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Luke D'Wit created fake will to make himself a director of Stephen and Carol Baxter's shower mat firm, court heardA man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years for the murder of a married couple who he poisoned with fentanyl after creating a gallery of fake personas to manipulate them.Luke D'Wit, who befriended and worked for Stephen and Carol Baxter, later changed their will to make him a director of their shower mat company. Continue reading...

CMA plans in-depth investigation into deal that would create UK's largest mobile phone operatorThe planned merger between Vodafone and Three UK, which would create the UK's largest mobile phone operator, has been referred to an in-depth investigation by the competition regulator.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it intended to refer the deal to a more detailed phase 2 investigation amid concerns that mobile customers could face higher prices and reduced quality. Continue reading...

Magistrate clears couple of other domestic violence allegations in hearing at Sydney's Downing Centre

Crime crackdown plan also gives victims of rape and sexual assault the right to specialist support throughout justice processSix police forces will be given powers to charge domestic abuser suspects without the involvement of the Crown Prosecution Service as part of a series of Labour proposals to solve more crimes announced on Thursday.A future Keir Starmer government would also give victims in domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault cases the right to have specialist support advisers throughout the criminal justice process and beside them in court. Continue reading...

UK's foreign secretary is in Australia alongside defence secretary Grant Shapps for high-level talks with Richard Marles and Penny Wong

Keli Lane, convicted of murdering newborn daughter in 1996, refused parole because she has not helped police find Tegan's body

This blog is now closedAs part of the latest Aukus developments, Australia will send A$4.6bn to the UK to clear bottlenecks at the Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor production line.Richard Marles was asked why it costs so much, and why this component needs to be done in the UK. He told ABC News Breakfast:We made clear a year ago that we wouldn't be building the nuclear reactors in Australia. They will be built by Rolls Royce at its facility in Derby in the UK and once the sealed reactors are built, they will be taken here to the Osborne Naval ship yard and placed in the submarines which the rest of which will be built here at Osborne.Building nuclear reactors is difficult to do and in order for this to play out, that facility in Derby, which is building nuclear reactors for Britain's navy, that needs to be expanded and that is what this contribution is for. Continue reading...

Royal College of Nursing survey shows NHS nurses' distress as 77% say they are worse off than a year ago

East was found critically injured on Fletcher Street in beachside Tamarama about 4am on Sunday morning and pronounced dead at the scene

Director of public prosecutions launches appeal against sentences handed down to Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant

High court told 3,541 unaccompanied children could arrive on small boats but Kent county council can accommodate only 1,631Accommodation for lone asylum seeker children who arrive on the Kent coast in small boats could run out before the end of this month, a council has warned, placing them at risk.Kent county council has legal duties under the Children Act to take these children into care on arrival in the UK. Due to its geographical location, it is under disproportionate pressure to look after these children compared with other local authorities. Under the national transfer scheme, many of the children are subsequently moved to different local authorities around the country after arrival. Continue reading...

Several schools have brought in shorts for cheerleaders at baseball tournament while another positioned teachers between the cheerleaders and spectatorsHigh schools taking part in Japan's annual spring baseball tournament are taking action to prevent spectators from taking sexualised photographs of female cheerleaders.The invitational tournament - and a regular tournament held every summer at Koshien stadium near Osaka - are supposed to be a celebration of youthful sporting prowess and a chance for teenage boys from 32 schools around the country to make their mark and perhaps catch the eye of a professional ball club. Continue reading...

Authorities are now mandating that climbers remove their waste from the mountain using biodegradable bagsIt's one of the more unedifying challenges involved in scaling to the highest point on Earth - how best to relieve oneself in the freezing, inhospitable environment of Mount Everest.That question is about to become slightly more complicated as climbers prepare for a change in protocol when the season gets under way next month, with a new rule about removing their own faeces as they trek up and down the mountain. Continue reading...

Magistrate refuses application for costs after 70-year-old cleared of serious indictable offence over not reporting his father's abuse to police

Leaders of the bloc caution that the country will have to undertake more reforms before the next step can beginEU leaders have agreed to open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina on joining the bloc, while also stressing the Balkan country would have to undertake more reforms before the talks could begin.Congratulations! Your place is in our European family. Today's decision is a key step forward on your EU path," European Council president, Charles Michel, wrote on X as leaders met at a Brussels summit. Continue reading...

Western Australia police appeal for information after second death in race after British ultra-endurance cyclist Mike Hall was hit and killed near Canberra in 2017

Reserve Bank says households are generally weathering the record run of interest rate rises but 5% of owner-occupiers are in a dire financial position

Former Manchester City striker taken into custody after court in Brazil ruled he should serve a nine-year sentence for offence committed in ItalyThe former Brazil and Manchester City striker Robinho has been arrested by federal police at his home in the city of Santos after a Brazilian court ruled he should serve a nine-year prison sentence for a rape he was convicted of committing in Italy.The 40-year-old footballer, whose full name is Robson de Souza, was taken into custody on Thursday night after his lawyers failed in their attempt to delay his detention over the 2013 crime, which took place when he was a player for AC Milan. Continue reading...

Home secretary chartered a private jet to make the one-day round trip to Kigali in DecemberJames Cleverly, the home secretary, spent 165,561 chartering a private jet for a one-day round trip to Rwanda to sign Rishi Sunak's deportation deal in Kigali.The trip took place on 4 December to sign the new deal with the east African state after the supreme court's finding that Rwanda was an unsafe country". Continue reading...

Ukraine could receive the first 1bn of interest on the sequestered assets by early JulyEU leaders have agreed in principle to commandeer a large majority of the profits generated from frozen Russian assets and give them to Ukraine.The proposal could generate 3bn (2.6bn) this year and the first billion could be released to Ukraine by July, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said late on Thursday at the end of the first day of an EU leaders' summit in Brussels. Continue reading...

EU leaders call for immediate humanitarian pause' while US expected to bring UN resolution calling for truce without delayEU leaders have overcome their differences to call for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza, hours before the US is expected to bring a resolution to a vote at the UN calling for a truce and a hostage deal without delay in the face of a looming famine.The EU declaration, at a Brussels summit late on Thursday, marked the first time European leaders had agreed a declaration on the Middle East since October. The US draft resolution to be put to a vote in the UN security council on Friday morning also reflects greater urgency in Washington's position. It is the first time the Biden administration has put forward language calling for an immediate ceasefire", although it continues to link a truce with a hostage deal. Continue reading...

LGBTQ groups welcome legislation passed after marathon overnight sitting, but critics line up to warn bail laws will put more children in jail

Maryland governor Wes Moore says voters in 2024 election are focused on cost-of-living, housing and healthcare issues

Alex Mahon says former staff member made serious' allegation in 2009 that was not investigated as it should have been'The head of Channel 4 has apologised to a former staff member for not properly investigating a serious" allegation made against Russell Brand in 2009.However, the broadcaster found no evidence" that staff at Channel 4 knew about the accusations made by four women in a Dispatches documentary before it was aired in September. Continue reading...

Source says wording suggests significant movement in US position as pressure mounts on Israel to halt campaignThe US has drafted a new UN security council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire" and hostage deal in Gaza, amid mounting pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign and allow the delivery of substantial amounts of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.The CIA and Mossad spy chiefs, William Burns and David Barnea, were expected to arrive in Qatar on Friday in the hope of clinching an elusive truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas. Speaking in Egypt, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said difficult work remained to be done but added: I continue to believe it's possible." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Letter with more than 60 signatories says membership perpetuates systemic discrimination against women'A group of more than 60 lawyers in England and Wales have called on all judges who are members of the men-only Garrick Club to resign from it immediately, claiming membership is incompatible with the core principles of justice, equality and fairness".In an open letter, the barristers, solicitors and legal professionals say they have been concerned by recent reports in the Guardian naming dozens of senior figures in the judiciary as current members of a club that has repeatedly blocked attempts to allow women to join. Continue reading...

Proposed law bans foreign states and government officials from holding direct stakes in UK newspapersThe UAE-backed bid for the Telegraph group appears to be dead in the water after the UK published proposed laws that ban foreign states or government officials from holding any direct stakes in newspaper assets.Foreign states and government officials will be banned from holding any direct stakes in newspaper assets - effectively dealing a death blow to the 600m bid for the Telegraph group from RedBird IMI, a consortium backed by the United Arab Emirates.The head of a foreign state.A foreign government.Authorities responsible for administering the affairs of an area within a foreign country.Governing political parties.Officers of governing political parties. Continue reading...

Document discovered by National Archives shows claim made by one prisoner who evaded recapture, but historians are scepticalIt's one of the most celebrated heroic failures of the second world war - the great escape" of dozens of allied prisoners of war from a German camp by tunnelling under the wire.As loosely depicted in the 1963 film of the same name, 76 British and international air force members successfully escaped from the Stalag Luft III camp in March 1944, only for most of them to be recaptured and 50 brutally executed. Continue reading...

Draft resolution loosens linkage between Gaza ceasefire and hostage release as US tries to claw back leadership on issue at UN

Government to introduce safeguards after incident in which no emergency calls were connected for 79 minutesA glitch in the UK's 999 network resulted in no callers getting through for nearly 80 minutes and led to more than 9,000 callers being unable to access emergency services by phone, according to a government report.The government said a complex software issue" affected BT's 999 platform on Sunday 25 June last year, at first resulting in a significant" proportion of calls disconnecting between 6.24am and 7.31am. Continue reading...

Soaked survivors clung to hull overnight before being taken to safety by Indonesian rescue teamDozens of Rohingya refugees have been rescued from the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia after spending the night balanced on the hull of their overturned boat.Seventy-five people were pulled from the stricken vessel, which was spotted on Thursday by an Indonesian search and rescue ship. Continue reading...

Liberal Democrat Steve Webb says he thinks affected women will have to be offered some form of rough justice'Q: Are you supporting Esther Rantzen's campaign for an assisted dying law?Starmer says he is. He says as director of public prosecutions he produced guidelines to limit prosecutions for people who help someone end their life. Continue reading...

Dan Barker, selected to stand just three months ago, says he's delighted to join the new home of conservatismThe Conservative candidate for the Greater Manchester mayoral election has defected to Richard Tice's rightwing Reform UK party.Dan Barker was selected only three months ago as the Tory candidate to challenge the incumbent mayor Labour's Andy Burnham in May's elections. Continue reading...

Number of severely absent children was 150% higher last year than pre-Covid, with one in 50 children missing at least half of lessonsRecord numbers of pupils in England were absent for long periods last year, with one in 50 missing at least half of their lessons, according to official data showing absences remain far higher than pre-Covid levels.The updated Department for Education figures show 150,000 children at state schools were classed as severely absent in 2022-23 - 30,000 more than the year before and 150% higher than the 60,000 who were severely absent in 2018-19, before the pandemic. Continue reading...

Republican-led state senate to vote on bill that would defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs as students protestKentucky is poised to become the next state to ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at public colleges and universities, prompting student backlash.Under a new bill advanced last week by the Kentucky house, the state would defund DEI offices and related staff at public universities and prohibit all scholarships that consider a student's race, gender or religion in the selection criteria. Continue reading...

Luis Montenegro must now try to form government but has vowed not to do any deal with far-right Chega partyPortugal's new prime minister, Luis Montenegro, has promised stable government after the country's president invited him to try to form a minority administration that could face a rough ride in a hung parliament.Montenegro, 51, was named prime minister early on Thursday after a long-awaited count of overseas votes confirmed a narrow victory in 10 March elections for his centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD). Continue reading...

Equality activists claimed they had lost out on thousands after the threshold was raised for women

The meteorite was ruled to be immovable property' after it fell on to private property in 2020A Swedish landowner has won a legal battle to keep a 14kg (31lb) meteorite after an appeal court ruled that such rocks should be considered immovable property" and part of the land where they are found.The land on which the meteorite landed contains iron, which the meteorite is made of. Therefore it cannot be easily separated from what is usually regarded as (immovable) property", the Svea court of appeal ruled on Thursday. Continue reading...

Open letter backed by Rowan Williams and Aled Jones says decision is backward step for arts provision for women in the UK'A decision to axe a mixed choir at St John's College, Cambridge, in an attempt to make room for a broader" range of music has been condemned as fundamentally regressive" by the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Dame Sarah Connolly and Aled Jones.The decision to cancel funding for St John's Voices - which has male and female singers and has been running since 2013 - will diminish" choral music at the college and has left its members devastated", according to an open letter. Continue reading...

Exclusive: City of Sydney-owned properties to be sold at significant discount' under council's excess land program to enable project

Paola Marra says assisted dying is about reclaiming control and calls current UK law unfair and cruel' in the posthumous clipPaola Marra, the 53-year-old from London who took her own life at Dignitas in Switzerland on Wednesday, has urged the public and politicians to help change the law on assisted dying in a posthumous video.In a clip filmed before she flew to Zurich this week after suffering terminal bowel cancer since 2021, Marra said: As you watch this, I am dead. But you watching this could help change the laws around assisted dying." Continue reading...

The play, adapted by Robert Icke from both parts of Henry IV, stars McKellen as John Falstaff for the first time in his career and will take in Bristol, Birmingham and Newcastle after its West End runA tour of four English theatres has been announced for Player Kings, in which Sir Ian McKellen is starring as Shakespeare's Falstaff for the first time.The play, adapted by director Robert Icke from both parts of Henry IV, is currently being staged at Manchester Opera House before its West End run at the Noel Coward theatre from 1 April to 22 June. On Thursday it was revealed that the production will visit four more venues in July: Bristol Hippodrome, Birmingham Alexandra, Norwich Theatre Royal and Newcastle Theatre Royal. Continue reading...

Way state pension age was raised plunged retirement plans into chaos, but DWP has indicated it won't pay compensationThousands of women, potentially hundreds of thousands, are owed compensation because of government failings related to the way changes to the state pension age were made, a long-awaited official report has said.The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) said those affected should be compensated. But the recommended payouts of between 1,000 and 2,950 a person fall far short of the 10,000-plus that campaigners were calling for. Continue reading...

Funding revealed on eve of government talks is in addition to billions of dollars to be sent to the US

McArthur River at community of Borroloola predicted to peak at 18 metres, three metres higher than previous 2001 record

Vo Van Thuong has resigned after just over a year, as the country continues its blazing furnace' anti-corruption driveVietnam's government has announced the resignation of its second president in as many years amid an anti-corruption drive, sparking concerns for the country's political stability.President Vo Van Thuong's alleged violations and flaws have negatively affected public perception, as well as the reputation of the party and the state", state media reported on Wednesday, citing an announcement from the Central Committee of the Communist party of Vietnam. No further details of any alleged violations were released. Continue reading...

President sparks social media buzz as users ask whether he is getting ready to take on Vladimir Putin after images posted to InstagramThe release of official photos showing Emmanuel Macron hitting a punching bag have been met with a mixture of praise and consternation in France.The photos of the French president, posted on Instagram on Tuesday by his official photographer, Soazig de la Moissonniere, are coloured in moody black and white, and show the president with teeth gritted and biceps bulging as he works out. Continue reading...

Anies Baswedan has refused to concede and alleges there were many problems' with the voteLosing Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has filed a legal case at the constitutional court to challenge the outcome of last month's election, won overwhelmingly by defence minister Prabowo Subianto.Anies, a former Jakarta governor, said the aim of the case was to ensure democracy was improved and said there were many problems with the election that needed to be corrected. Continue reading...

Firm cites legal professional privilege after request for copy of report but provides more detail about scope of investigation