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Report follows Turkish millionaire’s claim in high court that her financial adviser said cash was for help with passport applicationOne of the Duke of York’s senior aides told bankers that a now disputed cash payment to the prince was for his daughter Princess Beatrice’s wedding, it has been reported.In 2019, Andrew received £750,000 from Nebahat Isbilen, a Turkish millionaire and wife of a former leading politician, who has claimed in the high court that she was told by her financial adviser Selman Turk to pay the sum to the prince in return for assistance with a passport application. It was later claimed in court documents that this was a false representation. Continue reading...

Met commissioner to step down on 10 April, with search for replacement expected to take monthsCressida Dick will leave her role as commissioner of the Metropolitan police with a payoff of £166,000, the Guardian understands.Dick announced her resignation in February after clashing with the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. She officially ceases to be commissioner on 24 April. Continue reading...

Key city east of Kyiv has been liberated, says mayor, as Zelenskiy says Russians withdrawing ‘slowly but noticeably’

After recent seizures of aircraft and yacht, Grant Shapps grounds plane at Luton airport pending investigation

Drivers queueing in traffic for hours while part of the M20 is being used to park lorriesMotorists are facing huge queues and gridlocked roads into Dover after a buildup of lorries waiting for disrupted ferry services at the Kent port.Drivers are reporting queueing in traffic for hours to board ferries, while part of the M20 is being used to park lorries. The disruption is being caused by a shortage of ferries and poor weather conditions. Continue reading...

As a Virginia jury hears horrific allegations, experts say the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh sets an important precedentAs the trial against the accused Islamic State fighter El Shafee Elsheikh began this week on American soil, jurors in a northern Virginia courtroom were quickly exposed to accounts of unimaginable brutality.Elsheikh, prosecutors alleged, carried out terrorist acts that involved the grisly deaths of four Americans – the journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as the aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Continue reading...

Australian states and territories report 25 Covid deaths; damaging winds hit parts of NSW along with hazardous surf and abnormally high tides. This blog is now closed

Ukraine’s president says the Russians are leaving mines as they withdraw; central cities hit by new missile strikes

Prices of basics such as oil and wheat are shooting up and shortages are showing on supermarket shelves in Lebanon, Somalia and Egypt

War means ‘breadbasket of the world’ faces unprecedented difficulty sowing, harvesting and exporting wheat and other produce

Every photograph of bleached corals a reminder we’re not doing enough to tackle climate crisis, conservationists say

Parents and other carers now able to book lower-dose appointments for Monday onwardsChildren between the ages of five and 11 in England will be able to book their first coronavirus vaccine from Saturday morning, NHS England has said.Parents and carers are able to book appointments for Monday onwards through the NHS vaccines website, or by calling 119 from 7am, on Saturday morning – with hundreds of sites offering the vaccine across England. Continue reading...

Lockdown parties investigator not expected to be told which civil servants or politicians have received penalty noticesSue Gray is being kept in the dark about which Downing Street parties have attracted fines, as officials began to receive £50 penalties for attending illegal lockdown gatherings, following the Metropolitan police investigation.Emails were received by some partygoers this week, after the police said they were issuing 20 penalty notices to those they had a “reasonable belief” attended gatherings during lockdown. Continue reading...

Declaration comes after hundreds of protesters clashed with police and the militarySri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared a nationwide public emergency, following violent protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.Rajapaksa said in a government gazette notification late on Friday that he took the decision in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and essential services. Continue reading...

Argentine foreign minister calls for improvement in bilateral relations with Britain 40 years after conflict

Ukraine president adds that Kremlin is trying to conscript troops from Crimea, while Kyiv officials say captured troops from both sides have been exchanged today

Actor will accept ‘any further consequences’ the body’s board considers appropriate after Oscars slapWill Smith has resigned from Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony, saying that he “betrayed the trust of the Academy” and will accept “any further consequences”.In statement released on Friday afternoon, the actor described his actions at the 94th Academy Awards as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”. Continue reading...

India has abstained from UN resolutions censuring Moscow and has increased oil purchases from Russia

Special committee including Scott Morrison and Dominic Perrottet chooses candidates for nine seats

Israeli police say the men were armed and were ‘killed in a shootout’ after tensions rise in the past weekIsraeli security forces have killed three Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank, Israeli police said.There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials. The Israeli police said the men were armed and were “killed in a shootout,” in the pre-dawn incident on Saturday. Continue reading...

The fine particulate matter in cannabis smoke from bongs is at least four times greater and more dangerous, experts saidA new study has found that secondhand cannabis smoke from bongs can be even more harmful than tobacco due to an increased concentration of fine particulate matter.Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who published their report on the JAMA Open Network this week, conducted their experiment with students from the university. They measured levels of fine particulate matter before, during and after eight cannabis social-smoking sessions in the living room of an apartment near campus. Continue reading...

Duke of York is named in ruling on dispute between a Turkish woman and businessmanPrince Andrew is facing calls to explain why he received £1m in payments linked to a financier who is now facing allegations of fraud in the high court.The Duke of York, who is already embroiled in controversy after settling a US sexual assault case for up to £12m, is named alongside his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, in a ruling on a dispute between a Turkish woman and businessman. Continue reading...

Agreement comes after significant escalation in bloody conflict between Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebelsYemen’s warring sides have accepted a two-month truce, starting with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the UN envoy to the country.Hans Grundberg announced the agreement from Amman, Jordan, after meeting separately with both sides in the country’s brutal civil war. He said he hoped the truce would be renewed after two months. Continue reading...

True list of casualties of war, which include museums, churches and a Holocaust memorial, likely to be much longerThe UN’s cultural agency has confirmed that at least 53 historical sites, religious buildings and museums have sustained damage during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“This is the latest list, but it is not exhaustive, as our experts are continuing to verify a number of reports” filed by Ukrainian authorities, a Unesco spokesman told AFP as the body published a list of the 53 damaged sites in the north and east of the country. Continue reading...

Former BBC chair will lead watchdog even though report said his knowledge of social media and online safety clearly lacked depthMichael Grade has been confirmed as chair of the communications watchdog despite MPs warning that he has a “clear lack of depth” of knowledge about social media and online safety.The former BBC chair will lead Ofcom, which will play a key role in regulating large social media platforms and search engines in the UK, as the body charged with implementing the landmark online safety bill. However, the digital, culture, media and sport committee said on Friday that it was concerned by Lord Grade’s admission this week that he does not use social media but is aware of how it works thanks to his children. Continue reading...

If Moscow’s accusation is true, the airstrike would be first raid on Russian territory so far in the war

Sydney media’s reactionary momentum machine can help explain crackdown on climate activists

It is the second ruling of its type this week after the prime minister’s office also ordered a search for text messages from QAnon supporter Tim Stewart

London council chief says treatment of 15-year-old at school shows institutional racism in force still existsThe Metropolitan police has been urged by a council boss to accept that institutional racism is a problem in the force after the treatment of Child Q, a 15-year-old black girl who was strip-searched by officers at her school in London.Hackney council has challenged the Met to “again, accept that institutional racism – as defined in the Stephen Lawrence report – is a consistent factor in the relationship between the police and the Black and Global Majority communities, and in their wider experiences”. They said this will prevent a similar incident happening again and restore trust and confidence. Continue reading...

Alan Moher receives 18-month sentence for controlling or coercive behaviour after court hears he withheld ‘get’The owner of a property company has been jailed for 18 months for controlling or coercive behaviour after refusing to grant his wife a religious divorce.Alan Moher, 57, from Salford, separated from his wife, Caroline, in 2016 after 21 years, with the pair later being granted a divorce in a family court in 2019. But she is unable to remarry in a synagogue without a “get” – a document that formally recognises the end of marriage in the Orthodox Jewish faith. Continue reading...

Met Office warns of potential travel disruption due to ice in north-east and east of England as temperature dips below zero overnightWintry weather is set to continue this weekend, with further snow and sleet forecast across the east of the UK, after a light dusting fell in south-east England on Friday morning.Temperatures will stay low on Friday evening, plunging to -1C (30F) in northern Scotland and the east Midlands by early morning on Saturday, resulting in widespread frost. There will be rain and sleet in the west that will keep temperatures slightly warmer, and some hill snow over Wales, possibly also landing in lower altitudes. Continue reading...

London venue is staging a reading of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s acclaimed drama, livestreamed here from 8pm on 1 AprilThe Royal Court theatre in London is presenting a day of solidarity with Ukraine that includes a reading on its main stage of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s play Bad Roads, which explores the brutal effects of war on personal relationships. The reading, on 1 April, will be livestreamed on the Guardian website – including in a captioned version – and available to watch for a week.Bad Roads was first staged at the Royal Court in 2017 in a translation by Sasha Dugdale. Vorozhbit, an acclaimed Ukrainian playwright whose work has also been performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, wove documentary stories of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbas into its impressionistic scenes. Bad Roads explores daily life under siege, hostage-taking, journalism on the frontline, PTSD and sex at a time of war. Continue reading...

Government-funded scheme links sponsors with refugees, but some groups fear misuse by traffickers

Analysis: while the right looks on gleefully at the left’s contortions over gender identity, it is no better at addressing the same subjectAt Tuesday evening’s back-slapping dinner for Conservative MPs, Boris Johnson greeted his colleagues with a typical joke, aimed at exploiting Labour’s discomfort over the sensitive issue of gender: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Or, as Keir Starmer would put it, people who are assigned female or male at birth,” he quipped.Just hours later, one of those MPs in attendance, Jamie Wallis, issued a heartfelt statement, admitting they are struggling with gender dysphoria. Continue reading...

Exclusive: British agencies write letter to government after learning that home secretary is pushing for designationYemen could be afflicted by an even worse humanitarian catastrophe if the UK government goes ahead with a plan to designate the Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, leading aid agencies have warned cabinet ministers in a letter.The 11 UK agencies are some of those most active in Yemen, and include Save the Children, Care, the International Rescue Committee, and Islamic Relief. Continue reading...

ONS survey estimates one in 14 people had coronavirus last week, with BA.2 variant fuelling riseCovid has hit an all-time high across the UK, with almost 5 million people estimated to have the virus in the most recent official data – one in 14 – prompting experts to call for the return of free testing.The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) came on the day the government ended free rapid tests for most people in England and as tens of thousands of people are hoping to embark on Easter holidays. Many will have to pay for a test to find out if they are infected, whether symptomatic or not. Continue reading...

Russia allows safe passage of 2,000 people via humanitarian corridor but Ukraine claims aid convoys blocked

Actor urges someone to spend $300m on ‘12 aircraft with better tech than Russian MiGs or SU’s’

Former government adviser says exclusion of trans people sends ‘message of impunity’The LGBT+ community has lost trust in the government following the debacle over a ban on so-called conversion practices, with many seeing the exclusion of trans people as a hostile act, according to a leading campaigner.Jayne Ozanne, a former government adviser on LGBT+ issues, said the approach, announced on Thursday evening after a double U-turn, “left the most vulnerable group completely unprotected”. She added: “This debacle has set the Conservatives back 20 years in their relations with the LGBT community.” Continue reading...

Boris Johnson performed two U-turns on Thursday about Tory pledge to ban LGBT conversion practicesBoris Johnson performed two U-turns within the space of a few hours on Thursday relating to the government’s four-year-old pledge to ban LGBTQ+ conversion practices. Continue reading...

Latest updates: Insolvency Service investigating circumstances surrounding decision to sack 800 people without a consultation

Rally and vigil held in Islamabad to highlight discrimination and attacks on community, including murders of five trans women in MarchMano had gone to meet her boyfriend at a printing press in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani bazaar to get back some money he had borrowed.“But he refused to pay,” her friend Farzana Riaz said. “Mano insisted and refused to leave without money. When Mano kept resisting, her boyfriend Sanaullah shot her.” Continue reading...

Sixteen are in the Gray report, a dozen of which are being investigated by the Met; four others are not mentioned

Razzies initial joke in response to announcement of the actor’s condition was not well receivedThe organizers of the Razzies parody awards show have rescinded Bruce Willis’s 2021 award in light of the actor’s recently disclosed aphasia diagnosis.The annual awards, which recognize the worst films and performances, gave Willis his own special category this year: “Worst performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie”. Continue reading...

Anxious families in north-west England town turn to Citizens Advice for help as inflation bites – but staff are out of answersAn eight-month-old baby girl snoozes in her pram while her mother, in those precious moments of quiet, counts the cost of feeding her four young children. A 16p increase in the price of chicken drumsticks has put them beyond her reach.“What my children eat – it’s too expensive. The cost of living has changed,” she said, in interview room four of Bolton’s Citizens Advice bureau. “Chicken drumsticks, they used to sell them for £1.49 – it’s now £1.65. And the bus pass as well. From my house it used to be £2. It’s now £3 … A £1 [increase] – that’s a lot.” Continue reading...

Pilots bring jet down in Denver after ‘maintenance issue mid-flight’ with no passengers or crew harmedThe pilots on a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington DC decided to bring their jet down in Denver after the cockpit windshield shattered above 30,000 feet. The crew repeatedly told passengers to remain calm until they landed.“They came on the loudspeaker saying that the windshield had shattered, and we were diverting to Denver in about 10 minutes,” Rachel Wright, one of the 198 passengers on the plane, told KUTV. Continue reading...

Analysis of 1638 work, Landscape with Arched Bridge, confirms longstanding belief of a number of expertsA landscape painting considered to have been the work of a Rembrandt pupil has been confirmed as having been executed by the Dutch master himself.In what has been described as a coup for curators at Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, which owns the painting, Landscape with Arched Bridge is now considered a direct work of the 17th-century painter, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. For decades it had been attributed to one of his pupils, Govert Flinck. Continue reading...

Met police send out penalty notices to those it has ‘reasonable belief’ attended gatherings at No 10

Supermarket says residue left by Saharan dust cloud on Spanish produce is nothing to worry aboutWindows and cars were not only the things coated by the recent Saharan dust cloud that made English skies glow orange: supermarkets are urging shoppers not to turn their noses up at dusty peppers and lettuces.Tesco has put up signs in its produce aisles advising customers that a small amount of dust had settled on its Spanish crops. Spain, which is a major produce supplier to the UK, bore the brunt of the storm, with iceberg and little gem lettuce, celery and peppers among the affected crops. Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron and the far-right hopeful Marine Le Pen are among 12 candidates in the French presidential election. We look at the latest polling, and introduce some of the candidatesFrance will vote to elect a new president in April, and the final list of candidates consists of twelve competitors, chief among them the Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.The current president, Emmanuel Macron, declared earlier this month that he intends to run for a second term. His second-round opponent from 2017, the far-right Marine Le Pen, had already launched her campaign.