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Zelenskiy pushes for meeting with Putin as Moscow draws warnings from Nato after strikes on a major military base close to the alliance’s border

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Stepanov told a parliamentary committee ‘I was called that term’ by the Public Service Commission chief executive

Australia follows UK and US in slapping sanctions on individuals linked to Vladimir Putin

Two weeks ago New Zealander Ryan Nixon created a social media poll for his fewer than 1,500 followers – the rest is historyThe New Zealander who unwittingly sparked an agonising global debate over whether there are more doors or wheels in the world has come to his own conclusion – “I’m firmly team wheels”.Auckland man Ryan Nixon, 37, was at home watching sport two Saturday nights ago when a friend posed the question to a group chat he shares with a bunch of mates. Unable to reach a consensus, he decided to create a poll for his fewer than 1,500 Twitter followers. Continue reading...

Hamptons expects sums to become 54% of post-tax income for average rented household in Great BritainTenants already struggling with the cost of living crisis typically face having to find an extra £1,000 this year to cover higher rent and essential bills, research shows.The estate agent Hamptons said tenants’ finances faced a record squeeze as higher rents and energy bill increases combined to pile more pressure on households in Great Britain. Continue reading...

Units will help provide power for key buildings such as hospitals, shelters and water treatment plants

Two-factor authentication is designed to reduce the £376m lost to fraud in 2020Online shoppers in the UK face more identification checks when paying for purchases on the internet from Monday, as new rules to clamp down on fraud come into force.The new Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements will change the way people confirm their identity when using their debit or credit cards to make online purchases, and are expected to lead to more card payments being declined. It is the biggest change to card payments since chip and pin was rolled out 16 years ago, and is designed to reduce the £376m lost to online fraud in 2020. Continue reading...

Private schools will be overfunded by almost $400m, but public schools will fall short of national standards

The state’s two publicly funded home-birth programs are suspended, with some expectant mothers not told until weeks before due dates

Icac refuses to confirm or deny if it’s investigating, but has asked questions about the $107,000 grant

A team of nine has been appointed to extend our reporting of state politics and issues such as education, health, transport and energy

Witnesses describe soldiers shooting people dead in the street and confiscating phones and laptops

Actor says Britain must ‘create a haven’ for refugees and wants to help via programme announced by Michael Gove on SundayBenedict Cumberbatch wants to be part of the government’s “homes for Ukraine” scheme that will enable British people to take in Ukrainian refugees.Speaking on the red carpet before the Baftas ceremony at the Albert Hall in London, where he is nominated for best leading actor for The Power of the Dog Cumberbatch urged for action to help Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion. Continue reading...

The Cherish Oteka-directed film is about a former Metropolitan police officer who discusses his memories of harassing black people and homophobiaThe Guardian documentary The Black Cop has won the Bafta award for best short film.Directed by Cherish Oteka and produced by Emma Cooper, The Black Cop is about Gamal “G” Turawa, a former Metropolitan police officer who explores his memories of racially profiling and harassing black people and homophobia in his early career. Continue reading...

Industry figures warn that songwriters face future drawn out legal battles because the way in which people consume music has changedSongwriters such as Ed Sheeran face a future of drawn out legal battles because the way in which people consume music has changed so much in the past half a century, a leading legal expert has warned, as she urged courts to reconsider how they interpret copyright law.The rise of streaming on platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, combined with larger teams of writers behind hit songs, have led to a surge in high-profile copyright infringement cases in the past few years. Most recently, Sheeran is locked in an ongoing legal battle over Shape of You, Spotify’s most streamed song ever. Continue reading...

Despite Phillips’ CEO condemning invasion of Ukraine, some argue that only a boycott will force owners to put pressure on Kremlin

Exclusive: Victim’s lawyer argues house failed to put in place sufficiently protective insurance policyA woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted and harassed by a former Labour MP is considering suing the House of Commons for failing to ringfence money that could cover her compensation.Woman A was victimised after spurning the advances of Mike Hill, the former MP for Hartlepool, an employment tribunal ruled in July. An ally of Jeremy Corbyn, he was found to have climbed into the victim’s bed and sexually assaulted her in his parliamentary office. Continue reading...

Call for new independent health board to be created, funded by ‘polluter pays’ principleThe gambling industry should pay a new multimillion-pound statutory “addiction levy” to fund the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm, the most senior NHS clinicians treating gambling addiction have said.Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones, the director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, and Dr Matt Gaskell, clinical lead for the NHS Northern Gambling Service, are calling for a new independent health board to be created to tackle gambling addition. Continue reading...

The former Australian Services Union assistant national secretary gains backing from the United Workers Union

Group says government was advised late last year of the prospect of massive flooding but did not adequately prepare communities

Need to apply for visa is seen as barrier for many, and experts also raise concern over homelessness riskThere are significant gaps in Michael Gove’s refugee scheme that could exclude vulnerable people from coming to the UK and increase the chance of homelessness for those who do, humanitarian experts have said.The Homes for Ukraine programme, unveiled by the communities secretary over the weekend and to be rolled out this week, will allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to bring people escaping the war to safety. Continue reading...

Digital assets will be used to fund war efforts and media activities

Funeral processions now a daily sight as social media tributes show country publicly acknowledging losses

Rocket attack on military base near Lviv kills at least 35, as US film-maker Brent Renaud dies in Irpin

Female brewers in the Catalan capital are finding success in an industry traditionally dominated by menIt was Steve Huxley, a Liverpudlian and long-term Barcelona resident, who introduced the city to craft beer when he opened the Barcelona Brewing Company in 1993, but it was a woman, Judit Cartex, who helped establish Barcelona as Spain’s craft beer capital.“Beer has always been a part of my life,” she says. “We were poor and all we had to drink was tap water, no Coca-Cola. Except on Sundays my mother and grandmother would open a litre bottle of beer to watch football on TV. Very English, no? Continue reading...

Award-winning journalist and a colleague, who survived, were fired on near checkpoint in IrpinBrent Renaud, an award-winning US film-maker whose work has appeared in the New York Times and other outlets, has been killed by Russian forces in the flashpoint town of Irpin, outside Kyiv. A US photographer, Juan Arredondo, was wounded.Renaud, 51, was hit in the neck and died after coming under Russian fire while working on Sunday, according to local police officials and multiple Ukrainian sources. Continue reading...

Home Office had originally refused permission for Tetiana Hil’s children to come to Britain

The 77-year-old rockstar posted videos of himself on Instagram shovelling gravel by his Harlow homeRod Stewart is doing his own form of public service by filling in potholes near his Essex estate.The 77-year-old Hard Road singer posted videos of himself on Instagram shovelling gravel near his home in Harlow, Essex, saying: “I’m repairing the street near where I live because no one can be bothered to do it.” Continue reading...

Pontiff decries ‘unacceptable armed aggression’ and ‘barbaric’ killing of children and unarmed civiliansPope Francis has issued his toughest condemnation yet of the invasion of Ukraine, saying the “unacceptable armed aggression” must stop.Speaking to thousands of people in St Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing, Francis also said the killing of children and unarmed civilians was “barbaric” and had “no valid strategic reason”. Continue reading...

Amy McLennan tells of ‘horrendous’ experience of going up against NHS doctors in transplant battleFor Amy McLennan, it has felt like taking on the full might of the medical establishment – and it was never going well. “I thought we were going to lose. Up against the NHS? Of course I did.”Defeat, she said, would have been a death sentence for her 17-year-old son, William Verden. Continue reading...

Reports say woman and her two children were among 22 refugees on bus that overturned on motorwayA woman has been killed when a bus carrying Ukrainian refugees overturned on a motorway in Italy.The 32-year-old and her two children, aged 10 and five, were among 22 people onboard escaping the war in Ukraine, according to reports in the Italian press. Continue reading...

Campaigners push for full legal pardon after Nicola Sturgeon’s International Women’s Day apologyCalls for a legal pardon for the thousands of people persecuted as witches in post-Reformation Scotland are growing, as the drive for posthumous justice gains international notice.Last week, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, issued a formal apology on International Women’s Day to the 4,000 people – mainly women – who were tortured and often executed under the Witchcraft Act 1563. Continue reading...

Retailer aims to increase its appeal to families with external brands, also including Seasalt and Nobody’s ChildMarks & Spencer is to put Early Learning Centre toy shops and Nobody’s Child fashion into some stores in a step-up of its strategy to sell external brands and increase its appeal to families.The clothing, food and homewares retailer will open Early Learning Centre outlets, with activity tables for children as well as toys for sale, in 10 stores at the end of March, including at the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, Longbridge in Birmingham, and Liverpool. Continue reading...

Leader Ed Davey’s comments come as Michael Gove announces details of ‘homes for Ukraine’ scheme

Chancellor underlines need to economically isolate Vladimir Putin regime after invasion of Ukraine

Labour party can no longer be counted on to defend women’s rights, says authorJK Rowling has accused Keir Starmer of publicly misrepresenting equalities law, in what she says is “yet another indication that the Labour party can no longer be counted on to defend women’s rights”.The Harry Potter author was responding to comments the Labour leader gave to the Times when asked to define a woman. Continue reading...

Bombing close to Lviv follows Kremlin warning that supply lines were ‘legitimate targets’; town of Volnovakha ‘ceases to exist’ after bombardment

Man aged 21 died after being found with stab wounds outside sandwich shop early on SaturdayPolice have arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of murder after a man died from stab wounds outside a Subway sandwich shop in Bournemouth.Dorset police were called to Bournemouth town centre shortly before 5am on Saturday. A 21-year-old man was found with life-threatening injuries outside Subway on Old Christchurch Road. He was taken to hospital but died a short time later. Continue reading...

Opposition leader tells Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes program he is hopeful of victory and voters are tired of Scott Morrison

Security services had concerns about Lebedev, whose father was in KGB, as far back as 2013, say reports

An airport building is turned into one-stop shop for life essentials and legal support

Cross-party group expresses unease about the fund’s stake in HSBC, which has held shares in Moscow’s oil and gas giants

Families torn apart as younger Russians opposing war in Ukraine fall out with older relatives reliant on diet of state propaganda

Museum exhibit reveals the huge effect the The Pickwick Papers had on readersCharles Dickens’s comic novel The Pickwick Papers, often overlooked today as a lighthearted period piece, was once a matter of very serious concern to thousands of fans across the world, some of whom adopted the personas of their favourite characters and founded appreciation societies.Now the earliest proof that Mr Pickwick became central to the lives of many fans is to go on display at the Charles Dickens Museum in the novelist’s former London home in April. The Minute Book contains the official club notes of the first known Pickwick club and gives a clear picture of the way the book brought friends together to discuss the plots and debate social issues of the day. Continue reading...

A day after Iraq said it would host a fresh round of talks between the regional rivals, Iran announced they would not go aheadIran has suspended the latest round of talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia, a website affiliated with Iran’s top security body has reported.Iraq’s foreign ministry had announced on Saturday that it would host the talks on Wednesday. The Iraqi foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, revealed the development during remarks at a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Turkey’s southern coast cited by local media. A foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed the comments to Reuters. Continue reading...

Prince Charles was a patron of trust set up by friend of Putin to back the Russian Mariinsky theatre

Evacuees queue for hours but still can’t get past bureaucratic chaos – and flights to Britain leave with empty seats

‘This event is not over’, Dominic Perrottet says of east coast floods; 25% of assessed Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley properties uninhabitable; mental health support package announced as PM defends pace of flood relief; weather warning for Victoria; 16 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Nearly 3,400 cases were reported on Sunday, forcing shutdowns for millions of people and closure of schools in ShanghaiSee all our coronavirus coverage hereChina reported nearly 3,400 daily Covid-19 cases on Sunday, double the previous day, forcing lockdowns on virus hotspots as the country contends with its gravest outbreak in two years.A nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down several north-eastern cities, as almost 19 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants. Continue reading...