Government’s fight against Covid-19 brings biggest tax increases since 1993

A man in his 20s is in custody after being shot in the leg by police following the attack in Vetlanda

Thursday: Christian Porter denies historical rape allegation, declaring he won’t step down. Plus: Grace Tame rebukes PMGood morning. The historical rape accusation against Australia’s attorney general continues to dominate the news headlines. Here’s what else is new, this Thursday.Scott Morrison is facing increasing pressure to establish an independent inquiry into the historical rape allegation made against the country’s top law officer, Christian Porter. The attorney general emphatically denied the allegation from 1988 during an emotional press conference on Wednesday. On 18 separate occasions Porter repeated that the complainant’s version of events “did not happen” but certain details remain unclear, including Porter’s version of when he first became aware of the allegations. Journalists from numerous media outlets have contested the attorney general’s statement that he was never “contacted in any substantive form” about the details of the allegations against him. Continue reading...

Move to exempt goods entering N Ireland from checks amounts to ‘violation’ of withdrawal treaty

The first papal visit to Iraq can promote inter-faith dialogue in an age of religious polarisationThe lead-up to the first-ever papal visit to Iraq has been somewhat overshadowed by concerns over its timing. Last month, a surge of coronavirus cases led the Iraqi government to impose a partial lockdown and curfew. The Vatican’s ambassador to Iraq, Archbishop Mitja Leskovar, is currently self-isolating after testing positive for Covid, and there are fears that crowds enthusiastic to see Pope Francis could ignore social distancing rules at public events. Security concerns have also been heightened by the double suicide bombing at a Baghdad market in January, which killed at least 32 people.The Iraqi authorities are confident that the risks can be managed. But given the circumstances, there was certainly a case for delaying the trip, which begins on Friday and will last four days. The pope’s determination to go ahead testifies to the significance he attaches to a visit that sums up two key themes of his papacy: the need to develop genuine inter-faith dialogue with Islam, and a non-sectarian vision of the church as a “field hospital”, where the spiritual wounds of the suffering are healed. Continue reading...

Palace says its HR team will look into the circumstances around claims made against the Duchess of SussexBuckingham Palace is to investigate allegations of bullying against the Duchess of Sussex by former royal staff, it announced on Wednesday, as relations between members of the royal family appeared to descend to new lows.In a highly unusual statement, the palace said it was “very concerned” by a report in the Times of claims that Meghan had driven out two personal assistants during her time as a working royal, while Kensington Palace staff had been “humiliated” on several occasions. Continue reading...

Violence linked to the ideology has killed as many as 50 people in the US and Canada and sparked debate among counterterrorism experts and policeAs attacks linked to the misogynist “incel” movement mounted in recent years, authorities around the world have begun to treat the ideology as a more serious terrorism threat.Since 2014, men who call themselves “involuntary celibates” and blame women for their own lack of sexual and social status have carried out mass killings in California, Florida, and Toronto. Continue reading...

Man held as part of ongoing investigation into mistreatment and neglect at Blackpool Victoria hospital stroke unitA healthcare professional has been arrested on suspicion of murder, rape and sexual assault as part of a police investigations into the stroke unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.Lancashire constabulary said the man was arrested on Wednesday as part of the murder investigation into the death of a 75-year-old at the hospital on 16 November 2018. Continue reading...

Analysis: officials recognise there is a real risk of prosecution over the deadly 2014 conflict

Organisation linked to the Christchurch mosque attack gunman is outlawed for inciting hatred and violenceFrance has banned a notorious far-right “paramilitary” group linked to the gunman in the Christchurch mosque attack and accused of inciting discrimination, hatred and violence.Interior minister Gérald Darmanin announced the Génération Identitaire organisation was being dissolved after a council of ministers meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Buildings collapse but no immediate reports of serious injury after midday tremor near ElassonaEmergency services in Greece were placed on alert after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday.Rescue teams rushed to extract people from the rubble of buildings that had collapsed in and around Elassona, a town in central Greece close to the tremor’s epicentre. As strong aftershocks shook the region, residents were advised to remain outdoors. Continue reading...

Incident comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran run high and two days before pope’s visitA US contractor died of cardiac failure after rocket fire hit an Iraqi base hosting American-led troops on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, two days before Pope Francis’ visit to the country.Around 10 rockets struck the Ain al-Assad military base in Iraq’s western desert after several weeks of escalating tensions between the US and Iran on Iraqi soil. Continue reading...

Fragments of bomb that killed family of six in air raid in 2016 were traced back to RWM ItaliaA judge in Rome has ordered a six-month extension of an investigation into the alleged involvement of Italian-made weapons in a bombardment that killed a family of six in Yemen.The Ahdal family were killed on 6 October 2016 when their home in Deir al-Jari, a village in north-west Yemen, was destroyed during an overnight bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...

Analysis: chancellor’s budget sticks with military theme as final reckoning of virus’s impact remains some way off

Several days of tremors near Mount Keilir indicate it is ‘more likely than not’ an eruption is about to beginScientists in Iceland have said there are now “strong signs” that a volcanic eruption may be under way following several days of near-constant seismic activity near Mount Keilir about 30km south of the capital, Reykjavik.“We are not saying we have signs an eruption has begun,” Kristín Jónsdóttir of the Icelandic meteorological office told local media on Wednesday. “But this looks like the type of activity we expect in the run-up to an eruption.” Continue reading...

Fury that Cristina, 55, and Elena, 57, had jabs while visiting their father Juan Carlos in UAE

Dolly Parton’s rendering of Jolene prompts host of suggestions including Black Lace’s Jab-a-doo

Last Friday, it was reported that a current cabinet minister is at the centre of a historical rape allegation. On Wednesday, that minister – attorney general Christian Porter – came forward and firmly denied that allegation, stating that it simply never happened. Political editor Katharine Murphy explains how this allegation came to light and breaks down the prime minister’s responseIn Australia support for sexual assault survivors is available at 1800 RESPECT, that’s 1800 737 732 . Children and young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, and adult survivors of child sexual assault can seek help at the Blue Knot Foundation. The crisis support service is Lifeline at 13 11 14.Read Katharine Murphy’s reporting on this issue here: Continue reading...

Latest updates: chancellor extends furlough, universal credit uplift and stamp duty holiday

Officers were accused of making racist comments when a picture of Kayode Ewumi was postedThe Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to prosecute three police officers for allegedly racist remarks about a black British actor.The police force had sought authorisation from the CPS to charge their own officers over the incident. Continue reading...

Agency now able by law to monitor phones and activities of largest opposition party in parliamentThe rightwing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is to be spied on by Germany’s intelligence agency under suspicion of posing a threat to democracy, according to media reports.The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) agency is now able by law to monitor the phones of AfD members and spy on its activities as a suspected extreme rightwing organisation, following a decision that the party argues could affect its chances in the autumn federal elections. It is currently the largest opposition party in parliament. Continue reading...

Self-described ‘incel’ convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murderA Canadian man who killed 10 people when he drove a rental van on to a crowded Toronto sidewalk has been found guilty of murder, after a judge rejected defense arguments that he was unable to understand the consequence of his actions.Alek Minassian was convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in a hearing held online on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Charlie Elphicke was sentenced to two years last year after being found guilty of three counts of assaultThe former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has failed in an attempt to seek leave to appeal against his two-year sentence for sexual assaults against two women.The judge who oversaw his trial was right to conclude that the former politician was someone prepared to exploit women for sexual purposes, judges at the court of appeal ruled. Continue reading...

The notoriously private author’s latest project, a stylish clothing collaboration with Uniqlo, marks the latest step in his opening up to the worldIt may be time to stop calling the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami “reclusive”. Over the last few years, he has become a radio show host, a sort of literary agony uncle, and now a fashion icon, having collaborated on his own T-shirt line at Uniqlo.The eight graphic T-shirts, which will go on sale in mid-March, feature all of the author’s favourite things: cats, birds, records, men sitting in bars (but not ears, for which he has shown a fascination). Delightfully, Murakami has given a lengthy interview to Uniqlo about his own fashion choices. “I try to wear plain clothes, the simpler the better. Jeans and a T-shirt, with a sweatshirt or sweater. Since I don’t need to show up at an office, I could wear anything I like. But I always wind up wearing the same thing. I’m not sure I can say why that is,” he reveals, somewhat unrevealingly. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak is delivering his budget – here are the main points, with political analysisThe chancellor says he would do “whatever it takes” during the pandemic, and that he has done and will continue to do so. He says there has been acute damage to the economy, with more than 700,000 people losing their jobs, the economy shrinking by 10% – the largest fall in 300 years, and borrowing is highest it has been outside of wartime. “It’s going to take this country, and the whole world, a long time to recover from this extraordinary situation,” he says. Continue reading...

The 90-year-old Irish writer will be named commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres on SundayEdna O’Brien is to receive France’s highest cultural distinction, and be named commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres this week.Related: Edna O’Brien on turning 90: ‘I can’t pretend that I haven’t made mistakes’ Continue reading...

Soft yet chewy, sweet yet bitter, this delicious Germanic bread is best enjoyed straight out of the ovenPretzel, bretzel, brezel or brezn: this Germanic bread has almost as many names as its homeland has sausages, but who cares what it’s called when it’s this delicious. Soft, yet satisfyingly chewy, with a sweet, burnished crust and a faint but delicious, bitter edge, frankly it’s a mystery why pretzels aren’t easier to find in this country. No matter – they’re best warm from the oven, anyway.Prep 10 min

Family learned of Lee Robinson’s death 16 months later after DNA match on Interpol databaseThe body of a man who was murdered in Greece has arrived back home in Manchester after a two-and-a-half-year legal battle.Lee Robinson, 41, was stabbed to death on the streets of Athens in December 2018. His family in Manchester were only told of his murder 16 months later after a DNA match on the Interpol database. By then he had been buried in an unmarked grave, as the Greek authorities had been unable to identify him. Continue reading...

Videos posted to Chinese-owned site show men in military gear threatening to kill protesters

Windows damaged but no one hurt in explosion at drive-through test centre in Bovenkarspel

Christian Porter reveals he is figure at centre of accusation dating back to 1988 and says the alleged incident ‘simply did not happen’Australia’s attorney general, Christian Porter, has dismissed a historical rape accusation against him as “entirely untrue” after outing himself as the subject of claims made by a woman who took her own life last year.Fronting the media for an at-times tearful news conference, Porter also resisted calls to stand aside as the country’s first law officer amid growing criticism of how the conservative government has handled accusations of rape and sexual assault. Continue reading...

Checkpoints, swabs and isolation make residents in New Zealand’s biggest city question the government’s approach to Covid-19The catch cry of “be kind” – which prime minister Jacinda Ardern impressed upon New Zealand since its first lockdown a year ago – is in danger of being replaced with a less positive mantra as Aucklanders struggle through their second Covid-19 lockdown in a fortnight.The country’s biggest city has been in level-three lockdown since Sunday morning as a result of two cases of community transmission, which were found to have happened while an earlier period of level-three restrictions were in place – threatening to fracture the unity of the “team of five million”. Continue reading...

A Woman’s Right to Pleasure is a new compendium celebrating female erotic art. We meet its contributors, including the photographer who turned her vagina into a cameraDuring the darkest days of the Trump presidency, writer Alexandra Weiss and her colleagues at the Black Book gallery in New York decided to address an issue that felt increasingly pressing. For centuries, women’s sexuality had been seen as a subject for men to pick over, the man in charge at the White House being the most prominent recent offender. But there was no shortage of examples, from L’Origine du Monde, Gustave Courbet’s 1866 painting of a woman parting her legs invitingly, to Alfred Kinsey’s revelatory 1953 report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female.It seemed a potent time to celebrate women’s perspectives on sexuality instead. Reproductive rights were under threat: among other things, the Trump administration had banned taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring women for terminations. Exploring women’s sexual pleasure in words and images, says Weiss, felt like “an act of resistance. Why not now? With social media, women have felt more comfortable talking about their bodies, but pleasure is often left out of the conversation.” Continue reading...

Delegates descend on capital for week of pomp and pageantry including unveiling of 14th five-year planChina is expected to unveil new political controls on Hong Kong at this week’s meeting of its rubber-stamp parliament, which is also likely to showcase President Xi Jinping’s further consolidation of power.Beijing plans to ensure only “patriots” – Communist party loyalists – can run Hong Kong, according to a speech by a top Chinese official ahead of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Continue reading...

Outbreak in New Zealand’s biggest city appears to be under control, but authorities say no decision will be made on extending lockdown yet

Simon Thompson accepts he is ‘ultimately accountable’ for the destruction of ancient rock sheltersInvestors and First Nations groups have welcomed the Rio Tinto chair Simon Thompson’s decision to leave the company after accepting he was “ultimately accountable” for the mining company’s decision to blow up ancient rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara.Thompson will not stand for re-election to the board next year in a decision that follows the resignations in September of the chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques, the head of corporate relations Simone Niven and the iron ore boss Chris Salisbury. Continue reading...

Iconic country music star sings a vaccine version of Jolene while getting inoculated in Nashville

Bowl is worth between $300,000 and $500,000 and about to go up for auction in New York at Sotheby’sTalk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare, 15th-century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 and $500,000 that is about to go up for auction at Sotheby’s.The white bowl adorned with cobalt blue paintings of flowers and other designs is about 6in inches (16cm) in diameter. An antiques enthusiast came across the piece and thought it could be something special when browsing a yard sale in the New Haven area last year, according to Sotheby’s. Continue reading...

A ‘low-level’ but lasting plague is costing farmers money in lost grain across Queensland, NSW and VictoriaA Queensland farmer has been given approval to fly drones in New South Wales that drop poisoned bait to deal with a worsening mice plague.The end of the long-running drought has been good for farmers, but brought with it mice that feed on grain spilled and left behind during harvesting. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak will also announce help for an additional 600,000 of the newly self-employed on WednesdayRishi Sunak will announce on Wednesday that the Treasury is extending its furlough scheme until the end of September in an attempt to safeguard jobs as a fragile economy emerges from the Covid-19 emergency.In an unexpected move, the chancellor will say that workers will continue to be guaranteed 80% of their salary for a further three months after the government envisages all restrictions on activity will be removed in June. Continue reading...

Family suggests case of mistaken identity after Dr Osama AlHasani, 42, detained in TangierAn Australian citizen facing potential extradition from Morocco to Saudi Arabia was detained just hours after meeting his newborn child, his wife says.The wife of Dr Osama AlHasani – a dual Australian and Saudi citizen – has also raised fears about his welfare and says the family is confused about the precise nature of the accusations against him. Continue reading...

First minister was given legal advice about significant potential conflict of interest but case continuedNicola Sturgeon faces calls to resign after previously secret legal advice and new witness evidence raised fresh questions over whether Scotland’s first minister misled parliament about the Alex Salmond crisis.On Tuesday evening the Scottish government released confidential legal advice that showed its lawyers had warned Sturgeon and her most senior officials that evidence of a potentially unlawful conflict of interest inside the government was “extremely concerning” and a “very real problem indeed”. Continue reading...

Wednesday: Politician to make statement addressing rape allegation against him. Plus: US hits Russia with fresh sanctionsHello! It’s Wednesday 3 March, and today we’re awaiting the minister at the centre of a rape allegation to come forward. We’re also bringing you news that Chinese-Australians are facing discrimination due to Covid and government tensions, and a bittersweet story from Mardin Arvin, who has shared his joy with the Guardian after walking free from immigration detention after eight years.The cabinet minister at the centre of allegations of a rape in 1988 is expected to make a public statement today to declare his innocence. The decision to go public follows confirmation by NSW police that there is “insufficient admissible evidence” to proceed with an investigation. Police say they now consider the matter “closed”. “Following the woman’s death, NSW police came into possession of a personal document purportedly made by the woman previously,” a spokesperson said. “NSW police have since sought legal advice in relation to these matters. Based on information provided to NSW police, there is insufficient admissible evidence to proceed.” Continue reading...

French society is no longer prepared to tolerate a culture of impunity at the top of politicsIn all likelihood, next year’s presidential election in France will come down – as the last one did – to a contest between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the leader of Rassemblement National. This confrontation between Mr Macron’s liberal centrism and the far-right nationalism of Ms Le Pen is the current default setting of French politics. The traditional struggle between French socialists and conservatives for occupancy of the Elysée has, for now, been consigned to the past.Perhaps at least part of the explanation for that can be found in the proceedings of France’s criminal justice system. Nicolas Sarkozy will appeal against Monday’s humiliating verdict by a Paris court, which found him guilty of corruption and influence peddling. But if the judgment – and an unprecedented prison sentence – is upheld, the former conservative president will join the centre-right’s presidential candidate of 2017, François Fillon, in a lengthening roll of dishonour. Three years ago, Mr Fillon was leading in the presidential polls, until it was revealed that about €1m from the public purse had been illegally paid to his wife and members of his family. The fortunes of his party have yet to fully recover. Continue reading...

Plan for moving from lockdown to relaxation of restrictions will be guided by data

We all know we should be eating five portions of fruit and veg every day – but which fruit and veg, and in what proportions? A new study has some answers

Deputy first minister tells Stormont that the plan has no hard dates and will be led by data

MPs reckon government is taking calculated risk in assuming Tories are keener on money spent at homeYemen remained among the worst humanitarian crises in the world, said James Cleverly, junior Foreign Office minister responsible for the Middle East, in answer to an urgent question from fellow Tory Andrew Mitchell. Two-thirds of the population were in need of assistance. 47,000 people were living in famine conditions and a further 16.2 million were at risk of starvation.After an opening like this, you rather expected Cleverly to explain why the UK government was increasing its overseas aid budget to the country. Instead he chose to justify cutting it by over 50% during the next financial year. Yemen would be getting “at least” £87m of the £214m it was currently receiving. Indeed if it played its cards right, the minister might even bung in an extra £100,000 as a goodwill gesture. The truth was that the UK had already been doing too much to help Yemen and it was time to step back and let the country fend for itself. Continue reading...

The corruption verdict reflects growing exasperation at heads of state’s aloofness and lack of accountabilityOn Monday, a criminal court in Paris handed down its verdict in Nicolas Sarkozy’s corruption trial. The former French president was sentenced to three years in jail – two of them suspended – for bribery and influence-peddling.This is a legal landmark for the French judicial system for two main reasons. First, no former president had been sentenced to an actual prison sentence since France’s collaborationist leader Marshal Pétain in 1945. (This said, Sarkozy’s one-year jail sentence will probably not be spent behind bars, but under house arrest with an electronic tag). The former president Jacques Chirac received a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for embezzling public funds when he was Paris mayor. Continue reading...