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Sami Chokri says high court proceedings have been ‘the most horrible weeks of my life’Ed Sheeran “belittled” a songwriter who accused him of ripping off his song in the 2017 hit Shape of You, the high court has heard.Sami Chokri said he was hurt by the tone of Sheeran’s lawyers’ emails after he noticed similarities between his song Oh Why and Sheeran’s Shape of You. Continue reading...

With bidding still open, fundraiser whose lots include the chance to appear in books by Lenny Henry and Peter James and lunch with Jeremy Bowen has raised £37,000An auction of signed books, experiences and mentoring sessions from the British literary community to raise money for Ukraine has raised £37,000 in its first week.Lots include lunch at the Ritz with Pillars of the Earth author Ken Follett, the chance to name characters in new books coming from crime writer Peter James and comedian Lenny Henry, a signed, limited edition of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s memoir, and a 1945 first edition of Nancy Mitford’s novel The Pursuit of Love. Douglas Stuart is offering two tickets to the launch event in April for his new novel, Young Mungo, along with a signed, dedicated first edition of the novel, his hotly anticipated follow-up to his 2020 Booker prize-winning debut, Shuggie Bain. Continue reading...

The alleged perpetrator also wrote on the New York Post’s site that his victims were ‘in on the backstabbing’Police in New York were on Monday still looking for a suspect who stabbed two employees at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on Saturday, after being denied entry due to a revoked membership.The suspect, whom police identified as Gary Cabana, 60, was seen on surveillance video jumping over a reception desk and stabbing two employees, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

Judge imposes nine-month sentence on Jasmine York after she was convicted for arson during protestsA judge has jailed a woman for the part she played in last year’s Bristol riot despite hearing she had mental health issues and had run out of medication.Jasmine York, 26, was given a nine-month sentence for pushing a bin into a burning police car during the disturbance, which followed a “kill the bill” protest. Continue reading...

Judges in Belfast dismiss appeal by unionists and say post-Brexit trade deal does not violate Acts of UnionThe Northern Ireland protocol of Brexit is not “simple or straightforward” but it is lawful, the court of appeal in Belfast has ruled.Northern Ireland’s lord chief justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan, along with two other judges in the court, concluded that the protocol had not illegally trumped the Acts of Union 1800, which established Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, or elements of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the peace deal that year. Continue reading...

Young fundraisers praised for their creativity and drive as they try to help children affected by war

Health secretary says jump in cases to be expected after scrapping of rules, but UK is in ‘good position’Britons should brace for a rise in Covid infections after the easing of restrictions, the health secretary has said, as the latest figures show rates are increasing as people socialise more.Sajid Javid said the UK remained in a “very good position” but rising infection rates were to be “expected”. To reduce the risk of serious infection, he urged adults eligible for a booster vaccine to have one, given that one in five had not yet received it. Continue reading...

Water firms commit to improving sewage discharge practices after government pressureSevern Trent and Anglian Water say they will accelerate efforts to protect rivers after the government and regulators called on the sector to do more.Last month, the environment minister Rebecca Pow called on water companies to significantly improve their practices in England and Wales to support the local environment. Continue reading...

With 2021’s races held behind closed doors, locals are welcoming this year’s festival with fervourOn the sort of crisp, bright day that Cheltenham festival regulars love, artists Emily Johnson and Andy Owen-Smith were to be found in a gallery in the Montpellier area of the Regency town, putting the final touches to an exhibition celebrating the power of the horse and the hustle and bustle of race day.“There’s real sense of excitement in Cheltenham,” said Johnson. “I’ve been dropping off flyers in the hotels and they are all packed.” Owen-Smith agreed: “I think there’s pent-up demand for the festival; the town can’t wait for it.” Continue reading...

Prime minister to host summit of Joint Expeditionary Force as he seeks to bolster European resilienceBoris Johnson is preparing to embark on a series of meetings with Nordic and Baltic leaders as he seeks to bolster European resilience after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The prime minister will host a summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in London, where he will urge leaders to work together to ensure no further nations fall victim to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression, No 10 said. Continue reading...

Taoiseach Micheál Martin says there is an increasing view in Northern Ireland that agreement is workingBoris Johnson has told the Irish premier that “significant changes” are still needed with the controversial Northern Ireland protocol – after the taoiseach said there is an increasing view that it is working.The prime minister met taoiseach Micheál Martin in London where the pair discussed Ukraine and the protocol before watching Ireland beat England in the Six Nations at Twickenham. Continue reading...

Since the Ukraine crisis began, the prime minister’s net approval ratings have improved – but from very low levelsA majority of voters still want to see Boris Johnson resign despite the crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.There has been a significant fall in the proportion of voters who want the prime minister to stand aside. However, the new poll showed that 53% still wanted to see him go – down 10 points since January. Continue reading...

Sister of singer Toni Braxton who had hits with Last Call and Broken Things was suffering from esophageal cancerThe singer Traci Braxton, who featured with her family in the reality television series Braxton Family Values, died on Saturday. She was 50.Her sister, Toni Braxton, and family said Braxton died “this morning as the snow was falling”. According to reports, Traci Braxton had esophageal cancer. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy reveals that at least 1,300 Ukrainian troops have died as French and German talks with Vladimir Putin fail

Ukrainian troops with anti-tank weapons set ambushes, while their enemy slowly encircles cities to besiege them

A first-hand account of the Russian occupation of the city by two female journalists

Katharine Birbalsingh tells school leaders’ conference ‘all the problems start on smartphones’Schools and parents can improve the social mobility of disadvantaged children by restricting access to smartphones, the chair of the government’s social mobility commission has said.Katharine Birbalsingh told the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference: “If we genuinely want things to be fairer, and we want our disadvantaged children to be socially mobile, the best thing I can do for them is getting them not to have a smartphone.” Continue reading...

German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire on call

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock calls for Sergei Brilev of state-controlled Rossiya 1 to be banned from UK and have assets frozen• Russia-Ukraine war: latest newsOne of Russia’s most popular television news presenters, who has been accused of being a propagandist for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has British citizenship and a family flat in west London.Sergei Brilev has been reporting on the war in Ukraine on the state-controlled Rossiya 1, which tightly follows the Kremlin’s messaging. The channel describes the war as a “special military operation” launched to protect Ukrainian citizens from “abuse and genocide”. Continue reading...

Satellite images show Russian forces edging closer to Kyiv, only 7,000 evacuated from besieged cities, and Ukraine fears Belarus will enter war as well

Officials say those executed were convicted of charges including terrorism and holding ‘deviant beliefs’Saudi Arabia has executed 81 men over the past 24 hours, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian national, on charges including terrorism and holding “deviant beliefs“, state news agency SPA said on Saturday.The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020. Continue reading...

The trend towards cashless is creeping into food outletsPopular restaurant chains which stopped taking cash during the pandemic have turned their backs on it long-term in the latest sign of Britain’s shift towards going cash-free.Prezzo, Itsu and Côte Brasserie are on a growing list of restaurants that have gone card-only for good, citing reduced costs, quicker customer service and claims of improved hygiene. Continue reading...

Chief inspector tells leaders the pandemic has ‘fractured the social contract between parents and schools’

Slow uptake by police sees just 456 issued in first year, says Home Office reportNew powers to shield stalking victims from dangerous perpetrators were “mis-sold” by the government and are failing to provide rapid protection, according to a damning report sent to the Home Office.Stalking Protection Orders were introduced in 2020 and allow police to intervene in ​stalking cases before a conviction, to prevent obsessive behaviours from escalating. Continue reading...

Ukraine city near Polish border has not yet been touched by Russian bombs but people are readying for the worst

Incident took place in the western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, a site of frequent ethnic violenceEthiopia’s government said on Saturday it would act against the perpetrators after a video appeared on social media showing armed men, some in military uniforms, burning civilians to death in the west of the country.The Ethiopia government communication service said in a statement on its Facebook page that the incident occurred in the Ayisid Kebele of Metekel zone in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, a site of frequent ethnic violence for more than a year in which hundreds of civilians have died. Continue reading...

As refugees crossing borders are met with a huge relief effort, aid workers are struggling to get supplies to the millions in need in the country

MoneySavingExpert founder calls on Sunak to act, saying extreme poverty produces civil unrestSome of the poorest people in the UK will “simply starve or freeze”, as a result of rocketing energy prices, consumer expert Martin Lewis has warned, as he urged Rishi Sunak to take action in his spring statement.Lewis said energy bills for an average household, already set to rise to £1,971 in April, could hit £3,000 in October, when the regulator Ofgem next sets the price cap. “That’s my conservative guess: not the worst case,” he said. Continue reading...

Cases of human trafficking and exploitation also reported as more than 2.5 million refugees try to escape fighting

Russia launched its war with unrealistic expectations but there is little sign of voices that could halt the conflict’s relentless grindEarlier this week, Russia’s defence ministry acknowledged that young conscripts had been sent into battle and some taken prisoner.The admission, notable in itself given Russia’s careful attempts to control the narrative about the war, came just a day after President Vladimir Putin assured his nation in a video address that conscripts “are not participating and will not participate” in the conflict. The backtracking prompted some to question whether the Russian leader lied in his statement or was simply provided inaccurate information. Continue reading...

Stung by its honeymoon with westernisation, Putin’s way of restoring Russian relevance has been to tear up global norms

New generation of volunteers are answering Ukraine’s call to join war effort, in echo of Spanish civil warWhen the anti-Putin activist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Pussy Riot punk group, was tried for blasphemy in Moscow in 2012, she wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a defiant raised fist and the Spanish slogan “no pasarán”: they shall not pass.The phrase is associated with the Spanish civil war, which Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has made terrifyingly relevant – especially as volunteer fighters from across the world gather to defend the country from his attack. Continue reading...

Russian forces edging closer to capital, satellite images show; US tells the UN that Russia has a history of using chemical and biological weapons, after Russia warned about the potential for the ‘uncontrolled spread of bio agents’

Alfredo Cristiani, who left the country in 2021, is accused of knowing of military plans to massacre six Jesuit priestsA court in El Salvador has ordered the arrest of former president Alfredo Cristiani in relation to the 1989 massacre of six Jesuit priests and two others by soldiers.Prosecutors allege that Cristiani knew of the military’s plan to eliminate the priests and did nothing to stop them. Continue reading...

Prime minister says more than 100 mobile homes are on their way to northern NSW as he tours flood-hit Hawkesbury region

Men unexpectedly informed of their release on Friday night but do not know if they will be allowed to live permanently in Australia

Janjaweed militias accused of attacking villages as violence continues to rise in a region once ravaged by civil warAt least 19 people have been killed in Sudan’s restive Darfur region in the latest violence between rival groups that has left dozens dead this week.Fresh clashes broke out on Thursday between armed groups in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains of West Darfur state, close to the border with Chad. Continue reading...

It’s unclear if Saudi authorities placed restriction on his release but human rights campaigners promise to fight themSaudi blogger Raif Badawi has been released from prison in Saudi Arabia after serving a 10-year sentence for advocating an end to religious influence on public life, his wife said on Friday.“Raif called me. He is free,” his wife, Ensaf Haidar, who lives in Canada with their three children and had been advocating for his release, told AFP. Continue reading...

Monarch, who recently recovered from Covid, ‘will continue with other planned engagements’The Queen will not attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on Monday, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.The 95-year-old monarch, who is the head of the Commonwealth, had hoped to join the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the event, after recently recovering from Covid-19. Continue reading...

Charges relate to series of protests that blocked M25 and roads near Dover in September and OctoberSeventy four people have been charged over Insulate Britain road blockade protests in Kent, the county’s police force has said, in what is believed to be the first criminal proceedings against the activist group.The force said a total of 104 charges had been laid against Insulate Britain members in relation to protests that took place on the M25 and on roads near the port of Dover in September and October last year. Continue reading...

Fears claims of plot to use birds to spread disease could be pretext for biological attack by Russia itself

Logan Mwangi’s mother, Angharad Williamson, her partner John Cole, and boy, 14, are on trial for murderA mother accused of murdering her five-year-old child was heard screaming: “What have you done with my son?” on the morning his body was discovered by police in a river, a jury has been told.Logan Mwangi, also known as Logan Williamson, was found in the River Ogmore close to his home in the village of Sarn, south Wales, having suffered 56 injuries to his face, head and body, Cardiff crown court has heard. Continue reading...

Religious orders called on to pay compensation for physical, sexual and psychological abuse carried out for more than 70 yearsVictims of sexual, psychological and physical abuse of children in care in Northern Ireland have rejected a formal apology by religious orders and called on them to pay compensation.Ministers and representatives of six institutions at the centre of the scandal on Friday issued a long-awaited statement saying sorry for what was described as “vile” and “unimaginable” abuse carried out for more than 70 years. Continue reading...

Versailles declaration says Russia’s war in Ukraine has heralded ‘tectonic shift in European history’

Andrés Manuel López Obrador was urged to tone down his rhetoric by MEPs after a spate of journalist murders – he did the oppositeMexico’s government has lashed out at the “corruption, lies and hypocrisy” of the European parliament after its members urged its populist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to rein in his media-bashing rhetoric after the murders of at least six Mexican journalists.Mexico’s press corps has been plunged into mourning this year by a succession of killings targeting media workers in what was already one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Continue reading...

French president accuses Britain of failing to live up to its claim to be leading the world in helping war victims

NFU calls for immigration review to bring in 10,000 more seasonal workers as war in Ukraine threatens food shortages

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Latest updates: the UK will target those complicit in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the foreign secretary says, as sanctions are announced for some Russian MPs