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Stephen Flynn says decision by Labour is long-overdue' and Starmer was forced into position by public pressure and the SNP. This live blog is closed

Campaigners accused of criminal damage after draping black fabric over the property in North YorkshireThree Greenpeace activists who draped oil-black fabric over the side of Rishi Sunak's North Yorkshire mansion, in a protest responding to his promise to max out" UK oil and gas reserves, have been charged with criminal damage.Mathieu Soete, 38, of Hackney in east London, and Amy Rugg-Easey, 33, and Alexandra Wilson, 32, of Shiremoor, North Tyneside, were each charged with a single count of criminal damage over the stunt at the prime minister's family residence last August. Continue reading...

Ilya Yashin says Vladimir Putin ordered murder of Alexei Navalny, as Russian state opens new criminal case against latter's brotherA jailed member of Russia's opposition has said he fears for his life after the death of Alexei Navalny, as the Putin critic's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, demanded the Kremlin release his body so he can be buried with dignity".Yet as the appeals came, the Russian state opened a new criminal case on Tuesday against Navalny's brother, Oleg, signalling it would continue the pressure on his family and supporters as they seek to mourn the late opposition leader. Continue reading...

Lawyers seek permission at high court to appeal against WikiLeaks founder's extraditionJulian Assange faces the risk of a flagrant denial of justice" if tried in the US, his lawyers have told a permission to appeal hearing in London, which could result in the WikiLeaks founder being extradited within days if unsuccessful.Assange, who published thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, could be jailed for up to 175 years - a grossly disproportionate punishment" - if convicted in the US, the high court heard on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Gove enjoyed VIP hospitality at football match with owner of company awarded 164m of contracts after Gove's referralMichael Gove failed to register hospitality he enjoyed with a Conservative donor whose company he had recommended for multimillion pound PPE contracts during the Covid pandemic, the Guardian can reveal.While still minister for the Cabinet Office, in August 2021 Gove was entertained to VIP hospitality at a Queens Park Rangers (QPR) football match with David Meller, whose fashion products company had been awarded 164m PPE contracts following Gove's referral in May 2020. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak's charm offensive at the NFU conference has not won over rural voters who are also skeptical of LabourFarmers often feel ignored by Westminster politicians. Now, however, as a general election heaves slowly into view and the fight for the rural vote begins, it was not a huge surprise when the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, turned up at their annual conference.Sunak told farmers: I have your back" and waxed nostalgic about the bucolic British countryside and his experience milking a cow. Continue reading...

Vote in 15-member security council was 13-1 with UK abstaining, making it the US's third veto of such a resolutionThe US vetoed an Arab-backed UN resolution on Tuesday demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the embattled Gaza Strip.The vote in the 15-member security council was 13-1 with the UK abstaining, reflecting the wide global support for ending the more than four-month war that started with Hamas's surprise invasion of southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Since then, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military offensive, according to the Gaza health ministry. Continue reading...

Greg Clark, with Peter Mandelson and Vince Cable, said UK must be more active' in approach to industry

Five women targeted investment bank with hammers and chisels during Extinction Rebellion protest, jury toldFive climate protesters armed with hammers and chisels smashed a glass door at the European headquarters of the American investment bank JP Morgan in London, a court heard.The Extinction Rebellion activists targeted the bank in the City of London, smashing a large glazed panel revolving door and causing many thousands of pounds-worth of damage, a jury was told on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Administrators tell staff seven shops will shut immediately with more to follow as business battles to surviveThe Body Shop is to cut 300 jobs at head office while nearly half of its 198 stores in the UK could close with the loss of hundreds more jobs as the business battles for survival.Administrators told staff on Tuesday that seven stores would close immediately, with more set to follow, while numbers at its offices in London and Littlehampton in West Sussex were being cut by 40% to 400. It is not clear if jobs at the group's warehouse, also in Littlehampton, will be affected. Continue reading...

The World Health Organization has said the destruction around Nasser hospital is indescribable'UN agency Unicef has warned the Gaza Strip is poised to witness an increase in what an official said was the already unbearable level of child deaths" due to a worsening food crisis.A report by the Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC), an aid partnership led by the UN's children's agency, says more than 90% of children under five in Gaza eat two or fewer food groups a day, known as severe food poverty. A similar percentage are affected by infectious diseases, with 70% experiencing diarrhea in the last two weeks.Analysis indicates a dire nutrition situation for the entire population of Gaza, both in the short and long term. It is expected that all areas of Gaza will be affected by malnutrition, but governates receiving limited or no humanitarian assistance will be particularly impacted. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy accuses Warsaw of mockery' as farmers blockade Ukrainian grain at border

Defendants are being tried in absentia over kidnapping and murder of Italian student in 2016Four Egyptian security officials have gone back on trial in absentia in Rome on charges related to the kidnap and murder of an Italian student in Cairo.Giulio Regeni, 28, had been conducting research when he was abducted in January 2016. His body was found nine days later, dumped on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital, bearing extensive signs of torture. Continue reading...

Party attempts to head off rebellion by its MPs in SNP's Gaza motion by issuing strongly worded amendment

Vertical Aerospace's total taxpayer backing rises to 37m but investors largely remain scepticalBritain's flying taxi pioneer, Vertical Aerospace, has been handed another 8m grant from the government, taking its total taxpayer backing to 37m as it tries to get its electric aircraft off the ground.The company said the funding to develop the propellers for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVtol) aircraft was a vote of confidence" in its technology, despite recent struggles. Continue reading...

Families of three people stabbed to death welcome review into Calocane's indefinite hospital orderThe families of the three people stabbed to death in the Nottingham attacks last year have welcomed a court of appeal review of the unduly lenient" sentence of the perpetrator, Valdo Calocane.The killer was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order last month for the attacks on university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and a school caretaker, Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of 13 June last year. Continue reading...

Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski accused of conspiring to own and try to sell Eagles manuscriptsIn the mid-1970s, the Eagles were working on a spooky, cryptic new song.On a lined yellow pad, Don Henley, with input from his band co-founder Glenn Frey, jotted thoughts about a dark desert highway" and a lovely place" with a luxurious surface and ominous undertones. And something on ice, perhaps caviar or Taittinger - or pink Champagne? Continue reading...

Environment secretary Steve Barclay says incident is deeply concerning' and reiterates government commitment to combatting antisemitismA statue of Amy Winehouse in her former home of Camden has had a pro-Palestinian sticker placed over a star of David necklace, prompting condemnation from many including environment secretary Steve Barclay.Metropolitan police acknowledged the incident would cause upset to many people", and said they were making inquiries with Camden Market to establish the circumstances and what evidence, such as CCTV footage, may be available". Continue reading...

Bank announces drop in profits to 6.6bn as it says it plans to return more to shareholders

Entertainment company pays tribute to performer's impeccable dancing' and vibrant spirit'The former Strictly Come Dancing professional Robin Windsor has died at the age of 44.He most recently appeared in the stage show Come What May, a tribute to Moulin Rouge. Continue reading...

Competition and Markets Authority launches full-scale investigation after finding costs have risenThe cost of infant milk remains at historically high" levels despite some price falls in recent months, Britain's competition watchdog has said, as it launched a full-scale investigation into baby and toddler formula.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found in November that the average price of infant formula had risen by 25% in the past two years and families could save more than 500 over the first year of a baby's life by switching to cheaper powders. The findings were part of an analysis of pricing in 10 food categories, which also included milk and ready meals. Continue reading...

Martine Moise alleged to have conspired with former PM to kill president and replace him herselfA Haitian judge in charge of the investigation into the assassination in 2021 of the country's last president, Jovenel Moise, has charged 50 people including his widow and a former prime minister, according to a document leaked to local media.According to the 122-page document from Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire, made public by AyiboPost, the president's widow, Martine Moise, conspired with the former prime minister Claude Joseph to kill the president in order to replace him herself. Continue reading...

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Exclusive: Group of London toilet cleaners and attendants at court of appeal over legality of outsourced contractsA group of toilet cleaners and attendants for London's most famous parks could be about to make legal history in the court of appeal by arguing that their outsourced contracts amounted to indirect race discrimination.While Royal Parks' mostly white in-house staff were paid at least the London living wage, its outsourced cleaners, who were almost all black, only received the minimum wage until they went on strike in 2019. Continue reading...

Senator says two emergency operations in 2019 after abscess erupted behind her tonsils have left her with speech challenges

While analysts are asking why the licence was not cancelled after the first inquiry in 2022, thousands of jobs are at stakeThe Star Entertainment Group may be about to find out how low it can go before its casino licence is cancelled.Almost 18 months since Star was fined $100m after being found unsuitable to run a casino, and after the appointment of an external manager and criticism for not taking its responsibilities seriously, the New South Wales regulator has taken action - with another review. Continue reading...

A complacent incumbent, an insurgent rightwing challenger - but key differences mean talk of wipeout may be overblownOverseas elections from more than 30 years ago are rarely hot topics of conversation in modern UK politics. But whisper Canada 1993" into a Conservative MP's ear and don't be surprised if they break into a sudden cold sweat.This is the model for the extinction-level event" experienced by a previously dominant rightwing party - one that some Tory opponents of Rishi Sunak warn he risks emulating at the next general election. Continue reading...

New data from consumer group reveals four in five shoppers say it is hard to know whether markdowns represent value for money

Prime minister James Marape to seek help from Australia to support police after the deadly killings in Enga provinceAuthorities in Papua New Guinea are bracing for an escalation of violence after dozens of men were killed in a tribal massacre on Sunday.In the wake of the killings, the prime minister, James Marape, is facing calls to declare a state of emergency to address the ongoing fighting. Continue reading...

Police said the man, found inside the chute of a bin near Westfield Tuggerah, had died at the scene

Exclusive: FOI request reveals fears many would sell up if they saw assessment of post-Brexit farming payments schemeGovernment officials have buried an analysis of the financial prospects for some of the most vulnerable farmers in the UK after realising it was almost entirely bad news, the Guardian can reveal.The analysis was to have been part of an optimistic look at the financial situation for upland farmers, some of the poorest in the country, but minutes from meetings about the plans obtained through a freedom of information request have revealed concerns were raised about the negative findings.One official commented: Could end up with no pathways to success at the end. We only want to publish if we have something which is positive to tell people."Government officials admitted that upland farmers were falling into financial crisis and may go out of business.Officials feared that when upland farmers saw the data showing how much money they would make they would sell up.Officials believed upland farmers were dismissive of the environment. Continue reading...

Independent experts to review energy firms' response to storms that left more than half a million customers without power

In defamation case brought by Mina Greiss Seven network succeeded in arguing contextual truth defence but lost argument of honest opinion

Coroner pauses inquest into death of Jarrad Antonovich, who died after drinking ayahuasca and partaking in a kambo' ritual

Proposed $4.9bn takeover of Queensland company's banking arm gets green light as tribunal rules that it will not lessen competition

Carroll says she raised intentions with police minister early due to heightened speculation and commentary'

Sgt Benedict Bryant to face charges of dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death after incident in Sydney in February 2022

Animal welfare groups say smell from the build-up of faeces and ammonia on the ship are indicative of the conditions animals endureAuthorities in Cape Town have launched an investigation after a foul stench swept over the South African city.Officials inspected sewage facilities for leaks and an environmental health team was activated before the source of the smell was discovered: a ship docked in the harbour carrying 19,000 live cattle from Brazil to Iraq. Continue reading...

Six large, heavily armed warships capable of being operated remotely, will be added to fleet under $11bn shake up which comes after damning review

Sport's governing body confirms that the three-time medallist has not breached its code of conduct

NHS bowel screening programme will offer specialist assessment every two years to people with conditionThousands of people in England with Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition that increases the risk of cancer, are to be offered gamechanging" screening on the NHS.The world-first programme aims to reduce the number of cancer cases and identify them earlier when successful treatment is more likely. Continue reading...

Agricultural sector hit by post-Brexit turmoil with protests over trade deals, environmental legislation and rising costsRishi Sunak will promise farmers the largest ever" grant scheme tomorrow, as well as the creation of a food security index, after criticism that Brexit trade deals and poor responses to flooding and rising costs have put England's ability to feed itself at risk.Against a backdrop of turmoil in the agricultural sector, with farmers in the UK and across the continent causing havoc with tractor protests against environmental regulations and a perceived lack of support, Sunak will respond to farmers' calls for a commitment from government that the UK's food self-sufficiency will remain at or exceed the current estimated level, which is about 60%. Continue reading...

Washington supports appeal with draft resolution to UN security council calling for temporary ceasefireThe US has proposed a UN security council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire and for Israel not to go ahead with a planned offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza.The draft text marks the first time the US has explicitly backed a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, though it adds that the temporary truce should be begun as soon as practicable", leaving some room for manoeuvre by the Israeli military. Continue reading...

People urged to avoid location for their own safety' as officers search River Soar for missing two-year-oldThe search for a two-year-old boy who fell into a river in Leicester will continue overnight as police urged the public to avoid the dangerous" waters.People were told not to jeopardise the very professional, very coordinated" search as specialist divers searched for the boy on Monday night, more than 24 hours after he fell into the River Soar at Aylestone Meadows nature reserve, which had flooded during recent heavy rain. Continue reading...

Leo Docherty, Foreign Office minister, says government working at pace' to hold those responsible for Russian opposition leader's death to accountNo 10 has declined to repeat Kemi Badenoch's claim that the former chair of the Post Office gave an interview full of lies" about the conversation she had when she sacked him.At the morning lobby briefing, the PM's spokesperson would not adopt the language used by Badenoch in a post on X yesterday and instead claimed that Badenoch believes that the account of what she said given by Henry Staunton is a misrepresentation".Obviously this referred to a conversation that she had with Henry Staunton, and you'll have seen her words on this; she's very clear that the interview that he gave was a misrepresentation of her conversation with him and the reasons for his dismissal.And the government has being clear, and will refute the allegations [that it wanted to slow down compensation to victims]. The government has taken action to speed up the compensation to victims, and we've consistently encouraged postmasters to come forward with their claims. Any suggestions otherwise [are] not correct. Continue reading...

Business minister criticises Henry Staunton after he claimed the government wanted to stall payouts to scandal victimsKemi Badenoch has accused the Post Office chair she sacked of a blatant attempt to seek revenge" after he made explosive allegations about the government's handling of the Horizon scandal.The business secretary launched an extended attack on Henry Staunton in the Commons on Monday, and claimed that he was under investigation for bullying when she fired him. Continue reading...

Maksim Kuzminov, who changed sides in secret operation, killed after allegedly moving to Alicante, reports suggestA Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine last year in a secret operation has been found dead in Spain, according to the main military intelligence agency in Kyiv.Reports in Russian and Spanish media on Monday said Maksim Kuzminov was found dead after allegedly moving to the town of Villajoyosa in Alicante on the Mediterranean coast, in an area popular with holidaymakers. His body was discovered last Tuesday, it was said, on the car park ramp underneath an apartment block. Continue reading...

Widow of Alexei Navalny says she wants to build a free Russia' and says she will reveal why Putin killed him'Yulia Navalnaya has published a video address in which she vowed to continue her late husband's political work and called on Russians to rally around her as Alexei Navalny's family were told they would not get access to his body for another two weeks.I will continue Alexei Navalny's work ... I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia," Navalnaya said in a powerful nine-minute video published on social media. Continue reading...

Scottish first minister says raising and extending windfall tax would be throwing workers on scrapheap'Humza Yousaf has accused Labour of behaving like Margaret Thatcher by throwing oil and gas workers on the scrapheap", as he announced the Scottish National party would not back proposals for extending the fossil fuel windfall tax.In a campaign speech delivered in Aberdeen, the UK's oil capital, Scotland's first minister accused Labour of risking 100,000 jobs after Keir Starmer promised a proper" windfall tax on oil and gas firms this month when he scaled back his party's 28bn green investment pledge. Continue reading...

Riyad al-Maliki tells international court of justice that Israel has subjected Palestinians to decades of discrimination and apartheidThe Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, has accused Israel of colonialism and apartheid" at a world court hearing on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands since 1967.For over a century, the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self determination has been denied and violated," Maliki told a bench of judges at the international court of justice (ICJ), the UN's highest court, in The Hague. Palestine was not a land without people. It was not, as Israeli leaders have described it, a wasteland. There was life on this land." Continue reading...