World news | The Guardian

Tory minister issues statement after it emerges Alexander Temerko called her an ‘absolutely uncontrollable woman’The senior Tory minister Penny Mordaunt has suggested her colleagues should stop taking funds from Alexander Temerko, a major party donor who described her as an “absolutely uncontrollable woman” and “threat to national security”.Mordaunt, a trade minister, said she had no issue with colleagues who have historically accepted money from Temerko but said everyone should be aware now how he has treated her. Continue reading...

Porter had previously stepped down as minister after refusing to identify contributors to a trust that paid his legal fees in a defamation case

Federal government’s appeal against the release of NZ man due to his claim of Aboriginality is being criticised as ‘a significant step backwards’

Education secretary says money will shift to English schools following complaints Randstad had missed targetsThe national tutoring programme is to be overhauled after criticism of the catchup scheme for schools in England, with the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, promising further changes, including shifting funding towards headteachers.Zahawi said he was transferring £65m away from the NTP, including from Randstad, the Dutch service provider, to schools, in an address at the annual conference of the Association of School and College leaders. Continue reading...

Mariana Vishegirskaya, wearing same dotted pyjamas, is photographed holding newborn daughter

Progressive former student leader hopes to transform a country still living in the shadow of the Pinochet dictatorshipAfter a dizzying rise from student protest leader to head of state in just over a decade, Gabriel Boric has been sworn in as Chile’s youngest ever president.“Know that we are going to do our best to rise to the challenges we face as a country,” he said as he received the presidential sash at a ceremony in the port city of Valparaíso. Continue reading...

Owner of brands including Rothmans had said it would still sell products – but will now pull out

‘Putin must pay a price,’ Biden says while also banning export of US luxury goods to RussiaJoe Biden announced on Friday that the US plans to ban the import of seafood, vodka and diamonds from Russia in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.The US president said the ban would be part of a move by America to revoke normal trading relations, with Russia, also known as “most favored nation” status, with a similar move also expected from allies in the Group of Seven (G7) leading nations and the European Union. Continue reading...

‘Pilotless military aircraft’ crosses Hungary into Croatia triggering loud blast but no injuries reported

Media magnate issues statement in relation to peerage, as 386 Russian MPs added to UK sanctions list

Analysis: Lack of heavy guns, tanks or jets leaves Ukrainians fighting uphill battle against Russia

Thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million have fled Ukraine since the invasionMore than two weeks since the war in Ukraine began, millions of people have fled their homes and thousands have been killed. Here are some of the latest figures on the conflict. Continue reading...

Ian Kirwan was attacked and killed outside an Asda supermarket on Tuesday eveningA 14-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with murder after a man was stabbed to death outside an Asda supermarket in Worcestershire.West Mercia police said Ian Kirwan, 53, was attacked on Jinnah Road in Redditch at about 7.20pm on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Polina Kovaleva, daughter of Russian foreign minister’s alleged mistress, should be among targets, say campaigners

Campaigners say not enough is being done to prevent loss of life and the causes of death are not being properly investigatedAs many as 10,000 migrant workers from south and south-east Asia die every year in the Gulf countries, according to a report by a group of human rights organisations.More than half of the deaths are unexplained, said the report, and are commonly recorded as due to “natural causes” or “cardiac arrest”. But Gulf states are failing properly to investigate why so many migrant workers are dying. Continue reading...

Unlike the UK, EU countries have offered open sanctuary to the millions fleeing Russia’s attack in biggest refugee crisis since second world war

Reclaim These Streets welcomes judges’ decision as a ‘a victory for women’The Metropolitan police breached the rights of the organisers of a planned vigil for Sarah Everard in the way they handled the planned event, high court judges have ruled, in a decision hailed as a “victory for women”.Reclaim These Streets (RTS) proposed a socially distanced vigil for the 33-year-old – who was murdered by a serving Met officer, Wayne Couzens – near to where she went missing in Clapham, south London, in March last year. Continue reading...

Airport says aviation industry’s recovery ‘being overshadowed by war and Covid’

Oligarch has 29% stake in steel and mining group, which ‘is deeply concerned’ by Russia-Ukraine war

Federal health minister Greg Hunt also says it is most likely older Australians will need a fourth vaccine dose ahead of winter

Chris Philp says Moscow would face ‘dramatic increased response’ if it launches chemical attackRussia can expect a “dramatic increased response” from the west if Vladimir Putin uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, a minister has said, amid fears that a false pretext is being laid by Moscow for such an attack.Chris Philp, the technology minister, accused Russia of sharing disinformation online to create a false narrative that Ukraine is preparing to use chemical weapons, so that Russia can launch its own chemical attack. Continue reading...

NFU asks government to treat situation over glasshouse crops as ‘matter of urgency’The National Farmers’ Union has warned of a huge drop in UK-grown crops, including peppers, cucumbers and aubergines, as it becomes too expensive to produce them.The NFU said producers of crops who use glasshouses are looking at a drop of up to 50% in the amount they can afford to grow because of the crippling increase in the cost of the gas they use for heating. Continue reading...

Peter Gutwein shares experience after his Liberal colleagues criticised for groaning when the opposition quoted a survivor of child sexual abuse

Ukraine president accuses Moscow of deliberate attack on humanitarian corridor in Mariupol as Russian forces fan out around capital and Biden prepares further trade restrictions

International Red Cross warning comes as UN says Mariupol maternity hospital was third of its kind destroyed since invasion; Vitali Klitschko says half of Kyiv’s population has left

Delgado, who played fix-it shop owner Luis on beloved children’s show, was a rare Latino face on US TVActor and singer Emilio Delgado, the warm and familiar presence in children’s lives for 45 years as fix-it shop owner Luis on Sesame Street, has died.His wife, Carol Delgado, said he died from the blood cancer multiple myeloma at their home in New York. He was 81. Continue reading...

Audio message names Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi as new leader in first admission of former head’s deathIslamic State has named a new leader after confirming that its previous head was killed by the US in north-western Syria over a month ago.In an audio message released on Thursday, an IS spokesman, Abu Omar al-Muhajer, confirmed the death of the group’s leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, as well as that of its former spokesman, Abu Hamza al-Qurayshi, in the US raid. Continue reading...

Venezuela says Putin is a victim, China blames the US, and a South African pundit calls out western hypocrisy

Jacinda Ardern remains preferred prime minister but her party records worst polling since 2017 amid Covid surge and rising living costsFor the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour party has slipped from being New Zealand’s most popular and been overtaken by the right.A new TVNZ/Kantar Public poll found the centre-right National party had surged by seven points to 39%, compared with Labour’s 37% – making it Labour’s lowest result in the poll since it was elected in 2017. Continue reading...

Unresolved safety issues has led to four-year delay of 589 vehicles, leaving army with ageing equipmentThe delivery of a fleet of armoured vehicles will be a significant challenge for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) because of failures that have led to delays and unresolved safety problems, according to the public spending watchdog.The MoD has a £5.5bn contract with General Dynamics Land Systems UK (GDLS-UK) for the design, manufacture and initial in-service support of 589 Ajax armoured vehicles. Continue reading...

Ordinary citizens, businesses and charities will be able to register to offer accommodation and employment to those fleeing war

Researchers studying ‘excess deaths’ estimate that more than 18 million people died of disease by end of 2021The Covid-19 pandemic may have claimed 18.2 million lives around the world, more than three times the official death toll, a new study suggests.The higher figure is a better estimate of the true global casualty figure to the end of 2021, according to an analysis by a consortium of health researchers published in the Lancet. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Leading marine scientist says Moreton Bay, one of three sites shortlisted, is bad choice due to risk to reactors if jellyfish sucked in

Chelsea FC owner one of seven Russians to have assets frozen and be accused of ‘having blood on their hands’

Pyongyang launches were to test parts of intercontinental ballistic missile and not satellite surveillance system, US concludesThe US believes North Korea is testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in what the Biden administration called a “serious escalation” that will trigger more sanctions.Pyongyang conducted two recent missile launches which it said were ultimately intended for putting satellites into space. After scrutinising them, however, US intelligence has assessed that the real intention was to test parts of the new ICBM. Continue reading...

Disney is latest firm to pause business, including content and product licensing and live TV channels

Displaced people in Lviv talk about what they have left behind in the capital and other Ukrainian cities

Long a critic of the PM, Douglas Ross cites Ukraine war and says now is no time for change of leadershipThe Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has withdrawn his letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson, citing the war in Ukraine and saying it was no time for a change of leadership.Ross, who has been an outspoken critic of the prime minister, had criticised him over lockdown parties in Downing Street. Johnson, along with dozens of staff and officials, is under police investigation for the breaches. Continue reading...

Analysis: Home secretary has reason to fear cabinet reshuffle – but many blame wider Home Office issues

Emmanuel Macron says ‘we must be vigilant’ despite eastern member states wanting to show Ukraine ‘path is open to them’

Refugees describe bureaucratic hurdles and uncertainty after exhausting journeys across EuropeTwelve days after witnessing his home in Kharkiv being shelled by Russian forces, Sergei Koletvinov, a London-based van driver, was stopped at the Calais ferry entrance and told he could not take his family into Britain without a visa.He was turned back at 2.30am on Thursday morning, and spent the rest of the night trying to sleep in his car with his wife, Oxana Lubeinoko, their two-and-a-half year old son, Simon, and their five-year-old daughter, Alissa, while parked outside a temporary Home Office advice centre in the port, turning the engine on occasionally to keep warm. They had consulted friends and Facebook sites and were under the impression that because he has permanent residency in the UK, they would have no problem crossing the border. Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin prepares economic retaliation for western sanctions, including laws to impound $10bn of leased airline jets

Chancellor to reject calls to beef up energy bill package as pressure mounts to bail out consumersRishi Sunak will take some limited action to tackle the cost of living crisis in this month’s spring statement but will reject calls to beef up his much-criticised energy bill reduction scheme, government sources say.Amid mounting pressure from inside his own party, and with some City analysts predicting inflation could hit 10% within months, the chancellor has asked Treasury officials to draw up options for cushioning the blow for consumers. Continue reading...

Analysis: The oligarch’s wealth was questioned by some from the moment he arrived at Chelsea – but officialdom moves slowlyRoman Abramovich has been a prominent and controversial figure since 2003, when he bought Chelsea football club, and the document imposing sanctions on him cites contracts he received before the 2018 World Cup. So why has nothing happened before now?There are various reasons, but much it boils down to one key factor: such things take time, and especially when compiling what officials stress has to be a “legally watertight” case against someone with access to extremely expensive lawyers. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest news on the Russia-Ukraine war latest, head to our dedicated blog

Analysis: Zelenskiy once played a TV president turned down by Merkel, but how real are his country’s prospects?The phone rings and Volodymyr Zelenskiy reaches into his pocket. The German chancellor is on the line, to inform him that “we decided to take your country into the European Union”.“Oh fuck,” Zelenskiy says, as Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, the EU anthem, soars into life. Continue reading...

Shares in Evraz, 29% owned by Abramovich, were suspended after UK sanctions on Russian oligarchA steel company that is 29% owned by Roman Abramovich has denied a government claim that it may have provided raw material to build Russian tanks, after sanctions imposed on the Russian oligarch led to its shares being suspended on the London Stock Exchange.The Financial Conduct Authority said trading in Evraz shares had been halted “pending clarification of the impact of UK sanctions”. Continue reading...

People’s party’s deal with extremist rivals in Castilla y León called ‘pact of shame’ by SocialistsThe far-right Vox party is set to form part of a regional Spanish government for the first time after cutting a deal to run the north-western autonomous community of Castilla y León with its bitter rivals in the conservative People’s party (PP).The deal, which comes almost a month after the PP’s decision to call regional elections failed to produce the absolute majority it had hoped for, follows weeks of wrangling amid a PP leadership crisis. Continue reading...