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Devastating focus on separatism means public services have been run down, minister tells Tory activists in AberdeenMichael Gove has accused the Scottish National party government of running down Scotland because of its devastating" obsession with independence, as he tried to rally Conservative activists in Aberdeen.Gove, an Aberdonian who is now the most prominent Scot in the UK government, said Scotland's institutions had been neglected by the SNP because it had focused so heavily on the constitution at the expense of public services. Continue reading...

Her clothes weren't so much outfits as living tableaux. She left the house each day dressed as a picture of joyWhere to begin. The lessons in how to dress, or the lessons in how to live? Iris Apfel's 102 years were a masterclass in both.Really, of course, there's no debate. We start with the clothes, because the clothes are entirely unignorable. Not so much outfits, as living tableaux. A coat of gold-tipped duck feathers topped with a lei of turquoise pebbles at the neck. Embroidered Indian silk tunics with fringed suede trousers. Fuchsia satin boots and a banana-yellow tulle cape. Bangles stacked to the elbow, a slash of lipstick bright as apricot jam, those delicate, bird-like knuckles dusted with a clatter of sweetie-toned cocktail rings. Continue reading...

Federal prosecutors charged Robert Rundo in 2018 for rioting, a judge threw out the case last week - and another reinstated itThe violent neo-Nazi Robert Rundo thought he'd won freedom last week after a US district court judge in California threw out a federal indictment against the white-nationalist militant, arguing prosecutors selectively went after him and did not put far-leftist protesters through the same treatment.Fewer than 12 hours later, Rundo found himself in jail again on the order of appellate judges from the ninth circuit. Continue reading...

Archaeologists fear more than 2,000 carved figures in Vingen could be destroyed when digging beginsOne of the largest and most significant sites of rock art in northern Europe is under catastrophic" threat.The Vingen carvings, in Vestland county, Norway, are spectacular, and include images of human skeletons and abstract and geometric designs. Even the hammer stones, the tools used by the ancient artists to create their compositions, have survived. Continue reading...

Governments said to be dragging their feet' in handing over evidence relating to death of Dag HammarskjoldThe US and UK have been accused by university researchers of obstructing a United Nations inquiry into the 1961 plane crash that killed the UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjold.A conference in London heard an update from the UN assistant secretary general for legal affairs, Stephen Mathias, on progress in the inquiry, which is seeking archive documentation from member states. Continue reading...

Navalny's mother visits dissident's grave day after thousands attended funeral in Moscow; three killed and eight injured after Russian drone attack on apartment block in southern port city, authorities sayThe German defence ministry is checking whether a confidential videoconference on the Ukraine war had been wiretapped after a recording was posted on Russian social media, in a potentially huge embarrassment for Berlin.The head of Russia's state-backed RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, on Friday posted a 38-minute audio recording of what she claimed were German army officers discussing striking Crimea. Continue reading...

A lecturer doing his PhD on a British Council scholarship in York is frightened for his wife and two small children who are under Israeli bombardmentWhen Bassem Abudagga heard in 2022 that he had won a British Council scholarship to do his PhD in Britain, he was elated. I was so proud," he recalls. It is what every academic in Palestine hopes for: to gain a qualification from the UK.It felt like a turning point for my career, my future, my family. It would shift my prospects to a completely different place." Continue reading...

Legal adviser to pro-Palestinian protesters was taken to hospital by passersby after the incident on Westminster Bridge in LondonA 71-year-old legal observer has accused a group of police officers of deliberately knocking her over and leaving her bloodied and unconscious on the ground during a Gaza ceasefire protest in London.Lesley Wertheimer - who was wearing a hi-vis bib with legal observer" printed on the back - crashed face down into the road when a phalanx of about 30 police officers ran towards Westminster Bridge during the first pro-Palestine demonstration of 2024. Continue reading...

Other mourners lay flowers as police maintain presence at cemetery where opposition leader was buried

Policy blueprint to be set out for year ahead and big personnel changes may be announcedThousands of delegates are due to arrive in Beijing this weekend for China's most high-profile political gathering, a closely observed series of meetings that will lay out the government's policy blueprint for the year ahead.The event, known as the two sessions", begins on Monday as China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC) convenes alongside a separate but parallel meeting of the country's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Continue reading...

Alert says there could be tricky driving conditions in a few places' after unexpectedly cold overnight temperaturesAn unexpected cold snap has prompted the Met Office to issue a yellow weather warning after snow fell across parts of the west of England.The warning covered an area from south of Bristol to north of Worcester, and extends to Hereford to the west and Swindon to the east. Continue reading...

Organiser suggests PM consider own MPs' behaviour after speech about rise in extremist disruption'Pro-Palestine protests are to continue across the UK on Saturday after Rishi Sunak's warning that democracy was being targeted by extremists".In an address to the nation on Friday, the prime minister spoke about forces here at home trying to tear us apart", in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks by Hamas against Israel. Continue reading...

Fashion personality who found fame in her 80s went from copywriter at Women's Wear Daily to design authority whose projects included the White House

In London, Tube and bus fares are being frozen and prices reduced during rush hour and on FridaysRail fares in England and Wales will rise by 4.9% on Sunday, adding hundreds of pounds to annual travel costs for many commuters.Campaigners said passengers would be rightly angry" at the latest increase, above the current inflation rate of 4%, despite the government arguing that it had made a significant intervention to keep the fare rise down. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Party's proposals come after Elish Angiolini's report into Wayne Couzens' murder of Sarah EverardA Labour government would order every police officer in England and Wales to undergo compulsory training on combating violence against women and girls, the Guardian has learned.The plans are being drawn up by the party and come in the wake of the shock waves from Elish Angiolini's report on Thursday into the Wayne Couzens scandal after his murder of Sarah Everard while serving in the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

Calls for independent inquiry as UN team visiting the wounded in Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital report seeing large number of gunshot wounds'Israel is facing growing international pressure for an investigation after more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza were killed when desperate crowds gathered around aid trucks and Israeli troops opened fire on Thursday.Israel said people died in a crush or were run over by aid lorries although it admitted its troops had opened fire on what it called a mob". But the head of a hospital in Gaza said 80% of injured people brought in had gunshot wounds. Continue reading...

Notion of Muslim-controlled areas unsafe for white people has been promoted by rightwingers since the early 2000sThe claim by a former government minister earlier this week that parts of London and Birmingham with large Muslim populations are no-go areas" has highlighted the enduring myth that there are UK neighbourhoods and towns unsafe for white people.Paul Scully, the MP for Sutton and Cheam in Greater London, later retracted his suggestion that Tower Hamlets and Sparkhill were unsafe for non-Muslims to enter, made during a BBC interview about allegations of anti-Muslim sentiments within the Conservative party. But he also defended invoking the Islamophobic trope on the grounds that people told him they perceived there to be a threat. Continue reading...

It was only two weeks ago that the founder of Timor-Leste's own pride march learned he and 10 others were coming to Australia

Decision to airdrop supplies suggests Biden has given up on being able to persuade Israel to coordinate ground-based reliefThe US will start airdrops of food and emergency supplies into Gaza in the next few days, Joe Biden has announced, amid UN warnings of famine and after Israeli troops opened fire on Gazans seeking food aid.The use of airdrops is a spectacular but inefficient way of delivering aid, and Friday's announcement suggests that Biden had given up on being able to persuade Israel in the near future to coordinate a large-scale ground-based relief effort under the threat of mass starvation across Gaza. Continue reading...

Set up to honour the Australian national team cyclist killed by a car, the group was behind the successful A Metre Matters campaign

Extending polling hours fails to boost turnout beyond previous low from 2020 election, strengthening claims people are rejecting the regime by staying at homePolling closed in Iran's parliamentary elections on Friday night, with officials claiming the nationwide turnout was a record low of 40.6%.After 10 hours of voting, turnout had stood at only 27%, and in Tehran it was just 12% after eight hours, before the polls were unexpectedly kept open for an extra two hours. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The former PM has been enlisted to front a social media campaign to help Labor hold the Victorian seat

The recording forms part of the territory's appeal of over $1m in compensation awarded to four teenage inmates

Letter aims to bring public anger over 30,000 deaths of Palestinians in Gaza into heart of parliamentsMore than 200 MPs from 12 countries have committed themselves to trying to persuade their governments to impose a ban on arms sales to Israel, arguing they will not be complicit in Israel's grave violation of international law" in its assault on Gaza.The letter, organised by Progressive International, a network of socialist MPs and activists focused on international justice, is seen as the best practical measure possible to bring public anger over the 30,000 deaths of Palestinians in Gaza into the heart of parliaments, where calls for an immediate unconditional ceasefire have so far fallen on deaf ears or been rejected by national governments. Continue reading...

Aileen Cannon says schedule submitted by prosecutors unrealistic' as Trump lawyers push for delay in Mar-a-Lago case

PM condemns shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality' in wake of Gaza war, in sometimes rambling addressRishi Sunak has claimed extremist groups in the UK are trying to tear us apart", in a hastily arranged Downing Street statement that came hours after George Galloway won a byelection in Rochdale.Standing outside No 10 late on Friday, the prime minister condemned what he called a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality" after the 7 October massacre by Hamas and the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Continue reading...

Activitists had used hammers and chisels to cause many thousands of pounds' of damage to the bank's offices in LondonFive climate change activists have been convicted of smashing a glass revolving door at JP Morgan's European headquarters after a judge said their beliefs did not afford them a defence".Stephanie Aylett, 29, Pamela Bellinger, 66, Amy Pritchard, 38, Adelheid Russenberger, 32 and Rosemary Webster, 66, used hammers and chisels to cause many thousands of pounds" of damage during the Extinction Rebellion protest. Continue reading...

Allegations against 12 employees led major donors to suspend funding to UN Palestinian agency despite hunger crisis in GazaA month after Israeli allegations that a dozen United Nations staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas attack, UN investigators have yet to receive any evidence from Israel to support the claims, though they expect some material to be forthcoming shortly".The allegations against the 12 employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) led 16 major donors to suspend contributions totalling $450m at a time when more than 2 million Gazans are facing famine. UNRWA says it is approaching breaking point" and only has sufficient funds to continue functioning for the next month at most. Continue reading...

After Tristin Kate Smith died by suicide, her letter detailing her work struggles went viral, highlighting a broader crisisAll Tristin Kate Smith ever wanted to do was help people. As a high school student, she enrolled in a neighboring school district in order to help older adults in nursing homes.But bit by bit, life as an emergency nurse for the 28-year-old Ohio native deteriorated.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Western diplomats attend as chanting crowd pays tribute to opposition leader who died in Arctic penal colony Alexei Navalny funeral - latest updates Funeral of Alexei Navalny - in picturesDefying the Kremlin's warning of arrests, thousands of mourners have gathered in Moscow to bid farewell to the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, two weeks after Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic died in an Arctic prison.Crowds of people chanted Putin is a murderer" and No to war" as they marched, under heavy police presence, to the Borisovsky cemetery where Navalny, 47, was lowered into the ground on Friday to the strains of Frank Sinatra's My Way. Continue reading...

PM gives speech saying extremist groups are a growing threat to British democracyThe Liberal Democrat leader has, in effect, accused Rishi Sunak of hypocrisy, saying the prime minister's promotion of some Conservative MPs who have made controversial remarks has sowed the seeds of division for years".The British people will take no lessons from a prime minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years," said Sir Ed Davey. This is the same prime minister who made Suella Braverman his home secretary and Lee Anderson his party's deputy chairman. Continue reading...

Change in guidelines comes as Covid dropped from third leading cause of death at start of pandemic to 10th last yearAmericans who test positive for Covid-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, US health officials announced on Friday.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its longstanding guidance, saying that people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and it has been a day since they have had a fever. Continue reading...

London ambulance emergency crews were called at around 5pm on Friday to the incident in ClaphamThree people have been injured in Clapham, south London, London ambulance service said, after reports of a shooting incident.Emergency crews were called about 5pm on Friday to the incident in Clapham Common South Side, the service said. Continue reading...

Government wants to make life easier for working people, he says at Scottish Tory conferenceRishi Sunak has issued a strong hint that there could be further cuts in national insurance rates in next week's budget.The prime minister told reporters gathered at the Scottish Tory conference in Aberdeen on Friday that he wanted to make life easier for working people across the UK, particularly at a time when the Scottish National party government was raising income taxes from April for anyone in Scotland earning above 28,850. Continue reading...

Eight in 10 nationally get first choice of school while capital's falling numbers are likely to squeeze budgetsLondon's secondary schools are following primaries in being hit by an outflow of families from the capital, with 4,000 fewer children applying to start in September.Admissions figures released on national offer day in England also show that 70% of families in London received their first choice of school, compared with more than 80% nationally. Continue reading...

Kevin Monahan fired a gun at a group of cars that had pulled into his driveway to turn around, killing Kaylin GillisA man who fatally shot a 20-year-old woman after the SUV she was riding in mistakenly was driven into his rural driveway in upstate New York was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison.Kevin Monahan, 66, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death last April of Kaylin Gillis. She was riding in a group of two cars and a motorcycle that was trying to leave the property after the drivers became lost on their way to a party and pulled into Monahan's long, winding driveway in the dark. Continue reading...

Gun was near body of Lady Gabriella Kingston's husband in outbuilding at his parents' home, coroner's court hearsThomas Kingston, the husband of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent's daughter, Lady Gabriella Kingston, died from a traumatic head wound" and a gun was found near his body, an inquest has heard.Kingston, who married the king's second cousin in 2019, was found dead in an outbuilding at his parents' home in the Cotswolds last week, the inquest was told as it opened at Gloucestershire coroner's court on Friday. Continue reading...

Photograph of cabinet auctioned for 110,000 at fundraising event while stay in Caribbean beach house fetches 50,000A Conservative donor paid 25,000 on Thursday night for a multi-course Japanese dinner with the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, as part of an annual ball that raised more than 200,000 for the party, the Guardian has learned.The unknown bidder won the exclusive dinner for themselves and three other people during the event at the five-star Raffles hotel in Westminster, which was attended by Rishi Sunak and several of his cabinet ministers. Continue reading...

Labour leader says Galloway only won because Labour did not stand' but says it was right to withdraw candidate

Joshua Jacques, 29, murdered Samantha Drummonds and three of her family at their home in 2022A man who claimed he stabbed his girlfriend and three of her family members as a sacrifice" has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 46 years for their murders.Joshua Jacques, 29, had consumed drugs and alcohol when he attacked Samantha Drummonds and her family with a knife in their home in south London in April 2022, the Old Bailey heard. Continue reading...

Comments by foreign minister Annalena Baerbock follow interventions by France and US after 112 Palestinians killed. This live blog is now closed

Most of George Gascon's opponents have promised to reverse much of his agenda for a referendum on reform'George Gascon, the Los Angeles district attorney (LADA), is facing 11 challengers in a high-stakes primary next week that advocates for criminal justice reform across the US will be watching.Gascon was elected to oversee the US's largest district attorney's office in 2020, ousting a longtime incumbent after pledging to prioritize police accountability and undo harms of mass incarceration. His win, on the heels of protests of George Floyd's murder, established him as one of the most prominent progressive prosecutors in the US. Continue reading...

Emma Walmsley's deal, with a high share bonus payout, makes her one of the highest-paid CEOs in the FTSE 100The annual pay package of the boss of GlaxoSmithKline, Emma Walmsley, has jumped by 50% to 12.7m, mainly because of a higher share bonus payout reflecting the British drugmaker's improved performance.Walmsley's huge pay rise makes her one of the highest-paid executives in the FTSE 100 index of Britain's leading shares, a week after it emerged her counterpart at Britain's biggest pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, received a 16.9m pay package last year and is in line for an even higher package, 18.6m, this year. Continue reading...

Fourth increase in two years will also apply to second class when new prices come into effect on 2 AprilThe cost of first and second-class stamps is to go up again next month, after Royal Mail announced price rises of 10p a letter.The fourth increase in two years will take the price of a first-class stamp to 1.35 and the cost of the second-class service to 85p and will come into effect on 2 April. Continue reading...

Rochdale byelection loss will shake MPs in seats with big Muslim populations, says Compass director

Judge rules levelling up secretary's move to halt plan to raze and redevelop store is unlawful

People at public meeting raise concerns that sculpture in cathedral grounds will attract tourists taking selfiesThe idea was to celebrate one of the greatest British authors with a beautiful statue set up in a cathedral for the 250th anniversary of their birth.But at a public meeting to discuss the erection of a Jane Austen sculpture close to her final resting place at Winchester Cathedral, concerns were raised that it would lead to the Disneyfication" of the place of worship and become a magnet for tourists keen to get a selfie. Continue reading...

Average cost of a home increased to 260,420 in February, up by 1.2% on a year earlier, says Nationwide

Don Gorske, 70, becomes one of Guinness World Records' longest-running holders with intake of two McDonald's burgers a dayDon Gorske did not have many people betting on him to live into his 70s with his half-century-old habit of eating Big Mac hamburgers daily.But cutting down his intake of the famous McDonald's burgers to two a day (rather than his previous high of nine), skipping fries with his meals and walking six miles daily for exercise has not only helped him become a septuagenarian - it has also allowed him to extend his Guinness world record for most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime to more than 34,000. Continue reading...

Report accused Hideo Kojima of inappropriate touching and patting female workers on their headsA Japanese mayor facing 99 allegations of sexual harassment has resigned after he denied some cases and wept at a press conference.An official investigation accused Hideo Kojima, the mayor of a town in the central Gifu region, of several incidents of harassment, including touching a colleague's breasts and buttocks. Continue reading...