UN group of experts deeply disturbed by connections between Wagner Group and violence since electionRussian mercenaries from the Wagner group, a private military contractor, have committed human rights abuses in the Central African Republic while fighting alongside government forces, according to a group of independent UN experts.The UN working group said it was “deeply disturbed” by the connections between Russian mercenaries and a series of violent attacks that have taken place in the CAR since elections in December. Continue reading...

Analysis: campaigners say women’s trust in police undermined by watchdog’s conclusions

Soldiers, three vehicles and 17 guns released after Mexican officials agreed to economic reparations and legal proceedingsFifteen Mexican troops were held for hours by angry villagers in a remote border zone and held captive for hours after one of the soldiers shot and killed a Guatemalan citizen at a checkpoint.The Mexican defense secretary, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, said on Tuesday that the events stemmed from “an erroneous reaction on the part of military personnel” who fired on a vehicle reversing away from a checkpoint on Monday. Continue reading...

The government has broken its promises and handed them to the opposition on a golden platterAs the first majority government in New Zealand’s MMP history, with an extraordinarily popular prime minister, many have urged Labour to spend its “political capital.” This is the buffer that enables popular governments to take bold actions that might lose them some voters, while retaining most of their solid support in a metaphorical bank.Last week Labour spent some of its political capital. In a surprise announcement it said it would extend the brightline test (taxing any financial gain made on the sale of an investment property) from five to ten years and remove mortgage interest as a rental property tax deduction, as part of a suite of housing policy and funding changes. Continue reading...

Many readers say last week’s announcement will have little impact on their – or their children’s – ability to buy a houseLast week we asked Guardian readers about the government’s attempt to rein in New Zealand’s runaway house prices. We heard from investors and renters, first-home buyers and retirees. While some readers – including investors – were supportive, many felt the policy changes didn’t go far enough.Some pointed out that beefed-up grants to first-home buyers would make little impact in markets such as Wellington and Auckland, with young people still despairing of ever getting a foot on the housing ladder. Many said that the effect on renters had been overlooked, arguing in favour of German-style rent control. Others said they were afraid for their children’s future, while some wrote that they feared they would never be able to afford children. Continue reading...

More warm weather predicted before mercury dips in time for Easter weekendThe UK recorded its warmest March day in 53 years on Tuesday as temperatures rose above 24C, with the Met Office predicting they could get close to the all-time record on Wednesday.The mercury peaked at 24.5C at Kew Gardens in west London on Tuesday – slightly below the UK’s hottest March temperature of 25.6C in Cambridgeshire in 1968. Continue reading...

Review of terror legislation finds three-quarters of those detained in 2019 were black, Asian or mixed racePolice in Northern Ireland are stopping and detaining a disproportionate number of black, Asian and mixed race travellers under anti-terrorism laws, according to newly disclosed data.More than a third of those stopped and three-quarters of those detained in 2019 were not white, said a report by Jonathan Hall QC, who conducted an independent review of the UK’s terrorism legislation. Continue reading...

Murders of two volunteers and a nurse come one day after relaunch of national vaccination campaignTwo female volunteers and a nurse working door to door to vaccinate children against polio were shot dead by gunmen in two separate incidents in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Tuesday.On the same day, government officials confirmed that an explosion had rocked Jalalabad’s health ministry headquarters but no casualties were reported. Continue reading...

Latest updates: ONS figures show there were 150,116 deaths by 19 March; chief investigator of the UK trial of the drug hopes for approval by end of April

Philip Bisatt and Fran Postlethwaite hope that Andy Burnham’s move to end the deregulation of bus services in Greater Manchester will be adopted by other transport authoritiesIt is good to read that bus deregulation is to end in Greater Manchester, 35 years after being introduced by the 1985 Transport Act (Greater Manchester bus services to be brought under public control, 25 March).Bus deregulation has arguably been one of the worst legacies of the Thatcher years. A policy adopted in virtually no other western democracy, which managed simultaneously to deprive most of the country of evening and Sunday services, prevent integration between buses and trains, and widen regional disparities (since buses were never deregulated in London, or indeed, Northern Ireland). Continue reading...

Reduction comes despite direct appeals from senior UN figures that situation is worse than everThe UK has slashed its funding of the Syrian refugee programme by a third at a major United Nations donor conference despite direct appeals from the UN that the plight of Syrian refugees have grown worse than ever during the 10-year civil war.The UK offer of at least £205m was made by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and compares with a donation of £300m at the same conference last year. The UK eventually provided £400m last year, so in the event there is no additional UK funding later in the year the British aid cut will be almost 50%. Continue reading...

Measures are passed to increase Beijing’s control of city, including vetting of election candidatesChina has passed sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system that tighten Beijing’s grip on the city, while leaving a facade of democratic structures in place.Beijing has amended Hong Kong’s Basic Law, or constitution, to almost halve the proportion of directly elected representatives in the city’s legislature, which already had limited powers, and require all candidates to be vetted for political loyalty. Continue reading...

People joked it could be nuclear code but real explanation is every social media manager’s nightmare

Government official hints China standing in way of publication, as protesters insist ‘Iran is not for sale’Iran’s ministers are being pressed by critics in the country to reveal details of a 25-year strategic partnership deal signed with China at the weekend, following accusations that Iran has sold its sovereignty.Many analysts say the agreement is largely aspirational, but the secrecy surrounding the final version has provided a useful stick for the regime’s critics. Continue reading...

Banned firm Top Glove also supplied NHS hospitals, prompting calls for guarantees on PPE sourcesTop Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of rubber gloves, has been banned from exporting its products from Malaysia to the United States after the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made a finding that its products are made using forced and indentured labour.Rubber medical gloves from a Malaysian manufacturer will be seized if they enter the US due to “conclusive evidence” they are being made by workers under conditions of modern slavery, the CBP said. Continue reading...

From laying patios to dealing with squeaky floorboards, readers share what they have learned

Report says officers weren’t heavy-handed at Clapham Common event, but confidence in Met sufferedA report on the Metropolitan police’s handling of a vigil for Sarah Everard has concluded that officers acted appropriately.The report from the official policing inspectorate was ordered by the home secretary, Priti Patel, after widespread outrage at the scenes of officers grappling with mourners at the vigil on Clapham Common, south London, on Saturday 13 March. Continue reading...

Fuller account of operation reveals how nature and logistics aligned to unblock the Suez canalIn the end the difference was made by two high-powered tugboats and a force even greater: a tide that swelled to its highest point in months with the full moon, and then powerfully ebbed, helping to free the Ever Given.The week-long operation in the Suez Canal had struggled to make progress and looked as though it might stretch for weeks until Sunday, when nature and logistics aligned, according to the boss of the Dutch salvaging unit that helped run the operation, who has given the fullest account of the mission so far to news outlets in the Netherlands. Continue reading...

Meal delivery service says initial public offering will value company at £7.6bn not £8.8bnThe flotation of Deliveroo on Wednesday will value the company at £7.6bn after concerns over workers’ rights and volatile stock markets chipped more than £1bn off the top-end valuation.Last week, the meal delivery service said its initial public offering could value the company at as much as £8.8bn. However, on Tuesday the company confirmed its shares had been priced at £3.90, which is the bottom of the range it had set out. Continue reading...

We knew leaving the EU would weaken us. Now we can see it will limit the ability of the government to rein in big techWhat do lipstick, cravats, gold chains and poker chips have in common? The answer is that they are among a host of items that the US is threatening to impose punitive import tariffs on if the UK proceeds with its plan to implement a tax on big tech. The new duties are intended to raise $325m – the amount the US government believes the exchequer will raise from the 2% tax on revenues of tech firms.In some respects, this is just part of the merry-go-round in international trade (though actual merry-go-rounds have also been slapped with new tariffs) as countries ruthlessly pursue their national interests. But it matters because it reveals Britain’s newfound weakness in international trade from outside the EU – and how that weakness may limit the ability of the government to curb the power of big tech. Continue reading...

Islamabad high court orders government to fill vacant post at head of National Commission for Human RightsThe prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and his government have been accused of trying to “sabotage” the country’s independent human rights watchdog to prevent accountability for mounting abuses and oppression.Legislators, activists and lawyers told the Guardian that Khan’s government “punished” and immobilised Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) over reports that it had produced into human rights abuses and torture carried out by the military, which plays a powerful role in running the country. Continue reading...

Thomas McCann sentenced after killing in which he dumped dismembered body in country park

The recent BFI Flare festival of LGBTIQ+ films showcased a raft of transgender titles from a powerful family drama to a devastating documentary about a jazz musician. They bear witness to a complicated but optimistic new futureThe scenery and production design of Cowboys make you sit up and take notice from the off. They feel like signals that this is not just another trans tearjerker but a film with much bolder ambition and complexity.The plot revolves around dad Troy and 11-year-old Joe, who run away from their problems together into the Montana wilderness, with but the flimsiest of plans. We are given context via flashbacks: Troy’s struggle to “be a good man” and Joe’s to “be a girl”. The interweaving works well yet results in a lack of time spent up in the mountains, getting to know present-day father and son. Continue reading...

Demonstrators and first-aiders say officers’ use of shields during Friday’s protest caused injuriesProtesters and first-aiders have claimed police officers used their shields to injure scores of people during the last “kill the bill” protest in Bristol.First-aiders treated at least five people with lacerations to their heads that they claimed were consistent with the edges of rectangular riot shields. Continue reading...

James Marape receives AstraZeneca Covid vaccine at Port Morseby football stadium to help combat misinformationPapua New Guinea has begun its rollout of the Covid vaccine with the first doses of the AstraZeneca shots supplied by Australia administered to health workers, senior statesmen and elected officials, including the prime minister, James Marape.Marape said on Tuesday that “vaccination is not compulsory but will be made optionally available for Papua New Guineans who chose to be vaccinated”. Continue reading...

New memoir claims the actor has faced ill-treatment at the hands of doctors, the film industry and her own grandfatherSharon Stone had her breasts augmented without her consent during reconstructive surgery, the actor has claimed.Stone says she woke from a 2001 operation to reconstruct her breasts following the removal of benign tumours to find they had increased in size, because the doctor felt she “would look better with bigger, ‘better’ boobs”. Continue reading...

Two cases in one hospital ‘obviously raises concerns’, doctors’ union says, as it is revealed most at-risk health workers didn’t have masks properly fitted

For the purists, there is Felicity Cloake’s failsafe recipe. But if you want to buck tradition, how about chocolate, cherry bakewell or Marmite?People get awfully territorial about hot cross buns. If you have ever trailed around a supermarket with a hot cross bun purist at Easter, you’ll know what I mean. They’ll spot a bun that dares deviate even slightly from the tried and true hot cross bun blueprint – maybe it’ll have cranberries in it or, God forbid, chocolate – and they’ll act as if they’ve been slapped in the face.But, like it or not, the hot cross bun has moved on. It now exists on a spectrum that encompasses a multitude of styles, ingredients and tastes. Here are 10 recipes for very good hot cross bun variations. RIP my mentions. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese also draws on John Curtin’s post-war recovery mantra and party thrashes out approach to free trade agreementsLabor has bolstered its foreign policy platform by condemning China’s human rights violations in the region and pledging to recognise the Palestinian state as a “priority” if the ALP forms government.After a “robust debate” on foreign policy on the first day of the ALP national conference, party delegates also thrashed out an agreement over how it would deal with free trade agreements in opposition, killing off a push by the Electrical Trades Union to harden Labor’s stance. Continue reading...

Three suspects reportedly said they were part of team specialising in stealing collectible setsFrench police say they are building a case against an international gang of toy thieves specialising in stealing Lego – and they have warned specialist shops and even parents to be aware of a global trade in the bricks.The alert comes after officers arrested three people – a woman and two men – in the process of stealing boxes of Lego from a toy shop in Yvelines, outside Paris, last June. Under questioning, the suspects, all from Poland, reportedly admitted they were part of a team specialising in stealing Lego sought by collectors. Continue reading...

Following the Atlanta shootings, the K-pop group shared their experiences of discrimination and called for respect and solidarityThe K-pop group BTS has condemned anti-Asian racism in the wake of growing incidents of violence and discrimination against Asian people.The vastly influential seven-piece paid tribute to the eight victims of the recent shootings at three Atlanta massage parlours, who included six Asian women. “We feel grief and anger,” they wrote in a statement published on social media. Continue reading...

Crystal White has accused the Liberal MP of taking a photo of her while she was bent over exposing her underwearA formal complaint against federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming has been lodged by a 29-year-old woman regarding an allegedly inappropriate photograph, Queensland police have confirmed.The alleged incident, first reported by the Nine Network on Saturday, contributed to Laming announcing he would not contest the next election. The member for Bowman has denied committing an offence and defended his decision to take the photo as a “humorous” depiction of a woman hard at work. Continue reading...

Kenyan novelist’s The Perfect Nine is first work written in an indigenous African language to be longlistedNgũgĩ wa Thiong’o has become the first writer to be nominated for the International Booker prize as both author and translator of the same book, and the first nominee writing in an indigenous African language.The 83-year-old Kenyan and perennial Nobel favourite is among 13 authors nominated for the award for best translated fiction, a £50,000 prize split evenly between author and translator. Thiong’o is nominated as writer and translator of The Perfect Nine, a novel-in-verse described by the judges as “a magisterial and poetic tale about women’s place in a society of gods”, and written in the Bantu language Gikuyu. Continue reading...

The standup on representation, Matt Hancock, her new travel show and why she loves NorwichA Great British, Female, Gay, Disabled, Covid-Compliant Adventure was the original name for Rosie Jones’s new travel show. “But,” says its host, “we thought that when you’ve got a presenter who speaks slowly, introducing that would take all bloody day.” She also might have called it Stereotypically Shit Places, another phrase bandied about in today’s Zoom chat. “The idea,” she says, “was to visit places where the local people would go: ‘Why have you come to Whitby for your holiday?!’” In the end, Channel 4 settled on Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure. The four-part series, about comedian-of-the-moment Jones “going to shit places and making the most of it”, premieres this spring.Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading...

Jess Phillips says government has not taken issue seriously, five years after committee’s reportSexual violence is endemic in schools and the government must launch an inquiry to establish how widespread it is, the shadow minister for domestic violence has said.Jess Phillips said the issue had been pointed out to the government five years ago, it had been a “problem for a very long time” and ministers had “dropped the ball”. Continue reading...

Queensland outbreak rises to 15 cases of the highly contagious UK variant, as Brisbane embarks on first day of three-day lockdown; NSW on high alert after cases partied in Byron Bay. Follow all the latest developments

Tom Dare’s hilarious podcast celebrates what he calls a ‘really gay’ scene – and has tackled its homophobiaBack in November, the Hell Bent for Metal podcast (HBFM) put out their first episode, called Gay Satanic Love Songs. If you’re worried that they played their trump card too early, this was followed by an edition entitled BDSM Gear and Black Metal, and another named Horny German Werewolves.It quickly became clear what you were getting: it’s gay, it’s about heavy metal, and it’s very, very funny. As a gay rock fan, HBFM founder and co-host Tom Dare’s hope was to be visible to other LGBTQ+ lovers of heavy music, and to offer a queer perspective that he felt was missing from a scene that is still affected by homophobia. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Years of rising prices, pay freeze and high private rents has prevented many from saving for depositLow-paid key workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic would not be able to afford to buy the average priced home in 98% of Great Britain, an exclusive Guardian analysis has found.Years of rising prices have put homeownership out of reach of many key workers, who have also experienced pay freezes and had to channel their wages into paying high private rents, rather than being able to save for a deposit. Continue reading...

Australian Labor party gathers online to endorse slimmed-down election platform and debate industrial relations, trade and foreign affairs. Follow all the latest updates, live

HBO documentary The Last Cruise revisits, through footage recorded by passengers and crew, the early-pandemic horror of the Diamond Princess cruise disasterBefore the shutdowns and eerie images of a barren Times Square, before the bungled US federal response to a virus that has since killed 549,000 Americans and nearly 2.8m people worldwide, before most people even had a date they could loosely observe as a pandemic anniversary this past month, there was the Diamond Princess.The cruise ship departed from Yokohama, Japan on 20 January 2020 for a roundtrip tour of southeast Asia. On board was an 80-year-old passenger from Hong Kong who had recently visited Shenzen, Guangdong Province, China. At the time, there were only four confirmed cases of the then-unnamed Covid-19 virus outside mainland China; within two weeks, the ship would be stalled in the Japanese harbor under quarantine as the largest coronavirus outbreak outside Wuhan – 712 people, 14 of whom would die. Continue reading...

Analysis: Buhari’s deputy wants to create jobs, feed pupils and cut red tape. Is he too high-profile for his critics?The role of vice-president is one that John Adams, the first person in the US to hold the position, called “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived”.Nigeria’s Patience Jonathan captured the situation in her sarcastic response to a journalist who asked about her husband, Goodluck Jonathan, when he was vice-president. She said: “He is in his office reading newspapers.” Continue reading...

Just 39% of children or young adults in care have applications to remain in UK after BrexitThousands of children of EU citizens who have been taken into care may become “undocumented” adults with no right to work, rent a home or receive benefits, a charity has warned.The Children’s Society has found that just 39% of children in care, or young adults who have recently left care, have had applications to remain in the country after Brexit made on their behalf. It says this is “unacceptable” and that councils across the UK need to work urgently to identify EU citizens in their care. Continue reading...

How is it that those with the power to inflict most harm are blind to the consequences of their actions?It is a truism to say that everyone knows violence when they see it, but if one thing has become clear in the past decade, it is that the most prevalent, insidious forms of violence are those that cannot be seen. Consider, for example, a photograph from January 2017. A group of identical-looking white men in dark suits looked on as their president signed an executive order banning US state funding to groups anywhere in the world offering abortion or abortion counselling.The passing of the “global gag rule” effectively launched the Trump presidency. (It was scrapped by Joe Biden soon after his inauguaration a few weeks ago.) The ruling meant an increase in deaths by illegal abortion for thousands of women throughout the developing world. Its effects have been as cruel as they are precise. No non-governmental organisation (NGO) in receipt of US funds could henceforth accept non-US support, or lobby governments across the world, on behalf of the right to abortion. A run of abortion bans followed in conservative Republican-held US states. In November 2019, Ohio introduced to the state legislature a bill which included the requirement that in cases of ectopic pregnancy, doctors must reimplant the embryo into the woman’s uterus or face a charge of “abortion murder”. (Ectopic pregnancy can be fatal to the mother and no such procedure exists in medical science.) Continue reading...

Directors pay for fruit and snack bundles for juniors as workers at other firms get bonuses and PelotonsBosses at Goldman Sachs have been sending sympathy snack boxes to overworked junior London bankers in response to complaints over “inhumane” 100-hour weeks that have affected their physical and mental health.The one-off hampers, full of fruit and snacks, are understood to have been paid for by managing directors out of their own pockets, since Goldman has not offered any company-wide gifts or additional bonuses after a leaked report revealed concerns about poor working conditions earlier this month. Continue reading...

Calls for ethnic minority forces to help those standing up to the ‘unfair oppression’ of the military as casualties mountMyanmar protesters have held overnight candle-lit vigils and launched a civil disobedience campaign of hurling garbage on to streets after an advocacy group said security forces had killed more than 500 people since the 1 February coup.Out of 14 civilians killed in Myanmar on Monday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said at least eight were in the South Dagon district of Yangon. Continue reading...

Thousands face not having a valid permit after lack of deal between UK and France and flood of applicationsThousands of British citizens in France have been left without a valid driving licence, or face losing theirs within months, because of bureaucratic overload and the failure of the two countries’ governments to sign a post-Brexit reciprocal agreement.“I’d say there are 3,000 who are seriously worried – for whom this has really become nightmarish,” said Kim Cranstoun, who moved permanently to France three years ago and whose Facebook group for Britons affected has more than 6,000 members. Continue reading...

Government says it will no longer fund risky mission to retrieve 29 bodies from site of New Zealand’s worst mining disasterFamilies of the men who died in one of New Zealand’s worst mining disasters have expressed their heartbreak that the government has ended funding to re-enter the mine, leaving the remains of their loved ones trapped inside.Twenty-nine men were killed when an explosion ripped through the Pike river mine on the west coast in November 2010. Their bodies have not been recovered, and remain in the mine. Continue reading...

More than a week after torrential rain hit New South Wales, communities are working to clean up what is left behind Continue reading...

Nineteen-year-old, who has sickle cell disease, left his home on 22 March, saying he was going to visit a friendA London mother is seeking help to find her son who has been missing for over a week.

Joint letter signed by Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and others warns ‘nobody is safe until everyone is safe’