World news | The Guardian

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...

Nick Hugh's exit comes amid concern over Barclay family's deal to transfer control of titlesThe chief executive of the Telegraph has stepped down after seven years as the government prepares to launch a second investigation into public interest concerns raised by the Barclay family's complex deal to transfer control of the titles to a UAE-backed consortium.Nick Hugh, who has run Telegraph Media Group (TMG) since 2017 and was also the boss of the parent company Press Acquisitions, has left the company with immediate effect and did not provide a comment in a statement announcing his departure. Continue reading...

Backlash to Invasion Day' grows on annual commemoration of arrival of British fleet in Sydney in 1788Thousands of Australians protested against the anniversary of British colonisation on Friday, with large crowds across the country calling for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning to instead be held on what they call Invasion Day".Speeches in major cities highlighted anger and despair over high Indigenous incarceration rates, deaths in custody and the forced removal of First Nations children from their families. The rallies come months after the proposal for an Indigenous voice to parliament was overwhelmingly defeated at a national referendum. Continue reading...

Washington's ambassador says Budapest is really alone' and describes its foreign policy as a fantasy'The US is disappointed Hungary's ratification of Sweden joining Nato is taking so long, Washington's ambassador has said, warning that Budapest is really alone" and that the Hungarian government is pursuing a foreign fantasy" instead of foreign policy.After months of delays, Turkey's parliament approved Sweden's Nato membership this week. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, signed it off on Thursday, leaving Hungary as the only country in the 31-member alliance that has yet to ratify the Swedish bid. Continue reading...

Premier Steven Miles says we're not out of the woods' with BoM weather warnings issued as former category three cyclone downgraded

Judges in The Hague to decide on whether to order Israel to end its military campaign against Hamas

Victoria Prentis to decide whether judges should look at Valdo Calocane's detention order after families say it is unduly lenientThe attorney general is considering whether judges should review the sentence of the Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane after receiving a submission that it could be unduly lenient.Calocane, 32, who goes by the name Adam Mendes, denied murdering Barnaby Webber, 19, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old school caretaker, but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Continue reading...

Charity set up by Martin Lewis says up to 1.3m people forced to cut back on food, energy and even medicineHomeowners with mental health problems are more likely to have cut back on food and energy to keep on top of their mortgage payments, a charity set up by the consumer finance champion Martin Lewis has warned.The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said its research indicated that as many as 1.3 million people in the UK with mental health problems were spending less on essentials - which also included medicine - in order to afford their mortgage costs, which have in many cases increased sharply after a string of interest rate rises. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: 32 pieces of Asante gold are to return home from the British Museum and V&A ... but only on loan Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.More than 150 years after they were stolen in violent circumstances" by British soldiers, two top UK museums are returning some of Ghana's crown jewels".Middle East | Israeli officials are bracing for an expected interim ruling from the international court of justice on South Africa's allegation that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide against Palestinians, an emergency measure that could expose Israel to international sanctions.Immigration | The UK would break international law if it ignored emergency orders from the European court of human rights to stop asylum seekers being flown to Rwanda, the head of the court has said.UK news | The mother of one of three Nottingham stabbing victims has said true justice has not been served" after killer Valdo Calocane was sentenced to indefinite detention in a high-security hospital.US news | Alabama has carried out the first execution of a death row inmate in the US using nitrogen gas, an untested procedure which the prisoner's lawyers had argued amounted to a form of cruel and unusual punishment banned under the US constitution.Politics | David Cameron breached proper process" when he appointed Michelle Mone to the House of Lords in 2015, David Mundell, who was the Scotland secretary at the time, has said. Continue reading...

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Driver was unaware he had to register French hire car with TfL's collection agent even though it was emissions compliant

Statement from British foreign secretary comes just months after his predecessor confirmed resettlement was part of talks with MauritiusBritain's foreign secretary, David Cameron, has provoked fury by abruptly ruling out the resettlement of former inhabitants of the Chagos Islands, months after his predecessor revealed that the UK was discussing their potential return.The former prime minister suggested that a return to the islands was now not possible" for Chagossians who were forcibly displaced by the British government in the 1960s and 1970s. Continue reading...

One candidate has said he wants to review the Pacific country's relationships with Taiwan and China, just weeks after Nauru switched allegiances to Beijing

Traditional options standing the test of time in top 20 popular baby names for 2023

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Corporation reviews episode featuring a product alleging to have treated chronic fatigue syndrome, which has no known cureThe BBC has removed an episode of Dragons' Den from iPlayer after concerns were raised over a myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) product.Giselle Boxer secured an investment from the entrepreneur and podcaster Steven Bartlett for her product Acu Seeds. Continue reading...

Actor hails tightening of ban on zombie-style knives in England and Wales but says there is no one size fits all' solution

Lynette Hutchings who had been accused of false accounting in 2012, fell at home and died in February last year, inquest hearsA victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal who died before receiving final compensation or witnessing the current public outcry, suffered a fatal fall after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, her inquest has heard.Former post office operator Lynette Hutchings, 67, who was wrongfully convicted of false accounting in 2012, fell at her home in Hampshire and died in hospital in February last year, the inquest was told. Continue reading...

Alexandre Ramagem ran Brazil's intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, allegedly using spyware to track political opponentsFederal police agents have raided the home and offices of Brazil's spy chief under former president Jair Bolsonaro as part of an investigation into the alleged illegal monitoring of thousands of people, including two supreme court judges and a key ally of the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.Alexandre Ramagem, a former federal police chief who ran Brazil's intelligence agency, Abin, during Bolsonaro's 2019-22 administration, was targeted as part of an inquiry into a criminal organisation" that allegedly used Israeli spyware to track the political foes of the country's then president. Continue reading...

Accounts reveal 9.9bn of the 13.6bn spent on PPE during pandemic has been written offMinisters have been accused of throwing away taxpayers' money as if it were confetti" after official figures revealed that the government wasted nearly 10bn on defective or unusable personal protective equipment during the Covid crisis.Annual accounts for the Department of Health and Social Care published on Thursday show that nearly three-quarters of the money it spent on PPE during the pandemic has been written off. Continue reading...

Move could lead to further strikes in NHS as senior doctors vote 51% to 49% to reject pay riseHospital consultants in England have narrowly rejected the government's improved pay offer, in a move that could lead to further strikes in the NHS.In a referendum run by the British Medical Association, consultants voted by 51% to 49% against a deal that would have given them an extra 4.95% pay rise on average for the last three months of the 2023-24 financial year, on top of the 6% award for the year that they have already received. Continue reading...