World news | The Guardian

Cost of £1.2bn means only a few hundred likely to be fixed in next five yearsAn increasing number of Britain’s road bridges are crumbling, with more than 3,200 identified as being substandard with a £1.2bn repair cost, local authorities say.In the past year, more than 100 council-maintained bridges have been declared unfit for the heaviest vehicles, according to research by the RAC Foundation, with 17 bridges collapsing entirely and 37 partially in that time. Continue reading...

Committee highlights a lack of transparency surrounding academy finances in its report on the sectorThe government has failed to get a handle on excessive salaries paid to academy trust leaders, according to parliament’s spending watchdog, which also criticised the use of tens of millions of pounds in public money to “prop up” poorly managed trusts.According to a report by the Commons public accounts committee, the number of academy trusts paying at least one senior staff member more than £100,000 went up from 1,875 in 2019-20 to 2,245 the following year. Meanwhile, a promised review of high pay by the Department for Education has still not been published. Continue reading...

Authorities brace for more wild weather in areas still recovering from floods earlier in March

Legal advice organisation says people have been forced to return to Ukraine because of protracted delaysSome Ukrainian refugees have described being forced to return to Ukraine because of protracted delays in securing UK visas, while others are living in underground bomb shelters in Kyiv, dismayed by the long wait for visas to be processed.A month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 10 million people are believed to have left their homes, of whom 3.6 million are thought to have left for neighbouring countries, according to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. Continue reading...

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Inquiry hears building approval submission for a private gaming room failed to mention a window allowing junket operator to receive cash from playersA senior casino manager has admitted “knowingly misleading” the New South Wales gaming regulator about how gambling junkets operated inside a private high-roller wagering room at The Star Sydney.Graeme Stevens, group compliance manager at Star Entertainment Group, resumed evidence on Friday at a royal commission-style inquiry into whether the gaming giant’s Sydney casino should keep its licence. Continue reading...

Independent senator says deal with New Zealand to resettle 450 people could have caused some to turn down US program

Chris Bowen says Labor wants to ensure system has integrity after whistleblower’s claims

Police say they are not looking for any suspects after fire on Western Port Highway in Cranbourne West

Second coronavirus vaccine booster shot to be available for elderly and vulnerable groups from 4 April along with winter flu immunisations

Criticism from Institute of Public Affairs comes after senator complains site calculating MPs’ voting patterns is ‘misleading’

Uncertainty over whether NT or federal government will continue to fund service protecting Indigenous people taken into custody

Police say plane was trying to land when incident happened at about 2pm on Thursday at Beccles airfieldA man has died after a light aircraft crashed at an airfield in north Suffolk.Police said the plane was attempting to land when the incident occurred at about 2pm on Thursday in the landing field at Beccles airfield. Continue reading...

Draft agreement circulating on social media suggests China could establish military base less than 2,000km from AustraliaAustralian officials are alarmed at Solomon Islands’ planned security deal with China with the defence minister, Peter Dutton, stating “we would be concerned clearly about any military base being established” less than 2,000km off the coast.Solomon Islands has signed a policing deal with China and will send a proposal for a broader security agreement covering the military to its cabinet for consideration. Continue reading...

Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi accused of being responsible for the torture of opposition figure in UAEFrench anti-terror prosecutors have opened a preliminary inquiry into torture and acts of barbarism allegedly committed by Emirati general Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, according to judicial sources.. Raisi in November became president of Interpol.The inquiry follows a legal complaint by an NGO that accused Raisi of being responsible in his role as high-ranking official at the United Arab Emirates interior ministry for the torture of an opposition figure. Continue reading...

Masks will remain mandatory in health and care settings as cases rise across countryPeople in Wales will no longer be legally required to wear masks in shops and on public transport from Monday and the legal obligation to stay at home after a positive Covid test is to be scrapped.Mask wearing will still be mandatory in health and care settings, however, and businesses will have to continue to carry out coronavirus risk assessments and put “reasonable” mitigation measures in place. Continue reading...

Poland and Baltic states seek embargo, while other countries including Germany and Belgium want gradual measures

Barclay has not yet paid any of the £100m due to Lady Hiroko Barclay and halved her monthly allowanceSir Frederick Barclay, who along with his twin brother was once one of the UK’s richest men, is relying on his nephews to fund his divorce battle after being evicted from his luxury flat, a court has heard.A high court hearing on Thursday heard that Barclay, 87, has not paid any of the £100m divorce order made almost a year ago and has halved the monthly allowance to his wife of 34 years, Lady Hiroko Barclay. Continue reading...

Dr Peter Schlesinger did not examine Porsche McGregor-Sims despite gynaecological issues, inquest toldAn NHS trust has apologised over the death of a 27-year-old events manager after a locum gynaecologist mistook aggressive cervical cancer for a hormonal or bowel problem.The family of Porsche McGregor-Sims, who died a day after being admitted to Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth, told her inquest that she had felt she was not listened to and that the misdiagnosis had robbed them of a chance to say goodbye. Continue reading...

Northern Irish executive has not commissioned any services since terminations became legal in 2019The UK government is taking legal steps to override the Northern Ireland executive and directly instruct the nation’s health trusts to provide abortion services, saying it will “take the necessary powers” to directly commission services if urgent progress is not made.The secretary for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, set out the UK government’s legislative options in strong language on Thursday, after it became “increasingly clear” that the Northern Ireland Department of Health (NI DoH) will miss the end of March deadline to fully commission abortion services in the country. Continue reading...

Joyce wrote letter of support for ASX-listed Costa Group for fibre-to-the-premises conversion under Coalition grants program

Staff across Australia take first steps towards industrial action as promised payments are caught up in bureaucratic delays

Analysis: Clunky media appearances highlight an awkwardness with ordinary voters that was invisible during the pandemicOne of Gordon Brown’s few and oft-repeated jokes was that there are two kinds of chancellor: those who fail, and those who get out in time.Despite having served little more than two years in the job, Rishi Sunak may have missed the moment to quit – or move next door – while he was ahead, according to Thursday’s front pages at least. Continue reading...

Move comes after Google banned adverts condoning the war from websites, apps and YouTube channels

Action comes as Lloyd’s of London returns to profit but warns Ukraine war will present ‘major claim’

Ho Hoang Hung set off with no navigation system after spending two years apart because of Covid restrictionsA Vietnamese man who tried to row 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) from Thailand to India to see his wife has been taken into custody after being rescued off the Thai coast.Ho Hoang Hung set off from the holiday island of Phuket in an inflatable rubber dinghy, equipped with water and instant noodles but no navigation system, planning to cross the Bay of Bengal not long before the start of cyclone season. Continue reading...

Competition and Markets Authority says deal could lead to higher costs for motorists in 121 areas of BritainFuel prices, already at record levels, could be pushed higher in 121 locations across the UK as a result of the £7bn takeover of Morrisons by a US private equity firm, the consumer watchdog has said.The Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation in January into the supermarket chain’s takeover by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), examining matters including a potential lessening in competition between petrol forecourts. Continue reading...

Sheikh Mohammed’s ex-wife Princess Haya granted responsibility for decisions on their children’s medical care and schoolingThe ruler of Dubai will have no face-to-face contact with his two children from his marriage to Princess Haya nor any substantive say in their upbringing, after a long-running court battle between the former couple and a series of damning judgments about his “abusive behaviour”.Concluding more than two and a half years of legal proceedings, which began when Haya fled to the UK with the children in April 2019, the president of the family division of the high court in England and Wales said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum had “consistently displayed coercive and controlling behaviour with respect to those members of his family who he regards as behaving contrary to his will”.Sheikh Mohammed orchestrated the abductions and confinement of two of his other children, Princess Latifa and Princess Shamsa – in the latter case from the streets of Cambridge – and subjected Haya to a campaign of “harassment and intimidation”.He hacked the phones of Haya and five of her associates, including two of her lawyers, using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware while the couple were locked in court proceedings.His agents attempted to buy a £30m estate next door to Haya’s Berkshire home in a “very significant threat to her security”, while publicly denying they were doing so. Continue reading...

Billionaire oil tycoon, six banks and a defence company also included in list

McKinsey partner who provided advice on jobkeeper replaces John Alexander in Sydney north shore seat

Chancellor says measures ‘will make a difference’ after critics say mini-budget not enough amid cost of living crisis

Exclusive: Tory peer Michelle Mone used private email addresses to contact Gove and another cabinet minister about PPE offerMichael Gove was secretly involved in the process through which a PPE company linked to the Tory peer Michelle Mone secured huge government contracts, according to newly released documents that show private emails being used for government business.The correspondence threatens to embroil Gove in the deepening controversy surrounding PPE Medpro, the company awarded government contracts worth £203m after it was referred to the “high-priority lane” for well connected companies. Continue reading...

Tasmanian senator says prime minister committed in 2019 to accept New Zealand’s offer to resettle refugees, but she could not talk about agreement

Searchers have found one of the two dogs Shayla Phillips was last seen playing with in Stormlea, south-east of Hobart, but there is no sign of the girl

Rex Patrick to reveal political intentions tomorrow after Nick Xenophon announces run for Senate; Japanese encephalitis declared disease of national significance; Liberals select candidate for Bennelong; fifth arrest this week over climate crisis protest; Morrison says having Putin at G20 ‘a step too far’; at least 35 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Oksana Baulina was killed with another civilian while reporting for the independent Russian news website the Insider

Boris Johnson tries to persuade Indian PM to take a more robust approach to Russia over invasionA high-powered cross-party UK delegation to India led by the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and his deputy has been called off at the last minute in a sign of a growing rift over India’s refusal to distance itself from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The 10-strong delegation has been in discussion with India since January and was planning to visit Delhi and Rajasthan, but the Indian high commission is understood to have raised objections at the last minute. Continue reading...

Comments come amid questions over the role of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s former deputy chief of staff at a Labor-aligned lobbying firm

Patrols of vigilantes are attempting to prevent children going missing and women being lured by suspected pimps at the Polish border

Themes of corruption and attitudes to poverty still resonate today, says Peter Flannery ahead of new Radio 4 adaptationIt’s regarded as one of the greatest British television dramas of all time, launching the early careers of its stars Daniel Craig, Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee and Mark Strong.But while it was set in the mid-60s to 90s, the storylines of politics, corruption and class prevalent in Our Friends in the North are just as relevant today, its writer has said ahead of a new radio adaptation. Continue reading...

Latest updates: Ukraine president says Thursday summits will reveal ‘who is a friend, who is a partner, and who betrayed us for money’; US says Ukraine has pushed Russian forces outside of Kyiv back

Joseph Leon McQueen used photo of ‘sign here’ stickers on immigration minister’s brief to argue decision was rushed

Russia’s failure to score a quick victory has led to a grimmer phase of the war, and much still hangs in the balanceOn 24 February, shortly before dawn broke in Moscow, Vladimir Putin made the latest in a series of televised addresses. His previous appearances had contained increasingly ominous tirades about Ukraine. Now here was the culmination: the declaration of what the Russian president euphemistically called a “special military operation”.The goal, said Putin, was the “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine. Continue reading...

‘Whoever is going to be the ruling party after the election, we are looking forward to a more positive relationship’, says Xiao Qian

Company to undergo two years remediation after royal commission finds it facilitated money laundering

More than 30 mayors and councillors say they should not shoulder consequences of delayed action

Under the deal 150 refugees a year held on Nauru, or who have come to Australia temporarily, will be eligible for resettlement

Musician says he has checked into a rehabilitation centre and has been struggling with ‘anxiety and depression’Former Silverchair singer Daniel Johns has been charged with high-range drink driving after being involved in a car accident on Wednesday night.On Thursday, New South Wales police said that a 42-year-old man had been arrested after a crash in the state’s Hunter region at 10.30pm the previous evening.In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Local heroes including screenwriter Jimmy McGovern and comedian Johnny Vegas will take stage at Shakespeare North Playhouse this summerA new Shakespearean theatre is to open in Merseyside this summer with a ceremony that celebrates “local heroes” including the builders who constructed it.The £30m Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Knowsley, has a 470-seat theatre, the Cockpit, modelled on Inigo Jones’s cockpit-in-court design in 17th-century London. The site also has an outdoor performance garden, funded by Liverpudlian comedian Ken Dodd’s charitable foundation, and a small studio theatre, as well as exhibition and educational facilities. Continue reading...