World news | The Guardian

The railway station in Lviv near the Polish border is overwhelmed with requests but has almost no tickets

Woman, named as Rita, was last seen at 10.20am on Saturday and may be wearing a fleece jumper with a leaf designMountain rescue teams in the Brecon Beacons and nearby residents have been helping out in searches for a missing 96-year-old woman who has not been seen for more than 24 hours.Dyfed-Powys police in south Wales said on Sunday they were becoming increasingly concerned for the woman, whom they named as Rita, but did not give her surname. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen says stations will ‘no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war’

While the botched assault on Hostomel and the failure to take Kharkiv have surprised some commentators, these are but the opening salvos

Challenge for Nato is to maintain support for Ukraine while making clear Russian leader has way out of crisis

More than 4.5m more could join exodus if fighting spreads, according to Ukrainian authorities

EU pledges block on overflying member states, taking total to nearly 30 countries that are closing airspace

A look at the British immigration requirements for people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Slovene minority calls on European Commission to protect their traditionsAll eight Slovenian MEPs have weighed in to a ding-dong in a small town in northern Italy, calling on the European Commission to act to “protect traditions” after an Italian judge silenced a church’s bells.For some in Dolina, a town with a minority Slovene community close to Italy’s border with Slovenia, the bells of Sant’Ulderico church were essential to the rhythm of their day, with the tolls not only informing them of the start of mass, a feast day or when someone died, but also serving as a clock. Continue reading...

Mohsen Baharvand ordered back to Tehran after video shows some women with heads uncovered at embassy receptionThe Iranian ambassador to the UK has been ordered back to Tehran and is to be removed from his post after a video circulated showing an embassy reception at which some women did not have their heads covered.News of Mohsen Baharvand’s return to Tehran was reported by the ILNA news agency in Iran. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says some Russian billionaires will face ‘rolling programme of sanctions’

Playing Batman finally puts the boy from Barnes on the A-list, after years spent sabotaging any hope of mainstream successAt first glance, it looks like a neatly managed movie star career path: the graduation from teen-franchise heart-throb to a starring role in a superhero flick. But Robert Pattinson’s journey from Twilight – which made him, along with co-star and sometime girlfriend Kristen Stewart, one of the most famous people on the planet – to the latest incarnation of the nocturnal vigilante Bruce Wayne in The Batman, has been intriguingly circuitous.He took a decade-long detour through arthouse and auteur cinema, through offbeat roles – the freaks and weirdos, the feckless and the fundamentally untrustworthy – before he finally circled back, via scene-stealing supporting performances in The King and Tenet, into the kind of lead role which cements an actor’s A-list status. It could be viewed as a risky strategy, but it is one that paid off handsomely. Pattinson, who is now 35, has honed his mercurial talent. He is not just a movie star, he’s a thrillingly unpredictable and daring character actor. And he has nurtured something that is in short supply in his generation of groomed and polished media-savvy contemporaries: a refreshing oddball eccentricity. Continue reading...

A Latvian double agent is getting death threats after British authorities inadvertently disclosed his alias• Russia-Ukraine crisis: latest updatesIn April 1997, Vechernyaya Moskva, one of the most popular newspapers in Moscow, published an article on a former Russian intelligence agent, Boris Karpichkov.The article was illustrated with a picture of Karpichkov’s KGB identity papers, with the crosshairs of a sniper’s rifle superimposed. It warned that the ex-KGB major was wanted by Interpol, faced interrogation by the Russian authorities and was being hunted by organised crime groups. Continue reading...

Head of student union forced out as debate on monarchy intensifiesJust a few years ago, student activism and protests were a rarity at Chulalongkorn University – considered Thailand’s most elite and staunchly conservative campus. Yet Thailand’s oldest university, named after King Chulalongkorn, has since become yet another battleground for debate over the role of Thailand’s monarchy and political system.On Saturday, the head of the student union, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, said he had been removed from his post by the university, which accused him of activities that damaged its reputation, undermined public order and were incompatible with Thai culture. Continue reading...

Many Queensland schools to close as ‘unpredictable’ weather continues; flood warnings for NSW; Greens calls for Australia to stop Russian crude oil imports; Cyclone Anika makes landfall in Western Australia; seven more people die in NSW from Covid, 17 in Victoria, two in South Australia and one person in Queensland. Follow the latest updates live

Seduced by money, and then isolated by Brexit, the UK has foregone its chance to lead in the response to the Ukraine crisis• Russia-Ukraine crisis: live newsUnless a miracle occurs, we are witnessing the destruction of Ukraine as a free and democratic state of 44 million citizens at the hands of a dictator. Vladimir Putin refers to Ukraine as “a dagger pointed at the heart of Russia” not because of any military threat it has ever posed to his country, but because of the values its form of governance represents.For the west, this is the biggest failure of statecraft and deterrence since 1939. No one in the UK government should be surprised at what has happened. I remember sitting round the table of the National Security Council in 2014 after Putin’s violent annexation of the Crimea, where we concluded that, in the light of this gross violation of international law, he would repeat such an action if given a chance. Continue reading...

Critics mocking on social media but Scott Morrison says he doesn’t understand backlash and minister ‘sounds to me like someone doing their job’

Analysis: Beijing has held off from backing Russia, raising questions about the extent of any partnershipChina’s decision to abstain on Friday night at the end of the UN security council vote condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine may be a source of deep frustration in the west, but it will also send a nervous tremor through the Russian ministry of foreign affairs that China’s protection is not unconditional.UK-based diplomats, looking at the stance adopted by China in the middle of the week, were expecting Beijing to join Russia in voting against the US-sponsored motion, but in common with the United Arab Emirates and India, it abstained, leaving Russia isolated in deploying its veto power as a permanent member of the security council. Continue reading...

Russian troops enter key city after attacks on oil facilities as western allies agree to block major Russian banks from international payment system

Fears that use of indiscriminate armaments could amount to war crimes• Russia-Ukraine latest newsFootage captured by a CNN crew of the deployment of a T0S-1 heavy flame thrower system which was filmed being transported towards the Ukrainian border on Saturday has focused increased attention on what weapons Russia is beginning to deploy and how indiscriminate they are.The TOS-1, nicknamed the “Buratino” – the Russian version of Pinocchio – for its big nose, is one of the most feared weapons systems in Russia’s conventional armoury, a multiple launch rocket system mounted on the chassis of a T-72 tank capable of firing thermobaric rockets which use oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. Continue reading...

West agrees to bar major Russian banks from international payments system as Russia attacks oil facilities in Kharkiv and south-west of Kyiv

After pausing launches during the Winter Olympics, North Korea has fired a possible ballistic missile, according to Japan’s coast guardNorth Korea has fired what may be a ballistic missile, South Korean and Japanese officials said, after a seemingly quiet month without launches during the Beijing Olympics.South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff reported on Sunday that North Korea had fired one suspected ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast from a location near Sunan, where Pyongyang’s international airport is located. Continue reading...

A video posted to social media shows a Ukrainian citizen attempting to stop a Russian tank with his body weight. The man first climbs on to the tank before hopping down and attempting to push it back with his arms. When that fails, he kneels in front of the tank in a desperate bid to stop its advance. The moment, captured in Bakhmach in northern Ukraine, is one of a string of defiant acts caught on video showing unarmed Ukrainians confronting Russian soldiers

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the troops on Snake Island ‘died heroically’ but border guard service says it holds out hope they are alive

Videos posted to social media are believed to show an oil terminal outside of Kyiv on fire after a Russian attack. There are also reports that a gas pipeline in Kharkiv has been targeted after the city came under heavy fire. Residents have been advised to keep their windows shut against hazardous chemical fumes

At makeshift checkpoints, motley crews of citizens vow to do everything in their power to halt the Russian advance• Russia/Ukraine latestThe barricade started as a few men waiting nervously in the road on Friday, and grew gradually over the course of Saturday. By the afternoon, this modest attempt to stop a Russian advance on the capital of Ukraine was complete: sandbags, wooden crates and bricks piled high, with a blue-yellow national flag flying above them.The motley crew had no illusions about the level of resistance they would be able to offer to one of the world’s most ruthless and technologically advanced armies, but like thousands in and around Kyiv they were determined to do what they could anyway. “I practised shooting yesterday and I came out here today for my first shift. I’ll be honest, I’m terrified,” said Alexander, 50. He was brandishing a US-made Remington shotgun he said a friend had acquired for him. Continue reading...

Russian troops facing fierce resistance as Germany abandons its postwar military stance to supply arms to Ukraine• Ukraine crisis liveVladimir Putin was facing growing international isolation and the prospect of pariah status on Saturday night as long-term allies dramatically turned against him following the invasion of Ukraine, and western nations planned further decisive military and financial action against Moscow.As his hopes of a quick victory evaporated in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and armies of citizen volunteers, Russia’s president was deserted by his key ally, China, and had his ultimatum demanding Kyiv’s surrender defiantly brushed aside by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Continue reading...

Questions raised over sponsorship of exhibitions by scandal-hit Swiss bankThe National Gallery’s partnership with Credit Suisse has been thrown into question after leaked documents revealed the hidden wealth of the bank’s criminal clients, including drug traffickers, money launderers and corrupt politicians.Credit Suisse, headquartered in Zurich, has sponsored the National Gallery since 2008 in one of the UK’s biggest arts funding deals. The partnership, renewed in 2020 and due to run until at least 2024, means Credit Suisse’s name is linked to exhibitions for artists from Raphael and Monet to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Continue reading...

A Ukrainian mother embraced her child and then the person who brought him and his sister safely to her across the Hungarian border.

Binge eating disorder affects many thousands of Australians, and for most it got worse over the pandemic. But few seek help – or even know they have itSince Sam Ikin was a child his urge to devour food was out of his control. He didn’t want to be fat. “I wanted to look good. But the more I deprived myself of something, the more I craved it,” he says.In one go, he might end up eating a couple of packets of biscuits or a whole big bag of chips. “You’re not conscious of the quantity that you’re eating, you just want to keep eating. And then once you finish what’s in front of you, you start thinking about what else there is,” he says. He would “come out of it” when he had run out of food, get interrupted or because he had got to the point where he simply could not eat any more. Continue reading...

It’s too early to describe the Kremlin operation as a failure, but it has not succeeded yet in its mission to seize and subjugate its neighbour

Figures from across Northern Ireland’s political spectrum came to mourn 39-year-old MLA who died suddenlyMourners from across the political spectrum gathered in Belfast on Saturday for the funeral service of DUP MLA Christopher Stalford.The DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, alongside party MPs and MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), were among the congregation at Ravenhill Presbyterian Church in south Belfast. Continue reading...

As war rages above ground, Ukrainians have sought safety in metro stations and basements

The ban on men aged 18 to 60 leaving the country leads one father to take drastic action

Cancellation of events and exodus of ex-EU officials from Russian firms could wreck the country’s ‘soft power’ credentialsThe Royal Opera House cancelled a season of performances by Moscow’s famed Bolshoi Ballet, European football’s governing body took the Champions League final away from St Petersburg, and a host of Russian businesses were rocked by resignations of big-name European directors. In the hours and days following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it became clear that Russia is no longer a welcome member of western society.For a long time, Russia appeared to be working tirelessly on its “soft power” credentials, spending billions of roubles to portray itself as a welcoming member of the international community, one that was a victim of western bias and “Russophobia”. Continue reading...

Two children are among four people missing after the boat capsized as it was returning to Hội AnAt least 13 people were killed and four others are missing after a tourist boat capsized on Saturday in bad weather off the coast of Hội An, a world heritage-listed Vietnamese city, an official said.The accident occurred as the vessel carrying 39 local tourists and crew members was returning to Hội An from Cu Lao Cham island – a popular spot for diving, snorkelling and water sports. Continue reading...

France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Hungary express support for financial measure pursued by UK

Pair to be honoured on Saturday in recognition of work to help woman’s shelter in Texas and promotion of Covid vaccine equityPrince Harry and Meghan Markle will on Saturday accept an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a leading US civil rights group, in recognition of their work to help a woman’s shelter in Texas, their promotion of Covid vaccine equity and a partnership to create community relief centers.The NAACP president’s award is given each year in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service. It has been won by Muhammad Ali, LeBron James, Rihanna, Jay-Z and Lauryn Hill, and political figures including the Rev Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. Continue reading...

Limited outside space needn‘t stop you growing an impressive display of flowers and edibles, installing water features or even having a stab at keeping bees Continue reading...

Burnout from two years of battling Covid pandemic has created flood of departures and public concern, says surveyA record number of more than 400 workers in England have left the NHS every week to restore their work-life balance over the last year, according to a new analysis of the workforce crisis hitting the health service.The flood of departures comes with staff complaining of burnout and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder following two years of battling the Covid pandemic. There are now concerns that the exodus is impacting the quality of care, with more than a quarter of adults saying they or an immediate family member had received poor care as a result of the workforce problems. Continue reading...

Foreign nationals studying in Dnipro on their struggle to leave the city as Russian forces advance

The model, 41, on his dangerous youth, micro-managed middle age, dancing with J-Lo and seeing giant pictures of his crotch in Times SquareMy childhood, in Essex, was run-of-the-mill. My parents were grafters, starting businesses from home, and they were both very present in my life while also deeply committed to their jobs. It was instilled into me that nothing is earned unless you work for it.How I avoided serious injury in my teens remains a mystery, given how stupid my friends and I were. We’d climb the steepest hills and descend on roller-skates passing busy junctions; as we got older, we drove cars too fast into hedges and fields. I had an appetite for risk until 27, when mortality became very real. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has invited Ukraine's 'friends' to join the fight against Russia's assault, adding that weapons would be provided for them.Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian president clarified that Ukraine was not surrendering. 'I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state,' he said in a video posted on social media.Fierce fighting broke out in Kyiv as Russian forces failed to push their way towards the city centre from multiple directions in the early hours of Saturday

State Ballet of Siberia performs as fans say it’s not performers’ fault they have ‘despot as leader’

More than 50 years after they were forcibly removed from their homes, the former residents of Britain’s last colony in Africa are challenging the UK’s claim to the archipelago. After a five-day journey across the ocean, which they returned from this week, a small delegation of Chagos Islanders made an emotional return to their homeland. They were there to symbolically lay claim to the islands for Mauritius, in the hope of eventually resettling there. Olivier Bancoultwas just four-years-old when his family was deported to Mauritius from the Chagos Islands. We follow his journey

Travellers angry with ‘poor’ communication as many try to take first holiday since pandemic beganTravellers were left frustrated on Saturday after British Airways announced it had cancelled all short-haul Heathrow flights before midday due to technical problems.The cancellations were unrelated to cyber-attacks and involved hardware issues, the company said. Continue reading...

There’s lots of savoury 'umami’ flavour packed into this bowl of aromatic comfortThere are lots of uses for this charred red pepper sauce. It’s lovely tossed through pasta, but you could also serve it with jarred butter beans or as a soup, each time with the zingy salsa spooned on top to cut through the richness. If you’re going with the pasta, feel free to be creative with the shape you use; gnocchi, pappardelle or paccheri are all great options. It may not look as if there’s much going on in the ingredients list for the sauce, but, trust me, you’ll want to eat it straight out of the blender with a spoon.UK readers: click to buy these ingredients from Ocado Continue reading...

Writing a book helped Stephanie Foo come to terms with how childhood traumas impacted her outwardly successful adult lifeIn 2017, Stephanie Foo was slapped with a complex PTSD diagnosis. She was dumbfounded.Foo, a successful podcast producer on shows like This American Life, had heard of PTSD – the disorder associated in popular culture with war veterans who witnessed death, or had guns held to their heads. She knew those afflicted were frequently revisited by traumatic memories, often in flashbacks playing before their eyes. Continue reading...