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Man provided information on Ria Pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk that was hit last June, killing 13

Spice Girl turned designer says she'll keep brand DNA as venture with Spanish high street chain disclosedVictoria Beckham is pivoting from high-end fashion to the high street. On Thursday, the retail chain Mango said it was collaborating with the Spice Girl turned designer on a collection of slip dresses, knitwear and accessories.The Spanish retailer described the new line, due to launch on 23 April, as a perfect blend of classic British luxury". Preview images show a model lounging by a pool wearing a white oversized blazer and matching, loose-fitting trousers. In another, a model emerges from the pool in a white, ruched halterneck dress. Continue reading...

Piran Ditta Khan convicted at Leeds crown court over officer's death during 2005 robbery in BradfordThe mastermind of an armed robbery in which police officer, Sharon Beshenivsky, was killed has been convicted of her murder after evading capture for 17 years.Piran Ditta Khan, now 75, fled to Pakistan two months after the fatal shooting in Bradford in November 2005. The former takeaway boss was tracked down and arrested in January 2020 before being extradited to the UK last year. Continue reading...

As their military exemption ends, tensions divide the country and threaten to topple Netanyahu's governmentMea Shearim is the heart of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community, whose role bitterly divides the country and, some believe, may be the issue that ultimately brings down Benjamin Netanyahu's government.The special legal status of the ultra-Orthodox, the Haredim, that has endured as long as the state of Israel, came to an abrupt end on Monday following a supreme court decision that the group would no longer benefit from government subsidies and exemption from military service, as is mandatory for most other Jewish Israelis. It followed a series of delays by the government in presenting a proposal demanded by the court aimed at enhancing the military enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men. Continue reading...

Allegations of up to 20 assassinations since 2020 follow Canada's accusation of Delhi role in murders of dissidentsThe Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil, according to Indian and Pakistani intelligence operatives who spoke to the Guardian.Interviews with intelligence officials in both countries, as well as documents shared by Pakistani investigators, shed new light on how India's foreign intelligence agency allegedly began to carry out assassinations abroad as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019. The agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (Raw), is directly controlled by the office of India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, who is running for a third term in office in elections later this month. Continue reading...

Aslef starts three days of rolling 24-hour strikes from Friday, with action by tube drivers on MondayPassengers are facing more travel disruption as some services on the national rail network and the London Underground will grind to a halt as the next wave of driver strikes gets under way.On Friday, Aslef members start three days of rolling 24-hour strikes across the rail network, affecting 16 rail operating companies as part of its 20-month dispute over pay. This will happen alongside a separate daylong strike by Aslef drivers on the London Underground on Monday 8 April. Continue reading...

Exclusive: a Guardian investigation finds that inmates who died of preventable conditions were deemed malingerers and time wasters'Jennifer Jasper-Thompson was shocked when she received a call from the New Jersey department of corrections (DOC). Her nephew Damien Jasper, who had been incarcerated at Northern state prison in Newark, was dead at just 32.His autopsy indicated that he had died from testicular cancer, considered one of the most treatable forms of cancer, even when caught in an advanced stage, with an overall five-year survival rate of 95%, according to the American Cancer Society. Continue reading...

Following Israeli airstrikes on World Central Kitchen workers, aid organizations in Gaza are demanding the Israeli military improve and adhere to security procedures to keep them safe. Plus: the Italian island giving away its goatsDon't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Joe Biden is expected to have his first call with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the airstrikes that killed seven members of a convoy of humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza. Biden has been critical of Israel in the aftermath of the strikes, saying the Israel-Hamas war has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed".How are aid organizations responding? Some suspended their operations in Gaza after the attack, and many are demanding the Israeli military improve and adhere to security procedures intended to keep their workers safe. The burden is on Israel to avoid harming us. We make ourselves visible when delivering aid so we protect our teams and the people in Gaza where we serve," said Bushra Khalid, Oxfam's policy adviser for the occupied Palestinian territories.How many aid workers have been killed since the start of this conflict on 7 October? About 200 humanitarian workers and about 100 journalists have been killed, making this war one of the deadliest conflicts on record for these groups. Continue reading...

New flavours and desire for more choice help stout consumption in UK increase by 23% between 2021 and 2022Stout, sometimes thought of as the drink of older men in pubs, is finding a diverse audience - and it's not just Guinness that's boosting sales.The beer, part of the ale family and usually a very dark colour, is attracting a range of consumers, including young women, drawn in by new flavours and lower alcohol options. Continue reading...

Deadly Israeli attack on aid staff has shaken confidence in the system, says Save the Children team leader

Researchers find that in low and middle-income countries owning spectacles can help people over 35 can increase their incomeOwning a pair of reading glasses might help people increase their earnings by a third, according to new research.The study, conducted in Bangladesh, is the first to examine the impact of having a decent pair of spectacles, and researchers found monthly median earnings among one group of people increased from $35.30 to $47.10 within eight months, a rise of 33.4%. Continue reading...

Australian Council for International Development head says intense coordination and negotiation' would have occurred prior to passage of workersThe Israeli military likely had advance notice of the names and nationalities of each of the aid workers killed by Israeli airstrikes while travelling in a three-car charity convoy in Gaza this week, according to humanitarian organisations.As Anthony Albanese toughened his language over the killing of the Australian citizen Lalzawmi Zomi" Frankcom, saying this is against humanitarian law", the aid sector stated the seven workers were there with the full awareness" of the Israeli military. Continue reading...

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula resigned amid accusations she solicited bribes when she was defence ministerSouth Africa's former parliamentary speaker has been arrested as part of a corruption inquiry in the latest scandal to hit the governing African National Congress (ANC) party before elections in May.Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who resigned as speaker on Wednesday, was formally detained after handing herself in to police near Pretoria, prosecutors said. Continue reading...

Alex Younger's claim that insufficient care is being paid to collateral risks comes as UK is urged to suspend arms sales to Israel

Nuffield Trust says system for treatment is obsolete' as number of patients in England awaiting assessment hits record highThe NHS is experiencing an avalanche of need" over autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the system in place to cope with surging demand for assessments and treatments is obsolete", a health thinktank has warned.There must be a radical rethink" of how people with the conditions are cared for in England if the health service is to meet the rapidly expanding need for services, according to the Nuffield Trust. Continue reading...

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Five years after scheme's launch, one victim's daughter describes how father died before receiving payoutCompensation payments for people affected by the Windrush scandal should be speeded up and increased, victims and campaigners have said.The Windrush compensation scheme was launched by the Home Office five years ago this week after widespread outrage over the scandal, in which thousands of British people were wrongly classed as illegal immigrants. Many were wrongfully deported and denied access to healthcare, housing and employment. Continue reading...

Humanitarian organisations working in Gaza say Israeli forces must stick to deconfliction procedures

New academic paper finds rail system drives urban changes similar to the process by which malignant tumours form'

Gantz says government must set a consensual date for September' while Netanyahu's popularity continues to decline amid the ongoing war in GazaIsraeli minister Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and main rival of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has called for snap parliamentary elections in September, as pressure builds over the war in Gaza.We must set a consensual date for the month of September, or if you prefer for the first anniversary of the war," Gantz, said on Wednesday during a speech from his office in Israel's parliament. Continue reading...

Long waiting lists and insufficient resources part of system that is failing' children, according to NEU members in England and WalesOne in three teachers say they have no behaviour support team for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), while one in four have no educational psychologist or speech and language therapist to help them, according to a union survey.The online poll, which attracted responses from 8,000 members of the National Education Union (NEU), indicated that seven in eight teachers feel resources are insufficient to meet growing demand, with three-quarters calling for more learning support assistants in classrooms. Continue reading...

Travellers will have to wait another year for 100ml limit to be lifted after government extends deadline for new scannersHolidaymakers will continue to face limits on the amount of liquid they can carry on flights out of the UK this summer after the government extended the deadline for airports to install new security scanners by a year.The Department for Transport had previously set a target for the introduction of 3D scanners in all UK airports by 1 June, but this has now been extended by 12 months because some major airports will not be ready in time. Continue reading...

Judges have described the Waanyi writer's fourth novel Praiseworthy as a canon-crushing Australian novel for the ages'

Channel Ten presenter and producer could be called as witnesses in Liberal senator's defamation case against Higgins and fiance David Sharaz

Exclusive: YouGov survey indicates loss of support among people in Britain for Israel's war in GazaA majority of voters in Britain back a ban on arms sales to Israel, according to a YouGov poll.One of the first up-to-date assessments of whether Israel is losing public support in key allied states, the research also suggests most people believe the Israeli government is violating human rights in Gaza. Continue reading...

Exclusive: More than 600 prominent lawyers sign letter that calls for end to exports as a measure to prevent' genocideThree former supreme court justices, including the court's former president Lady Hale, are among more than 600 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges warning that the UK government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel.In a letter to the prime minister, the signatories, who also include former court of appeal judges and more than 60 KCs, say that the present situation in Gaza is catastrophic" and that given the international court of justice (ICJ) finding that there is a plausible risk of genocide being committed, the UK is legally obliged to act to prevent it. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he held on to his US residency until 2021 only because he had not got around to revoking itRishi Sunak has insisted he does not want to move to the US and that he kept his green card for years only because returning it was not something I got round to".The prime minister said he had acted in accordance with all the rules" when in possession of a US green card, which he gave up only in 2021, while he was chancellor. Continue reading...

Regulator says energy firms planning payments for another 1,000 customers after reviewing 150,000 forced installationsOnly 1,500 people have been compensated by energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters over the past year, figures show.The regulator Ofgem said that initial information from gas and electricity suppliers show that 1,502 customers had received compensation totalling 342,450. Continue reading...

Founder of charity that lost seven people hits out at IDF as friendly governments decry drone attackIsrael is facing mounting international pressure to justify its conduct in the war in Gaza as the bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a drone attack were repatriated to their families.Seven members of World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed when a drone repeatedly hit their convoy of three cars, which were clearly identified as belonging to the charity, after it left an aid warehouse in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Monday night. Continue reading...

Jonathan Kay and Mick Greenhough made derogatory remarks about Muslims and black people on social mediaReform UK has dropped two more parliamentary candidates after accusations they made racist comments on social media.Campaign group Hope Not Hate found tweets by candidates Jonathan Kay and Mick Greenhough in which they made derogatory comments about Muslims and black people. Continue reading...

Author's comments on Monday relating to trans women were posted as new hate crime law came into force in ScotlandComments by JK Rowling that described prominent transgender women activists as men" will not be recorded as a non-crime hate incident, Police Scotland has said.The Harry Potter author challenged police to arrest her in a series of posts on X on Monday as the Scottish government's contentious hate crime law came into force, which she described as wide open to abuse". She listed sex offenders who had described themselves as transgender alongside well-known trans women activists, describing them as men, every last one of them". Continue reading...

Justin Trudeau says allegations extremely troubling' after officers arrested First Nations men and confiscated their boots and phonesTwo First Nations fishermen have said they were forced to walk shoeless for hours in the dark and cold after Canadian federal officers seized their boots and phones.Prime minister Justin Trudeau said the allegations were extremely troubling" amid mounting anger over the treatment of the Mi'kmaw fishermen, whose ordeal has prompted comparisons with the notorious starlight tours" in which the police routinely abandoned Indigenous people in the bitter cold. Continue reading...

Searches being carried out in Rowdown Fields after discovery on Tuesday morningPolice have launched a murder investigation after human remains were discovered in a park in south London.The Metropolitan police consulted a forensic anthropologist, who confirmed that the remains were human and came from one victim. Continue reading...

Footage showing former president spent two nights apparently hiding from potential arrest at mission was leaked to mediaThe Hungarian embassy in Brasilia has reportedly fired two Brazilian employees after the leaking of security footage that revealed how Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro had spent two nights hiding" inside the mission.According to the network CNN Brasil, the sackings were punishment for the embarrassing leak to the New York Times which prompted a political outcry in Brazil and calls for Bolsonaro's arrest. Continue reading...

Organisers of Yorkshire's biggest LGBTQ+ festival cut ties over alleged racist comments' made by businessman about Diane AbbottThe health tech company owned by Conservative party donor Frank Hester has been dropped as a sponsor from Leeds Pride after his remarks about Diane Abbott were widely condemned as racist and misogynistic.Last month, the Guardian revealed that during a meeting in 2019 Hester had said Abbott, Britain's first black female MP, made you want to hate all black women" and that she should be shot". These comments are now the subject of an investigation by West Yorkshire police. Continue reading...

CEO Bob Iger says defeat of Nelson Peltz campaign will allow company to focus on growth and value creation' for shareholdersDisney saw off a boardroom coup on Wednesday, defeating a bid by one of corporate America's most renowned activist investors to overhaul its management.The entertainment giant announced at its annual shareholder meeting that it had secured enough votes by a substantial margin" to defeat a campaign launched by the billionaire Nelson Peltz, who has spent months demanding change at the Magic Kingdom and excoriating its top executives. Continue reading...

ONS figures suggest 9.7 million people are waiting for hospital appointment or treatmentAlmost 10 million people across England could be waiting for an NHS appointment or treatment, 2 million more than previously estimated, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.The ONS survey of about 90,000 adults found that 21% of patients were waiting for a hospital appointment or to start receiving treatment on the NHS. Continue reading...

The deaths of seven aid workers add credence to allegations by observers that commanders on the ground in Gaza may do as they please'The killing of seven foreign aid workers by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza has once again raised serious questions about the IDF's opaque and highly permissive rules of engagement, whether those rules are enforced, and how willing it is to investigate breaches.Put simply, rules of engagement define how and in what circumstances it is permissible to use force, including lethal violence, during operations, and at what potential risk to civilians. Continue reading...

Death toll includes three hikers and a van driver; at least 70 people trapped in rock quarries in Hualien, fire agency says

YouGov polling suggests Conservative party could face worse result at general election than it suffered in 1997 under John MajorDelegates at the National Education Union's annual conference in Bournemouth have voted for a motion saying Ofsted should be abolished. Commenting on the result, Daniel Kebede, the union's general secretary, said:NEU members have made their feelings very clear: Ofsted causes more harm than good and we need urgent and fundamental reform. The profession can be trusted to do their jobs effectively without a punitive, high-stakes system to keep them in line.We've always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to. There are a set of rules regulations and procedures that we'll always follow.And I've been consistently clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that whilst of course we defend Israel's right to defend itself and its people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with humanitarian law, protect civilian lives, get more aid into Gaza.I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and I was very clear with him that the situation is increasingly intolerable and what we urgently need to see is a thorough, transparent investigation into what happened.But also a dramatic increase in the amount of aid getting into Gaza, removing the barriers. Continue reading...

George Chalmers charged after body of Ruth Baker, 48, found at property in Beeston on Saturday afternoonA 53-year-old man has appeared in court accused of murdering a woman in Leeds over the Easter weekend.Emergency services were called to a property in Beeston, a suburb of Leeds, at just after 1pm on Saturday and discovered the body of a woman. Continue reading...

Tunnel under construction found near La Sante prison does not appear to be part of an escape plan, local official saysA mysterious tunnel under construction has been discovered near a prison in southern Paris during routine electrical works, although police sources said it did not appear to be part of an escape plan.The discovery was made on Tuesday by a technician from Enedis, which manages the electricity distribution network in France, who was working in a well for electrical connections" about 450 metres from La Sante prison, a police source said. Continue reading...

Allies will plan for greater Nato role in coordinating security assistance and training', says Nato secretary generalThey have become a familiar sight in the skies above parts of Russia: long-range enemy drones, buzzing their way to another target.In the biggest Ukrainian onslaught inside Russian territory since Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion two years ago, Ukraine has in recent weeks carried out a series of attacks on Russian oil refineries and ports. On Tuesday, it hit a refinery and drone factory in the industrial region of Tatarstan - more than 800 miles from the border.Allied support to Ukraine is a fraction of the resources needed for deterrence and defence of North Atlantic area and yet the successful defence of Ukraine greatly impacts the overall cost of Nato's defence.Serious long-term support of Ukraine requires predictable, equitable and robust allocation of resources. Continue reading...

Trust in charge of Bournville, designed by the Cadbury family, considers legal action over new infrastructureBuilt as a model village on the outskirts of Birmingham and home to many of the Cadbury factory workers, Bournville has for over a century been subject to strict planning laws to preserve its picturesque charm.But in recent months, more than 100 large telegraph poles have suddenly appeared on its streets which residents describe as eyesores that are ruining the charm of the area designed by the Cadbury family. Continue reading...

If draft brought forward by Pakistan is adopted, it would mark the first time that the UN's top rights body has taken a position on the war in Gaza

David Stansbury cleared of three counts of rape of a vulnerable woman in 2009 that were reported to police in 2020A police sergeant has been found not guilty of raping a vulnerable woman after going to her home to take a statement after a domestic incident.David Stansbury, 43, who was a Devon and Cornwall officer at the time, was accused of attacking the woman on three occasions in Plymouth 2009 and telling her: I am the law." Continue reading...

Supreme court of British Indian Ocean Territory rules in favour of Tamil asylum seekers on islandFive children stranded on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean since October 2021 have won a case to be protected from harm in the same way as British children.The supreme court of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), sitting remotely in London, has ruled in favour of some of the Tamil asylum seekers on the island including the five children and found that the key protections in the UK's Children Act apply to the children on the island. Continue reading...

Government faces judicial review over its assessments of whether Israel is breaking international law in Gaza

Leader Ed Davey calls for swift action to suspend arms exports to Israel after seven aid workers killed in Gaza