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The standup comic, also known for voicing Iago in Disney’s animated Aladdin, has died after a long illnessComedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried has died at the age of 67.His family announced his death after a long illness via his Twitter page. Gottfried was known for his standup comedy and for roles in films including Aladdin and Problem Child. Continue reading...

A US 2023 budget request shows the UK is one of several European countries where investment is under way at ‘special weapons’ storage sitesMilitary bunkers in the UK are being upgraded so they can be used to store US nuclear weapons again after 14 years of standing empty, according to US defence budget documents.In the Biden administration’s 2023 defence budget request, the UK was added to the list of countries where infrastructure investment is under way at “special weapons” storage sites, alongside Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey – all countries where the US stores an estimated 100 B61 nuclear bombs. Continue reading...

Aiden Aslin said his unit in Mariupol has run out of food and ammunition and can no longer hold out

A look at denials made by the prime minister and his chancellor over allegations of lockdown breachesPerhaps the most damaging aspect of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak receiving fines for breaking lockdown laws is the fact the pair have publicly denied any wrongdoing.Here is a look back at some of the denials made by the prime minister and his chancellor.What I can tell the right honourable and learned gentleman is that all guidance was followed completely in No 10.Because I have told you and what I want to repeat … that the guidance is there and I am very, very keen that people understand this.All the guidelines were observed.I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.I can tell you once again that I certainly broke no rules … all that is being looked into.On your point about rules, I follow the rules.Those were people at work, talking about work. I have said what I have to say about that.I believed implicitly that this was a work event, but with hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside. Continue reading...

Bailey says he has continued to suffer from trauma of nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March 2018A police officer who suffered novichok poisoning when he searched the home of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal following the Salisbury nerve agent attack has reached a settlement with his former force.Lawyers for Nick Bailey argued that he continued to suffer from the trauma of the poisoning more than four years on and made a personal injury claim against Wiltshire police. Continue reading...

Alice Walker, 66, won grand final by six points with perfect score on her specialist subject, the Peak DistrictAlice Walker’s earliest childhood memories of the Peak District are of picnics, visits to stately homes and walks with her parents. Years later, Britain’s first national park holds new significance: it was her specialist subject as she became the oldest female winner of Mastermind.The title came as a surprise to the career quizzer: “I don’t really think of myself as an older woman,” admitted Walker, now 67. “But I guess I am.” Continue reading...

Zelenskiy rejects request by Frank-Walter Steinmeier for meeting in Kyiv, Bild reportsUkraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has rejected a request by the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to visit Kyiv along with other European politicians on Wednesday.Steinmeier, a former foreign minister and erstwhile ally of the ex-chancellor Gerhard Schröder, is on a state visit in Poland, where he is discussing the implications of the Russian war in Ukraine with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda. Continue reading...

Chief constable Stephen Watson said the three women, who have received ‘substantial’ damages, were let downThree victims of organised grooming gangs in Rochdale have received “substantial” damages and an apology from a police chief who accepted his force had let the women down.The three women, who have lifelong anonymity, met Stephen Watson, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police (GMP), at the force headquarters on Tuesday to be given the apology in person. Continue reading...

Big-budget fantasy sequel has had six seconds cut, as Warner Bros releases statement to say ‘the spirit of the film remains intact’Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has been edited for release in China to ensure any gay references have been removed.The fantasy sequel, which has an estimated budget of $200m, contains allusions to a romantic history between the characters of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, played by Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen respectively. Six seconds of dialogue, including the lines “Because I was in love with you” and “The summer Gellert and I fell in love”, were taken out for the Chinese release on 8 April. Continue reading...

Analysis: Little evidence thus far that civilians in Mariupol had fallen ill because of chemical attack

Alaska Natives are especially at risk, as sea ice and permafrost melt and villages are lost to flooding and erosionTribal communities will soon have access to $46m to tackle impacts of the climate crisis which disproportionately threaten Indigenous Americans’ food supplies, livelihoods and infrastructure.The funds are part of a historic five-year investment plan under Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, meant to improve climate resilience and adaptation in tribal territories. Continue reading...

Unconfirmed reports of Russia using chemical weapons in Mariupol, where Ukrainian authorities say more than 10,000 civilians have been killed

Fashion retailer swings from £106m profit to £16m loss in six months to February, while share prices rise

Bill that includes Northern Territory infrastructure funding did not pass before parliament was dissolved

Concerns raised over development costs for ‘integrated resort’, as well as crime and gambling addictionThe focus of Japan’s quest to open its first casino is a human-made island in Osaka that, if the city’s government gets its way, will end decades of wrangling over the country’s fraught relationship with poker tables and slot machines.On a recent weekday morning there was little to suggest that Yumeshima – “Dream Island” – could, by the end of the decade, be the site of an unprecedented experiment with gambling in the world’s third biggest economy. Continue reading...

Jesus College ‘let down’ but will not appeal ruling preventing removal of memorial to slave trader Tobias RustatThe Church of England’s procedures for addressing issues of racial injustice and contested heritage are “inadequate” and “not fit for purpose”, according to the head of Jesus College at the University of Cambridge.The damning assessment was made as the college ruled out an appeal against a church court judgment preventing the removal of a memorial in its chapel to 17th-century benefactor Tobias Rustat, who was involved with the slave trade. Continue reading...

Research finds risk of myopericarditis after Covid jab is low and similar to that after flu vaccineHeart inflammation after a Covid jab is not only rare but no more common than after other types of vaccinations, researchers have found.As Covid vaccination programmes began around the world it emerged that some people – particularly young men – subsequently developed myocarditis, a type of inflammation of the heart muscle, or pericarditis, inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. Continue reading...

Karl Nehammer becomes first western leader to hold face-to-face talks with Russian president since invasion of Ukraine

Announcement comes after singer was released from conservatorship she says required her to stay on birth controlFans have congratulated Britney Spears after she appeared to reveal she is pregnant with her third child.The Toxic singer shared the news in a post on Instagram, saying she had taken a test after her partner, Sam Asghari, had teased her about being “food pregnant”. Continue reading...

Tuesday: Austrian chancellor becomes first western leader to hold face-to-face talks with Russian president since invasion of Ukraine. Plus: Australia’s top travel experiences

Eric Pickles had ‘other tragedies’ on his mind when he incorrectly referred to ‘nameless 96 people’ while giving evidence to inquiryA Conservative peer and former Cabinet minister has apologised for getting the number of people who died in the Grenfell Tower fire wrong when speaking during the inquiry.Eric Pickles, who gave evidence last week, incorrectly said 96 people died in the June 2017 blaze. The correct number of victims was 72. Continue reading...

British Congolese playwright receives Susan Smith Blackburn prize for her debut play, Lava, staged in 2021 at the Bush in LondonBenedict Lombe has won this year’s Susan Smith Blackburn prize for female, transgender and non-binary dramatists.In a special presentation at Shakespeare’s Globe in London on Monday night, Lombe was named the winner for her play, Lava, a memoir-monologue that travels from Mobutu’s Democratic Republic of the Congo via post-apartheid South Africa to modern-day London. It is the first time in the history of the award, established in 1978, that the prize has gone to a debut play. Continue reading...

Eleven on trial for Portland collection theft also accused of ‘ruthless’ burglaries of footballers’ homesA gang accused of stealing the £3.75m Portland tiara and brooch from a Nottinghamshire gallery in 2018 was involved in a number of “ruthlessly executed” burglaries that also targeted footballers Ashley Cole and Tom Huddlestone, a court has heard.Opening the case against 11 defendants at Nottingham crown court, the prosecutor, Michael Brady QC, said the burglaries and violent robberies were “extremely serious, high-profile and carefully planned”. Continue reading...

Twenty-six-year-old stabbed long-serving Conservative after being fuelled by Islamic State propaganda

Party expels Khan, 48, who faces time in jail and could be disqualified as MP from his Wakefield constituency

Senator Andrew Bragg says change isn’t necessary because Sex Discrimination Act already contains carve-outs for strength and stamina

Influenza cases fell to historic lows during Covid but experts warn of its return, and the risk of ‘flurona’

Calls for Victorian government to release latest figures, blaming lack of investment, not just pandemic, for elective surgery delays

Zelenskiy says Mariupol death toll probably in tens of thousands; Austrian chancellor has ‘direct, open and tough talks’ with Putin

Sanctions are designed to make it difficult for Russia to make sovereign debt payments to foreign investors

Politicians call for focus to be put on slain MP’s life and work – rather than on deeds of his murdererBoris Johnson has joined MPs and others in paying tribute to Sir David Amess, with several stressing the importance of focusing on the Conservative backbencher’s life and work rather than the deeds of his murderer.In a tweeted statement, Johnson called Amess, who was killed last October by Ali Harbi Ali in an Islamist-inspired terrorist attack, “a beloved colleague, public servant and friend who championed the city of Southend in everything he did”, saying his thoughts were with Amess’s family. Continue reading...

Public support for western alliance doubled in both countries after Russia invaded Ukraine, find pollsSweden’s ruling party has begun debating whether the country should join Nato, and neighbouring Finland expects to reach a decision within weeks, as Moscow warned that the Nordic nations’ accession would “not bring stability” to Europe.Both countries are officially non-aligned militarily, but public support for Nato membership has almost doubled since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to about 50% in Sweden and 60% in Finland, multiple opinion polls suggest. Continue reading...

Complainant says they tried to warn Conservative party before Ahmad Khan won election in Wakefield

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen face tense runoff after first round of voting in presidential race

Long-serving Conservative, who has died after stabbing, also campaigned on health issues and fuel povertyThe Conservative Sir David Amess, 69, was one of the longest-serving MPs, having first been elected for Basildon in 1983 and then for Southend West in 1997.A long-term Eurosceptic, he supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum and tweeted a picture of a lifesize cardboard cutout of Margaret Thatcher on the day the UK left the European Union. Continue reading...

The actor expressed regret for his criticism of Jane Campion’s Oscar-winning film, saying he also wanted to ‘apologise to the cast … brilliant actors all’The actor Sam Elliott has apologised for comments he made last month about Jane Campion’s western The Power of the Dog.While speaking with Marc Maron on the latter’s WTF podcast, Elliott had described the film as a “piece of shit” western with “allusions of homosexuality”. Continue reading...

Ali, whose father was involved in anti-terrorist campaigns, had researched attacks on other MPsAli Harbi Ali’s descent to extremism followed an otherwise unremarkable childhood.Born in Southwark, London, in 1996 to Somali parents, Ali grew up in a three-bedroom 1980s terrace house in Croydon with his mother, two sisters and younger brother. Continue reading...

Heathrow ‘stretched’ but airport pledges to build up resources as quickly as possibleMore flights were cancelled on Monday as airlines and airports struggled to cope with the big Easter getaway, and Heathrow said it was increasing resourcing as fast as possible to deal with rising passenger numbers.British Airways cancelled at least 64 domestic or European flights to or from Heathrow. Affected UK routes included Heathrow to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle, while the international routes affected were services to and from Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris and Stockholm. British Airways said passengers were given advanced warning of the cancellations. Continue reading...

The naming of Ali Harbi Ali in connection with the Conservative MP’s death had wider repercussionsWhen Kahiye Alim, director of the Council of Somali Organisations (CSO), saw reports that the suspected killer of Southend West MP David Amess was of Somali heritage, he was in a state of shock.Alim was out for dinner on a Friday evening when he heard the news, and could no longer eat. He began to worry about the repercussions the event would have on the British Somali community. Continue reading...

Jebina Yasmin Islam blames ethnicity for initial lack of headlines over murder, and also criticises Priti PatelThe murder of Sabina Nessa would have provoked a more intense public outcry if the primary school teacher had been white, her relatives have said, as they accused the home secretary of exploiting her death for publicity.Nessa’s sister, Jebina Yasmin Islam, said there had been no support from the government, describing people in senior positions as useless, and saying the murder of Sarah Everard six months before that of Nessa had received more press coverage. Continue reading...

The PM campaigned in Gilmore in NSW, while Labor leader is in Bass in Tasmania; Tanya Plibersek defends Anthony Albanese after opposition leader addresses his rates stumble; phone voting available for people in isolation on election day; NSW reports three Covid deaths and Victoria one. This blog is now closed

Silent Witness star says venues should hold separate shows so people most at risk of Covid can attendSeparate performances reserved for those who want to wear masks or socially distance should be held in theatres, the actor Liz Carr has suggested.The Silent Witness star was concerned that theatres were becoming inaccessible to people who have underlying health conditions as the number of people continuing to wear masks falls, despite a new surge in Covid infections. Continue reading...

NHS Confederation calls for ‘living with Covid’ plans to be reconsidered as health system strugglesMinisters should reconsider England’s “living with Covid” plans, health leaders have said, while accusing the government of ignoring the ongoing threat for ideological reasons.The NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, has accused No 10 of having “abandoned any interest” in the pandemic, despite a new Omicron surge putting pressure on an already overstretched NHS. Continue reading...

Soldier refused to answer questions about one mission on grounds of self-incrimination on offence of ‘the most serious nature’

Uluru Statement from the Heart creators say politicians are ready and ‘history is calling’ them to take action

‘I’ll have more to say about that at another time,’ PM tells reporters on election campaign trail