Concrete multistorey threatened with demolition but C20 launches campaign to keep ‘innovative’ buildingThe NCP Rupert Street car park in Bristol has a one-star rating on Parkopedia, its stairwells stink of urine and a four-hour stay costs £15.80.But C20 (Twentieth Century Society), a charity that campaigns to protect “outstanding” buildings, has submitted an application to list the city centre car park and save it from threatened demolition. Continue reading...
Chemicals company says disruption from Ukraine war, rising costs and inflation will continue this yearThe German chemicals company BASF has said it will cut 2,600 jobs as Europe’s largest economy braces for recession triggered by the energy crisis that intensified after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago.The year was “dominated by the consequences of the war in Ukraine and in particular by increased raw material and energy prices”, BASF said in a statement on Friday. It paid additional energy costs of €3.2bn (£2.8bn) globally during 2022. Continue reading...
Government claims a bipartisan approach to respond to community concerns, but experts warn of increased pressure on the buckling youth detention system
by Elias Visontay Transport and urban affairs reporte on (#696C5)
Exclusive: High-speed rail advocates support call from Andrew Barr, saying even gradually beginning track duplication could cut travel times in half within a decade
Powerful pro-gun groups plan to lobby ministers as calls mount to raise shotgun ownership barriers following Plymouth killingsThe powerful UK shooting and countryside lobby has vowed to fight demands to tighten the rules around shotgun ownership that followed the conclusions of the Plymouth shooting inquests.Organisations that promote shooting and other countryside pursuits are planning urgent meetings with UK ministers, arguing many people would be “regulated or priced out” of the activity and may even be tempted to keep guns without a licence. Continue reading...
Series will be released alongside controversially amended versions to leave readers ‘free to choose which version they prefer’A collection of Roald Dahl’s books with unaltered text is to be published after a row over changes made to novels including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches.Dahl’s publisher, the Penguin Random House children’s imprint Puffin, was criticised this week for hiring sensitivity readers to go over his books, resulting in the removal or change of language deemed to be offensive. In response, it is to release Dahl’s works in their original versions, alongside its new texts. Continue reading...
Semi-autobiographical story receives unprecedented number of five-star reviews, making it the best-scoring film in decadesSteven Spielberg’s new film The Fabelmans attracted more cinema-goers than any other film in France on its release on Wednesday after an unprecedented number of five-star reviews from the country’s critics.French media gave the film, a semi-autobiographical story based loosely on the director’s childhood and his early years behind the camera, an average score of 4.9, one of the best scores for any film in more than two decades. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#696AA)
Five scenarios for the end of the war, from a Russian or Ukrainian breakthrough to a frozen conflictUkraine’s war reaches the one-year mark with no immediate end in sight. Both sides want to carry on fighting, and any negotiated peace looks a long way off. So how might the war end? Here are five scenarios to consider. Continue reading...
Any bankruptcy rescue deal for London-listed group would wipe out shareholdersShares in Cineworld have plunged further after the movie chain said it had received no all-cash offers from potential suitors to save its global business, and any bankruptcy rescue deal would wipe out shareholders.The London-listed group, which was forced into bankruptcy in the US despite a wider recovery in cinema-going fuelled by hits such as the sequels to Avatar and Top Gun, said it has received non-binding proposals from a “number of potential transaction counterparties” for its business. Continue reading...
Australia swelters while in Brazil there have been record downpoursSouthern Australia has recorded significant heat over the past week with maximum temperatures widely reaching in excess of 35C (95F), as well as more than 10C above the climatological average. Many stations in the south, across Western Australia and South Australia, recorded temperatures in excess of 40C with Eucla and Red Rock Points recording their highest February temperature of 46.8C on 22 February. Two large blocking high pressure systems south and west of Australia have allowed heat to stall across western and southern parts. This will be pushed further eastwards through this week, although lessening in severity.In addition to this, many parts of the west coast have had high sea surface temperature anomalies throughout February, about 1-2C above normal. Because of this there is a chance that further cyclogenesis off the north-west coast may take place in the coming weeks – bringing further tropical storms. Continue reading...
IAG makes £1.1bn in 2022 on ‘sustained leisure demand and markets reopening’British Airways’ owner bounced back to a €1.25bn (£1.1bn) profit in 2022 and said the figure could almost double in the year ahead as leisure and business travel recovers further from the coronavirus pandemic.International Airlines Group (IAG), which ran up losses of almost €11bn through 2020 and 2021 as Covid crippled the aviation industry, said revenues almost tripled to €23bn last year as the lifting of restrictions fuelled a holiday and travel boom. Continue reading...
Labour analysis shows recruitment down by third outside London compared with 2019Labour has accused the government of creating “a perfect storm” in England’s teaching workforce, after analysis revealed the scale of the crisis, with teachers old and new quitting the classroom and too few replacing them.A teacher who qualified in 2010 is 15% more likely to have left teaching within a decade than one who qualified in 2000, according to Labour’s analysis of the most recently available official figures. Continue reading...
DCI John Caldwell in critical condition after shooting at sports complex with children nearbyPolice in Northern Ireland have arrested four men in connection with the shooting and serious wounding of a detective chief inspector, John Caldwell, in an ambush at a sports complex in Omagh on Wednesday night.Three men, aged 38, 45 and 47, were detained in Omagh and Coalisland, County Tyrone, and were being questioned by detectives at Musgrave serious crime suite, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Simon Byrne, said on Thursday. Continue reading...
Renegade former leader of Die Linke among organisers of rally opposing western weapons exports to UkraineA “peace rally” due to take place in Berlin this weekend condemning western weapons exports to Ukraine has been criticised by the leadership of the leftwing party Die Linke for failing to distance itself from far-right groups that have announced their attendance.Police expect about 10,000 people to take part in Saturday’s rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate, which is co-organised by a renegade former leader of Die Linke, Sahra Wagenknecht. Continue reading...
After the first quake hit, 77 Britons were deployed to join teams from around the world. Here, some recount their experiencesBritish search-and-rescue specialists deployed to Turkey after its earthquake on 6 February have recalled the scenes of devastation that they encountered, as the country and its southern neighbour Syria were hit by two more tremors this week.“If we were still out there [this week], we would have been in those buildings,” said Wayne Ward, a firefighter for Lancashire’s rescue service, and one of 77 British specialists deployed to Turkey in the days that followed the first quake. Continue reading...
Case is the country’s first known human infection with H5N1 strain since 2014, health minister saysAn 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died after being infected by a strain of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, the government says.It was the first known human infection with the H5N1 strain in the country since 2014, the health minister, Mam Bunheng, said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...
Five-yearly data drive to be conducted on 7 March, the same night as the singer’s Auckland showHarry Styles will have to take part in the 2023 New Zealand census, which aims to capture the country as it was on the same night as his only show in the country.The census is conducted every five years and requires everyone in the country, including overseas visitors, to take part. This year it happens to be held on the night of the British pop star’s Auckland show on 7 March. Continue reading...
Disgraced producer was previously convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York and is serving a 23-year termHarvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 additional years in prison on Thursday, three months after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles.The disgraced film producer, whose pattern of predatory behavior galvanized the #MeToo movement, was previously convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is currently serving a 23-year prison term. The new sentence nearly doubles the 70-year-old producer’s remaining prison time. Continue reading...
Moldova’s government has called for calm after Moscow claimed without evidence that an invasion of Transnistria was likelyMoldova’s government has dismissed an accusation by Russia’s defence ministry that Ukraine is planning to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria after staging a false-flag operation.“We call for calm and for information to be received [by the public] from official and credible sources of the Republic of Moldova,” the government said in a statement. Continue reading...
They stopped short of Boris Johnson’s demand for UK to ‘break the ice’ and supply Ukraine with fighter jetsUK political leaders have marked the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a renewed call to support Kyiv with additional weaponry – but stopped short of the firm commitments on fighter jets demanded by Boris Johnson.With James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, in New York for a meeting of the UN security council, Rishi Sunak hosted the Ukrainian ambassador at Downing Street, with a national minute’s silence planned for 11am on Friday. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now); Léonie Chao-Fong, Geneva Abdul on (#694N4)
Ukraine’s allies had been seeking to win over countries that have voted against or abstained in previous resolutionsThe UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said the conflict in Ukraine could last another year, PA news reports.When asked whether he could see the war continuing for another 12 months, Wallace told LBC:I think we will. I think Russia has shown a complete disregard, not only for the lives of the people of Ukraine but for its own soldiers. We are sitting here 12 months in and 188,000, actually more now, Russian soldiers are dead or injured as a result of this catastrophic miscalculation and aggression by President Putin.When someone has crossed the line and thinks it is OK to do that to your own people, running effectively a meat grinder for an army, I think he is not going to stop.There is already talk, I think, of an eastern European country supplying MiG-29s … We’re not going to see Nato, we’re going to see countries that are members of Nato potentially put in air force equipment or MiG-29. Continue reading...
Team exposed by the Guardian and consortium of reporters led by France’s Forbidden StoriesFrance’s leading rolling news channel BFMTV on Thursday said it has sacked an anchor after an investigation into alleged external influence in his work.Rachid M’Barki was sacked this week after the investigation revealed that due editorial process had not been followed in several segments aired between 2021 and 2022, BFMTV’s director general, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, said in a company message. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#695H2)
Original review published in 2021 but Ukraine war demonstrates need for investmentA planned refresh of the government’s integrated review of defence and foreign policy is at risk of being delayed until after the budget in mid-March amid a row over funding and a lack of clarity over its aims.It had been expected that the fresh look at Britain’s geopolitical strategy, originally announced by Liz Truss and inherited by Rishi Sunak, would be released on 7 March – more than a week before the 15 March annual financial statement. Continue reading...
Judge finds Natasha King liable for unintentional injuries suffered by Dani Czernuszka in amateur gameA rugby player who was paralysed from the waist down after a “reckless” tackle has won her high court claim against the opposing player who made the “red mist” challenge.In October 2017, Dani Czernuszka suffered a spinal fracture during an amateur league rugby match that has since left her having to use a wheelchair. Continue reading...
Their numbers are small, their terrorist skillset meagre, and public revulsion only reinforces their self-mythologyThe ambush on a senior Northern Ireland police officer on Wednesday night was almost certainly the work of a tiny group of so-called republican dissidents who have long tried – and consistently failed – to escalate a violent campaign.The New IRA has launched sporadic attacks on security forces over the past decade to show that there is still a flickering flame in the tradition of physical force republicanism. Continue reading...
Shrugging off his cautionary-turned-complacent approach, Starmer has finally offered a real glimpse into what a future Labour government might doFor much of the last three years since Keir Starmer took over as Labour leader, the party’s approach has been characterised by a caution that, when they finally took the lead in the polls, morphed into warnings about complacency.After suffering their worst electoral defeat in more than 80 years in 2019, some MPs were so demoralised they questioned whether they would ever make it back to power in their working lifetimes. Continue reading...
Charity says disparity with 8,633 Afghans who arrived in small boats last year shows lack of functioning routeOnly 22 Afghan people, including eight children, have been resettled in the UK under part of a government scheme that promised to help vulnerable refugees.At the same time, the number of Afghan nationals arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel rose to 8,633 last year – a sixfold increase on 2021. Afghans have in recent months overtaken Albanians as the predominant nationality undertaking the dangerous, irregular crossings. Continue reading...
by Léonie Chao-Fong, Guardian staff and agencies on (#694H9)
Russian forces step up attacks along eastern frontline; UN to vote on calling for unconditional withdrawal of troops; Zelenskiy says he would welcome meeting with China
University accepts it did not make adjustments for her illness as a form of disabilityWarwick University has agreed to pay a student who is seriously ill with cancer £12,000 in damages for the “distress and inconvenience” caused by not allowing her to extend her course as a result of her health condition.Riham Sheble, an international postgraduate film and television studies student at Warwick was diagnosed with uterine sarcoma – a rare and aggressive form of cancer – in February 2021. Continue reading...
Region braced for escalation in violence as attacks from both sides follow deadliest Israeli army raid in decades in NablusIsrael and militants in the Gaza Strip have exchanged fire just hours after the deadliest Israeli army raid in decades killed 11 Palestinians and wounded more than 100 more in the occupied West Bank, leaving the region braced for an escalation in violence.The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said early on Thursday morning that it had carried out airstrikes on two military sites operated by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the strip, after the launch of six rockets from the blockaded enclave towards southern Israel. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#69568)
Speech during reception for queen consort’s online book club follows backlash against rewrites of Dahl’s booksCamilla, the Queen Consort, has urged authors to resist curbs on freedom of expression in an apparent reflection on the backlash against changes to Roald Dahl’s books.Speaking at a Clarence House reception to mark the second anniversary of her online book club, Camilla told authors: “Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination.” Continue reading...
Gangs among those buying up cheap houses and claiming housing benefit for vulnerable people who do not live there, police sayRogue landlords are conning the government out of millions of pounds by fraudulently claiming housing benefits for so-called “ghost tenants”, it has been revealed.Criminal gangs are among those buying cheap property to convert into housing for vulnerable people, in some cases claiming welfare payments for tenants who do not live there. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian