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Two people, including an SES volunteer, have died after being swept away in Queensland flood waters, bringing the toll to four. This blog is now closed

Reports say artillery rounds and large blasts were heard in Ukrainian capital; Russia vetoes UN resolution deploring invasion of Ukraine

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said to his nation on Friday that 'we must withstand tonight' as he warned of an impending Russian assault on Kyiv and other cities across the country.In his address, Zelenskiy declared that Ukraine 'cannot lose the capital'.The invasion of Ukraine began early on Thursday with missile strikes on cities and military bases, followed by a multi-pronged ground assault that rolled troops in from separatist-held areas in the east; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north.

Government says black rhino population is growing and also gives permission to hunt 10 leopards and 150 elephantsThe South African government has granted annual hunting and export permits for big game including 10 critically endangered black rhinoceros and a similar number of leopards.It also gave permission for more than 100 elephants to be killed, in keeping with international laws on the trade of endangered species, saying its elephant population was growing and that fewer than 0.3% were hunted each year. Continue reading...

Video footage shared by Ukrainian news outlet HB apparently shows a Ukrainian man attempting to block a Russian military convoy. The 30-second clip shows a man standing in front of what appear to be military vehicles. As the vehicles try to swerve around him, the man jockeys to the side, seemingly in an attempt to block their progress.The clip has gone viral online, with comparisons being drawn to the 'tank man' of Tiananmen Square.

Marise Payne flags further action over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after allies announce they will personally sanction Vladimir Putin and Russia’s foreign affairs minister, Sergei Lavrov

Thirty-second clip shared by Ukrainian news outlet HB shows a man standing in front of what appears to be military vehicles

Core meltdowns due to operational challenges cause concern even as direct strikes to facilities remain remote possibilityConcerns are mounting about the safety of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors and the possibility of an ecological disaster in the midst of the Russian invasion.Experts said that those reactors, at four power plants around the country, had layers of safeguards to prevent a catastrophic meltdown of their cores, but in a full scale war of the kind Vladimir Putin has unleashed, there was a heightened risk of those safety layers all failing at once. Continue reading...

An armoured vehicle has been filmed crashing into and then crushing a civilian car in a Kyiv suburb. Before the incident, recorded from multiple angles, the vehicle was being driven down a main road leading through a residential area. Separate footage showed that the driver survived after local residents helped free him from the wreckage. It is not yet clear whether Russian or Ukrainian forces were driving the vehicle.Russian forces are approaching Kyiv from the north and north-east, Ukraine's army said, with many fearing that the capital could fall on the second day of Moscow's offensive

Australia has the grain to meet increasing demand off the back of a strong harvest, but getting it out of the country will be a challenge

Footage shows newborn babies after they were moved to a makeshift bomb shelter from a neonatal intensive care unit at a children's hospital in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine, the New York Times reported. Dr Denis Surkov, chief of the neonatal unit at Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Children's Clinic hospital, said in a statement: 'This is our reality'

The designer best known for putting men in feminine clothes, now dresses women in masculine clothesGender fluidity is not just Harry Styles in a feather boa. It can also be a woman in an elegantly oversized double-breasted trouser suit, like the model who opened Gucci’s first Milan fashion week show in two years.“Seven years ago I designed a menswear collection, and everyone told me I had invented gender fluidity,” shrugged the designer Alessandro Michele backstage. “I was like, my definition of masculinity is broad, OK?” (Funny, now, to recall the furore caused by a man in a pussy-bow blouse, as recently as 2015.) Continue reading...

Can the reboot of arguably the most iconic and influential crime procedural of them all, which returned after a 12-year hiatus, justify its existence in 2022?Until this week, it had been 12 years since Law & Order, the crime procedural that spawned a world of spinoffs and entrenched the perspective of police and prosecutors on television, aired a new episode.A lot has changed since the flagship show, which premiered on NBC in 1990 and returned to the network for its 21st season on Thursday, went on hiatus in 2010. (For one, the 20th season finale was about a menacing blog.) Crime procedurals – shows in which law enforcement solve a case over the course of a single episode – remain popular; they composed six of the top 10 most-watched scripted broadcast shows in 2020. Law & Order’s most successful spinoff, Special Victims Unit, is now the longest-running live-action primetime series in history with 23 seasons. But a decade’s worth of video evidence of racist police brutality, particularly against Black Americans, has put TV shows where police are always the protagonists under fair scrutiny. Continue reading...

A woman is being hailed on social media after she confronted a heavily armed Russian soldier and offered him sunflower seeds – so that flowers would grow if he died there on Ukraine’s soil. 'You’re occupants, you’re fascists,' she shouts, standing about a metre from the soldier.'Take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here'

The institution suffered a devastating attack by Islamic State in 2014. Eight years on, an international effort has seen it reopen as ‘a lighthouse of knowledge’The university library in Mosul, which was bombed by Islamic State militants, has opened its doors again, describing itself as a “lighthouse of knowledge” which is “once again burning bright”.Founded in 1921, the library was ransacked and bombarded by missiles during the IS occupation of the city, with an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 books and manuscripts destroyed. It was reopened on 19 February by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with financial support from Germany and book donations from around the world, including over 20,000 from the UK. Continue reading...

The soldiers who died defending an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment told an officer onboard a Russian navy warship to 'go fuck yourself' when asked to surrender. There were 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island owned by Ukraine that sits about 186 miles (300km) west of Crimea, when Russian troops bombed the island on Thursday. All 13 soldiers died after refusing to surrender

Beijing is walking a diplomatic tightrope but crisis also offers the opportunity to express grievances against its adversaries

UK defence minister rebuffs pleas from Ukrainian and some Conservative MPs to implement no-fly zone over Ukraine

With the threat of invasion from China ever present, people’s fears are playing out in eastern Europe

Foreign secretary goes on diplomatic drive to rally support for peak sanctions measure

As the invasion enters its second day, Ukrainians reel from the shock of the attack and the capital Kyiv is braced for the arrival of Russian forces after Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault that quickly claimed dozens of lives and displaced at least 100,000 people

Scott Morrison confirms new sanctions against Russian oligarchs as China eases trade restrictions; Australia records at least 28 Covid deaths as mask mandates relaxed in NSW and Victoria; Queensland emergency services receive 1,000 calls for help amid floods. This blog is now closed

She thinks butter belongs in the fridge; he thinks it’s fine sitting out. We air both sides of a domestic disagreement – and ask you to deliver a verdict

Diplomats consider if Russia can be removed as a permanent member of the UN security councilAn effort is under way to isolate Vladimir Putin diplomatically by challenging Russia’s right to a permanent seat of the UN security council on the grounds that Russia took the seat from the defunct Soviet Union in 1991 without proper authorisation.Diplomats are also looking to see if there is a basis for removing Russia from the presidency of the council. Continue reading...

Anti-war protesters have demonstrated around the world to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

State branch no longer has to rely on federal intervention – but that doesn’t mean the federal division has given up on influencing selections

Vitali Klitschko, now mayor of Kyiv, says he will join his brother Wladimir in a ‘bloody war’ against Russian invaders

The site Mahatma Gandhi lived at during 1917-30 is getting a very costly makeover many think is meant to distort his legacyLike most things in Mahatma Gandhi’s life, his ashram in the Indian city of Ahmedabad was simple and austere. Yet between 1917 and 1930, these modest white bungalows, set on the bank of the Sabarmati river in the state of Gujarat, were the beating heart of Gandhi’s non-violent freedom struggle against British rule and his experiments in upending India’s oppressive caste system.Gandhi – who would eventually lead India to independence and remains a global icon for peace – left the Sabarmati ashram in 1930, never to return, and in the years since, it has become one of India’s most sacrosanct sites. It is where Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Xi Jinping, Benjamin Netanyahu and most recently Donald Trump all paid a visit to during their trips to India. Continue reading...

Analysis: a new pact will be worse for Israel than the old one and Iran’s influence in the region has grown in recent yearsThe US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal was an immense personal achievement for former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a leaked video, he boasted that he had personally convinced Donald Trump to scrap the 2015 accord between Tehran and world powers.“I had to stand up against the whole world and come out against this agreement,” Netanyahu told members of his Likud party in the clip from 2018. “And we didn’t give up.” Continue reading...

Judge finds Tony Witmann had PTSD and was ‘genuinely remorseful’ but victim fears she will never recoverA former soldier who tied up a woman at gunpoint while trying to get his cat back from Melbourne’s Lost Dogs Home has been jailed for six years.Tony Wittman was armed with an assault weapon and dressed in full-military style clothing when he went to the Home in January 2021, causing victim Bailey Scarlett to initially believe he was a legitimate police officer due to his appearance.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Some areas of northern NSW and south-east Queensland could receive 300mm amid more wild weather in coming days

John Harris is joined by Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor, and the Guardian columnist Zoe Williams to talk about Vladimir Putin’s shocking decision to invade Ukraine and its implications for British politics Continue reading...

Ukraine leaders warn world to wake up to Russian threat as west promises to make Putin international pariah

Largest diaspora population outside of Ukraine and Russia ‘stand united’ as Trudeau announces new sanctionsNews of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken members of Canada’s Ukrainian community, the largest diaspora population outside of Ukraine and Russia.“I have a knot in my stomach. I can only imagine what it’s like for people in Ukraine who are living with the shelling,” said Taras Kulish, a Toronto-based charity lawyer and member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. “We’re all concerned and there’s a definitely a shock factor in processing it.” Continue reading...

Friday: Russia’s invasion could spark the biggest war in Europe since 1945, world leaders say. Plus: spithoods used in NT despite pledge to banGood morning. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has continued with Russian forces seizing control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Russia’s defence ministry claiming to have “neutralised” Ukraine’s airbases and air defences, destroying 74 military ground facilities, including 11 airfields.Russian forces have attacked Ukraine on the orders of Vladimir Putin as world leaders warned that it could spark the biggest conflict in Europe since the second world war. Within minutes of Putin’s short televised address, at about 5am Ukrainian time, explosions were heard near major Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv. Ukraine’s interior ministry reported that the country was under attack from cruise and ballistic missiles, with Russia appearing to target infrastructure near major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Dnipro. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians were fleeing or preparing to flee the country with videos and photos on social media showing lines of cars moving out of cities and heading west. Ukraine’s president has said Kyiv would issue weapons to anyone who wanted to use them to defend the country’s sovereignty. Continue reading...

Minutes after Vladimir Putin ended weeks of speculation by announcing a 'special military operation' at dawn on Thursday, explosions were heard near major Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv. According to Ukrainian officials, the initial wave of strikes appeared to involve cruise missiles, artillery and airstrikes, which struck military infrastructure and border positions, including airbases.CNN's Matthew Chance was filmed reporting live from an airbase on the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian airborne troops engaged in a firefight with the Ukrainian military

As the government continues to lift pandemic safety measures, five people share their outlook on ‘living with Covid’

Options include giving to charities on the ground, supporting local journalists and writing to your MP

Ukraine foreign minister voices anger as EU leaders likely to decide against blocking Russia from international payments system

Global opposition needs to show aspiring despots that Russian’s invasion of Ukraine is a mistake on a historic scaleVladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is an unprovoked outrage and a heinous violation of international law. It is proof of his utter disregard for the health and wealth of the people of Russia and Ukraine. He is a tyrant prepared to take lives, destroy infrastructure and rob his own citizens in the name of a demented imperialist dream.The economic sanctions that the UK, its allies and partners enforce must be as severe as possible. The aim should be to cut Russia out of the western economic system, targeting the finance, energy, technology and defence sectors as well as individuals linked to Putin and the Russian government. The effects should be deep and long-lasting. This confrontation will last for years into the future. And here at home, after years of stubborn inaction, the government must now finally expunge corrupt Russian money from the UK. We must close the cracks and loopholes through which the tentacles of corrupt finance reach into our economy and democracy.David Lammy is the Labour MP for Tottenham and shadow foreign secretaryGuardian Newsroom: the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Built 250 years ago, the Grade I-listed locks are considered a wonder of British canal engineeringWhen they opened nearly 250 years ago the town’s church bells rang out, the local militia fired their field guns in salute and about 30,000 awestruck spectators turned up to cheer.Today the Grade I-listed Bingley Five Rise Locks in West Yorkshire are still considered one of the true wonders of Britain’s waterways and can, thanks to a major restoration project, carry on lifting boats up and down the Leeds to Liverpool canal for years to come. Continue reading...

Pop singer first act announced for Buckingham Palace bank holiday celebration with live audience of 10,000The award-winning singer George Ezra has been confirmed as the first act for the Queen’s jubilee event the Platinum Party at the Palace, celebrating the monarch’s 70 years on the throne.The 4 June concert will have an in-person audience of 10,000, half of which will be members of the public from a ticket ballot, the BBC reported, to be awarded in pairs. Continue reading...

Thursday: Forces ‘ready to go now if they get the order’ to invade Ukraine, US defence official says. Plus: key questions about the NSW transport rowGood morning. A senior US defence official says Russia has moved nearly 100% of its troops into a position needed for an invasion as the UN chief warns: “The world is facing a moment of peril.” Ukraine has urged millions of its citizens in Russia to leave immediately.Nato has accused Russia of attempting to “rewrite the entire global security architecture”, saying the Kremlin is using “force and ultimatums … to redraw borders in Europe”. The EU approved wide-ranging sanctions that go beyond the UK and US response, including leading Russian military figures, state “propagandists” and parliamentarians. The former US president Donald Trump has called Vladimir Putin’s decision to declare independent states within Ukraine “genius”, praising as a “smart move” the call to send “the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen” into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s parliament is set to unveil state of emergency laws that will allow citizens to carry lethal firearms, with Ukrainians reportedly rushing to buy guns and ammunition at weapons stores across the nation. Continue reading...

Group calling itself the ‘people’s convoy’ is one of several due to arrive in capital, similar to the demonstrations in OttawaA group of US truckers embarked in a convoy of vehicles on Wednesday on a 2,500 mile cross-country trip from Barstow, California to Washington DC to protest against coronavirus restrictions.The group, which is calling itself the “people’s convoy”, is one of several starting from different parts of the country and due to start arriving in the US capital at various points through to late next week – all inspired by the demonstrations that recently paralyzed Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, for weeks. Continue reading...

Threat of invasion, and draft law giving Ukrainians permission to carry firearms, leads to long queues inside weapons stores

‘It’s from a series of photographs I took across Ukraine intended to combat falsehoods about the country propagated by the Kremlin’This was taken in May last year in Myrnohrad, an industrial town 50 miles from Donetsk, a stronghold of the illegal Russian occupation in eastern Ukraine. Then, as now, fears of a Russian invasion were high. While much of the west thinks the threat of conflict started only a few weeks ago, it’s been the reality for Ukrainians for almost a decade.I was walking around Myrnohrad taking photos with a big portable flash and a plate camera when I saw this woman sit down and light a cigarette. She looked so confident and self-absorbed. I speak a little Russian, so I told her I was taking pictures of ordinary life across Ukraine and asked if she would pose. She agreed without hesitation. Continue reading...