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Suddenly, brutally, the invasion of Ukraine has taken member states back to the founding principle of the European projectInterpreters in the European parliament usually sound so monotonous and mechanical that even well-rested listeners have trouble staying awake. But when the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressed a parliamentary session via video link on Tuesday, something extraordinary happened: the person relaying his words into English was so moved that he audibly fought to hold back his tears. “We’re fighting … just for our land … and for our freedom,” he said, then sniffed, his voice almost breaking as Zelenskiy, wearing a khaki T-shirt in what looked like a bunker, declared: “Despite the fact … that all our cities of our country are now blocked … nobody is going to enter and intervene with the freedom and our country.”This is just one example among many, of how Vladimir Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine is shaking Europeans to the core. Having long believed that war was impossible on the continent, they are shocked – and embarrassed – that Ukrainians must not only defend their country against Russian aggression, but must also defend democracy, freedom and the right of sovereign states to determine their destiny – the very principles that underpin the European Union.Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and Foreign Policy Continue reading...

Paralympic Committee banned Russian and Belarusian athletes after threats of Beijing boycott over Ukraine conflict

The singer and style icon answers your questions on becoming ‘Blondie’, a lifetime cheating death – and the secret to a good cover versionHey, Debbie, in Face It [Harry’s memoir], you discussed the creation of the Blondie persona. How intentional were your choices in character curation, and why did you choose to adopt a persona in the first place? ChloSchmoI think we’re all seeing images or performances that we like and absorbing and amalgamating them. As a kid, the beautiful women on the silver screen were fairytale versions of what life is for a woman, because when I was coming up there was no such thing as women’s lib. A persona gave me freedom, a world of my own. You pick a character that you love and then it becomes you. Continue reading...

Netflix’s wretched new documentary tackles recent murder cases while having a title that could have been used for a gameshow. It needs to show some respectThere is a chance that, in years to come, we’ll look back at 2022 as Netflix’s Age of Grifters. Almost every show to hit it big so far this year has had a gruesome element of real-life deceit to it. There was The Tinder Swindler documentary, then Inventing Anna. And now Worst Roommate Ever.You may already have seen Worst Roommate Ever, because it is in Netflix’s top 10. And if you have watched it, there is a chance that this will be because the concept of bad roommates is universal. One old roommate of mine, for instance, locked himself out, smashed a window to get in then refused to pay for repairs. Another shaved his beard into the sink and didn’t clean up. Terrible behaviour. The worst. Continue reading...

Most London Underground services come to halt again as about 10,000 RMT members go on 24-hour strikeLondoners have struggled for a third day to move around the capital as a strike by tube workers brought much of the transport system to a standstill.Most London Underground services were completely halted on Thursday as about 10,000 staff in the RMT union went on a second 24-hour strike this week, following a walkout on Tuesday, in a row over jobs and pensions – a stoppage that also led to widespread disruption for Wednesday morning rush hour. Continue reading...

Union calls for closure of loophole that allows Russian cargo into UK on ships registered elsewhere

Royal left to live in Abu Dhabi in 2020 following allegations over business dealings relating to Saudi ArabiaSpain’s self-exiled former king, Juan Carlos, is thought to be considering a return home after prosecutors shelved three separate investigations into his financial affairs, citing insufficient evidence, the statute of limitations, and the monarch’s constitutional immunity.The 84-year-old left Spain for Abu Dhabi in August 2020 after a series of damaging allegations were made about his business dealings that further dented his already battered reputation and embarrassed his son, King Felipe. Continue reading...

Police say death of businessman who made his fortune in oil and gas is unexplained but not suspiciousA Ukraine-born oligarch has been found dead at his home in unexplained circumstances, Surrey police have said.Officers are treating the death of 66-year-old Mikhail Watford, who made his fortune in oil and gas after the demise of the Soviet Union, as unexplained. But they said it was not thought to be suspicious. Continue reading...

Beijing dismisses as ‘fake news’ claims that Chinese officials had some knowledge of Russia’s plansChina has vehemently denied a report that it asked Moscow to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the Winter Olympics, denouncing it as “fake news”.“This kind of rhetoric is to divert attention and shift blame, which is utterly despicable,” Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday when asked by journalists about the New York Times report published on Wednesday. Continue reading...

A week after invasion of Ukraine launched, ICC confirms it is gathering evidence of possible war crimes

Vessel linked to Igor Sechin taken as Hamburg authorities deny confiscation of Alisher Usmanov’s $600m superyacht

UK foreign secretary issues statement after some Russian banks were omitted from Swift expulsion

Officials voice growing frustration over lethargy in hitting oligarchs’ wealth

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Nosferatu, we run the rule over the stars who have played the virgin-crazed, bloodsucking aristocratAlso known as Lust at First Bite and Love at First Gulp respectively, these films from the golden age of adult cinema exist in softcore and hardcore versions. Taking his cue from Bela Lugosi, Gillis nails the brooding bloodsucker persona, as well as his co-stars. Continue reading...

More than 1 million people have already crossed the border, with numbers set to rise as the Russian invasion intensifies. What has been the response of neighbouring countries?What is the expected scale of the refugee crisis in Ukraine?Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could see the “largest refugee crisis this century”, the UN refugee agency has warned, with up to 4 million people fleeing the country in the coming weeks and months. Continue reading...

Fifteen questions on general knowledge and topical trivia plus a few jokes every Thursday – how will you fare?The quiz master is away, but before his departure he assembled 15 general knowledge and vaguely topical questions to dazzle the senses and expand the mind. Of course, no Thursday quiz is complete without Ron from Sparks, Kate Bush, or a hidden reference to children’s TV favourite Doctor Who. There are no prizes. It is just for fun. Let us know how you got on in the comments.The Thursday quiz, No 45If you do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com but remember, the quiz master’s word is always final, and genuinely, he is away. Continue reading...

The actor talks about joining the MCU, his friendships with BTS’s V and the rest of the ‘Wooga Squad’, and the social and economic issues behind his TV hits Itaewon Class and Fight for My WayIn an early scene of Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, a brief conversation between rich student Min-hyuk and his friend Ki-woo proves a crucial moment in the multi-Oscar winning film. “Tutor a rich kid. It pays well,” the scooter-riding Min-hyuk tells the impoverished Ki-woo, who lives in a semi-basement home with his family. And when Min-hyuk offers Ki-woo the opportunity to take over his job as a tutor for the rich Park family, he acts as a bridge between the two worlds, and sets the plot of the film in motion.Min-hyuk is played by Park Seo-joon, and despite the brevity of Park’s appearance in Parasite, it will have been the first time most international audiences will have got a good look at him. Park is a big name in South Korea however, thanks to a string of successful domestic TV series – mostly romantic comedies such as She Was Pretty and Fight for My Way – and the Netflix hit Itaewon Class. Now his international profile is about to be raised, after it was confirmed he will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels, appearing alongside Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Zawe Ashton, making him the third South Korean actor to join the MCU. Continue reading...

The two-time attorney general portrays himself as a bulwark against his former boss – but his accounts are highly selectiveIn his new book, Donald Trump’s former attorney general William Barr complains that in the US, the “most educated and influential people are more attached to self-serving narratives than to factual truth”.But in his own narrative of his tumultuous time as Trump’s top lawyer, Barr regularly omits inconvenient truths or includes self-serving versions of events previously reported with his evident input. Continue reading...

Court closures, defunded legal aid and barrister shortages are adding to an already excruciating ordeal, while invasive investigations are leading many to drop proceedings altogetherFor Nina, the prospect of walking into a police station and reporting her stepfather for child sexual abuse was, she says, her “worst nightmare ... It was something I’d dreaded my whole life,” she says. She had been raped by her stepfather for years when she was a child – and he had promised all sorts of consequences if she ever told anyone. Her mother, he told her, would kill herself. He implied that he might, too – but one thing he always assured her was that he would never go to jail.When she was in her late teens, Nina finally told her mum, who was devastated, but believed her. It took years, however, before she felt ready to press charges. “One of the things that stopped me from telling anyone that it was happening at the time was the terror of standing in a courtroom putting all that shame on show – and that felt even worse the older I got. Continue reading...

‘We miss her all the time,’ say relatives of woman killed by serving Met police officer Wayne CouzensThe family of Sarah Everard have paid tribute to her on the first anniversary of her murder by a police officer, saying she was “wonderful and we miss her all the time” and that they “live with the sadness of our loss”.Everard, 33 was abducted, raped and killed by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in south London on 3 March last year. Continue reading...

International criminal court inquiry has been expedited by unprecedented number of countries backing move

Sydney spared worst of rain but Newcastle still under threat as new NSW flood warning issued; south-east Queensland on alert as thunderstorms loom; Labor and LNP clash over Services Australia flood assistance; nation records at least 47 Covid-related deaths with one fatality in WA as border reopens. This blog is now closed

Energy and banking giants Gazprom and Sberbank plus EN+, Lukoil and Polyus among firms

Mateo Sobode Chiqueno’s lifelong project compiling cassettes of the Ayoreo people’s stories, songs and struggles to survive is now the subject of an award-winning film, Nothing but the SunIn a tattered cardboard box in Mateo Sobode Chiqueno’s home, hundreds of plastic cassette cases contain four decades of memories. “Here in my house, I have more than 1,000 cassettes of Ayoreo histories and songs,” says Chiqueno, who keeps them alongside his tape recorder at his wooden shack in Campo Loro, Paraguay. Many of the voices belong to people who are dead.Chiqueno began compiling his interviews with the Ayoreo, hunter-gatherers of the Chaco Forest, in 1979, after seeing missionaries using tape recorders to document their experiences. His tapes partially preserve a fast-disappearing culture. Continue reading...

Expectant couple cut off from hospital by deluge saved by community kindness and a ‘little adventure’

Communications minister writes to tech giants about ‘content promoting violence, extremism and disinformation in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine’

Dissident couple say their lives would be under threat if returned from Bosnia to Kuwait, as rights groups claim notice undermines refugee lawA Kuwaiti princess seeking asylum in Bosnia-Herzegovina has claimed the Kuwaiti state is using an Interpol red notice to intimidate and harass her and force the extradition of her partner, a prominent dissident blogger, back to the country.Sheikha Moneera Fahad al-Sabah and Mesaed al-Mesaileem, said they face torture and threats to their lives if they are returned to Kuwait due to their political activism. Continue reading...

Putin believed he could invade Ukraine because everything we failed to do over the last 22 years taught him that we are weakTwenty-two years ago, a vicious war brought Vladimir Putin to power. Ever since, war has remained one of his main tools, which he has used without flinching throughout his reign. Vladimir Putin exists thanks to war, has thrived through war. Let us now hope that a war will finally bring him down.In August 1999, a then-unknown Vladimir Putin was named prime minister when his predecessor refused to condone a full reinvasion of Chechnya. Putin, however, was ready, and in return for their unconditional support he granted the military a free rein, allowing them to avenge their humiliating 1996 defeat in blood and fire. On the night of 31 December, an ageing and broken Boris Yeltsin stepped down, handing the presidency like a gift to the newcomer. In March 2000, after famously promising to “grease the terrorists even in the outhouse”, Putin was triumphally elected president. With the exception of his four years as prime minister (2008-2012), he has ruled Russia ever since. Continue reading...

The pair, arrested in connection with the killing of a police officer during pro-democracy protests, are reportedly being denied visits and medical helpAmnesty International has called for the release of two teenagers who have been detained and allegedly tortured in Sudan in connection with the killing of a police officer during pro-democracy protests in Khartoum.Mohamed Adam, known as Tupac, 17, and Mohamed al-Fateh, 18, have been held without charge since 15 January. Continue reading...

Matching rich verse with great scenery, these strolls follow in the footsteps of some of our greatest wordsmiths, from William Blake to Carol Ann DuffyYou can stride energetically across lonely crags, declaiming in a grand Tennysonian voice about “always roaming with a hungry heart”, or you might shuffle up High Holborn, thinking of Celia with “nothing on”, as did Adrian Henri. Poetry walks take many forms: some places demand epic stanzas; others respond to limericks. You can walk for a few minutes, or weeks. The point is that walking with poetry is great fun. Maybe it’s the rhythm thing: our language must have been invented and honed by miles of walking. In fact, as soon as we were walking long distances and trying to remember routes, poetry probably began to be useful as a navigational mnemonic. Walking does lend itself perfectly to learning lines and recitation, something kids are good at and enjoy. John Cooper Clarke said you learn the lines at 12 and find out what they mean 30 years later (he also said “I hate walking”, but we’ll step over that). If there is a prepared route, fine. Some of these 10 suggestions have that, and others make use of existing footpaths, but they all share a link between landscape and poet.There are many more poetic walks available (try Simon Armitage’s brilliant Stanza Stones around the Pennine Way), but too few dedicated to female poets. Isn’t it time we had a Stevie Smith Way in north London, or a Barrett Browning Trail around Ledbury? The following collection features walks that are ready to roll, best done with headphones and an audio link to the poems where possible. Spotify has poetry from all these choices, sometimes read by the poets themselves. Other sources can also be found online. Continue reading...

IOPC has been investigating how force handled claims made days before Sarah Everard’s murderThe Metropolitan police made errors after receiving claims that Wayne Couzens had indecently exposed himself days before he attacked Sarah Everard, an official report is expected to find.Exactly one year ago Couzens, then a serving firearms officer in the Metropolitan police, kidnapped Everard, 33, off a south London street as she walked home. Continue reading...

Russian troops took control of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson after forcing their way into the council building, the mayor said in an update. In a Facebook post written about 10pm on Wednesday, Kherson’s mayor, Igor Kolykhaiev, said: 'There were armed visitors in the city council today. My team and I are peaceful people, we had no weapons or aggression on our side.' The development followed conflicting claims over whether Moscow had made its first major gain by taking over a significant Ukrainian city.

Were the protesters motivated by valid concerns, radicalisation or was this simply the fist-shaking of a fringe minority?The protest outside parliament in Wellington has prompted fears of a mass radicalisation of militant actors prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Although people may dismiss the idea that it could cause real damage to society in New Zealand, where support for the government’s pandemic response is still high, anger has spilt over into explicit hate messaging and actions, both online and in real-life.Now that the protesters have been dispersed, we need to examine what was behind their loose coalition of grievances: was it the transitory fist-shaking of a fringe minority, a valid concern, or actual radicalisation? If so, what can we do about it? The answer is complex and incomplete, but there are some clues about what caused this impasse and what can be done. Continue reading...

These interactive graphics show the unprecedented rain causing the 2022 eastern Australia floods

‘We have witnessed an exodus,’ says UN; people in crucial Black Sea port of Kherson told to follow Russian measures; 38 countries refer reports of atrocities to ICC, the largest referral in court’s history

People told to work from home, walk or cycle as next 24-hour RMT walkout beginsLondon faced a third day of severe disruption as London Underground workers went on strike for the second time this week.Transport for London (TfL) said people should expect all tube services across the capital to be suspended on Thursday, and advised passengers to work from home or walk or cycle where possible, or plan for crowding and delay if using other trains or buses for essential journeys. Continue reading...

Tokyo court gives US citizen Greg Kelly, who was arrested in 2018, six-month suspended sentence for aiding the now-fugitive GhosnGreg Kelly, a former Nissan executive accused of helping the automaker’s one-time saviour, Carlos Ghosn, commit financial crimes has been given a suspended prison sentence by a court in Tokyo.Kelly, 65, was detained in November 2018, at the same time police arrested Ghosn on suspicion of understating his income by millions of dollars, for which he faced a maximum sentence of 10 years. Continue reading...

Corruption-fighting body urges citizens to ‘continue to defend the motherland’ while easing any concerns about ‘significant changes in the property status’

The US-born producer and writer was best known for films such as State of the Nation and Police, and for producing the first Comic ReliefThe veteran documentary maker Roger Graef has died aged 85, Channel 4 has announced on behalf of his family.The award-winning producer and writer had a successful career in both the US and UK, making films on a wide range of social justice topics for every major British broadcaster. Continue reading...

‘Australia is now finally back together’ as final jurisdiction welcomes vaccinated travellers

The films he produced or greenlit won more than 50 Oscars and 150 nominationsAlan Ladd Jr, the Oscar-winning producer and studio boss who as a 20th Century Fox executive greenlit Star Wars, has died. He was 84.Ladd died Wednesday, his daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones, who directed the documentary Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies, wrote in a Facebook post. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...

Five children aged seven to 11 with peace signs held for hours while two women face trial on unspecified charges

Researchers find women hit harder by negative social and economic impacts of the pandemic than menThe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress made towards gender equality, according to a global study that reveals women have been hit much harder socially and economically than men.Previously, coronavirus-related gender disparity studies have focused on the direct health impacts of the crisis. It is well known, for example, that across the globe men have experienced higher rates of Covid cases, hospitalisation and death. However, until now, few studies have examined how gender inequalities have been affected by the many indirect social and economic effects of the pandemic worldwide. Continue reading...

Video shows Russian strikes hitting residential buildings in Ukraine, adding to mounting evidence of war crimes to be investigated by The Hague.

Ships scheduled to dock in UK because of a sanctions loophole are thought to include at least one carrying gas for Centrica• Russia-Ukraine crisis: live newsAngry dockers have vowed not to unload cargoes of Russian oil and gas, as it emerged that shipments were en route to British ports because of an apparent loophole in a government ban and could even be used to heat UK homes.The government imposed a ban on Russian vessels docking in the UK on Tuesday, in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Analysis: From a no-fly zone to sanctions, the options that are on and off the table

Sanctions debate rapidly heading towards energy sanctions in Ukraine-Russia crisisAt the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a week ago, almost every analyst agreed that Russian oil and gas would keep flowing westwards. The state of mutual energy dependence seemed too entrenched. On one side, the EU could not decouple itself easily from the source of 38% of its natural gas imports. On the other, Russia under financial sanctions would need cash. Old hands reflected that, even in the long decades of the cold war, the Soviet Union and Europe maintained commercial relationships in energy.A week later, such thinking looks naive. The “shock and awe” financial sanctions, especially those aimed at Russia’s central bank, exceed anything previously seen, but the shortcoming is obvious: if you really want to hit the Russian economy hard, the place to aim is its energy export sector, a part that has been spared sanctions so far and generates hundreds of millions of dollars daily. The point is made repeatedly by Ukrainian officials in their appeals for the trade to cease, and its moral force is hammered home with every fresh Russian atrocity. Continue reading...

Nazism is born in silence, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy, after missile struck close to Holocaust memorial site

In an emergency session, 141 of the 193 member states voted for the resolution, 35 abstained and five voted against