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The Hague issues arrest warrant for Putin for overseeing abduction of Ukrainian children; Russia sustaining up to 1,500 casualties a day Continue reading...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador cites a lack ‘of hugs and embraces’ for 70,000 annual overdose deaths attributed to synthetic opioidMexico’s president has said that US families were to blame for the fentanyl overdose crisis because they don’t hug their kids enough.The comment by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador caps a week of provocative statements from him about the crisis caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid trafficked by Mexican cartels that has been blamed for about 70,000 overdose deaths per year in the United States. Continue reading...

Russian president accused of ‘unlawful deportation’ of children ‘from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation’

Supporters of the invasion of Ukraine are portraying the court’s decision as a sign of western antagonism to RussiaThe international criminal court’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin will probably be portrayed as a point of no return in Russia, where the Kremlin will spin the court’s decision as proof that the west is seeking nothing short of regime change.While Putin has already been preparing his public for a long war, the arrest warrant will for the first time raise the concrete possibility that Russia’s leaders and other prominent supporters of the war could face justice at The Hague if they ever find themselves under arrest. Continue reading...

Members of PCS union to take part in action from early April likely to have ‘significant impact’ on delivery timesPassport Office workers are to strike for five weeks in an escalation of a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union working in passport offices in England, Scotland and Wales will take part in the action from 3 April to 5 May. Continue reading...

Former banker who promised to reconcile the French people with the political class is accused of worsening disillusionmentWhen furious demonstrators in Dijon set fire to a stuffed dummy of Emmanuel Macron, and thousands of people took to the streets in cities such as Paris, Rennes and Marseille this week to protest against the government raising the pension age without a parliamentary vote, the French interior minister said the chaos “brought back bad memories”.Indeed, four years after the gilets jaunes anti-government movement in which people in small towns and the countryside rose up, Macron was once again accused by many working-class voters of disdain for the public mood. Politicians from his party were yet again asking for police protection for fear of violent reprisals. Continue reading...

Downing Street reveals cost of improved pay offer for nurses and paramedics but will not say where the money will come fromDowning Street says the improve pay offer for health workers in England announced yesterday will cost around £4bn.At the morning lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson said the “non-consolidated element for 2022-23” – the one-off payments worth up to 8.2% – would cost an extra £2.7bn.Analysis showed that in two years’ time - by which point Labour could have won a general election - two million people could face paying taxes of up to 55 per cent on their pots as a result of [Rachel] Reeves’ policy. Continue reading...

Ruth Perry was told that Caversham primary school in Reading would be downgraded to inadequateA headteacher killed herself after she was told her school would be given the lowest possible Ofsted rating, her family has said.Ruth Perry, who had worked at Caversham primary school in Reading for 13 years, took her own life in January after she was informed the school was being downgraded from outstanding to inadequate. Continue reading...

What we know about the children behind the indictment of Vladimir Putin and his children’s commissioner for abduction• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesThe international criminal court in The Hague has indicted the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the mass abduction of Ukrainian children.This means there is now an international arrest warrant out for Putin, a reflection of the speed with which the international legal community has pursued allegations of war crimes during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Nidal Hazem among three men and a boy killed in ‘intelligence-based counter-terrorism activity’The shooting in the head of a motionless Palestinian militant during an Israeli raid on Jenin in which three other people were killed has enraged Palestinians as images of the incident spread across social media.Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the PLO executive committee, condemned the shooting on Thursday of Nidal Hazem, who was face down at the time. “This is a crime in the full sense of the word,” he said. Continue reading...

Handwritten poem in Greek from undergraduate years on sale for £20,400A handwritten manuscript containing a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge railing against the slave trade has been temporarily barred from leaving the UK in the hope that a British buyer can be found.The poem, written in Greek by Coleridge across six mottled pages, attacks the horrors of slavery and condemns those who overlooked the conditions of enslaved people on the Middle Passage transportation route in the late 18th century. Continue reading...

Government-appointed managers will take over day-to-day running after authorities fell into effective bankruptcyTwo local authorities have been put into special measures after struggling to recover from the bad investments and governance failings that pushed them into effective bankruptcy.The London borough of Croydon and Thurrock borough council in Essex have been told that government-appointed managers will take over the day-to-day running of operations, including overseeing all major financial and senior staffing decisions. Continue reading...

European and US banking shares fall, with Credit Suisse down 12% as sentiment remains fragile

MP Steve Brine accused of lobbying NHS and ministers on behalf of recruitment firm that employed him

Family criticise boat’s skipper Michael Lawrence and company owner Michael Howley over crash that killed teenagerThe family of a 15-year-old girl who was killed in a speedboat crash have described the moment her life support system was turned off and criticised the skipper as a “coward” as he was given a suspended jail sentence.Emily Lewis suffered fatal injuries after the rigid inflatable boat (Rib) collided with a 4.5-metre buoy at 42mph in Southampton Water, with a number of other passengers left seriously injured. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s capital trying to return to new normal after Russian invasion, with latest move hoped to boost business

MPs were informed of the decision, which comes after similar moves by western allies, by parliamentary service on FridayNew Zealand’s parliament will ban TikTok from all parliamentary devices, amid mounting international security concerns surrounding the app.The country’s MPs were informed by parliamentary service on Friday that the Chinese-owned video-sharing app would be blocked from all parliamentary devices at the end of the month, and were told via email that “the Service has determined that the risks are not acceptable in the current New Zealand parliament environment”. Continue reading...

Perfect storm of Covid, Brexit, energy prices and cost of living crisis blamed for disappointing figuresVisitor numbers at the UK’s leading attractions are still almost a quarter lower than before the pandemic, thanks to a perfect storm of Covid, Brexit, energy prices and the wider financial crisis, according to the sector’s trade body.Figures published on Friday by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions show that while the number of visits to its sites rose by 69% in 2022 compared with the year before, this was still 23% lower than in 2019. Continue reading...

Officers on horseback deployed to reduce use of phones by motorist; driver faces £200 fine and six points on licenceTwo mounted police officers have chased down a man spotted holding his mobile phone while driving.Officers on horses have been deployed across the UK in order to reduce the number of people using a phone while at the wheel. Avon and Somerset police are involved in the enforcement operation led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) over the next three weeks. Continue reading...

‘I’m really, really sorry,’ the actor said, a year after she was suspended from show for saying the Holocaust ‘isn’t about race’Whoopi Goldberg has issued an apology following her use of a racial slur during an episode of ABC’s The View.On Wednesday, Goldberg used a derogatory term associated with Romani people while discussing former president Donald Trump, saying that his supporters are “people who still believe that he got gypped somehow in the election”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: findings of official review due out on Tuesday described as ‘horrible’ and ‘atrocious’ for forceThe Metropolitan police service is riddled with deep-seated racism, sexism and homophobia and has failed to change despite numerous official reviews urging it to do so, an official report will say.The report from Louise Casey, which is due to be published on Tuesday, will excoriate Britain’s biggest police force, the Guardian has been told. Senior government and policing figures are aware of its contents, with one describing it as “horrible” and another as “atrocious”. One source with knowledge of the findings said the report would make clear that the Met was in the “last-chance saloon”. Continue reading...

Party leader hopes letter campaign in commuter belt areas can tempt voters to switch in order to beat ToriesThe Liberal Democrats will directly court Labour voters in “blue wall” swing seats to try to build a critical mass of tactical voting in advance of the next election, Ed Davey has said before the party’s first in-person conference since 2019.The planned campaign of letters in Conservative-held commuter belt constituencies where the Lib Dems are the main challengers will be intended to persuade Labour supporters to lend their vote – not just as a means to change the government but because “they feel an affinity with us”, Davey said. Continue reading...

At 6ft 4in, Jack Andrews towers over his fellow jockeys and has to watch his chocolate biscuit intakeAt 6ft 4in (1.93 metres), Jack Andrews is used to towering over his fellow jockeys, who tend to be at least a foot shorter than him.But as he competes for his first Cheltenham festival win this week, the man who has been described as the tallest jockey in the world is determined not to let his unconventional stature slow him down. Continue reading...

While some feel ending £1m cap on savings gives them more options, others say it is not enough to make them work until 67NHS staff nearing the end of their careers are reconsidering whether they have to retire early to avoid “punitive” pension taxation rules after the chancellor’s surprise decision in the budget to scrap the £1m cap on tax-free savings.Jeremy Hunt unveiled the plans on Wednesday in an attempt to stop highly paid older workers, including lots of experienced NHS staff, leaving their jobs early. They will also benefit from the increase in the current £40,000 annual limit for tax-free pension contributions to £60,000. Continue reading...

Nine are said to members of Russian spy ring that monitored railway lines and made plans to disrupt deliveriesPolish authorities say they have detained nine members of a Russian spy ring who they say were gathering intelligence on weapons supplies to Ukraine and making plans to sabotage the deliveries.Six people have been charged with preparing acts of sabotage and espionage, and charges are being prepared against the other three. Continue reading...

Covid and other illnesses main reasons for attendance drop compared with pre-pandemic, according to DfE figuresOne in five pupils in England were reported as persistently absent during the last school year, with Covid and other illnesses the biggest contributors to soaring classroom absence rates compared with pre-pandemic years.The figures from the Department for Education (DfE) showed the aftermath of the pandemic continued to significantly affect state school attendance into the summer of 2022. The national absence rate of 7.6% was well above the rates of 4%-5% before Covid. Continue reading...

Chancellor’s changes have been criticised as a multibillion-pound handout to Britain’s wealthiestJeremy Hunt’s multibillion-pound tax giveaway to Britain’s wealthiest pension savers is coming under fire from various quarters, with Labour vowing to reverse the move andothers saying it is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.Financial firms have said the changes to pension allowances could let high earners who can afford it build up pension pots worth as much as £9m while enjoying the full tax benefits. Continue reading...

Albanese government hopes to progress two bills in the coming parliamentary fortnight as working group advice is finalisedThe Albanese government plans to progress two bills to set up the Indigenous voice referendum in the coming parliamentary fortnight, remaining confident the process remains on track despite its expert group of Aboriginal leaders still finalising its crucial advice to cabinet.The referendum working group was expected to confirm its advice to government on the exact wording of the question and the constitutional amendment on Thursday. But a communique from its meeting in Adelaide, issued by Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney’s office, said the process was still ongoing. Continue reading...

Another key industry player suggested government should shut down the work-for-the-dole scheme

Unions and business worry ‘a nuclear submarine parking lot’ will displace offshore wind and container terminal jobs

Offer to unions involved in strikes in England expected to include one-off payment of up to 6% for this year

Success of Farmer-Citizen Movement in provincial vote is heavy blow to Mark Rutte’s four-party coalitionA new populist party surfing a wave of rural anger at government environmental policies has emerged as the big winner in Dutch provincial elections, dealing a heavy blow to the four-party coalition of the prime minister, Mark Rutte.The success of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) in Wednesday’s vote, which will determine the makeup of the senate, casts doubt over the government’s ability to pass key legislation, including its plans to slash nitrogen emissions. Continue reading...

President Gabriel Boric promised a feminist movement but conservative values remain strong in the countryOne tumultuous year has now passed since Latin America’s first self-declared feminist government installed itself in La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace, vowing to bring progressive, gender-equal politics to a quiet corner of South America.Standing beside the country’s youngest ever president Gabriel Boric at his inauguration was Izkia Siches, the first woman to be named Chile’s interior minister and one of 14 women in Boric’s 24-person cabinet – the highest proportion of female ministers in Latin America and one of the highest anywhere in the world. Continue reading...

Police department says it has returned almost ¥3bn to owners, while ¥480m has gone to findersThe honest citizens of Tokyo handed in a record ¥3.99bn (£24.5m) in lost cash to police last year – an average of more than £67,000 a day.Japan’s national police agency said the amount was up ¥600m from the previous year, and beat the previous high of ¥3.84bn declared at police stations across the capital in 2019. Continue reading...

Former PM appointed Michelle Landry and Ben Morton to administer departments in moves not widely known at the time

Choice says flight credits should work like gift cards with customers able to split them over a number of transactions

Experts say data points to early signs of a new wave but, given level of immunity, is not expected to be as severe as in the past

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New laws include the overriding of the Human Rights Act to allow children to be charged for breaching bail

Multiple sources present confirm the remark was made, but it is unclear if it was made sarcastically

Lehrmann tells court a text saying ‘I’m up for millions’ was to placate his girlfriend, not due to a plan to sue

Taiwan foreign ministry warns of China debt trap, as US says Beijing ‘makes many promises that are unfulfilled’Taiwan has urged Honduras not to “quench your thirst with poison and fall into China’s debt trap”, adding it would not compete monetarily with China to keep its formal allies after its decision to switch diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing this week.Honduran president Xiomara Castro announced on Tuesday that her country would begin to establish an official relationship with Beijing, in effect severing its ties with Taipei. Continue reading...

Government looking at limiting mental health claims to just PTSD cases after $1.1bn shortfall

Exclusive: Union decries failure to publish statistics as Labour claims ministers ‘burying their heads in the sand’ over attacksNHS staff have accused Steve Barclay of breaking a pledge to publish details of how many of them are abused and assaulted in the course of their work.In 2018, when Barclay was a junior minister in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), he promised he would resume publication of those statistics in the following year. Continue reading...

New UN report says there has been a 35% spike in 2020-21 in the production of coca, the drug’s base ingredientSouth American drug cartels have capitalised on the retreat of the Covid-19 pandemic to produce and smuggle record amounts of cocaine around the world.Production of coca, the drug’s base ingredient, spiked 35% in 2020-21, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Continue reading...

Exclusive: Coalition has denied Labor’s claims that privatisation was being sought

Train operators turn to contingency staff but fewer than half of services are expected to runAnother day of blighted rail services has begun in Britain as RMT members at 14 train operating companies take part in the first in a wave of four 24-hour strikes.Commuters across England are broadly the hardest hit by the latest action. Passengers have been urged to check before travel and in some places to take a train only if absolutely necessary, with most affected operators running final services by early evening. Continue reading...

Leaders expected to use first summit since 2011 to address Japan’s use of Korean forced labour, as well as threats posed by North Korea and ChinaYoon Suk Yeol will be treated to his favourite dish – omelette rice – when he becomes the first South Korean president to visit Japan in more than a decade on Thursday, as hopes rise for an end to years of animosity between the north-east Asian neighbours.Given that the menu for official dinners has been a diplomatic flashpoint between the two countries, efforts by Yoon’s hosts to accommodate his palate are evidence of the recent thaw in relations, as regional tensions rise over North Korean missiles and Chinese military activity. Continue reading...

After largest shareholder was unable to provide backing, Europe’s 17th largest lender says it will use government help to become ‘simpler and more focused’Credit Suisse has announced that it will take a CHF50bn ($53.7bn) loan from the Swiss central bank, in an action it says will “pre-emptively strengthen its liquidity” as it moves to stem a crisis of confidence a day after its share price plummeted.This additional liquidity would support the bank in taking the “necessary steps to create a simpler and more focused bank built around client needs”, its statement said. The bank said it was also making buyback offers on about $3bn worth of debt. Continue reading...