The Restaurant Group mindful of impact of Russia-Ukraine war, while drinks maker lowers profit guidance

UN rights office warns military has shown ‘flagrant disregard for human life’ and has deliberately targeted civilians since it seized power on 1 February 2021Myanmar’s military junta has committed widespread and systematic abuses against civilians that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the first comprehensive report to be produced by the UN’s human rights office since last year’s coup.The UN rights office warns the military has shown “flagrant disregard for human life” and has deliberately targeted civilians since it seized power on 1 February 2021. Continue reading...

UK foreign secretary also says Kremlin could extend ambitions to other east European countries in effort ‘recreate the Soviet Union’

Proposals included a ban on transgender school students from confidentially coming out and restrictions on sports and toilets

PM says Australia ‘will move in lockstep’ with allies on sanctioning the country’s largest trading partner

Rebuke followed story in The Australian about alleged disagreements between Kimberley Kitching and a group of female Labor senators

Couple who believed they had dug up the world’s largest potato in the garden of their small farm near Hamilton have had their dreams turned to mashWhen is a potato not a potato? When it’s a tuber of a gourd, according to Guinness World Records.A New Zealand couple who believed they had dug up the world’s largest potato in the garden of their small farm near Hamilton have had their dreams turned to mash after Guinness wrote to say that scientific testing had found it wasn’t, in fact, a potato after all. Continue reading...

Supreme court trial hears death of man’s ex-wife was allegedly made to look like suicide

As the UK government prepares legislation, culture secretary criticises tech leaders who “decide who is silenced or cancelled”Silicon Valley executives will no longer be the “supreme arbiters” of online speech, according to the culture secretary, as the government prepares to publish reformed legislation to tackle online abuse.Nadine Dorries said “unelected” tech leaders had become some of the most powerful people in the world due to a lack of robust regulation, adding that the situation will change under the online safety bill. This imposes a duty of care on tech companies to protect users from harmful content. A revised version will be published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Ukrainian PM says more time is needed for negotiations to bear fruit as he prepares to address US Congress

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Court also hears evidence from serving SAS veteran that Victoria Cross recipient wanted to ‘choke a man to death with my bare hands’ in Afghanistan

When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, he transformed the club’s fortunes and ushered in a new era of billionaire owners in the Premier League. But as David Conn explains, the issues that led to sanctions being imposed on him last week by the government have been in plain view for yearsFor nearly two decades, Roman Abramovich has sat at the top table of English football. His purchase of Chelsea in 2003 transformed the club from perennial underachievers to a major force in European football that has since won every major tournament the continent offers. But right from day one, as the Guardian’s investigative reporter David Conn tells Nosheen Iqbal, there have been questions about the origins of his wealth – as well as his closeness to the Kremlin.Following the invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich was last week placed on a list of individuals to have sanctions imposed upon them by the UK government, meaning that all his assets in Britain were frozen – including Chelsea FC. With the club now in crisis and up for sale, Conn looks back on what the Abramovich era has meant for English football, and why the authorities are only taking action now. Continue reading...

Police are still seeking to establish a motive for the alleged lighting of the fatal fire

Leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia express ‘unequivocal support’ for Ukraine after making perilous journey by train to meet Zelenskiy

From Harry Styles in a dress to gender-neutral dressing and ‘dad bods’, Fashioning Masculinities embraces past and present trendsFrom the death of the suit during the pandemic to Harry Styles appearing on the cover of US Vogue in a dress, the conversations around masculinity and fashion appear to be contemporary, however a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum aims to link modern men’s fashion to its storied past.Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear, which opens on 19 March, will feature a host of contemporary fashion designers (Versace, Calvin Klein, Martine Rose) alongside historical examples of the way men dressed (from Bowie to Beau Brummell). There are more than 100 pieces which the curators hope will illustrate how glacial the trends around men’s fashion actually are. Continue reading...

Victoria also recorded its highest daily coronavirus case total in five weeks as the more-infectious Omicron subvariant spreads

Promise of ‘light touch’ checks prompts fears traffickers could see arrival of mostly women and children as opportunity

Rebel enclave hopes global outcry against Russia, the Syrian regime’s main backer, will renew interest in their causeThousands of protesters in the rebel enclave of Idlib have marked 11 years since the start of Syria’s anti-government uprising, buoyed up by the global outcry over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.More than 5,000 people gathered on the main square in the north-western city on Tuesday in one of the largest rallies the region had seen in months. Many demonstrators hoped the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Syrian government’s main backer, would rekindle interest in their cause. Continue reading...

British-Iranian woman has endured almost unbearable psychological stress since her arrest at Tehran airport in April 2016In White Torture, a book about the horror of solitary confinement in Iranian jails, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe recalled her first night in jail following her arrest at Tehran airport on 3 April 2016.“The first night of detention I did not know where I was,” she explained. “I don’t remember what happened or what I did. I was shocked. I didn’t know why it had happened. No one gave me any explanations. Nobody told me why they were treating me like that, why they took my child away from me or where I was. The interrogation began.” Continue reading...

Former management for Sami Chokri allegedly made ‘huge effort’ to bring song Oh Why to singer’s notice, court hearsEd Sheeran was targeted with a “concerted plan” to secure his interest in a songwriter who later accused him of copying one of his songs, the high court has been told.The former management company for Sami Chokri, a grime artist who performs under the name Sami Switch, allegedly made a “huge effort” to bring the 2015 song Oh Why to Sheeran’s notice, the copyright trial heard on Tuesday. Continue reading...

The bright yellow Troxler density and moisture gauge was stolen from a van 25km south of MadridSpain’s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has appealed for people to be on the lookout for a soil-testing kit containing radioactive material that was stolen from a van in the Madrid region.In a statement released on Tuesday, the CSN said it had been notified of the theft of the bright yellow Troxler density and moisture gauge, which was taken after the van’s rear door was forced open in the town of Humanes, 25km south of the capital. Continue reading...

Labour leader warns about replacing dependence on Russia with reliance on Saudis, as PM prepares for Gulf visitKeir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator,” as the prime minister prepares to fly to Saudi Arabia to seek alternatives to Russian oil supplies.Johnson has a personal relationship with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, and government sources suggest he could help persuade the Saudis to increase oil production. The prime minister defended the trip on Tuesday, saying he had to build a coalition of countries to help the west reduce its dependence on Vladimir Putin, likening the Russian leader to a drug dealer who had got the west hooked on his hydrocarbons.

Alice Springs mass poisoning claimed two lives and left many in hospital but remains unsolved, showing challenges of verifying frontier killings

Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos star died from accidental blow to the head, medical examiner concludedFractures around Bob Saget’s eye sockets and bleeding around his brain were possibly caused by the comedian hitting “something hard, covered by something soft”, such as a carpeted floor, according to a report released on Tuesday that provided more details of the death of the TV star.The 65-year-old star of Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos was found by a hotel security officer on his bed at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando on 9 January, after he failed to check out and his family asked for a wellbeing check. Continue reading...

Boss of state TV protester among individuals targeted, as investment and luxury exports are banned

Irish cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova killed in attack outside KyivTwo Fox News journalists – producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova and cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski – were killed in the attack outside Kyiv which injured correspondent Benjamin Hall, the US network and its journalists confirmed on Tuesday.Fox News in a statement only announced the death of Zakrzewski. Ukrainian officials and Fox News reporters confirmed that Kuvshynova was also killed in the attack. Continue reading...

Lord McFall’s comment follows calls for parliamentary pass of Russia-born peer to be revoked

Accepting donations from lobbyists ‘defeats the purpose of donation transparency’, says public policy expert

Maxine Davison, who was killed with four others, voiced concerns before Jake Davison successfully applied for shotgun licenceThe mother of Jake Davison, who shot her and four other people dead in Plymouth, Devon, had reported him to the government’s counter-terrorism Prevent programme months before he applied for a shotgun licence, a coroner has heard.Maxine Davison, 51, contacted the programme in November 2016 with concerns about her son but Davison applied for a shotgun certificate in July 2017 and a certificate was issued to him in January 2018. Continue reading...

The story of the British-Iranian woman’s arrest and imprisonment, and the efforts to free herAs Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has her British passport returned amid reports the UK government has paid a decades-old £400m debt to Iran in a move that could facilitate her release from Tehran, we take a look at the British-Iranian woman’s continuing nightmare, which has lasted nearly six years.3 April 2016 Continue reading...

Which? describes number of bank closures as ‘alarming’, with many customers unable to go digitalHSBC is to shut a further 69 branches, on top of the 82 it axed last year, claiming the pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital banking.It is the latest in a line of banks to announce it is reducing its network in response to changing customer habits. Consumer organisation Which? said the number of closures during the last few years was “alarming” and that millions of people were not yet ready or able to go fully digital. Continue reading...

Gallery owner and his husband filled Chelsea apartment with paintings, ceramics and other artOver more than four decades, Neil Zukerman, a New York gallery owner, and his husband, Tom Shivers, filled their Chelsea loft with paintings, books, ceramics, glassware, figurines, silk flowers and countless other treasures. “We only ever had things in our house that we loved. And if we loved it, we found a place for it,” said Shivers.But after Zukerman’s death at the age of 81 last year, Shivers decided to sell some of the couple’s extraordinary collection, including 90 works by Leonor Fini, the 20th-century artist famous for her depictions of powerful and erotic women. Continue reading...

Manuel Murillo, a 66-year-old gun enthusiast from Catalonia, says he was overworked and had been drinking heavilyA 66-year-old gun enthusiast accused of suggesting the murder of Spain’s Socialist prime minister “to force a change in the political life of the country” has told a court he was never serious about the assassination, blaming his words on too much wine, brandy and bravado.Manuel Murillo, a security guard from Terrassa in Catalonia, could face 18 and a half years in prison if convicted of proposing the murder of Pedro Sánchez and of possessing illegal weapons and ammunition. Continue reading...

Charities urge chancellor to use spring statement to support disabled people through soaring energy prices and increasing fuel and food costsDisabled people will face “impossible choices in order to survive” amid a perfect storm of soaring energy prices, increasing fuel and food costs and cuts to government support, charities warn.As the UK steadies itself for a rise in energy bills next month at the same time as state benefits are cut in real terms, leading disability and poverty charities including Scope, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), Leonard Cheshire, and the MS Society have told the Guardian that disabled people and their families will be put under severe financial pressure. Continue reading...

Retailer backtracks after criticism for ‘reckless’ guidance amid new wave of infections and hospitalisationsWilko has admitted it “got it wrong” for telling staff they could come into work if they tested positive for Covid-19, and apologised after it was criticised for issuing “reckless” guidance amid a new wave of coronavirus infections and hospitalisations.The homeware retailchain, which has 414 stores and 16,000 employees across the UK, sent a memo to staff with guidance on its workplace policy after the government’s relaxation of rules as part of its “living with Covid” plan published last month. Continue reading...

Marina Ovsyannikova expressed deep unease over war in Ukraine before live protest in Channel One news studio

The travel industry has moved quickly to support refugees from Ukraine and British holidaymakers can play a major roleBritish holidaymakers eager to help the people of Ukraine are being urged to book with travel companies that are using their resources to support those fleeing the conflict.Dozens of transport providers, tour operators and accommodation websites have jumped into action. Eurostar is offering unlimited free tickets to Ukrainians travelling from any Eurostar station to the UK, while Wizz Air will provide 100,000 free seats on flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to any available destination. Continue reading...

Twenty-five-year-old woman arrested and treated for knife wounds after man, 39, found dead in streetA woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was found stabbed to death in the street in Liverpool.The woman, 25, was treated for knife wounds in hospital before being taken into police custody on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

UN says 70% of the population will struggle through the coming season as humanitarian workers are killed and supplies raided

Infighting over preselecting candidates for the federal election previously led to a special committee briefly taking over the NSW branch

Gambling Commission names rival Allwyn as its preferred applicant to take over licenceCamelot is to lose its licence to run the UK national lottery after 28 years as the Gambling Commission named rival Allwyn as its preferred applicant to take over.Allwyn, which is owned by the Czech group Sazka, Europe’s largest lottery operator, is expected to take over from Camelot in 2024. Continue reading...

Police hold fears for a fourth person still missing after an explosion in Newtown that officers believe was deliberateA murder investigation is under way following the deaths of three people in a “cramped, crowded” and “dilapidated” boarding house fire in Sydney’s inner west.Emergency services were called to the fire at the corner of Probert and Albemarle streets in Newtown about 1am on Tuesday after reports of a loud explosion. Three people have been confirmed dead, and police hold fears for a fourth person who is still missing. Continue reading...

British PM hopes to persuade crown prince to raise oil and gas production to reduce reliance on Moscow

Penny Mackieson bonded for two decades with a woman she was told put her up for adoption

Civil society groups call for £3.6bn for insulation, £4bn for heat pumps and return of universal credit upliftThe UK government must urgently bring forward billions of pounds in pledged spending on insulation and heat pumps, and reinstate the universal credit uplift to help poor households cope with soaring energy and food prices, civil society groups have told ministers.Vulnerable households are already facing stark choices between heating and eating, with hardship set to become even worse before next winter as rises in the cost of living bite, fuelled by the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said ‘there will be more’ after the seizure as the west targets Russia over its invasion of Ukraine

The redevelopment will feature 13,000 sq metres of exhibition space, a rooftop terrace and restaurant

Residential property prices surged 23.7% in 2021, according to the latest ABS report