World news | The Guardian

Pirates, kings and kidnappers feature in songs on website showcasing origins of modern music industryThe music industry was hungry for hits and churned out songs in their thousands - love songs, sad songs, jokey songs, patriotic songs.There were songs about servants and kings, beggars and pirates, kidnappers and ghosts. There were songs about bloody battles and agonising deaths. There was a song about a Scot incinerated by a divine thunderbolt because he tried to seduce his sister. Continue reading...

Musicians are finding that selling their records at gigs is no longer an afterthought, but is providing a crucial revenue streamAs soon as Roxanne de Bastion comes off stage, there is one thing on her mind - getting down to run her merchandise stall.The quicker the better - sometimes it feels a bit like those scenes in Spinal Tap, rushing down corridors to find how to get there," said the singer-songwriter, whose latest album was produced by the former Suede guitarist, Bernard Butler. On a recent tour, selling copies of You & Me, We Are the Same afterwards was the difference between making a loss and being able to pay my rent for three months". Continue reading...

The East End battle of 1936, when the community united to force back Oswald Mosley's fascist forces, has inspired two theatre productionsOn a Sunday afternoon in October 1936, Ubby Cowan, a 19-year-old Jewish tailor, put on his prized new Max Baer-style jacket that he had saved hard for and went to fight Oswald Mosley's fascist forces in London's East End.The battle of Cable Street ended in victory for the coalition of Jews, Irish dockers, trade unions, communists and other anti-racists who insisted that the British Union of Fascists, protected by thousands of police, shall not pass". Cowan ended the day covered in blood, with his precious jacket in shreds after he was kicked through a shop window by a police horse. Continue reading...

Antonio Guterres says loss of funding from US and others means aid into Gaza for whole of this month cannot be guaranteed

Kemi Badenoch says issues at Post Office go beyond Horizon scandal, after Harry Staunton removedKemi Badenoch has suggested there could be a wider shake-up at the Post Office over the Horizon scandal and other problems, after she asked its chair to leave at the weekend.The business secretary said she had needed to intervene as there were difficulties with the board" at the Post Office when asked about Henry Staunton's departure. Continue reading...

Business secretary says it would be wrong to replace Sunak as party leader on the basis of poor pollingKemi Badenoch has hit out at Conservative plotters for stirring" by suggesting she could replace Rishi Sunak, saying prime ministers cannot be treated as disposable".The business secretary, who consistently comes out as the favourite cabinet minister in polls of Tory members, said it would be wrong to get rid of Sunak on the basis of unpopularity or poor polling. Continue reading...

Legislation will further erode differences between legal systems of Hong Kong and mainlandA new law giving Chinese courts the authority to enforce rulings in commercial disputes in Hong Kong comes into effect on Monday, further reducing the barriers between the Hong Kong and Chinese legal systems.The law puts into effect an agreement signed between China's supreme people's court and the government of Hong Kong in 2019 and is designed to reduce the need for re-litigation in civil and commercial disputes, in cases where there is a connection to mainland China. Continue reading...

Family pays tribute to visionary' who changed the lives of so many people' through his building projects and donationsBillionaire Sydney property developer Lang Walker AO has died, aged 78.In a statement released on Sunday, his family hailed Walker as a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather" and visionary" who shaped postwar Australia with his expansive builds. Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt targets further reduction in jobs tax' in March budgetThe government is considering handing workers another tax cut with a further reduction in national insurance, amid desperate attempts to move on from a campaign to destabilise Rishi Sunak by the Tory right.With frustration within the cabinet that the Conservative party has been unable to free itself from internal warring over Sunak's immigration plans and leadership, the prime minister and his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, are focusing on the tax cuts that will frame their election pitch. Continue reading...

Gathering of at least 20 black-clad, masked men at Artarmon Reserve follows confrontation with police resulting in six arrests on Friday

Pekka Haavisto, who is second in the opinion polls, is bolstering his campaign with club nights and music from the 60s and 70sAt a packed, dimly lit music venue in Helsinki, an attentive crowd dressed up for a night out sings sweetly along to musicians on stage in front of a kitsch image of a smiling 65-year-old man.While the atmosphere would suggest fun club night rather than political campaign event, it is one of the last appearances of Pekka Haavisto, the man to whom the night is dedicated, before he runs in one of Finland's most high-stakes presidential elections in livingmemory. Continue reading...

Singer told to rest for two weeks, forcing him to cancel gigs in California and Los AngelesThe singer Morrissey is being treated for physical exhaustion" after cancelling a number of dates on his current tour.His tour manager said on Saturday he had been told to rest for two weeks. Continue reading...

Opposition would do better on issues including the economy, health, education, the environment, immigration and crime, public saysMore than twice as many voters believe a Labour government would be better for housing than the Tories, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.The survey shows Labour is well ahead of the Conservatives on most issues including the economy, health, education, the environment, immigration and crime, and level pegging on ones it has traditionally lagged way behind on, including defence. Continue reading...

Vapour created by a stall-holder cooking a large amount of chillies' entered ventilation systemA market in Chester was evacuated on Saturday because of fumes caused by a stall-holder cooking a large amount of chillies".Chester fire and rescue service said vapour from the cooking of a large quantity of chilli oil had entered the market's ventilation system. Continue reading...

Images taken secretly some 80 years ago are being published for the first time to mark International Holocaust Remembrance DayA remarkable series of photographs of Jewish families being forced to leave their homes in Germany in the middle of the second world war has been published for the first time, following a chance discovery.The images are a striking new testament to the sudden upheaval and terror of the Holocaust and were taken secretly by an amateur photographer. He is believed to have wanted to pass down the scenes he was witnessing, despite the risk to himself. They show groups of people gathering outside a restaurant near the railway station in the Silesian city of Breslau, now Wrocaw in Poland. Jewish men, women and children of all ages were held here for a few days before deportation by train. Almost all are certain to have been killed just a few days later in a documented shooting in Lithuania. Others were killed at a later date in Poland. Continue reading...

An official report a year before three people were stabbed to death in the city raised concerns about the force's management practicesNottinghamshire police was ordered to review its management of offenders a year before a wanted man with paranoid schizophrenia stabbed three people to death.A report by the official policing inspectorate in April 2022 said the force should immediately review" their approach to managing low-risk offenders to ensure risk was effectively monitored and managed". Continue reading...

Customers dismayed after cruise ship's time in Hobart cut in half due to port conflicts', but experts say consumer remedies are difficult to obtain

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch tells Henry Staunton he is to be replaced, feeling a need for new leadership'The chair of the Post Office has been dismissed by the government as the state-owned company reels from the Horizon IT scandal.Henry Staunton was this weekend told by the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, that he will be replaced. Continue reading...

A truck and trailer en route to Fort Wayne for a Shriner's event caught fire, prompting a rescue by local law enforcementA truck hauling zebras and camels for a series of weekend circus performances caught fire early on Saturday on a north-eastern Indiana highway, prompting a police rescue of the animals, which roamed along the freeway, some munching on grass.The tractor-trailer caught fire at about 2am along Interstate 69 in Grant county, and a state trooper, a Grant county sheriff's deputy and a third person rescued the five zebras, four camels and a miniature horse by leading them off the smoked-filled trailer, said Sgt Steven Glass with the Indiana state police. Continue reading...

Persistent fears over staffing and funding could lead to promises being broken to parents weeks before likely poll dateRishi Sunak has been warned that he faces a pre-election disaster" over his government's high-profile childcare pledge, amid concerns that many parents will be unable to access the scheme just weeks before they go to the polls.The prime minister has already admitted that practical issues" have hampered the delivery of the free childcare offer, which the government has described as the largest ever expansion of provision. Parents and nurseries have expressed concern about a chaotic situation approaching in April, when all two-year-olds will be eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare. Continue reading...

Unable to match Putin's military might, Ukraine is engaging in smart warfare' to attack the enemy's oil and gas supply linesLast week, a motorist driving in Russia's Leningrad region came across something unusual. Men had blocked off the road. In front, a large olive-green military vehicle with cigar-shaped missiles on the back was reversing and then parked up on a snowy verge. Fuck! It's an S-300," the driver exclaimed, before adding: So guys, let's prepare for the worst."This surreal roadside encounter took place outside St Petersburg, more than 620 miles (about 1,000km) from the border with Ukraine and Russia's near two-year all-out war. The Kremlin's security services were apparently taking no chances. They were deploying the S-300 air defence missile system in order to protect Peter the Great's imperial capital from small but devastating drones. Continue reading...

Senior members of august institution fear being sidelined under progressive' president Bernardine EvaristoFellows of the Royal Society of Literature, an august body founded in London in 1820, seemed poised to stride into the new year on a bold footing, with an inclusive programme of events and a revitalised membership. Its Booker prize-winning president, Bernardine Evaristo, alongside poet Daljit Nagra, chair of the society's leadership council, were promising further modernisation soon.But a major revolt among longer-term fellows is now threatening to destabilise the society. An overdue council meeting of members next month will be forced to address a spate of resignations and a growing number of complaints. Continue reading...

Hundreds of discoveries made on Sir John Franklin's ships, but storm damage makes wrecks increasingly dangerousArchaeologists have made hundreds of new finds on the wreck of HMS Erebus, the ship commanded by Sir John Franklin on his doomed Arctic trip 180 years ago.The team's discoveries include pistols, sealed bottles of medicines, seamen's chests and navigation equipment. These are now being studied for clues to explain the loss of the Erebus and its sister ship Terror, and the deaths of the 129 men who sailed on them. Continue reading...

Authentification technology created by German company Bosch could give paintings unique digital fingerprint'Revolutionary technology invented to identify counterfeit spare parts in the car and aerospace industries has now been adapted to detect counterfeit works of art.The developers of the optical recognition system" claim they have created tamper-proof digital fingerprints" of paintings and sculptures that could, for example, enable museums to spot - within seconds - whether an original work has been swapped with a fake. Continue reading...

Sean Kirkpatrick, the first director of the all-domain anomaly resolution office, blames core group' of government workersConspiracy theorists working for and within the US government are perpetuating myths about UFOs that millions of taxpayer dollars are then spent looking into, a self-licking ice cream cone", according to the Pentagon's former chief investigator of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).Sean Kirkpatrick made the claim in a podcast this week after stepping down last month as the first director of the defense department's all-domain anomaly resolution office (Aaro). It was set up in 2022 to collate military reports of UAP sightings and to be more transparent about what the government knows. Continue reading...

Southern Co-op chain more likely to install tech in deprived districts', says privacy rights groupFacial recognition cameras installed by a supermarket chain to tackle shoplifting disproportionately target people in poorer areas, according to a privacy rights group.Southern Co-op, which uses Facewatch live recognition cameras in 34 branches, typically has shops in richer-than-average neighbourhoods. But just five of the stores in which it uses Facewatch are in the richest third of neighbourhoods in England, while 14 are in the poorest. Continue reading...

Border regulations require seven-page certificate on meat and dairy productsA lack of vets in Europe could force meat suppliers in the EU to hold back deliveries earmarked for the UK under new post-Brexit rules set to come in this week, experts have warned.The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has concerns that imports may be held back due to a shortage of vet availability in the European Union to carry out checks needed under the new rules. Continue reading...

Department has admitted that it hid the policy due to concerns about former PM's reactionTheresa May is to confront the Home Office after it was found to have kept an appalling" asylum policy secret, amid internal fears that its approach would be attacked by the former prime minister and other senior politicians.In an extraordinary finding, the high court concluded last week that the Home Office had operated a secret policy that affected the asylum rights of at least 1,500 people found to be genuine victims of trafficking and modern slavery. Continue reading...

While some banks and building societies scrap system, others report increase in usage by customersWhile some banks are scrapping passbook savings accounts amid suggestions they are past their sell-by date, other providers have reported an increase in their usage as people turn to cash to help them manage the cost of living.Newcastle building society said that in 2023 it issued about three times as many passbooks as it did in 2021, and that it is getting new customers on the back of decisions by rivals to axe them. Continue reading...

The sale follows Turkey's decision to ratify Sweden's NATO membershipThe Biden administration has announced its approved a $US23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden's Nato membership, the state department said.The state department will now notify Congress of the agreement, as well as of a separate $8.6bn sale of 40 F-35s to Greece. Continue reading...

Women losing everything' after being accused of illegal abortion in England and Wales, even if not charged, says Dr Jonathan LordWomen in England and Wales accused of having illegal abortions have been held in custody after pregnancy loss, had their children taken into care and been saddled with debt, an expert has said.Dr Jonathan Lord, a co-chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) abortion taskforce, said he was aware of up to 30 deeply traumatic" cases where women had been investigated by the police, with some suffering life-changing harm". Continue reading...

Remains of 451 people believed to lie on proposed site of Madrid waste plant - including Bloomsbury poet Julian BellThe children of Montecarmelo are in fine and raucous voice as they pour into the playgrounds that flank the quiet alleys of the Fuencarral municipal cemetery.Equally voluble, if less joyous, are the banners and posters that hang from the balconies, walls and railings of this north Madrid suburb, bellowing their opposition to the city council's plans to build a huge waste management plant and vehicle depot next to the cemetery. Continue reading...

The results fuel concern that the micronation could switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing, as votes continue to be countedThe pro-Taiwan leader of the Pacific islands nation of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, has lost his seat according to partial election results.The vote is being closely watched by Taiwan, China and the United States, amid speculation the micronation could be poised to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Continue reading...

Outages also affecting phone networks and water supplies for about 10,000 Queensland households, premier says, as restoration efforts continue

Missiles could be placed at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk in case of potential war between Nato and RussiaThe US is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years amid a growing threat from Russia, according to a report. Warheads three times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb would be located at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals, the Telegraph reported.The US previously placed nuclear missiles at RAF Lakenheath and removed them in 2008 after the cold war threat from Moscow receded. Pentagon documents seen by the newspaper reveal procurement contracts for a new facility at the airbase. Continue reading...

Individuals deemed unfit for office still walked away with payments from taxpayers, says shadow Cabinet Office ministerLabour has pledged to reform the rules surrounding ministerial redundancy payments after it emerged that the high turnover of cabinet ministers under the past three prime ministers generated a severance bill worth more than 930,000 in the last financial year.Since 1991, sacked ministers under the age of 65 have been able to claim thousands of pounds in redundancy pay as long as they have been out of a ministerial post for at least three weeks. The receive the payments irrespective of how long they have stayed in their latest post, or the circumstances under which they left. Continue reading...

Coroner concluded 14-year-old girl took her life after prolonged and sustained bullying in person and onlineThe father of a 14-year-old girl who killed herself after being bullied has said his family are victims of a failing system" after an inquest into her death.Mia Janin, a year 10 pupil at the Jewish free school in Kenton, north-west London, was found dead at her family home in Harrow on 12 March 2021.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. 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 Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Decorator Matthew Turner stole three watches worth more than 30,000 from Hugh Grosvenor's bedroomA decorator who stole three watches worth more than 30,000 from the Duke of Westminster's home has been told he escaped prison by the skin of your teeth".Matthew Turner, 24, was given a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years, at Chester crown court after admitting the burglary of three watches from Hugh Grosvenor's bedroom while he was doing renovation work at Eaton Hall in August 2022. Continue reading...

Regulators' reports on public interest risk now due on 11 March after late change in consortium's structure prompts further review

National security concerns focus on arm of Vodafone that provides sensitive tech to government departments and agenciesVodafone should be forced to spin off its most sensitive activities in order to quash national security concerns raised by a United Arab Emirates-backed telecoms group swooping on its shares, government officials have told the Guardian.The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, announced on Wednesday that the deal involving Emirates Telecommunications Group building a 14.6% stake in Vodafone presented a national security risk" to the UK due to Vodafone's role as a strategic supplier of services" to government departments, including those which are in support of national security". Continue reading...

Donors close to Boris Johnson and hedge fund boss behind GB News say they had no involvement in pollingConservative donors have been rushing to deny funding polling for a group working to oust Rishi Sunak, as David Frost was warned he could lose the whip if rival party backers were involved.Senior Tory figures are scrambling to figure out the mystery donors behind the Conservative Britain Alliance, which funded a 40,000 poll, fronted by Lord Frost in the Telegraph, that predicted a Labour landslide. Continue reading...

Defend democracy' events were planned for Innsbruck, Salzburg and in front of parliament building in ViennaThousands of Austrians have taken to the streets of the country's three largest cities, in a spillover of protests over the rise of the far right in neighbouring Germany.Under the slogan defend democracy", gatherings organised by a broad alliance of civil society organisations, NGOs, political groups, church communities and trade unions took place in Innsbruck, Salzburg, and in front of the parliament building in Vienna. Continue reading...

Disgraced Tory peer and her husband have had restrictions placed on two properties and 15 bank accountsAssets controlled by Michelle Mone and her husband worth about 75m have been frozen or restrained under a court order obtained by the Crown Prosecution Service.PPE Medpro, a company led by Mone's husband, Doug Barrowman, is under investigation by the National Crime Agency over government contracts awarded during the pandemic for allegedly faulty personal protective equipment. Continue reading...

Monarch admitted to London hospital for scheduled treatment on enlarged prostate, says PalaceThe king has undergone his treatment for an enlarged prostate and is doing well, sources have said.Charles was admitted for treatment on his enlarged prostate on Friday morning at The London Clinic in central London. Later that afternoon, the queen left the hospital, apparently in good spirits; smiling at reporters although declining to answer questions. Continue reading...

Chinese president is one of Putin's closest allies and so participation will be very important', says adviser Igor ZhovkvaHere are some of the latest images coming out of Ukraine:UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, will visit Ukraine, including its capital and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), the week after next, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday. Continue reading...

Coroner says more lives could be lost unless barrier or signs installed at promenade on Felixstowe beachA mobility scooter user died after he fell asleep and drove off a seafront promenade, falling about 5ft on to the sand below.John Gray sustained multiple rib fractures after his mobility scooter drove off the promenade, which had no barrier, at Felixstowe beach in Suffolk. The rib fractures led to respiratory failure and he died at Ipswich hospital four days later on 13 July 2022. Continue reading...

UN agency for Palestinian refugees commissioner general says staff will be held accountable as US pauses funding to UNRWAThe UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees suspected of involvement in the 7 October attacks in Israel by Hamas, and that it had severed ties with those staff members.The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7," said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner general. Continue reading...

BBC says government aware of alleged Post Office plan in 2014 to sack forensic accountants who flagged bugs in IT systemDowning Street has said it is taking seriously reports that Post Office bosses formulated a secret plan with the full knowledge of the government to get rid of forensic accountants who had highlighted the unreliability of the Horizon IT system.Details of the alleged decision are included in minutes from two 2014 meetings, according the BBC, prompting campaigners to accuse the Post Office of a total cover-up". Continue reading...

Judge says UN-backed proposals to tackle gangs in Caribbean country contravene Kenya's constitutionKenya's high court has ruled against a government plan to deploy hundreds of police to Haiti to lead a UN-backed multinational mission to fight escalating gang violence in the Caribbean country.Enock Chacha Mwita, the judge who issued the ruling, said: Any decision by any state organ or state officer to deploy police officers to Haiti ... contravenes the constitution and the law and is therefore unconstitutional, illegal and invalid." Continue reading...

Further rationing of already scarce resources will not fix decades of failures, housing groups tell SunakPlans being considered by the government to give UK families higher priority for social housing would force more people into homelessness, Rishi Sunak has been warned.We all deserve safe housing. Regardless of where we are from," the prime minister was told in a joint letter by groups representing councils, housing professionals and charities. Continue reading...