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The BBC has confirmed the location west of Kyiv and found satellite images showing bodies on the ground

Campaigners say Kelly Hartigan-Burns was treated with ‘reckless indifference’ after her arrest in 2016Police officers failed a vulnerable and suicidal woman after arresting her and putting her in a police cell where she killed herself, an inquest jury has found.Kelly Hartigan-Burns, 35, died in December 2016 after she was treated with “reckless indifference”, campaigners say, by police in Blackburn. She had been arrested after members of the public spotted her late at night walking in and out of traffic in her pyjamas saying she wanted to die.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...

TV presenter tells peers such platforms often pocket revenue but refuse to take responsibility for fraudPlatforms that connect buyers and sellers such as Airbnb and eBay must do more to protect consumers from scams, according to the comedian and TV presenter Joe Lycett, who accused them of pocketing the revenue but refusing to take responsibility for fraud.The presenter of Channel 4 consumer rights show Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back told peers that regulation, including the introduction of more rigorous checks, should pressure lucrative social media and sales platforms into helping customers who regularly lose thousands of pounds in transactions with fake sellers . Continue reading...

Exclusive: ministers confirm Emirati logistics giant no longer has central role after anger at sacking of 800 workersThe Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries has lost its status as a formal partner in one of the government’s biggest freeport projects, after widespread public anger over the firing without notice of 800 workers last month.Ministers have confirmed that DP World, the Emirati logistics giant behind P&O, no longer had a central role as a “partner” in the Solent freeport after the resignation of its UK commercial director from the scheme’s board last week. Continue reading...

Fire at a main power plant causes biggest blackout so far this year on island, forcing it to cancel classes and close government officesMore than 1 million customers in Puerto Rico remained without electricity on Thursday after a fire at a main power plant caused the biggest blackout so far this year across the US territory, forcing it to cancel classes and shutter government offices.The blackout also left some 160,000 customers without water and snarled traffic across the island of 3.2 million people, where the roar of generators and smell of diesel filled the air. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says it would be ‘breathtaking hypocrisy’ if Akshata Murty was using schemes to reduce taxLabour has called for clarity over why Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, uses non-domicile status, as Keir Starmer said it would be “breathtaking hypocrisy” if she had been reducing her tax liabilities while the chancellor was raising taxes on others.Murty receives about £11.5m in annual dividends from a stake in her family’s IT business empire, Infosys, which is headquartered in Bengaluru, India, and listed on the Indian and New York stock exchanges. Continue reading...

Tourism sector, winemakers and luxury goods producers expect downturn as Italy stands with Ukraine

Local teacher Peter Tsambalas was preselected unopposed by ALP branch members in January to contest south Sydney seat

Artist devastated by museum’s decision to take down The Lost Petition following concerns it could ‘upset’ people

More rapes, assaults and other violent offences reported to police in 2020-21, although overall crime rate fell

Health agency says revision brings total number of deaths within 28 days of positive test to 169,095Almost 3,000 Covid-19 deaths have been added to the UK’s official figures after the discovery of a data error.The cumulative number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus rose by an extra 2,714 on Wednesday, in addition to 233 newly reported deaths. Continue reading...

Ibac and ombudsman urged to investigate after auditor general found campaigns breached state law

Melissa Arbuckle pleaded guilty to infanticide over daughter’s death and was released on adjourned undertaking for three years

Small-scale producers and artists are invited to apply for grants to develop their ideas for sale in new storeSwedish retailers Ikea and H&M are teaming up to create an “ideas factory” on the high street that aims to seek out, mentor and promote designers and small-scale manufacturers in London.Atelier 100, the first joint retail venture between the world’s largest furniture retailer and one of the largest global fashion chains will open in Hammersmith, west London, in May and is launching an open call on Thursday for creatives and producers based within 100km of the store to help stock its shelves. Continue reading...

Strike designed to put pressure on state government before conciliation hearing next week

US says Pyongyang may escalate recent provocations with a weapons test on 110th anniversary of founder Kim Il-sung’s birthNorth Korea could be planning its first nuclear weapon test in nearly five years, according to a senior US official who urged the regime to step back from further provocations following its recent long-range missile test.Sung Kim, the special representative for North Korea policy at the US state department, said Washington believes Pyongyang could demonstrate its growing nuclear weapons capacity on 15 April, an annual holiday held to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung. Continue reading...

A report on allegations that politicians were involved in sexual acts and misconduct inside Parliament House won’t be released

Funds for remediation including removal of flammable cladding still short of £4bn government estimateMajor UK housebuilders have so far promised to spend about £1.3bn to remove cladding and other fire hazards from mid-rise housing blocks, but are still short of the estimated £4bn needed to avoid another Grenfell Tower-style disaster.On Wednesday Barratt Developments and Redrow were the latest to reveal how much they would put aside to address life-threatening fire safety issues in the housing developments constructed by the firms over the past 30 years. Barratt said the decision would cost it up to £400m, while the figure for Redrow is £200m. Continue reading...

Surging passenger numbers, staff sickness and lack of recruitment have left airport security at a standstillDavid and Jasmine Pringle had woken up at 4am to travel to Manchester airport from County Durham after Qatar Airways told them to expect huge delays for their flight to Doha.“Leaving the house at 5am for a 3pm flight isn’t ideal,” David said. “But it’s been over two years since we last saw Jasmine’s family in the Philippines and we’ve been desperate to make the journey to see her elderly parents. We’ve paid the best part of £3k for the flights. Now we just want to get there.” Continue reading...

This live blog is closed. For live coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, you can follow our dedicated live blog

Moriarty, 70, and his dog went missing from Northern Territory town Larrimah, 430km south of Darwin, in 2017 with police suspecting foul play

Donetsk governor says Russian artillery has killed civilians at aid point, while Russian governor claims border guards were fired at

Idit Silman’s departure amid row over Passover bread leaves PM with same number of seats as oppositionA key member of Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party has quit the Israeli coalition government after a row about unleavened bread during Passover, in a surprise move that leaves the prime minister without a parliamentary majority.Idit Silman’s announcement left Bennett’s coalition, an alliance of parties ranging from the Jewish right and Israeli doves to an Arab Muslim party, with 60 seats – the same as the opposition. Continue reading...

Actor makes series of TV appearances to boost support in the US for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the country’s effort to repel RussiaActor Sean Penn has said Ukraine “will win” its war with Russia, in a series of TV appearances designed to boost support in the US for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the country’s effort to repel the invading forces.Penn appeared on The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC, where he affirmed his belief that Ukraine is “going to win this thing … it’s a certainty.” He stressed the unity of the population, adding: “It’s an exciting moment in history … They look at each other and they say we’re together.” Continue reading...

Former England midfielder Steve Hodge has owned Maradona’s number 10 shirt since the 1986 matchDiego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal made footballing history and cemented the legendary status of the Argentinian superstar. Now the shirt he wore when he scored that goal in the 1986 World Cup championships is estimated to sell for at least £4m.Maradona’s number 10 shirt has been owned for the past 35 years by the former England midfielder Steve Hodge, after the two players swapped shirts at the end of the quarter-final between Argentina and England. Continue reading...

Towke claims minister messaged ‘do what you feel you need to do’ after he alleged Morrison in 2007 suggested he couldn’t be trusted because he was Lebanese

Image of radical left presidential candidate, who is third in polls, projected at rallies across countrySpeaking via hologram to multiple locations across France, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the radical leftwing politician who aims to throw the presidential election off course, told supporters victory was within their grasp at his last campaign rally on Tuesday evening.The veteran candidate, who has been edging his way up the polls and is in third place, described himself as a political tortoise, slow but with the potential to beat the hares to the finishing line. Continue reading...

Trucks with ads showing the Chinese president voting for Labor have been seen across Australia this week

Law reform body says there should be consequences for offenders who make victims fear they will be sexually assaulted

Exclusive: research shows benefits cut has barely changed fertility rates and pushed thousands of British families deeper into povertyIt was one of the Conservatives’ most controversial cuts: waging war on the UK’s “benefit culture” by restricting social security payments that supposedly enabled “welfare scroungers” to have large families they could ill-afford.The two-child policy – which limits benefits payments to the first two children born to the poorest households – would, proponents argued, cut the welfare bill and bring “feckless” parents to heel by – as one minister put it – teaching them “the reality that children cost money.” Continue reading...

Former prime minister and Indigenous leader say that if the ALP wins government, it must hold a referendum in its first term

Defence department won’t promise to brief Labor on moves made but not announced prior to election being called

Human Rights Watch-Amnesty report accuses Ethiopian paramilitaries of war crimes and crimes against humanityEthiopian paramilitaries have carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Tigray, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes using threats, killings and sexual violence, according to a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.The rights groups accuse officials and paramilitaries from the neighbouring Amhara region of war crimes and crimes against humanity in western Tigray, in northern Ethiopia. Continue reading...

Exclusive: John Rylands Research Institute and Library to house collection that will also include Granada TV treasuresAn archive’s fabulous treasures, including a Gutenberg Bible, a Shakespeare first folio and the oldest known fragment of the New Testament, are to be joined by Ian Curtis’s handwritten lyrics for Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control and a wealth of material that shines light on Granada TV.The John Rylands Research Institute and Library in Manchester has announced plans for the British Pop Archive (BPA), which it hopes will become the national collection for all aspects of postwar popular culture. Continue reading...

Ukraine president says UN unable to function because of blocking tactics of Russia; bodies of civilians lay on street in Bucha for at least 10 days, UK says

Much of NSW to receive drenching over three days as Sydney’s six-month rainfall total five times that of London

Many Australians expected to be in isolation, with AEC staff prevented from accessing hospitals and some aged care facilities

In wake of Celeste Manno’s death, law reform body says stalking ‘often minimised or trivialised’ and victims are being left to manage alone

The mother of slain US relief worker Kayla Mueller testified Tuesday at the trial of one of her daughter's alleged captorsThe mother of slain US relief worker Kayla Mueller testified on Tuesday at the trial of one of her daughter’s alleged Islamic State (IS) captors, recounting the desperate pleas for her release and tortuous negotiations.Marsha Mueller’s emotional testimony came on the fifth day of the trial in US federal court of El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national. Continue reading...

Police said they approached the scene ‘gingerly’ after thousands of McVitie’s packets escaped transitDrivers in Derbyshire found themselves obstructed by an avalanche of biscuits when a lorry spilled hundreds of McVitie’s packets across a main road.Derbyshire constabulary were called to Ilkeston Road, in Sandiacre, at about 4.30pm Monday after the road and pavement were strewn with Ginger Nuts and Bourbon Creams. A rescue operation for the fallen biscuits concluded more than seven hours later. Continue reading...

Tesla and SpaceX boss becomes social media platform’s biggest shareholder with 9.2%Twitter has announced it is appointing Elon Musk to its board the day after the world’s richest person was revealed to be the social media platform’s biggest shareholder with a 9.2% stake.Parag Agrawal, the Twitter chief executive, said on Tuesday that he was “excited” to announce that Musk was joining the company’s board of directors. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our board,” he said in a tweet. Continue reading...

Peak GPs body calls for Medicare rebate to be extended to cover growing complexity of care for expectant mothers

Cabinet Office won’t confirm or deny existence of taxpayer-funded pictures of illegal gatherings after freedom of information requestMinisters are refusing to disclose any pictures taken by official No 10 photographers of illegal gatherings held inside Downing Street, prompting Labour to call on Boris Johnson to “come clean and release these photos”.The Cabinet Office refused to confirm or deny the existence of any photographs of events in the cabinet room, leaving parties, and a party in the prime minister’s Downing Street flat, after official pictures of the gatherings were requested under freedom of information laws. Continue reading...

Organisations pulled out of Safe to Be Me after government failure to ban conversion practices for transgender peopleThe government’s flagship LGBTQ+ conference is to be cancelled after it fell into disarray with more organisations pulling out and a key government adviser accusing ministers of waging a “woke war”.With Downing Street under fire for watering down its commitment to ban conversion practices, the Safe to Be Me event due to be hosted in June has now been scrapped. Continue reading...

Milton Keynes coroner rules highways officer Richard Woodcock was unlawfully killedA “heroic” neighbour who sacrificed his life to save a two-year-old boy died after being repeatedly hit with a kettlebell, a coroner has said.The body of Richard Woodcock, 38, a highways officer, was found by Thames Valley police when they forced their way into a property in Milton Keynes on 26 June last year. Continue reading...

Analysis: why ministers are risking political capital pushing ahead now with privatisation plan is unclearAccording to one key individual involved in the battle for Channel 4’s future, the broadcaster is a “wonderful company doing a fantastic job”, it is performing well financially and plays a crucial role in supporting the British television ecosystem.Curiously, that individual is Stephen Parkinson, a government minister arguing that the only solution to secure Channel 4’s future is to rapidly privatise it and sell it off to a commercial owner, possibly one based overseas. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy calls for Nuremberg-style trials in address to UN security council; landmine danger in Bucha; EU proposes new sanctions

The French president’s supporters welcomed his late arrival on the campaign trail at an event on Saturday in Paris’s business districtThis time almost five years ago, Caroline Janvier was a member of the newly elected Emmanuel Macron’s army of would-be parliamentarians.These “novices”, as La République En Marche – the pop-up party created to bring Macron to power – called them, were so green they were sent on a one-day crash course on how to run a campaign, organise and motivate a team and deal with the press. Continue reading...

Analysis: The Ukraine invasion has far exceeded the capacity of Putin’s forces. An expert explains how they have fallen short in the field

Head of Catholic church invited to Ukrainian capital by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Mayor Vitali Klitschko