‘To see this at the heart of government planning is an overwhelming relief,’ Energy Council says, while investors warn of impact from US energy package
Agreement includes a 10% salary increase and a one-off lump sum of £500 for all CWU-grade employeesRoyal Mail has agreed to a pay deal with the postal workers’ union to end a long-running and bitter dispute that led to the first national strikes since its privatisation a decade ago.The company and the Communication Workers Union, which represents about 115,000 postal workers, said they had reached a deal, following 18 strike dates last year including in the run-up to Christmas. They reached an agreement in principle last weekend after 11 months of negotiations in the dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Continue reading...
In a move that restores reciprocity to rights of expats, about 380,000 New Zealanders living in Australia will no longer have to become permanent residents firstAbout 380,000 New Zealanders will gain the right to apply for Australian citizenship without becoming permanent residents first, under sweeping changes restoring reciprocity to the rights of expats of the two countries.On Saturday the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, and immigration minister, Andrew Giles, will announce the changes ahead of a visit by New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins. Continue reading...
Comments indicate extent to which Taiwan is trying to bolster western support before possible invasionTaiwan’s foreign minister has said he is preparing for the possibility of a conflict with China in 2027.Speaking on LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr, Joseph Wu said: “We are taking the Chinese military threat very seriously … I think 2027 is the year that we need to be serious about.” Continue reading...
Headteacher’s suicide has led to calls for reform but chief inspector says one-word grades ‘integral’The family of a headteacher who killed herself have labelled Ofsted’s proposed changes to its school inspection regime “totally inadequate” and accused it of being deaf to calls for meaningful reform.Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, has offered a series of changes including greater support for school leaders undergoing inspections, after the death of Ruth Perry, whose family said killed herself after a critical Ofsted inspection. Continue reading...
by Jason Burke and Zeinab Mohammed Salih in Khartoum on (#6B0QD)
The most sought-after addresses in Sudan’s capital city are now so dangerous that residents cannot wait to fleeOn one street is a small cafe where diplomats, successful businesspeople and visiting dignitaries enjoyed smoothies and burgers under umbrellas set against the blistering sun. On another is a showroom for custom-designed kitchens imported from Europe, a once well stocked pharmacy and a fast-food joint. Down dusty potholed roads, there are villas behind high walls and apartment blocks where chandeliers hang above shining marble stairways.These central Khartoum neighbourhoods, once the most sought-after addresses in Sudan’s capital city, are now so dangerous that residents cannot wait to flee. For almost a week, they have been the stage for a brutal power struggle, shattered by shelling, grenades and automatic rifle fire that trapped tens of thousands in their homes. Continue reading...
by Presented by Nosheen Iqbal with Sean Ingle and Dam on (#6B0NW)
High-profile protests at the Grand National and the World Snooker Championships made headlines around the country; the London Marathon could be next. Sean Ingle and Damien Gayle report on what sporting stunts can achieve – and whether the authorities can stop themIt began with a protest at Britain’s biggest horse racing event. Members of the activist group Animal Rising scaled the fences at Aintree and attempted to stop the Grand National. As stewards and fans intervened, the protest managed only to delay the race for 14 minutes. As if to help prove the protesters’ point, one of the horses in the race was killed in a fall.As chief sports reporter Sean Ingle tells Nosheen Iqbal, it was followed just days later by a stunt by another activist group. This time the target was the World Snooker Championship; play was postponed when a Just Stop Oil protester managed to clamber on to the the snooker table and launch an orange powder bomb over proceedings. This weekend, all eyes will be on the London Marathon. Continue reading...
Foreign secretary cancelled plans in Samoa and New Zealand due to crisis in Sudan, his office saidThe British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has skipped planned meetings to New Zealand and Samoa to focus on coordinating the UK’s response to the crisis in Sudan.Cleverly had been scheduled to join the New Zealand foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, in Samoa on Wednesday for a series of trilateral meetings with the Samoan government, and then travel on with Mahuta to New Zealand. Continue reading...
The cargo was reported missing on Monday after arriving on an aircraft early in the evening, police sayPolice in Canada are investigating a brazen heist of nearly C$20m (US$14.8m) in gold and other “high value” items at Toronto’s Pearson airport.On Thursday evening, Peel Regional Police said the gold and other goods were stolen on Monday after containers were offloaded from an aircraft. Continue reading...
Military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of RSF both rule out truceUp to 20,000 people have fled the escalating violence in Sudan to seek safety in neighbouring Chad, many of whom lack basic needs such as food, water and shelter, the United Nations has said.The UN’s refugee agency said the majority of those arriving were women and children, who were currently sheltering out in the open, some of whom had been caught up in the fighting that has raged around the country for six days. Continue reading...
Huge increase in fraud accompanies record number of UK live entertainment tickets sold in 2022Concert ticket scams have soared by more than 500% over the last year, with those defrauded losing an average of £110, as criminals target fans of leading acts including Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi.The UK’s live music industry has bounced back after the pandemic, but gig-goers have been warned to be on their guard against ticket scams, particularly as the festival season prepares to kick off. Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent on (#6B0B7)
Former minister from ruling BJP party among Hindus acquitted of killings in city of AhmedabadAn Indian court has acquitted 69 Hindus, including a former minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), of the murder of 11 Muslims during communal riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002.The case related to the deaths of 11 Muslims who were killed after their homes in the city of Ahmedabad were set alight by Hindu mobs who rampaged through the streets during communal riots that took place in February 2002. According to an investigation into the attack afterwards, “there was no police help received by the Muslims and they were simply at the mercy of the miscreants”. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6AZXX)
Concert to be charged fee after using music by performer Earl Okin – even though Okin says he does not want the moneyA charity concert in aid of needy musicians starring Dame Evelyn Glennie and the BBC Radio 4 announcer Zeb Soanes has been hit by an “embarrassing” copyright row over six minutes of suggestive comedy jazz.The event at Cadogan Hall in London on 1 April mostly featured humorous arrangements of out-of-copyright classical works, and was intended to raise money for the Help Musicians charity. Continue reading...
The US is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its base in Djibouti if factional violence continues, officials sayThe US is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its base in Djibouti in case of an eventual evacuation from Sudan, US officials said on Thursday, as fresh gunfire erupted and the latest of several ceasefires broke down.Planning for the deployments to Camp Lemmonier in Djibouti got under way in earnest on Monday after a US embassy convoy was attacked in Khartoum. Continue reading...
Pair who play Doctor and companion don 60s-style outfits in photos from upcoming seriesThe first images of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson travelling back to the 1960s in Doctor Who have been released by the BBC.Gatwa, a star of Sex Education, will play the Doctor, with Gibson, a Coronation Street actor, as his companion in a new series of the science fiction show. Continue reading...
Lily Savage wig, dog-shaped wreath and music from Annie feature at funeral of entertainer, who died last monthHundreds of people turned out to say farewell to Paul O’Grady on Thursday, including a member of the Rolling Stones.But had the late entertainer been able to attend his own funeral, he may well have ignored Ronnie Wood and gone straight to the labradoodle sitting solemnly in a buggy as the cortege went past – just one of dozens of pups lining his local streets to pay tribute to the biggest dog-lover in showbusiness. Continue reading...
DCI John Caldwell was shot several times at a sports centre in Omagh in FebruaryA senior detective shot by dissident gunmen in Northern Ireland has been discharged from hospital to continue his recovery at home.DCI John Caldwell was shot several times at a sports centre in Omagh in February. He had been putting balls into a car with his young son after coaching a youth sports team when he was targeted. Continue reading...
Foreign secretary says UK should not want to club with Belarus and Russia in rejecting European human rights conventionThe foreign secretary has defied the Tory right by arguing that the UK should remain a signatory of the European convention on human rights (ECHR), as Rishi Sunak caves to demands from hard-right MPs to ignore European court rulings on small boats.James Cleverly said he was “not convinced” that leaving the ECHR was necessary to ensure the immigration system was robust, and that the UK had the clout to push for changes if needed, prompting speculation he may be uncomfortable with the move. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6B033)
Post-arrest interviews with nurse accused of murdering seven babies read to jurors at her trialLucy Letby told police it was “bad luck” that she was present at the deaths of three babies whom she allegedly murdered in two weeks, a court has heard.The nurse said it was a “shock for everybody” when the three infants died in 14 days in June 2015 on the neonatal unit where she worked. Continue reading...
Denham Place in Buckinghamshire being sold by multimillionaire Mike JataniaA 13-bedroom Grade-I listed stately home said to have been used for some James Bond film scenes has been put up for sale with a price tag of £75m – which would make it one of the most expensive properties outside London.Denham Place, which is set in 17 hectares (43 acres) of Buckinghamshire parkland designed by the 18th-century landscape architect Lancelot “Capability” Brown, is being sold by the multimillionaire cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania. Continue reading...
Exclusive: NHS Employers officials claim action on 2 May goes beyond six-month period in which action can be takenThe NHS has launched a legal challenge that could end in the high court to block the second day of an upcoming strike by tens of thousands of nurses.Officials at NHS Employers wrote to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Wednesday saying the union’s plans for a two-day strike were unlawful. Continue reading...
David Boyd, who denies murder, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Nikki and dumping her bodyA man has gone on trial accused of killing a seven-year-old girl more than 30 years ago, and watching as an innocent man was tried for her murder.David Boyd lured Nikki Allan to an abandoned building near her Sunderland home in 1992, where he stabbed her and beat her about the head with a brick, a court heard on Thursday. Continue reading...
Supreme court stands by decision to order elections next month in move that seemingly pits judiciary against governmentThe chief justice of Pakistan’s supreme court has stood by its decision to order elections next month in its most populous province in a move that seemingly pits the judiciary against the country’s government and military establishment.The court has announced elections in Punjab for 14 May after declaring a delay to the vote unconstitutional and rejecting a petition from the defence ministry to instead hold elections simultaneously across the country later amid deteriorating security and economic conditions. Continue reading...
Standing With Giants, created for 40th anniversary, commemorates troops and islanders who diedLifesize silhouetted figures representing the 255 British military personnel and three civilians who lost their lives in the Falklands war have been installed on the parade ground and ramparts at Fort Nelson in Portsmouth.The art installation, Standing With Giants, was created to mark the 40th anniversary of the conflict and its arrival in the Hampshire port is regarded as particularly poignant as so many of the British ships left and returned there. Continue reading...
Money was being handed out to mark end of Ramadan when rebels tried to control crowd, witnesses sayAt least 85 people, many of them children, have died in a crush in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, during a charity handout marking the end of Ramadan.Three businessmen have been arrested over the incident, in which 322 people were injured, 50 of them seriously. Continue reading...
Tom Parker Bowles’s comments will be seen as defending his mother against claims from Prince HarryThe son of Camilla, the queen consort, has defended her against claims she played an “end game” in her relationship with the future king, maintaining she had simply “married the person she loved”.The food writer Tom Parker Bowles said: “I think change happens but I don’t care what anyone says – this wasn’t any sort of end game. She married the person she loved and this is what happened.” Continue reading...
by Martin Belam, Harry Taylor, Guardian staff and age on (#6AZCZ)
Nato chief makes first Kyiv visit since start of full-scale invasion; Denmark and Netherlands to donate 14 Leopard tanks to Ukraine Continue reading...
Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi escorted from 16th-century home amid long-running inheritance disputeA “princess” who was evicted from a villa in Rome that contains the only ceiling fresco ever painted by Caravaggio said she was sorry to experience such “a brutal end to what has been a labour of love”.The US-born Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi was escorted out of the 16th-century Villa Aurora by police on Thursday after receiving an eviction order amid a long-running inheritance dispute with the three sons of her late husband, Nicolò, who was the property’s last owner. Continue reading...
Co-founder says it is ‘near impossible to operate’ without YouTube ad income from viewers in RussiaWestern sanctions are threatening the viability of TV Rain, the main privately run opposition TV channel broadcasting into Russia, one of its co-founders has said.Vera Krichevskaya said the channel was losing between $1m and $1.5m a year in potential revenue from its YouTube platform because sanctions meant it could not monetise adverts viewed by its Russian audience. The lack of advertising revenue leaves the outlet heavily dependent on outside donors to survive. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6AZVQ)
Takeover of frozen fund’s administrator and FCA ruling could filter extra £235m to 300,000 investorsThe administrator of the failed fund run by the former star stockpicker Neil Woodford has agreed to pay up to £235m to help regulators compensate more than 300,000 customers who lost their savings after the fund collapsed.The tentative deal – which will mean investors recover in total approximately 77p to the pound – follows an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority. Continue reading...
Éditions la Fabrique says foreign rights manager Ernest Moret was held for several hours and asked ‘disturbing questions’ about his political opinionsThe French publishing house whose employee was arrested on terror charges on his way to London book fair has said it is “chilling” that he was asked by British detectives about the authors published by his company.Ernest Moret was approached by two plainclothes officers at St Pancras station on Monday evening, after arriving by train from Paris. He was arrested, after six hours of questioning, for alleged obstruction in refusing to disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer. Continue reading...
Firearms officers say they were forced to kill animal after it charged at people near a primary schoolA bull on the loose has been shot dead by police after frightening people near a primary school in Cheshire.Firearms officers in Haslington, Cheshire, say they “didn’t make the decision lightly”, but were forced to kill it while it was on the loose “before anyone was seriously hurt”. Continue reading...
Hack caused major outages for some clients including local councils and ‘potentially accessed public sector data ‘Outsourcing group Capita, which runs crucial services for the NHS and military, has for the first time admitted that hackers accessed potential customer, staff and supplier data during a cyber-attack last month.The company said its investigation into the attack – which caused major IT outages for clients including local councils – found that hackers infiltrated its systems around 22 March, meaning they had around nine days before Capita “interrupted” the breach on 31 March. Continue reading...
High profile male politicians, sports stars and businessmen attended Scottish-themed lunch at National Gallery of Victoria – but not their female counterparts
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