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Other winners include Inter Alia's Rosamund Pike, Ivo van Hove for All My Sons and Hayley Atwell who beat her Much Ado co-star Tom Hiddleston to best Shakespearean performanceBrendan Gleeson has been named best actor at the Critics' Circle theatre awards for his West End debut in Conor McPherson's pub drama The Weir. He beat fellow nominees including Bryan Cranston and Paapa Essiedu, both recognised for All My Sons, and James Hameed and Arti Shah, the duo who together portray Paddington in the new musical about Michael Bond's bear. The Weir, directed by McPherson, was entirely omitted from the nominations for this year's Olivier awards and is being turned into a film with Gleeson and the rest of the West End cast.All My Sons, a critically adored production of Arthur Miller's 1946 classic at Wyndham's theatre, won in two categories at the Critics' Circle awards: best revival of a play or musical and best director for Ivo van Hove. A new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, directed by Jordan Fein at the Bridge theatre, also won two prizes - best designer (Tom Scutt) and the inaugural award for best ensemble or cast. Continue reading...

Misappropriation of financial resources' from actor, 90, tracked to property, vineyards and olive groves in TuscanyItalian authorities have seized 20m (17.3m) of assets in Tuscany, including property, vineyards and olive groves, allegedly bought with money embezzled from the actor Ursula Andress.Andress, 90, had filed a complaint in her native Switzerland alleging a progressive and significant depletion of her assets" by individuals charged with managing her finances, Italy's financial crimes police said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...

Aipac-backed lawmakers denounce extremist' violence in West Bank as support for Israel becomes a political liabilityAs Israeli settlers ramp up violent attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, often as Israeli forces stand by, denunciations are mounting in the US, even from Democratic legislators and public figures who are typically staunch defenders of Israel.In recent days, dozens of settlers have torched homes and vehicles and attacked Palestinians in apparently coordinated attacks. Since the start of the month, Israeli settlers and police have killed at least 10 Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, including two young brothers and their parents as they returned from a Ramadan shopping trip. Continue reading...

Firm's sales up 54% this month and Good Energy reports doubling of interest in solar after latest oil price shockSolar panel sales have risen sharply since the start of the Iran war, according to Octopus Energy, and households are opting for bigger arrays of roof panels.Sales were up 54% so far this month compared with the same period last month, the company said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Documents obtained by Guardian show company increased different fees to offset revenue loss' from FTC rule changeFollowing a wave of regulations banning the surprise fees that appear at the end of a transaction, Ticketmaster stopped charging the extra few dollars it added to each order at checkout. Typically shared with the venue, the order processing fee was a boon to a global platform that sells hundreds of millions of tickets a year.But documents obtained by the Guardian show that while Ticketmaster eliminated this fee to comply with the rules, the company simply raised the cost of different fees in a number of its venues to ensure it didn't lose money. Continue reading...

Clear Secure has seen jump in new sign-ups amid the partial government shutdown as TSA workers go unpaid

Company reported loss of 125m after cyber-security attack hit sales and claims of toxic' culture

Market in North Darfur and truck carrying civilians in North Kordofan hit as civil war approaches fourth yearAt least 28 civilians have been killed in two separate drone strikes in Sudan, according to health workers, as the country's brutal civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) approaches its fourth year.A strike hit a market in the town of Saraf Omra, in North Darfur state, on Wednesday, killing 22 people, including an infant, and injuring 17 more", a health worker at the local clinic told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Continue reading...

Man was teaching at a secondary school for boys when he allegedly targeted the girl - who police say he did not know

Jena Lisa Jones says she backed Trump in 2024 election because of his campaign promises to release Epstein filesAfter casting her vote for Donald Trump in 2024 in hopes that he would bring transparency around the Jeffrey Epstein case, Epstein survivor Jena Lisa Jones said in an interview this week that she now fears we're not going to get justice in all of this".I wanted my day in court," said Jones, who has said she was abused by Epstein when she was 14, in an interview on the Shadow Sessions podcast that aired on Thursday morning. I didn't get that, and we were so close to it, it really got ripped from us, and then after [Epstein] passed, everything just went into a circus show." Continue reading...

UK clothing and homeware retailer working on assumption that war could last three months

Australian counterterrorism experts observe December shooting came amid years of messaging from terror group urging followers to act on their own initiative'

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Cambridge University historian uncovers letter to diarist who was a naval official in 1670sHis journals would become famed for their vivid detail and candour. But now, almost exactly 360 years after diarist Samuel Pepys chronicled the Great Fire of London, new research has found that he erased" and curated" correspondence to conceal he had been offered an enslaved boy as a bribe.Cambridge University historian Dr Michael Edwards consulted hundreds of records in The Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; The National Archives; and the Bodleian Library in Oxford for the study Samuel Pepys, the African Companies, and the Archives of Slavery, 1660-1689". Continue reading...

Ukrainian president says peace deal proposed by US includes handing over land to Russia. What we know on day 1,492 Continue reading...

Homebuyers lose confidence amid higher rates and Iran war-linked price rises across the economy, buyers agent says

In today's newsletter: This new war has exposed widening fractures between Israel and its allies, and the country finds itself increasingly out of step with global opinionGood morning. Israel may be the only country in the world where there is overwhelming public support for the conflict in Iran. Despite its impact on everyday life in the country - at least 15 people have been killed and hundreds more injured by Iranian missiles since the war started in February, and school closures and missile warnings remain routine - polling puts support for the war at more than 90% among Jewish Israelis.The contrast with the rest of the world is stark. Nearly a month into the fighting, polling shows that 60% of the US public oppose the war with Iran, and just one in four backed the initial strikes. In the Gulf, Europe and Asia, the conflict is widely unpopular, as severe economic consequences already begin to bite.Middle East crisis | Iran dismissed a US ceasefire proposal on Wednesday and countered with a negotiation plan of its own as intermediaries sought to keep diplomatic channels between the warring countries open.Media | Matt Brittin, Google's former top executive in Europe, has been named the BBC's next director general. Brittin will replace Tim Davie at a crucial time for the corporation.UK politics | Political donations from British citizens living abroad are to be capped at 100,000 a year, in a move that is likely to limit further funding from Reform UK's Thailand-based mega-donor, Christopher Harborne.UK news | The former justice minister Crispin Blunt has been fined 1,200 for possessing illegal drugs after he told a court he entered the world of chemsex parties to help inform government policy.Housing | People who lost their homes when a tower block in Dagenham burned down say they are being made to pay for the building's fire safety works after the government demanded its money back. Continue reading...

Exclusive: health secretary says he does not think PM will face challenge after May elections, as public doesn't want chaos'Wes Streeting has said he does not want Keir Starmer to be challenged as Labour leader after the May elections as it would undermine the party's election promise to voters to avoid more chaos.The health secretary, who is widely regarded as a prospective candidate in any contest, urged voters to give the guy a chance" as he said that none of his colleagues would attempt to oust the prime minister. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Speaking with the Australian Politics podcast, the Liberal frontbencher says a sovereign wealth fund would set Australians up for generations to come

Courts in Australia may be willing to hold social media companies accountable for real-world harm, lawyers say

Reluctance to cheerlead alleged US ceasefire efforts reflects suspicion talk of peace could be another foil for escalation

Professionals from across Europe urge MEPs to reject plans, saying climate of fear' could stop people seeking careMore than 1,100 healthcare professionals from across Europe have urged MEPs to reject proposed measures aimed at increasing the deportation of undocumented people, warning they could threaten public health by transforming essential public services, including hospitals, into sites of immigration enforcement.The draft plans, which are due to go to a vote on Thursday, have been in the works since last March, when the European Commission laid out its proposal to target people with no legal right to stay in the EU, including potentially sending them to offshore centres in non-EU countries. Continue reading...

This blog is closed. Follow our new liveblog hereIranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, Australia's home affairs minister said, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they're allowed.

Peers, in vote of 266 to 141, reject Keir Starmer's proposals for public consultation to decide if social media ban should be introduced in UKThe House of Lords has backed an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s.Peers, in a vote of 266 to 141, rejected Keir Starmer's proposals for a public consultation to decide whether a ban should be introduced. Continue reading...

Donald Trump claims Iran still wants a deal, after Tehran puts forward five-point counter-proposal and says war will end when it decides and on its terms

Sewell pleaded not guilty to five charges over alleged group assault on Camp Sovereignty last year

Staff urge managing director to retract comments after he describes industrial action as playing games'

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Bill Pulte reportedly urges examination of alleged fraud as New York attorney general's lawyer attacks vendetta'The Trump administration's federal housing director Bill Pulte is asking prosecutors to investigate New York attorney general Letitia James for insurance fraud, according to criminal referrals reported by MS Now and CBS News.The referrals to prosecutors in Florida and Illinois allege that James may have committed mortgage insurance fraud. The allegations center on applications made to Universal Property Insurance company, which is based in Florida, and Allstate in Illinois. Continue reading...

US president says he will host Chinese leader in a reciprocal visit later this yearDonald Trump will meet Xi Jinping in May during the US president's first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip that had been postponed due to the Iran war.Trump was initially slated to travel next week, but will now visit Beijing on 14 and 15 May, he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. Trump said he would host the Chinese leader in a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year. Continue reading...

Tony Burke says decisions about permanent stays should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday'

Policy brought forward as Middle East war highlights fragility of global supply chainsBritish suppliers will be prioritised for public contracts in shipbuilding, steel, AI and energy infrastructure under new guidance marking them out as sectors vital to national security.Departments will also have to either use British steel or justify sourcing it from overseas, under the rules announced by the government. Continue reading...

Government says proposed levy for international tourists is part of initiative to improve arts fundingMinisters are considering charging international tourists to access permanent collections at national museums as part of an initiative to improve arts funding.The government said there was a need for long-term options to fund the struggling arts sector in its response to a review of Arts Council England, which distributes public funding to the arts. Among the options cited was a hotel levy, a policy being consulted on. Continue reading...

Latest strike brings number of deaths to at least 163 since attacks on alleged narco-terrorists' began in SeptemberThe US has launched another strike on a vessel in the Caribbean, killing four people, the US Southern Command said.The command which oversees combatant operations in Latin America and the Caribbean announced on X that it had conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations". Continue reading...

Surcharge, spurred by oil price spikes due to the Iran war, is set to take effect on 26 April and run until January 2027The US Postal Service (USPS) plans to introduce its first-ever fuel surcharge on packages to offset rising energy costs, according to a statement.The surcharge, set at 8%, is expected to take effect on 26 April and remain in place until 17 January 2027 under the current plan. Continue reading...

Reversal by London police comes as Shabana Mahmood prepares an appeal against high court overturning ban on the groupThe Metropolitan police has said it will resume arresting people who show support for Palestine Action just weeks after it said it would no longer do so following a high court ruling that the ban on the direct action group was unlawful.After last month's judgment, the Met police said it would immediately stop arresting people for such offences under the Terrorism Act but would gather evidence for potential future prosecutions. Continue reading...

Guatemalan nationals Angelina Lopez Jimenez and Wendy Godinez Lopez, nine, were apprehended en route to Miami

Writer looked to topics such as computer engineering and life in a nursing home to produce richly researched booksTracy Kidder, an award-winning narrative nonfiction writer who turned everything from computer engineering to life in a nursing home into unexpected bestsellers, has died. He was 80.Kidder's longtime publisher Random House confirmed his death in a statement on Wednesday: Tracy's gifts for storytelling and tireless reporting are an enduring reflection of the empathy, integrity, and endless curiosity he brought to everything he did." Continue reading...

Republicans' proposal would restart almost all of DHS operations but excluded key reforms that Democrats want

Lawmakers say moratorium on construction would buy time to create strong, federal guardrails for AIAmid an unprecedented energy crisis and the rapid buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure, progressive lawmakers have unveiled a new policy to place a moratorium on the construction of AI datacenters.Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and its impact on every man, woman and child in this country, AI has received far too little serious discussion here in our nation's capital," Sanders told reporters on Wednesday. I fear that Congress is totally unprepared for the magnitude of the changes that are already taking place." Continue reading...

Removal of Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez after arrest during green-card appointment decried as flagrant violation' of legal rightsA federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) to the US, ruling that her deportation to Mexico last month was a flagrant violation" of the legal protections afforded to immigrants who arrived in the country as children.Judge Dena Coggins said in her Monday ruling the administration must return Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a Daca recipient, to the US within seven days. She was arrested on 18 February in Sacramento during her green-card appointment, and was deported to Mexico the next day. Continue reading...

Father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar calls decision to take sample from his daughter after her death disgusting'The father of a university student killed while trying to protect her friend from Valdo Calocane in Nottingham told an inquiry it is disgusting" the stabbing victims were tested for drugs and alcohol but their killer was not.Sanjoy Kumar, Grace O'Malley-Kumar's father, said he could not understand why the diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic had not been tested for drugs while in custody after the attacks. Continue reading...

Legislation subject to MPs' approval but will be backdated due to urgency of threat to UK democracy, says ministerKeir Starmer is set to embark on a fundamental overhaul of the political finance system, starting with an emergency ban on cryptocurrency donations and 100,000 cap on donations from Britons living abroad in a blow to Reform UK.In a hugely significant move, the government said it would bring in the annual cap as well as a moratorium on crypto donations from Wednesday as part of its new elections legislation.Requiring third-party campaigners to declare donations all year round, not just election periods, and allowing funding only from permissible donors.More stringent checks on the source of funds from political donors, bringing it more into line with know-your-customer checks in the financial services industry.Preventing donations from shell companies by ensuring funding is from post-tax profits rather than revenue.Requiring foreign consultant lobbyists to join the official register, from which they are currently exempt because they do not charge VAT.Banning foreign-funded political adverts outright. Continue reading...

Members call for reparatory justice as landmark resolution aims for political recognition at the highest level'The United Nations has voted to describe the transatlantic chattel slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity" and called for reparations as a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs".The landmark resolution passed on Wednesday was backed by the African Union (AU) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom). It had been proposed by Ghana's president, John Dramani Mahama, who said: Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of millions who suffered the indignity of slavery." Continue reading...

Reform's ability to fundraise is hobbled in a move that draws attention to donations from an overseas billionaireReform UK are no doubt the biggest losers from the government's emergency measures to overhaul political donations.Labour MPs are absolutely delighted that No 10 is at last bringing in changes that will hobble Reform's ability to raise money from its Thailand-based mega-donor, Christopher Harborne, at the same time as making the electoral system fairer in the eyes of the public. Continue reading...

Ha Nguyen McNeill testified before House committee about airport wait times amid DHS funding shutdownThe acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said on Wednesday that airports across the country are experiencing the highest wait times in TSA history", as the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enters its sixth week.At a House homeland security committee hearing, Ha Nguyen McNeill said her agency has been shut down for 50% of the fiscal year so far - a stretch that includes last year's record-breaking 43day lapse in federal funding. She told lawmakers that by Friday, TSA employees will have missed $1bn in paychecks as a result of the closures. Continue reading...

Cuts to family planning aid are linked to an 11% increase in deaths during pregnancy and childbirth in some countriesWhen Republican presidents win power in the US there is a stark consequence for many pregnant woman around the world - a significant rise in maternal mortality as aid is withdrawn, a new study has found.Global family planning aid typically drops under Republican presidents and then rises again by 48% once Democratic presidents are elected, the research, published in BMJ Global Health, finds. Continue reading...

Cabinet Office thought to have a number of exchanges between the friends, which are expected to be released within weeksThe Cabinet Office is understood to hold a number of text and email exchanges between Peter Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney, despite the theft of the former chief of staff's phone in October last year.The whereabouts of McSweeney's messages with Mandelson has been under intense scrutiny since it was reported his work device was stolen last year shortly after Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador. Continue reading...

Senate nominee in Texas James Talarico says Christian nationalism kills' in response to Brooks Potteiger remarkJames Talarico, the Texas Democratic state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, has said he forgives Pete Hegseth's pastor for praying for his death. On Tuesday, Texas's popular Democratic nominee for a US Senate seat pushed back against comments from Brooks Potteiger, the defense secretary's closest spiritual adviser, who said: We want him crucified with Christ."Talarico said on X: Jesus loves. Christian Nationalism kills. You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you. I love you more than you could ever hate me." Continue reading...

Role for Social Democrats' leader confirmed after meeting with kingSpeaking at the debate, Frederiksen confirms she has submitted her government's resignation as it is clear the outgoing three-party government will not have enough mandates to continue.But she stresses the urgency of the task to form the new government, as the world is not waiting for us out there and it has only become more unsettled since the election was called." Continue reading...