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Exclusive: International development minister warns it will be impossible' to retain funding in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine

Plan for IDF-protected humanitarian hubs' to selectively issue aid casts doubt on Israeli intent to withdrawThe Israeli military has presented the UN and aid organisations with a plan for running Gaza that involves Israel having tighter control than it did before the war, according to humanitarian officials, casting doubt on whether Benjamin Netanyahu's government has any intention of carrying out a military withdrawal.At meetings with UN representatives on Wednesday and with officials from other agencies on Thursday, Cogat, the army unit given the task of delivering aid to the occupied territories, outlined a scheme of distributing supplies through tightly managed logistics hubs to vetted Palestinian recipients. Continue reading...

Charles Hanson had been accused of being violent towards wife, Rebecca Hanson, but is cleared of all chargesThe celebrity auctioneer Charles Hanson has been unanimously cleared of coercive control and assault allegations made against him by his wife.The trial heard allegations that Hanson, 46, put Rebecca Hanson in a headlock while she was pregnant with a baby she later lost, repeatedly grabbed" her, locked her in a hotel room, pushed her and scratched her as she tried to snatch a mobile phone. Continue reading...

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets Donald Trump in Washington, a number of questions remain unansweredEven before the astonishingly heated exchanges between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, there were questions over the future of Ukraine and the country's war with Russia. Here are five things we don't know about a possible deal to end the conflict. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Hundreds of thousands of world's poorest children could die if aid programme slashed, experts warnHundreds of thousands of children in the world's poorest countries will die if the UK cuts back funding for a hugely effective vaccination programme as part of its significant reduction in overseas aid, the Guardian has been told.According to data collated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), to which the UK has previously been one of the main contributors, even a small cut in UK funding would be expected to result in millions fewer vaccinations, leading to huge numbers of preventable deaths. Continue reading...

Coroner says failures contributed to Stephen Cole's killing of Marta Elena Vento at a Bournemouth hotelThe family of a woman killed by a man with psychosis have said she paid with her life for lapses in the English prison and policing system" after a coroner said failures by prison and police authorities contributed to the killing.In a damning verdict, the senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, said Marta Elena Vento, 27, a Spanish national, was unlawfully killed by Stephen Cole in December 2020 while she was working as receptionist a Travelodge hotel in Bournemouth. Continue reading...

Saturday morning's freezing fog will give way to sunshine as the week unfoldsThe UK can expect brighter skies and warmer weather next week, with some areas reaching 14C (57.2F), but not before a chilly weekend, with temperatures expected to reach -2C across the UK.Early rising dog walkers and joggers across the UK might find themselves caught in freezing fog on Saturday morning according to Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick. Yet the drier and milder conditions of the weekend will give way to sunshine and lots of bright weather next week. Continue reading...

International Airlines Group says results reflect turnaround investment in BA as passenger numbers rebound

PM tells former minister you will have more to contribute' but says reduction in aid spending is part of protecting our national security'Anneliese Dodds has posted the text of her resignation letter on social media.Here are some extracts from Anneliese Dodds' resignation letter, as reported by Pippa Crerar.Undoubtedly the postwar global order has come crashing down. I believe that we must increase spending on defence as a result; and know that there are no easy paths to doing so.I stood ready to work with you to deliver that increased spending, knowing some might well have had to come from overseas development assistance [ODA]. I also expected we would collectively discuss our fiscal rules and approach to taxation, as other nations are doing.You have maintained that you want to continue support for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine; for vaccination; for climate; and for rules-based systems.Yet it will be impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut; the effect will be far greater than presented, even if assumptions made about reducing asylum costs hold true.It was imperative that you had a united cabinet behind you as you set off for Washington. Your determination to pursue peace through strength for Ukraine is one I share.It is for that reason that I am only writing to you now that your meeting with President Trump is over, and four days after you informed me of your decision to cut overseas development assistance to 0.3% of GNI.Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people - deeply harming the UK's reputation. I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump's slipstream of cuts to USAid.While we differ profoundly on this decision, I remain proud of all that you have achieved since I backed you to be leader of the Labour party ...I wish you, and the government you command, every success for the future. Continue reading...

Prime minister will host more than a dozen countries over weekend as Europe tries to secure deal to end war

Lisa Nandy to seek assurances about review into making of documentary after corporation admits serious flaws'The culture secretary is to hold an urgent meeting on Friday with Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC, after the corporation apologised for serious flaws" in the making of a documentary about the war in Gaza.Lisa Nandy said she would be seeking assurances that a review commissioned by the BBC's director general would be comprehensive, rigorous and get to the bottom of exactly what has happened". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners say cryptocurrency payments were offered to UK residents if they daubed anti-Muslim graffitiA network of Telegram channels with Russian links is encouraging UK residents to commit violent attacks on mosques and Muslims and offering cryptocurrency in return, campaigners have warned.The channels have already been linked to real world events in the form of Islamophobic graffiti sprayed on mosques and schools in east and south London earlier this month, sometimes with the names of the groups mentioned. Those incidents are under investigation by the police. Continue reading...

Thousands of people affected, with users of TSB and Bank of Scotland services also reporting glitches

Justice secretary considers introduction of good behaviour credits in radical carrot-and-stick' approachPrisoners may have to earn their freedom through good behaviour credits" rather than be automatically released after a set period as part of an overhaul being considered by the government.The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, who travelled to Texas where a similar scheme was introduced more than a decade ago, said she wanted a carrot-and-stick" approach throughout the prison system in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Small patches of scrambled egg lichen moved from Cornwall to Breckland region, where it was last seen in 1994A rare lichen has been reintroduced to its historical habitat of East Anglia - with the help of some bookbinding glue.Scrambled egg lichen, so named for its bright yellow, crumbly appearance, was once common in the Breckland region of Norfolk and Suffolk but was last seen there in 1994. Continue reading...

US president also says delayed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on 4 MarchDonald Trump has threatened China with an additional 10% tariff on its exports to the US, prompting a promise of countermeasures" from Beijing and setting the stage for another significant escalation in the two governments' trade war.The US president also claimed he planned to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday, having delayed their imposition last month after talks with his counterparts. Continue reading...

NGOs accuse prime minister of following US by accepting false choice' of cutting aid to fund defenceSir Keir Starmer is to take UK overseas aid to its lowest level as a percentage of national income since records began, even if he manages to halve the current 4.5bn cost of housing asylum seekers.The extraordinary finding, a complete reversal of Labour manifesto pledges and its historical commitment to helping the world's poorest, is made by Ian Mitchell, the co-director of the respected London-based thinktank the Centre for Global Development. Continue reading...

Chris Bowen accuses Coalition of creating sovereign risk' by opposing offshore projects as as Nationals celebrate major win'

In closing submissions, broadcaster proposes modest' payout to journalist if it loses high-stakes battle Sign up for Guardian Australia's free weekly media newsletter hereAntoinette Lattouf says her protracted legal fight with the national broadcaster has revealed the systemic racism and rot at the heart of the ABC".In an emotional press conference outside Sydney's federal court at the conclusion of the case, Lattouf said of her dismissal from the ABC and the fallout: This saga has undoubtedly been the most difficult of my entire life."Sign up to get Guardian Australia's weekly media diary as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Three other teens were injured after vehicle crashes and rolls near Bourke in NSW

Exclusive: Government to grant nature groups a licence for release of rodent species after earlier setbacksThe release of beavers into English waterways is to be allowed for the first time in centuries, the Guardian can reveal.The environment secretary, Steve Reed, is to announce that nature groups will be able to get a licence for the release. The first releases could happen this autumn. Continue reading...

City of Portraits, a decade in the making, celebrates tightknit community in tiny Welsh city. But joyful project had sad beginningsFrom a distance, they look like vivid pieces of abstract art - but move a little closer and dozens of small, characterful portraits shine out of the work.The ambitious idea of the City of Portraits (Dinas Portreadau) project, a decade in the making and nowhere near complete, is to record the faces of all 1,800 people who live in Britain's smallest city, St Davids in south-west Wales. Continue reading...

Titanic and Avatar director says America doesn't stand for anything if it doesn't stand for what it has historically stood for' - and that he prefers New Zealand to CanadaJames Cameron has voiced his relief that he is becoming a New Zealand citizen in the aftermath of Donald Trump's re-election as US president, saying that America under Trump is a turn away from everything decent".Asked how worried he was about Trump's second term, the 70-year-old film-maker told New Zealand outlet Stuff: I think it's horrific, I think it's horrifying ... I see it as a turn away from everything decent. America doesn't stand for anything if it doesn't stand for what it has historically stood for. It becomes a hollow idea, and I think they're hollowing it out as fast as they can for their own benefit." Continue reading...

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Damning National Audit Office report says action is needed to address deficit accumulated under Tory-era policyAlmost half of councils in England risk falling into bankruptcy without action to address a 4.6bn deficit amassed under a Conservative-era policy, the government's spending watchdog has warned.In a damning report, the National Audit Office said that rising pressure on public services and repeated delays to reform the funding of local government meant town halls were in an unsustainable" financial position. Continue reading...

Unlawful termination hearing is examining how and why ABC removed journalist from the Radio Sydney Mornings show in December 2023Ian Neil SC, for the ABC, said it is important for Justice Darryl Rangiah to get to the truth of why Antoinette Lattouf was taken off air.Key to this, Neil says, is an understanding of a Microsoft Teams meeting between ABC managers and executives, including Lattouf's line manager at Radio Sydney, Elizabeth Green, and the chief content officer, Chris Oliver-Taylor.That's a powerful consideration to weigh against Ms Green's recollection, leading to the conclusion that it's an unresolvable factual issue.We do reiterate, what earthly reason would he have for lying, misrepresenting, what he had been told ... two minutes before, to his superior. Continue reading...

ARC chief Prof Peter Shergold defends decision at estimates hearing but is accused of bowing to allegations in racist' media

Xiao Qian says exercises in Tasman Sea posed no threat' to Australia as previously unreported communications between pilots and air traffic controllers show confusion over drills

Adrian Collette sends all-staff email denying that he and the chair of Creative Australia's board had quit amid calls for resignations

Alfred is creating hazardous weather conditions from Townsville south to K'Gari, with gale force winds forecast on the Great Barrier Reef and dangerous surf between Yeppoon and Hervey Bay

US president was questioned about defence deal during meeting with UK prime minister Keir Starmer

The company - which has been looking for a white knight investor - fails to lodge financial accounts as scheduled

Trump calls Starmer meeting tremendously productive' and says we have a very good chance at arriving at a very good deal'

This week, Donald Trump continued to dominate the world stage, welcoming a procession of global leaders to Washington, including Keir Starmer. But while the special relationship' is front and centre in the UK, attention in the US is very much elsewhere. As the president goes full steam ahead with his domestic agenda, there are warning signs for Trump in the polls. So, could he be in trouble at home? And how could the Democrats take advantage?Jonathan Freedland speaks to Stanley Greenberg, the bestselling author, Democratic pollster and political strategist who played a crucial role in the elections of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair Continue reading...

Independent review to explore making of documentary that featured son of a Hamas official, after BBC board discussionThe BBC's board has apologised for the significant and damaging" mistakes made in producing its documentary on Gaza.The corporation's board met on Thursday after it emerged that the son of a Hamas official featured on its programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Continue reading...

Removal comes after court decision pausing Joe Biden's Save program, leaving millions of Americans in the lurch

Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor, 39, died this week after being found unresponsive at her apartment

Education department allows Sheikh Wesam Charkawi to return to Granville Boys high school, lawyer says, adding case highlights ambiguity in what is required of public servants'

After the announcement of a follow-up festival in Mexico, tourism and local officials have denied any knowledge of its existenceWhen tickets to the second Fyre festival went on sale this week, there was just one concrete detail: it would take place on Isla Mujeres, a tropical island off Cancun, Mexico.But the festival seems to be repeating its own history as an improvised disaster after the local government in Isla Mujeres denied knowing anything about it. Continue reading...

Pamela Marking, suffering severe stomach issues, diagnosed in hospital with nosebleed and sent home by PAA coroner has issued a warning about the role of physician associates in NHS hospitals after a woman with severe abdominal problems was wrongly diagnosed as having a nosebleed and died four days later.The family of Pamela Marking, 77, were under the mistaken impression she had been seen by a doctor when she was examined in an emergency department, rather than a physician associate (PA) with far less training. Continue reading...

I think we'll be inclined to go along with your country,' president says of plan to hand sovereignty to Mauritius

Isaiah Adekunle Olugosi's wife drove for two hours to try to alert prison after phone calls to raise alarm were unansweredA woman who drove 60 miles to Wormwood Scrubs to prevent her husband from taking his own life in prison was unable to alert staff in time because the telephone line and the intercom were both broken, a coroner has ruled.Isaiah Adekunle Olugosi took his life in his cell at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in March 2022. His death was ruled by a jury as suicide.

Two people arrested and dog put down after incident at property in Hartcliffe area on WednesdayA 19-year-old woman has died after she was attacked by a dog, thought to be an XL bully, inside a flat in Bristol.Two people were arrested after the attack in the Hartcliffe area of south Bristol on Wednesday on suspicion of offences including having a prohibited breed of dog. The dog was later destroyed, police said. Continue reading...

Company's plans to introduce declared age range' technology for apps later this year could play a role in Australian social media ban

About 112 migrants held in immigration center deep in the jungle are unable to communicate with their attorneysLawyers for immigrants from around the world who were deported from the United States and moved to a remote jungle camp in Panama say they have been unable to communicate with their clients since they arrived there.About 112 deported migrants are being held in the San Vicente" immigration center deep in the dense jungle that separates Panama from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities. Their future is uncertain as they wait to see if they will be granted asylum in Panama or elsewhere. Continue reading...

Institution blames increasing costs and changing visitor behaviours' as numbers have failed to recover since CovidThe Royal Academy of Arts (RA) could axe 60 roles as part of a cost-cutting exercise, with leaders admitting it is facing a serious financial challenge" after visitor numbers failed to recover to pre-pandemic levels.The institution blamed increasing costs and changing visitor behaviours" for the move, which could lead to about 18% of the RA workforce losing their jobs. Continue reading...

A memo from the Trump administration gives federal officials until 13 March to submit plans for additional firings

Abdullah Ocalan's message, which follows four decades of guerrilla warfare, will have far-reaching implicationsThe ageing leader of a Kurdish militant group imprisoned on a remote Turkish island has called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself, signalling the start of a fragile peace with Turkey after four decades of guerrilla warfare, attacks and reprisals.Abdullah Ocalan, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), a group long regarded as a terrorist organisation in Turkey as well as in Britain and the US, issued the message in a letter read out by allies in Istanbul. Continue reading...

Dream of going from LA to San Francisco in three hours is past deadline, over budget, and after 16 years, incompleteCalifornians know their state is a punching bag for Donald Trump's administration, a paradise lost" that the president intends to wrest back from the radical left lunatics". But when Trump took aim at the state's much-delayed high-speed rail project earlier this month, saying it was the worst managed project" he'd ever seen, some of those leftwingers - and more moderate voters - found themselves in the unusual position of conceding he might have a point.California's beautiful dream of a bullet train whisking passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours has been more than 16 years in the making, approved by voters but dogged by so many delays, broken deadlines and cost overruns that it has only just reached the initial stages of laying down track. Continue reading...

Russian president claims to FSB security service that some western elites will try to undermine our dialogue'Speaking at a press conference in Vienna, the Austrian People's Party's leader Christian Stocker hailed the success of probably the most difficult government negotiations in history," as the country seems to be on course to get its new government after five months since the general election in September.He praised the value of consensus and compromise," taking a swipe at other parties to have refused to cooperate and evaded responsibility" for governing the country.There should be nothing about Europe without Europe.Together with our EU partners, Ireland, will continue to build global support for comprehensive, just and lasting peace on Ukraine's terms, which upholds Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and which is based on respect for the principles of the UN charter and international law. Continue reading...