Pension board and investment fund managers urge French energy company to cut ties with RussiaThe Church of England is pressuring the French energy giant TotalEnergies over its decision not to cut ties with Russia after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.The Church’s pensions board and the manager of its investment fund said they would reconsider their shareholding in the company. Continue reading...
While Voller’s case has been settled, the high court ruling on liability for third-party comments standsThe lawsuit that led to the high court ruling that publishers could be held liable for allegedly defamatory comments on their social media pages has been settled, leaving key legal questions unresolved.Dylan Voller had sued the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian, the Centralian Advocate, Sky News Australia and the Bolt Report over allegedly defamatory third party comments on their Facebook pages. The comments were in response to articles about Voller, whose mistreatment in the Northern Territory’s Don Dale youth detention centre led to a royal commission.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...
North Korea recently conducted its ninth weapons test of 2022 but the latest appears to have misfiredNorth Korea fired an “unknown projectile” on Wednesday that appeared to fail immediately after launch, South Korea’s military said after Japanese media reported a suspected missile launch.The suspected missile was fired from an airfield outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea’s defence ministry said. Continue reading...
Defence lawyer also tells court he will ask Australian media companies to remove certain articles related to the case and will seek a court order if they fail to complyBruce Lehrmann’s lawyers will seek a permanent stay of the prosecution against him for the alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins.At an ACT Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday Lehrmann’s counsel, David Campbell, confirmed he had instructions to seek a stay – permanent or temporary – of the trial, scheduled for 6 June. Campbell cited publicity around allegations which he will argue makes it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial. Continue reading...
News Corp paper published multiple negative stories about Kumanjayi Walker and body camera footage from night he was killedSeveral high-profile Indigenous journalists have condemned the Australian newspaper’s coverage as unethical, victim-blaming and insensitive following the acquittal of Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe in relation to the shooting death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker.A jury acquitted Rolfe of murder and related charges on Friday over the 2019 shooting of Walker in Yuendumu. The court heard Walker was shot three times, with Rolfe arguing he acted to protect his and his partner’s safety. Continue reading...
After two years spent closed off by the pandemic, prime minister Jacinda Ardern says ‘we’re ready to welcome the world back’New Zealand is re-opening its borders to the world, after two years spent closed off by the pandemic.From 13 April, vaccinated tourists from Australia will be able to enter the country without isolating. Continue reading...
Two journalists spoke to MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee about the tactics firms typically usePrestigious British law firms have been complicit in helping oligarchs prevent legitimate media scrutiny of their activities, MPs have been told.
Possible deal to release pair involves agreement by UK to repay £400m debt, according to Iranian sourcesBritish Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori could be freed and allowed to return to London within days under a deal in which the UK agrees to repay a £400m debt and release an Iranian prisoner.Zaghari-Ratcliffe has for months been at her parent’s home in Tehran awaiting news of whether she would have to serve a further one-year sentence in Iran handed down on top of the five years she had already served. Continue reading...
Black child’s ordeal, which involved exposure of intimate body parts, took place without parental consent, review findsA black child was subjected by police to a strip search at her London school that involved exposure of intimate body parts, according to an official investigation which found racism was likely to have been an “influencing factor” in the officers’ actions.No appropriate adult was present during the 15-year-old girl’s ordeal, described by a senior local authority figure as “humiliating, traumatising and utterly shocking” and which took place without parental consent and in the knowledge that she was menstruating. Continue reading...
Health ministry says it may limit the sale of nicotine products to prevent next generation from taking up smokingDenmark has unveiled plans to ensure that future generations are tobacco-free, and is considering banning the sale of cigarettes and other nicotine products to anyone born after 2010.“Our hope is that all people born in 2010 and later will never start smoking or using nicotine-based products”, health minister Magnus Heunicke told reporters. Continue reading...
This blog has now closed, for the latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our dedicated live blogThe government has also announced today that it has stopped all government-backed export finance to Russia and Belarus.There will be an urgent question in the Commons at 12.30pm on shale gas, followed by statements on legal aid and Covid international travel rules. Continue reading...
Budget cuts and ‘efficiency dividend’ blamed for closure of regional offices and decreases in membership, morale and responsivenessState Emergency Service units in some of the hardest-hit flood areas in northern New South Wales had warned the closure of regional offices in 2020 would reduce their ability to respond to natural disasters.Communication between the SES units and senior levels of the organisation reveals tension about a restructure which was blamed on NSW government budget cuts.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#5X4MV)
Nicola Sturgeon says increase driven by Omicron sub-variant means rule must remain beyond 21 MarchThe requirement to wear face masks on public transport, in shops and other enclosed public spaces will remain in place in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has said, as a sharp increase in cases driven by the Omicron sub-variant prompted her government to delay scrapping the measure entirely.With all legal restrictions due to end in Scotland on 21 March , Sturgeon told MSPs she needed to “ask everyone to be patient for a little while longer on face coverings”. Continue reading...
Final submissions heard after 196 days of often harrowing evidence into May 2017 terror attackFamilies of some of those killed in the Manchester Arena bombing have said they hope “real changes” will be made to stop future terror attacks, as the inquiry into the atrocity ends.The inquiry began in September 2020 and heard its final submissions on Tuesday after 196 days of often harrowing evidence. Continue reading...
Background checks tightened, online incitement targeted and financial flows to extremists cut offGermany’s top security officials have announced a 10-point plan to combat far-right extremism in the country that includes disarming 1,500 suspected extremists and tightening background checks for those wanting to acquire guns.The interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said the far right posed the biggest extremist threat to democracy in Germany and authorities would seek to tackle the issue through prevention and tough measures. Continue reading...
British-Iranian woman held in Iran has had her travel document returned, says her local MPNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian national held in Iran, has had her British passport returned, her MP, Tulip Siddiq, has said.The Hampstead and Kilburn MP tweeted: “I am very pleased to say that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been given her British passport back. She is still at her family home in Tehran. I also understand that there is a British negotiating team in Tehran right now. I will keep posting updates as I get them.” Continue reading...
Court increases Frankie Smith’s prison sentence for causing or allowing death from eight years to 12The mother of Star Hobson has had her prison sentence for her role in the toddler’s death increased by four years.Frankie Smith, 20, was jailed at Bradford crown court in December for causing or allowing the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who was killed by Smith’s former partner Savannah Brockhill. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#5X4CE)
SNP’s vision for building resilience to climate change has not turned into ‘real-world action’The Scottish government must raise its ambition immediately to adapt to the climate crisis, an influential advisory body has warned, as a report sets out how the Scottish National party’s “vision” for building resilience has not translated into “real-world action”.The Climate Change Committee, which advises all the UK’s governments on climate policies, said Scottish government action to adapt to wetter winters, rising sea levels and extreme weather events such as the recent Storm Arwen, had “stalled”, and that this posed risks to people, infrastructure and business. Continue reading...
Authorities say Gary Cabana was found sleeping on a bench at a bus terminal and was arrested without incidentPolice have arrested a man wanted in the stabbing of two employees at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.Officers found Gary Cabana, 60, sleeping on a bench at a Philadelphia bus terminal early on Tuesday morning. He was arrested without incident, police said. Continue reading...
by Jon Henley, Martin Farrer, Isobel Koshiw in Kyiv a on (#5X42Z)
Series of Russian strikes hit residential neighbourhood before Polish, Czech and Slovenian leaders head to Ukrainian capitalRussia-Ukraine war: latest updatesThe Polish, Czech and Slovenian prime ministers are travelling to Kyiv in a show of European solidarity with embattled Ukraine, officials have said, after pre-dawn Russian missile strikes again pounded the country’s capital.Poland’s Mateusz Morawiecki, the Czech leader, Petr Fiala, and Janez Janša of Slovenia will meet the Ukrainian president, Volodimyr Zelenskiy, to express “the EU’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” Fiala said. Continue reading...
Temporary measures introduced during Covid crisis will be made made permanent from AprilOutdoor weddings and civil partnerships are to be legalised permanently in England and Wales, ministers have announced.Since last summer, couples have been able to hold their civil wedding or ceremony outside under temporary measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...
Bureaucratic issues in Ottawa mean new arrivals will likely have to rely on Canadians’ generosity to get settledCanada has promised to resettle an “unlimited” number of displaced Ukrainians, and officials in country’s Prairie region want to be the first choice for those fleeing Russia’s invasion. But despite strong public support, bureaucratic delays at the federal level have highlighted the challenge of quickly resettling those fleeing war.The United Nations estimates more than two and a half million people have escaped Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in late February, creating the worst refugee crisis on the European continent since the upheaval of the second world war. Continue reading...
by Cait Kelly and Mostafa Rachwani (earlier) on (#5X3R9)
Search for owner after bodies found in Newtown boarding house fire police believe was ‘maliciously lit’; cruise ship ban to end on April 17; Victorian health minister says Omicron subvariant ‘slowly asserting itself’; nation records at least 24 Covid deaths with 10 in Queensland. This blog is now closed
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#5X45G)
Value for money lunch offers in UK often contain daily recommended salt intake in one mealSeven in 10 snacks sold as part of lunchtime meal deals in UK high street shops and supermarkets contain dangerously large amounts of salt, sugar or saturated fat, a new analysis shows.The worst offenders include biscuits, cakes and crisps, according to research by the campaign group Action on Salt, which urged ministers to take action.Ginsters Cornish party,180g (sold in Co-op) – 1.89g of salt, which is more salt than five and a half bags of ready salted crispsGinsters large sausage roll, 130g (sold in Asda and Co-op) – 1.42g of salt, more than four bags of ready salted crispsJacob’s mini-cheddars, 50g (sold in most retailers) – 1.2g in a 50g bag, which is more salt than three Mini BabybelsLove Corn Smoked BBQ, 45g (sold in Tesco) – 1g of salt per pack, which is more than in two portions of KP salted nutsPep’d Up Peperami chicken bites, 50g (sold in Asda) – 0.96g per pack, which is more salt than in four and a half slices of wafter-thin ham Continue reading...
‘Completely unacceptable’ to expect visitors to pay, says Age UK, as Covid cases rising for people over 70Lateral flow tests could cost care home visitors £73 a month, a leading UK charity has said, as it renewed calls to keep the devices free in such settings.The government has previously announced that free testing for the general public will end from 1 April, and that this will include care home visitors. Continue reading...
Fearing unrest over the ruling, the state government bans large gatherings after the restrictions on headscarves sparked violent protestsA court in India has ruled that wearing a hijab is not an essential principle of Islam, in a setback to Muslim students who were demanding the right to wear the headscarf in colleges in Karnataka, south India.The Karnataka high court was hearing the petitions of Muslim students who had been stopped in January from entering the government college in Udupi, where they were enrolled, for wearing the hijab. Continue reading...
Eleven people, including nine ethnic Tigrayans, were killed on 3 March in the Benishangul-Gumuz regionA video posted on social media showing armed men burning a man to death in western Ethiopia has drawn condemnation and renewed fear over increasing horrific incidents of ethnic violence.Eleven people, including nine ethnic Tigrayans, were killed on 3 March in the Ayisid Kebele of Metekel zone, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region where waves of ethnic violence over the last year have killed hundreds of people. Continue reading...
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