grants Labour request for inquiry into whether PM misled MPs over law-breaking partiesMPs will vote on Thursday on whether to refer Boris Johnson for a formal parliamentary investigation into whether he misled them about his knowledge of Covid law-breaking parties.Lindsay Hoyle, the House of Commons Speaker, granted a request by Labour for the matter to be examined given the prime minister insisted repeatedly that no rules were broken in Downing Street during lockdown, but was later issued with a fine by police for attending a birthday party. Continue reading...

Nastya Slyvka and her son are among 23,500 arrivals, although not all are happily placed with a family

Ryan Michael Reavis is one of three defendants charged with supplying tainted oxycodone to the singerA man who admitted to handing over the fake pharmaceutical pills that killed Grammy nominated rapper Mac Miller received a federal prison sentence of nearly 11 years, according to court documents.Ryan Michael Reavis, 39, pleaded guilty on 30 November 2021 to one count of distributing fentanyl, as one of three men charged in connection with the 2018 death of the musician, whose real name was Malcolm McCormick. Continue reading...

Firms inundated with calls from customers as bosses fear impact of October’s scheduled cap riseAs many as four in 10 people in Britain could fall into fuel poverty when the price cap rises again this autumn, energy bosses have told MPs as they called for more government support for vulnerable households facing a “truly horrific” winter.Michael Lewis, the chief executive of E.ON UK, said between 30% and 40% of people in Britain might go into fuel poverty from October when the industry regulator, Ofgem, is again expected to put up the annual limit on tariffs. Continue reading...

London-based TDR Capital says investment in grocer is now worth £1.4bn on paperAsda’s private equity owner has claimed the value of its investment in the supermarket chain has soared by nearly 20 times as it gears up for a potential bid for the pharmacy chain Boots.The London-based TDR Capital said its stake as co-owner of the grocer was now worth €1.7bn (£1.4bn) on paper, or 19.8 times its original investment, indicating that the finance group put in just over £70m of fresh cash to back the deal, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. Continue reading...

Bosses of FDA and PCS criticise attempt by efficiency minister to name and shame departments with more remote workersCivil service unions have condemned a “vindictive” move by efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg to name and shame Whitehall departments with the highest rates of working from home as part of a new drive to encourage staff back to the office.Rees-Mogg has circulated a league table of all 16 Whitehall departments’ office occupancy in an attempt to end civil servants working from home. Continue reading...

Charity calls for people who arrived on seasonal work visas and are now undocumented to be offered protectionHundreds of Ukrainians are believed to be living and working informally in Britain after escaping from farms they were working at, with many claiming to have been subjected to conditions of modern slavery.Ukrainians made up by far the largest proportion of workers in the UK on seasonal worker visas in 2021. Of the 29,631 visas issued under the T5 seasonal work scheme, two-thirds (19,920) were given to Ukrainians. The Scottish Refugee Council estimates there are up to 6,000 Ukrainians in the UK. Continue reading...

NSW’s Covid and Economic Committee met on Tuesday evening to discuss overhauling requirements as coronavirus cases drop

Hamas ‘weapons manufacturing site’ targeted in response to rocket fired from Palestinian enclaveIsrael has carried out its first air strikes on the Gaza Strip in months early in response to a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave as tensions soared after a weekend of violence around a Jerusalem holy site.Warning sirens sounded in southern Israel on Monday night after the rocket was fired from the enclave controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, the first such incident since early January. The projectile crashed into the sea off Tel Aviv. Continue reading...

The Florida judge’s ruling appeared to free operators to retain or discard masking policies, leading to confusionA federal judge in Florida has struck down Joe Biden’s national mask mandate covering airplanes, airports and other public transportation, prompting the White House to announce the rule would not be enforced while federal agencies decide how to respond to the judge’s order.The ruling appeared to free operators to make their own decisions about mask requirements, with several airlines announcing they would drop mandates, but other transport networks including the New York City subway planning to keep them in place. Continue reading...

The Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is under US and EU sanctionsThe United States is seeking to seize a superyacht suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch that is docked in the Pacific island nation of Fiji, a restraining order filed on Tuesday by Fiji’s director of public prosecutions showed.The luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is the subject of economic sanctions by the United States and European Union imposed in response to Russia’s activities in Syria and Ukraine. Continue reading...

The $100m tax on companies controlling more than 40% of market is ‘arbitrary’ and ‘perplexing’, says telco DigicelDigicel Group says it is considering legal options after Papua New Guinea imposed a $100m tax that the telecoms firm said had potential “implications” for the planned AU$2.1bn ($1.57bn) sale of the Pacific’s biggest mobile network to Australia’s Telstra.Telstra Corp Ltd said last October that it would buy the Pacific operations of Digicel in a deal largely funded by the Australian government, seen by observers as a way to block China’s rising influence in the region. The operations include 2.5m mobile phone subscribers across PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa and Nauru. Continue reading...

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Ministers say working from home should come to an end, while unions push for flexible workingCivil servants will be told to return to their desks to ensure government department offices are running at “full capacity”, according to reports.Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for government efficiency, has written to all secretaries of state calling on them oversee the “rapid return” of officials to their workplaces. Continue reading...

Cuba says US sanctions and decision to close American consular section in Havana encourage Cubans to seek riskier routes to USAmerican and Cuban officials are due to meet in Washington on Thursday to discuss migration concerns, people familiar with the matter said, in the highest-level formal US talks with Havana since Joe Biden took office last year.The meeting comes at a time when Biden’s administration is grappling with rising numbers of undocumented migrants attempting to cross the US border from Mexico, with Cubans making up a growing portion of them. Continue reading...

Avian sickness responsible for millions of deaths in commercial poultry farms in worst outbreak since 2015The bald eagle, America’s national bird, is the latest to fall prey to the highly contagious bird flu that has been sweeping across the US, affecting birds in a majority of states.The US is enduring the worst bird flu outbreak since 2015 in terms of domestic poultry deaths, according to new data from the US Department of Agriculture, with the avian sickness responsible for millions of deaths in commercial farms. Continue reading...

None of 17 markers on buildings where historical figures lived or worked, or where major events occurred, are in Labor-held seats

Living in a small town can have its advantages when it comes to the rising problem of identity fraud

Spotlight narrows on far-right candidate’s policies while both contenders try to woo leftwing votersEmmanuel Macron has consolidated his lead over Marine Le Pen as France’s presidential race enters its final week, according to polls, suggesting harsher scrutiny of the far-right challenger’s plans may be shifting the race’s dynamic.Six days from the runoff that will decide who occupies the Élysée Palace for the next five years, all 16 polls carried out since the first-round vote on 10 April have put the incumbent ahead, by between seven and 12 percentage points. Continue reading...

Scottish first minister was recorded without a mask in a barber shop, breaching her own Covid regulationsNicola Sturgeon has been warned by police officers about the law surrounding face coverings in Scotland after she failed to wear a mask in a barber shop on Saturday, in breach of her own regulations.The first minister was reported to Police Scotland after footage emerged of her in the crowded shop without a face covering, joking with staff and pretending to shave a customer while out campaigning in East Kilbride. Continue reading...

Four rockets kill seven people in western city of Lviv, whose mayor accuses Moscow of genocide

Family hopes to find a way to safely evacuate the puppies to loving homes in the UK or elsewhere

Five activists in Essex and Warwickshire face legal action over efforts to disrupt fossil fuel suppliesFive environmental activists were held on remand over the Easter weekend over protests at oil terminals in Essex and Warwickshire.Three members of the Just Stop Oil campaign held on remand by Warwickshire police were taken to Coventry magistrates court on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Izyum’s mayor and other witnesses tell of resistance and concerns over fate of thousands still trapped

Officers hunt for Ford Transit tipper truck after colleague was admitted to hospital with head and hand injuriesA police officer was taken to hospital after a truck reversed into their patrol car following an attempt to get the driver to pull over.Metropolitan police officers had stopped the Ford Transit as it was seen driving erratically through Stockwell, south London. Continue reading...

Moscow parades Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, with pair calling for Ukraine to agree prisoner swap

Elderly people in east Ukraine are waiting to be moved out as Russian troops advance

Alexander Downer says ‘no one will end up being able to reside in the UK if they pay a people smuggler’, in UK Home Office video

Exclusive: Plan follows schemes in US and China that have given 180,000 disadvantaged children access to keyboardsHe is a Chinese superstar, a piano virtuoso who has sold millions of albums worldwide and regularly topped the classical charts. Lang Lang has also used his fame and fortune to help state schools that lack music, sounding warnings at a 2019 awards ceremony in London that such lessons had become “a real challenge” for children in the most disadvantaged communities.Now he is bringing music to British state schools in an ambitious project that will set up state-of-the-art “piano labs” across the nation. Each lab will have 20 to 30 keyboards. Continue reading...