Boris Johnson contacted over alleged parties that took place while the UK was under strict Covid curbsBoris Johnson has been sent a questionnaire by Scotland Yard over alleged parties in Downing Street, in a move that could raise fresh concerns among Tory MPs about his leadership.No 10 confirmed late on Friday night that the prime minister received the document, and vowed he would respond to it “as required”. Continue reading...

FDA postpones key meeting, saying it needs to wait for data to show how well third Pfizer dose works for young childrenUS regulators on Friday put the brakes on their push to speed Pfizer’s Covid vaccine to children under five, creating major uncertainty about how soon the shots could become available.The Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply for authorization of extra-low doses of its vaccine for the youngest children before studies were even finished – citing the toll the Omicron variant has taken on children. Continue reading...

Mark Davison says he is ‘sorry and ashamed’ of his son Jake who who shot dead five people before killing himselfThe father of a man who shot dead five people in Plymouth has said he told police he did not believe his son should have a shotgun because he was concerned about his mental health.Mark Davison said he was ashamed of his son Jake, 22, who shot dead his mother and four other people before killing himself in August. Continue reading...

As the UK Treasury pushes for free tests to be scrapped, here’s how charges look in other countries

Valentine’s Day ‘the perfect storm’ as rose prices above double the usual cost

Guidance comes a day after Joe Biden told US citizens in Ukraine ‘things could go crazy very quickly’The Foreign Office has issued new guidance advising British citizens in Ukraine to leave now while commercial means are still available, amid increasing concern of an invasion by Russia.On Thursday Biden urged all US citizens to leave, saying “things could go crazy very quickly”. Continue reading...

Experts say pandemic pressures have contributed to a huge increase in abuse and antisocial behaviourFaced with a rising tide of acrimony, rage, and online crankiness, New Zealand has launched a nationwide campaign to try to calm its citizenry down.Over the summer, pastel posters began cropping up around the cities, asking New Zealanders to “dial it down a notch,” “read it before you hit enter,” and “comment with dignity”. Cartoon characters entreat keyboard warriors to take a breath, and consider “what would your mother say?” Continue reading...

Exiles intend to plant Mauritian flag on land UK claims as part of British Indian Ocean TerritoryFor Olivier Bancoult, of the Chagos Refugee Group, it was the sight of two skuas gliding over the waves that heralded long-promised landfall on his native islands.During the first three days of the voyage from Seychelles there had been remarkably few seabirds, until the Mauritian-chartered Bleu De Nîmes, a cruise ship converted from its former use as a British minesweeper, neared the Chagos Islands. Continue reading...

Village of Aceredo in Galicia was flooded in 1992 to create Alto Lindoso reservoirA ghost village that has emerged as drought has nearly emptied a dam on the Spanish-Portuguese border is drawing crowds of tourists with its eerie, grey ruins.With the reservoir at 15% of its capacity, details of a life frozen in 1992, when the Aceredo village in Spain’s north-western Galicia region was flooded to create the Alto Lindoso reservoir, are being revealed once more. Continue reading...

The Labour leader has directed his ire at anti-war campaigners, even though he knows we’ve been proved right again and again

Two serving officers with crisis-hit force referred over group in which misogynistic messages allegedly exchangedScotland Yard’s crisis has deepened as it emerged two officers and one former officer have been referred for potential criminal prosecution over their part in a WhatsApp group with Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens where it is alleged misogynistic and racist messages were swapped.The Metropolitan police is reeling from its commissioner, Cressida Dick’s resignation after she failed to convince the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, she could root out wrongdoing and transform the force. Continue reading...

Covid-hit travel industry sees a mini-boom, as people head off for breaks and summer bookings flood inAt London St Pancras, a ghost station for much of the past two years, the sun was shining through the glass roof and Elton John’s piano, sealed up for Covid, was ringing out again. Happily for Eurostar, the start of the half-term getaway brought the return of queues of passengers snaking up along the shopfronts, heading to Paris and Amsterdam.“I’m so excited, I’m like a child!” said one woman lining up with her boyfriend for the 10.22am departure, a 22nd birthday present of a trip to Paris. Continue reading...

Unofficial estimates say country may have highest number of victims of paedophile priests in worldPressure is mounting on the Catholic church in Italy to face a reckoning on child sexual abuse amid unofficial estimates that the country could have the highest number of victims of paedophile priests in the world.Damning investigations into the scale of sexual abuse and cover-up allegations have dealt a severe blow to the church’s reputation in the US, Ireland, Chile, France and, more recently, Germany. But in Italy the issue has been mostly buried. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson announced plans to end all domestic rules from Thursday 24 FebruaryOn Wednesday Boris Johnson announced plans to end all Covid regulations in England, including the requirement to self-isolate if you are infected with the virus.Five people who work in public-facing jobs share their reaction to the news and what ending of all Covid restrictions will mean to them. Continue reading...

The government has run out of ideas on Brexit, it’s demob happy on Covid rules, and the PM’s wife is under fireThe Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie Allsopp has some advice for young people wanting to buy their first home. Think twice about going to university and racking up student debt. Move back in with your parents for three years if you can. Stop going to the gym, watching Netflix, buying coffee from Starbucks and taking a couple of easyJet flights abroad each year. And be prepared to move to a cheaper part of the country if necessary. For someone who has made a living out of telling people how to get the best value for money out of their property, Allsopp’s maths is a little suspect. Assuming you are paying your parents no rent, you are probably saving yourself about £7,000 per year. Given that the average deposit, according to Halifax, is £59,000, you are going to have to stay with your parents for eight and a half years – assuming house prices don’t rise during that period. And if staying with your parents isn’t an option, it will take you 37 years to save for a deposit if you’re relying on cutting out coffee, the gym, streaming TV and overseas holidays. Nor does Allsopp seem to have thought through how moving to a cheaper part of the country might work if your job is in the south-east. Then there is the knock-on effect. If young people from London all move to the north to find affordable housing, where are those living in the north supposed to buy? There will always be someone who loses out. Though not Kirstie. She walked to work, went without a foreign holiday or two and soon had cash spare to buy her own house. That was in 1981, when the average house price was £51,000. And she was helped out by her parents. Continue reading...

As director’s movie is nominated for seven Oscars, residents of Mountcollyer Street recall back when the Troubles startedLittle remains of the street where Kenneth Branagh was raised.It is the day after the Oscar nominations and Branagh has professed he is “dazed and delighted” and in a “beautiful state of shock” over the seven Oscar nominations his film Belfast has received. Continue reading...

When Covid stopped contact sports, Italians took to padel, a sport popular in Spain, similar to tennis with a dash of squashAt one of Italy’s darkest moments in the pandemic, the government introduced a list of draconian rules to halt the outbreak of Covid, including which sports Italians would be allowed to practise.Among the activities the authorities considered safe were a few Italians barely knew. One was padel, a fast-paced racket sport popular in Spain, similar to tennis but with a dash of squash thrown in.

From sweet wrappers to noodle packets, Prof Kang Dong-wan collects litter that floats to South Korea from the repressive North. Can military secrets really be uncovered in their surprisingly sophisticated designs?On a clear day from the beaches of Yeonpyeong, a tiny South Korean island, you can see the coast of North Korea some 12 km (seven miles) distant. Glance down, however, and you might see something else. Amid the tangle of seaweed and greying driftwood, the chunks of bleached polystyrene and shreds of fishing net, there may lurk bits of brightly coloured plastic.To the untrained observer, these scraps – sweet wrappers, cigarette cartons, instant noodle packets, all covered in oversized script, vivid colours and garish cartoon characters – might only confirm the Yellow Sea as one of Earth’s most polluted marine environments. To the sharp-eyed, however, encoded in the design of these snippets is valuable information about the society from which they originate: North Korea, virtually a closed shop to the rest of the world. Continue reading...

Just days after January’s coup d’état, Sunday horse racing goes ahead at the hippodrome on the outskirts of Ouagadougou. People gather around the dusty circuit betting with what little cash they have to spare. Photographer Guy Peterson reports Continue reading...

The former PM says wealthy nations must coordinate resources to accelerate access to vaccines and testing for developing nationsGordon Brown has urged rich countries to consider “extraordinary measures” similar to those taken during the global financial crisis to increase developing nations’ access to Covid vaccines, calling on governments to fill a $16bn (£11.8bn) funding gap within weeks.The former British prime minister, who hosted the 2009 G20 summit credited with having staved off a second Great Depression and as chancellor helped unveil a landmark debt relief package at the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, said a similar act of international coordination was urgently required on Covid. Continue reading...

Airport says travel was down 56% in first month of 2022 because of Omicron cancellations

Evelyn Greenup, Clinton Speedy Duroux and Colleen Walker-Craig disappeared from the northern NSW town more than 30 years ago

One is a big meat eater; the other has just turned vegetarian. We air both sides of a domestic disagreement – and ask you to deliver a verdict• If you have a disagreement you’d like settled, or want to be part of our jury, click hereRay has become a bit intolerant since I’ve gone vegetarian Continue reading...

What began as a protest against vaccine requirements for truck drivers has grown into a widening movement as Trudeau refuses to engage with demands

After years of conflict between the DR Congo’s ineffective army, rebel forces and local militias, can Uganda’s entry into the war bring peace?For the past three months, Ugandan forces have been bombarding Islamist rebels in its border region with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The offensive, in the Rwenzori mountain range that straddles both countries, has forced many Congolese to leave their homes and move to the cities for shelter.Sarah Kasanga* is one. The Allied Democratic Force (ADF) militia stormed Kalingathe, her village north of Beni, in December 2019. People were made to lie on the floor while rebels searched homes for food, pots, money or clothes.DRC soldiers overlook Virunga national park at a military base on the outskirts of Beni Continue reading...

There was precedent for a commissioner determined to root out misbehaviour. Failure to follow it cost her the top jobWhen Robert Mark was appointed commissioner of the Metropolitan police in the 1970s he wryly suggested his ambition was to ensure the service arrested more criminals than it employed.In the five years of his leadership (1972 to 1977) Mark’s success can be measured by the 50 criminal officers he put before a court, and the nearly 500 others who were swept out of the organisation as a result of his ruthless uncovering of the entrenched and institutionalised corruption which had protected them for too long.Sandra Laville, a former Guardian crime correspondent, is now its environment correspondent Continue reading...

Thinktank linked to government has extended an invitation to the former US presidentHungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán is hoping Donald Trump will travel to Budapest in the coming weeks to boost his reelection campaign.A thinktank linked to the Orbán government, the Centre for Fundamental Rights, has issued an invitation to Trump, a government source told The Guardian. Continue reading...

Exclusive: presiding officer Alison Johnstone says it will be disappointing if parliament cannot attract more female politiciansIt will be “really disappointing” if the Scottish parliament cannot attract more female politicians within the next five years, says Holyrood’s presiding officer, as she launches Holyrood’s first women’s audit to investigate barriers to representation and participation.Alison Johnstone, the former Scottish Green politician who was elected last May to the position of presiding officer – the Holyrood equivalent of the Commons speaker – also suggests that political parties are falling short in selecting female candidates. She signals that the hybrid working arrangements used during lockdown and which suited working women in particular could become permanent. Continue reading...

Local government hopes reopening of mine – once world’s most profitable – will support bid for independence from Papua New GuineaThe mine at the centre of the decade-long civil war between rebels in Bougainville and Papua New Guinea security forces is set to reopen 30 years after it was forced to close, following an agreement between local landowners.Panguna was once one of the world’s largest and most profitable copper and goldmines and still contains an estimated 5.3m tons of copper and 19.3m ounces of gold, which would make the reserves worth about $60bn at today’s prices. Continue reading...

Harris, a Chicago native, was first arrested in September 2020 on a charge of production of child sexual abuse imagesJerry Harris, the former star of the Netflix documentary series Cheer, pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal charges of receiving child sexual abuse images and soliciting sex from minors that could keep him in prison for decades.During a change of plea hearing in federal court in Chicago, Harris pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of receiving child abuse images, a US attorney’s office spokesman said.In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International. Continue reading...

The first female head of Britain’s biggest force faced criticism over Operation Midland, Sarah Everard’s murder and the death of Daniel MorganDame Cressida Dick joined the Metropolitan police almost 40 years ago, while she rose through the ranks and became the first female commissioner of the force, her time has been marked by controversy.1983 – Dick joins the Met as a constable, patrolling a beat in west London. She is promoted to chief inspector within a decade. Continue reading...

Former Tory PM says disregard for honesty and standards puts UK’s democratic future at risk

Friday: The marsupial is officially listed as endangered after governments failed to halt its decline. Plus: how the electoral commission is winning friends on social mediaGood morning. Foreign ministers of Australia, the US, India and Japan are meeting in Melbourne today to discuss Indo-Pacific security and China-Russia relations. Koalas have been declared an endangered species, and rapid test shortages have left some aged care residents isolated from loved ones.The Australian government has officially listed the koala as endangered after a decline in its numbers due to land clearing and catastrophic bushfires shrinking its habitat. The status will provide additional protection for the country’s iconic animals. But the government is yet to adopt a long-overdue recovery plan that will set out actions needed to prevent its extinction. “The koala has gone from no listing to now being declared endangered on the Australian east coast within a decade,” said Dermot O’Gorman, WWF-Australia’s chief executive. “That is a shockingly fast decline. The status is a grim but important decision.” Continue reading...

Exercises come as Russia has amassed forces along its own border with UkraineRussia and Belarus have begun joint military exercises close to the Belarusian border with Ukraine, part of 10 days of drills seen as a significant element in the Kremlin’s menacing posture towards its neighbour.Up to 30,000 Russian troops, as well as almost all of the Belarusian armed forces, are taking part in the drills, which began on Thursday. They come at a time when Russia has also amassed forces along its own border with Ukraine, and in the annexed Crimean peninsula. Continue reading...

Likely candidates to lead Britain’s biggest police force after Dick’s resignationWith the Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, resigning from her post after a series of scandals, the chance to lead Britain’s biggest police force has come up much sooner than expected.Here are some of the most likely candidates to take over a beleaguered Scotland Yard. Continue reading...

Analysis: The letters have seemingly stopped but MPs may be keeping their pens dry for strategic reasonsAs MPs wheeled their suitcases on to trains for a short recess, those with lingering doubts about Boris Johnson’s leadership tucked their letter-writing pens back into their pockets.They seem unlikely to come out again until the Metropolitan police determine whether the prime minister committed any criminal offence by attending a number of Downing Street gatherings. Continue reading...

Watchdog criticises collapsed charity for its failures a year after exoneration for mismanagement

Latest updates: Boris Johnson responds to former prime minister’s assertion that UK’s influence in world has weakened under his leadership

The electoral commission says ‘professionalism’ is boring and disengaging – so it’s breaking the rules to combat growing mistrust in the political process

Foreign secretary issues warning as Sergei Lavrov describes UK’s contribution to talks as ‘just slogans’The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has personally warned Moscow of tough sanctions that are to be imposed if Russia attacks Ukraine, during tense talks that Russia’s top diplomat said were like a conversation of “the mute with the deaf”.The British sanctions package remained under government review on Thursday, somewhat undermining Truss’s threat as she led a British diplomatic effort to head off a potential Russian offensive in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Eastern-based parliament appoints former interior minister, but interim PM refuses to step asideLibya’s political turmoil is set to worsen after its eastern-based parliament appointed a new prime minister and the interim incumbent refused to step aside.A spokesperson for the parliament said it had chosen the former interior minister Fathi Bashagha by acclamation after the only other candidate withdrew. However, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads the internationally recognised Government of National Accord, has rejected the parliament’s moves, saying he will only hand over power after a national election. Continue reading...

Bosses advised to dock 100% of pay for staff who work to rule as UCU members prepare strike actionA bitter dispute between university staff and their employers looks set to escalate after it emerged university bosses have been advised to dock 100% of pay for staff who work to rule as part of industrial action that begins next week.More than 1 million students at 68 UK universities are to be hit by further strike action by members of the University and College Union (UCU), with up to 10 days of campus walkouts starting on Monday as part of a long-running dispute over pensions, pay and conditions. Continue reading...

Boy, 16, sentenced to five years for alleged plan to target FSB building created in computer gameA Russian teenager has been sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly planning to blow up a virtual FSB security service building in the video game Minecraft.The ruling falls into a broader pattern under President Vladimir Putin in which young Russians are put behind bars on controversial and preemptive terrorism charges. Continue reading...

The actor never thought she would make it in a lead role – until Terrence Malick had a word. Now she is stepping into the spotlight as Roxanne in Joe Wright’s CyranoIt’s quite an entrance. Haley Bennett walks into the Soho hotel room flanked by publicists, then breaks theatrically into song, filling the air with lyrics from her new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. The film is directed by her partner, Joe Wright; she plays Roxanne opposite Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage as Cyrano. It’s a fresh, modern and giddily romantic movie, and will probably do for Edmond Rostand’s classic play what Wright’s Pride & Prejudice did for Austen.Bennett sits down and places a framed photograph on the coffee table between us, of a sunny little girl with pigtails. Having become slightly obsessed with Bennett’s Instagram account (more later), I assume this is her three-year-old, Virginia. But no, the photo is of Bennett herself, aged four. “I was just visiting my family in Ohio,” she says brightly. “I think it’s important that we nurture the four-year-old in all of us, so I brought her with me.” Continue reading...

Approval for rare move expected after evidence government critics in Hungary and Poland were targetedThe European parliament is preparing to launch a committee of inquiry into the Pegasus spyware scandal after evidence emerged of government critics in Poland and Hungary being targeted with the surveillance software.The cross-party body will seek testimony from member states’ intelligence services, elected politicians and senior officials, with a previous inquiry into alleged European facilitation of CIA “black sites” providing a model. Continue reading...

At 180 metres tall, pyramid-shaped glass and steel skyscraper will be city’s third-highest buildingConstruction of a 42-floor, pyramid-shaped skyscraper began in Paris on Thursday despite local opposition and objections from environmentalists who have called the project “catastrophic”.The Triangle Tower (Tour Triangle) will, at 180 metres (590ft), become the city’s third-highest building after the Eiffel Tower, completed in 1889, and the Montparnasse Tower, which opened in 1973. Continue reading...

Musician becomes latest big name to cash in on a long and successful careerSting has sold his back catalogue, featuring hits including Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and Englishman in New York, to Universal Music in a deal thought to be worth up to $300m (£221m).The 70-year old, who first found global fame as a member of the Police in the late 1970s and early 1980s before going solo, becomes the latest big name musician to cash in on a long and successful career. Continue reading...

Police commissioner digs in, telling BBC London she has led force ‘very well’ despite series of scandalsDame Cressida Dick has “absolutely no intention” of standing down, she said on Wednesday, and maintains that she has been leading the Metropolitan police “very well”.The commissioner denied she was “complacent” or “arrogant” on Thursday, insisting she had transformed the force which has been hit by a series of scandals. Continue reading...