World news | The Guardian

Exclusive: Group led by Siobhan Baillie want chancellor to use budget to relax rules and eliminate business rates for nurseriesA handful of influential Tory backbenchers have created an informal pressure group to push the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to cut the costs of childcare at next month’s budget, as experts say the sector is in crisis.The MPs, led by Siobhan Baillie, have been meeting regularly in recent weeks to discuss a range of measures they want Hunt to introduce to help parents afford care for young children and get back to work. Continue reading...

Labour peer who fled to UK to escape Nazis says home secretary’s words ‘deeply and personally upsetting’Alf Dubs, the veteran Labour peer who arrived in the UK as a child fleeing the Nazis, has described Suella Braveman’s likening of refugees to invaders as “deeply and personally upsetting”, and a low point of his half century in politics.Dubs, who fled what was then Czechoslovakia unaccompanied in 1939 and came to the UK aged six as part of the Kindertransport system, condemned the home secretary for using language that painted those also fleeing persecution as “hostile people”. Continue reading...

Cancer Research UK report says NHS risks being overwhelmed by cancer diagnosesMore than 500,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer every year by 2040, according to analysis by Cancer Research UK.In its report published on Friday, researchers project that if current trends continue, cancer cases will rise by one-third from 384,000 a year diagnosed now to 506,000 in 2040, taking the number of new cases every year to more than half a million for the first time. Continue reading...

The government and Asset Energy agreed to end their legal battle over Morrison’s decision, by proposing consent orders to the court

‘It is for Australia to decide what it wants on its coins, and on its notes,’ Vicki Treadell says

National cabinet officially signed on to commitment with Albanese saying priority is to secure a successful referendum in second half of this year

Greco is wanted for murder of two brothers beaten to death in Calabria fish shop as part of ‘mafia war’, Interpol saysA convicted Italian killer, believed to belong to one of the country’s most powerful mafia organisations, has been discovered working as a pizza chef and arrested after 16 years on the run.Edgardo Greco, 63, is suspected of belonging to the notorious ’Ndrangheta, a powerful mafia organisation in Calabria, southern Italy. Continue reading...

Union dismisses ‘desperate tactics’ as chief calls for recognition of region’s ‘unique circumstances’A fire service chief has been accused of “desperate tactics” after pleading for firefighters in Northern Ireland to respond to high-risk calls during any strikes so that the army are not asked to cover emergencies in the region.The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the request showed that the government and managers were “clearly rattled” by a vote last week in favour of strike action. Continue reading...

Report finds states are failing to calculate financial benefits of smaller initiatives, including increased employment and social inclusion

Department of Health says significant jump to 597 deaths from 22 December to 25 January was partially influenced by a change in reporting methodology

Directive comes as energy minister expresses ‘horror’ at claims British Gas contractor allegedly broke into vulnerable customers’ homesThe energy minister has expressed “horror” at revelations about a British Gas contractor allegedly breaking into vulnerable customers’ homes as the market watchdog Ofgem warned all suppliers against forcibly installing prepayment meters.Graham Stuart met Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas, and demanded urgent answers to issues raised by a Times investigation into the firm’s practices, which has prompted ministerial fury. Continue reading...

Mateusz Morawiecki would supply F-16 fighters if decision were taken with Nato allies. This live blog is closed

No one ever convicted of deadliest atrocity of Troubles, but injured and bereaved may be closer to knowing full storyThe government’s decision to hold an inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bombing is the result of a long, lonely campaign by some of the injured and bereaved for truth and justice.Chris Heaton-Harris’s announcement on Thursday about an independent statutory inquiry raises hope for the former, not the latter. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary rejects suggestion by Penny Wong that Britain needs to do more to confront its colonial pastJames Cleverly has rejected suggestions Britain needs to do more to confront its colonial past, pointing out that he is “the black foreign secretary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain”.He was responding to questions after a speech by the Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, while on a visit to London this week in which she said Britain needed to reflect on its past. Continue reading...

Two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers accused of Dale Culver’s manslaughter and three others face obstruction chargesFive officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted police have been charged over the death of an Indigenous man, nearly six years after he died while in police custody.Dale Culver, 35, was arrested by police in the British Columbia city of Prince George in 2017 following reports that a man had been seen “casing” vehicles on a downtown street. Police say there was a struggle between the officers and Culver, a member of the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan First Nations, who attempted to flee on a bicycle. Continue reading...

CEO John Holland-Kaye to resign after nine years at helm amid public souring of ties with airlinesHeathrow’s chief executive has announced his resignation after a difficult year for Britain’s biggest airport. John Holland-Kaye will leave his £1.5m role at some point in 2023 after nine years in charge.His tenure included the long battle to win the right to expand, with the third runway still officially back on the table after court battles and lukewarm government approval. Continue reading...

London mayor to adopt scheme for cleaners, catering staff and security guards to help with cost of living crisisLow-paid cleaners, catering staff and security guards at Transport for London will be given free travel on the network because of the cost of living crisis, Sadiq Khan has said.The London mayor will officially adopt the scheme, which has been piloted with cleaners, and expand it to cover around 5,800 workers. Continue reading...

New analysis calls for major changes including restrictions on concessions as the country risks having ‘two classes of state-funded retirees’

Bird ‘removed’ from harbour by a drunk man is escorted to vet in scene likened to the film Hot FuzzA swan found roaming the streets of Plymouth was taken “prisoner” and escorted to the vet in the back of a police car in a scene reminiscent of the hit British comedy Hot Fuzz.Devon and Cornwall police were called to the Mutley Plain area of the city at about 6.20pm on Wednesday, when the bird was seen waddling around by passersby. Continue reading...

The country’s police force is in revolt after the government failed to protect them from criminal gangs that have overrun the countryMasked men raced around Port-au-Prince on motorbikes, firing their guns into the air, blocking major roads with burning tyres and bringing the Haitian capital to a standstill.At one stage, the rioters flooded into the airport, trapping Prime Minister Ariel Henry inside, and also attempted to break into Henry’s residence. Continue reading...

Move shows ‘what is happening to the Uyghurs is unacceptable’, says MP after non-binding parliamentary ballot with prime minister’s supportCanada’s parliament has unanimously passed a motion to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees who fled China, but are now facing pressure to return.The vote on Wednesday builds on a February 2021 move by Canadian lawmakers to label Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in its north-western Xinjiang territory as genocide. Continue reading...

Ombudsman criticises ‘disappointing’ response by landlords in wake of Awaab Ishak’s death from respiratory illness in 2020The number of social housing tenants in England complaining of damp and leaks is on course to more than double in the two years since a child died after living in a rented flat with chronic mould.However, less than half of landlords are estimated to have introduced policies to tackle the problem and some are still blaming tenants’ lifestyles, the housing ombudsman said. Continue reading...

Changes in children’s social care, including earlier help for families, fall short of ‘full reset’ called for by adviserMinisters are to pledge that children taken into care in England will be placed close to their family and friends rather than being housed hundreds of miles away, under what is described as an ambitious overhaul of the struggling social services system.The commitment on care placements is one of a series of proposals aimed at reforming what the government has acknowledged is a children’s social care system too often failing to meet the needs of vulnerable families and children. Continue reading...

Former social services minister due to appear at high-profile royal commission on Thursday

Crowds gather in memory of the child, as ward councillor acknowledges ‘sense of shock’ within communityA candlelit vigil has been held for a four-year-old girl who died after being attacked by a pet dog in Milton Keynes.About 100 people gathered on Wednesday evening at a church near the home where the attack took place, to mourn the loss of the child. Continue reading...

Archbishop is said to have made comment in response to MPs querying church’s approachThe archbishop of Canterbury has said he would rather see the Church of England lose its privileged status as the established church of the country than risk the global church fracturing over disagreements on same-sex marriage, the Guardian has been told.Justin Welby, who will crown King Charles in a religious ceremony in May, reportedly made the comment at a private meeting with about a dozen MPs at Lambeth Palace on Monday. Continue reading...

Former UK prime minister tells US on Washington visit that giving Ukraine planes ‘is humane thing to do’

Exclusive: Director at NAO, which hasn’t launched a formal inquiry, plans to speak to Cabinet Office about legal costs over former PM’s denials in CommonsOfficials at the government’s spending watchdog are examining the controversial decision to provide £220,000 of taxpayers’ money to fund Boris Johnson’s legal defence for the inquiry into his Partygate denials.The National Audit Office (NAO) has yet to decide whether to mount a formal investigation, but one of its directors is planning to speak to the Cabinet Office about it. Continue reading...

Last six years among bloodiest in kingdom’s modern history despite push to moderniseThe rate of executions carried out by Saudi Arabia has almost doubled under the rule of the de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, with the past six years being among the bloodiest in the Kingdom’s modern history, a report has found.Rates of capital punishment are at historically high levels, despite a push to modernise with widespread reforms and a semblance of individual liberties. Activist groups say the price of change has been high, with a total crackdown on the crown prince’s political opponents and zero tolerance for dissent. Continue reading...

Little prospect of breakthrough as strikes hit schools, trains, universities and border posts

The Labour leader’s attacks over Zahawi and Johnson left Rish! firmly outside his comfort zoneAn estimated half a million people off work. The biggest day of strikes in decades. The country close to a standstill. You might have thought this would have been uppermost in people’s minds at prime minister’s questions. But not so much. Keir Starmer thought better of it. He wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to say. Labour’s current position has barely progressed from “I wouldn’t have started from there”. Rishi Sunak is even worse. He hasn’t yet worked out that he’s prime minister and could therefore end the strikes. Someone should have a word.Instead, the Labour leader chose to focus on sleaze. Not a bad substitute. And a relatively easy win. First he started with Nadhim Zahawi. Rish! must have hoped he’d heard the last of the former Tory party chair whom he finally got round to sacking last Sunday. Sorry to bring him up again and all that, said Starmer. But in the interests of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts could we run through the timeline again? Just so everyone could be reassured that the government had acted with professionalism, integrity and accountability. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some NCA staff in Calais say they had little official training before being put to work at passport control

Lancashire woman last seen on towpath on Friday, with her spaniel later found alone nearbyThe parents of the missing Lancashire woman Nicola Bulley have said they fear “somebody got her” as the dog walker’s disappearance enters a sixth day.Bulley, a mortgage adviser and mother of two, went missing last Friday, with her mobile phone found on a bench near to where she was last seen on a towpath by the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire. Continue reading...

Jerusalem Orchestra East & West’s performance ‘cynical attempt to re-brand apartheid as diversity’, claims letter by over 50 artistsMore than 50 artists, including the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and the Turner prize co-winner Tai Shani, have protested at the Barbican arts venue’s collaboration with the Israeli embassy in London in putting on a concert.Arguing that the Israeli government must be “held to account for its policies towards the Palestinian people”, the artists say the concert this weekend is “a cynical attempt to re-brand apartheid as diversity and military occupation as tolerance”. Continue reading...

Dominic Raab under increasing pressure as civil servants’ union calls for him to be suspended until bullying inquiry concludesMPs have been told that paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have coerced young people with drug debts to take part in rioting, PA Media reports. PA says:A community worker gave an example of a user’s debt being reduced by £80 for doing so.Megan Phair, coordinator of the Journey to Empowerment Programme and member of the Stop Attacks Forum, said both loyalist and dissident republican groups use the tactic to force people on to the streets.It’s time for the prime minister to come out of hiding and face the music. The public deserves to know the truth about what he knew and when, including the full disclosure of any advice given to him by the Cabinet Office. Continue reading...

Schoolgirl gives evidence in trial of Andrew Innes who denies murdering Bennylyn and Jellica Burke in DundeeA schoolgirl has told a murder trial that a woman and a toddler were killed in a game of hide-and-seek and that she “should have saved them” but could not because she did not know what was happening.Andrew Innes, 52, has admitted killing Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her daughter Jellica, two, at a house in Dundee between 20 February and 5 March 2021, but denies murdering them and has lodged a special defence of diminished responsibility. Continue reading...

Mayor says officers with misconduct proven against them during career should not return to forceThe Metropolitan police are under pressure to stop inviting back retired officers whoduring their career had action taken against them for misconduct.Under a scheme to rehire recently retired officers to help plug gaps in the ranks of Britain’s largest force, 253 people who had action taken against them after misconduct proceedings have been asked to rejoin, along with 99 who retired while under investigation. Continue reading...

Embattled firm to launch £75m share buyback scheme to bolster stock price amid criticism of sales and marketing

Voices from picket lines and protests in Bristol, Birmingham and London on a day of mass industrial action

Rosy-plumaged bird found wandering in city square was domestic king pigeon unable to fend for itself, wildlife group saysA pink-plumaged pigeon rescued from a New York City park may have been dyed for a gender reveal party, a wildlife group said.The king pigeon was found wandering Madison Square Park in Manhattan and was taken into care, the Wild Bird Fund said. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese urges Peter Dutton to bring ‘an open heart’ when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group

Exclusive: The prime minister’s assessment pits him against Paul Keating, who has urged Labor to walk away from the controversial pact

An unwelcome and unwanted relationship cannot be imposed, supreme court rulesItaly’s top court has ruled that children are under no obligation to see their grandparents if they do not wish to do so.The ruling from the supreme court of cassation relates to an appeal by the parents of two children against the decision of a lower court which had forced the youngsters to spend time with their paternal grandparents. Continue reading...

Former PM tells Nadine Dorries talkshow the idea he was knowingly going to rule-breaking parties is ‘for the birds’

Jailed activists Tantawan Tuatulanon and Orawan Phupong are demanding lese-majesty law be repealedTwo young Thai activists accused of insulting the monarchy are in a weak, exhausted condition and experiencing symptoms such as nosebleeds and chest pain after a hunger strike during which they have only sipped water, according to their lawyer and doctors.Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon, 21, and Orawan “Bam” Phupong, 23, were accused of breaching Thailand’s lese-majesty law after they held up a poster at a shopping mall asking people whether they believed that royal motorcades – which lead to road closures – create trouble for the public. Tantawan faces a second lese-majesty case over a speech she gave on Facebook live. Continue reading...

Entain says £995m pre-tax profit forecast boosted by record number of customers in final months of 2022The owner of the gambling brands Ladbrokes and Coral has raised its annual profit forecast after it benefited from customers betting on the men’s football World Cup.Entain said it had seen a record number of customers in the final three months of 2022, an increase of 14% compared with a year earlier. Continue reading...

P38-La Gang perform in balaclavas, namecheck the Red Brigades – and are under criminal investigation for inciting terrorism. Are they, as they believe, being scapegoated for their politics?For P38-La Gang, everything changed on 1 May 2022, Labour Day. The Italian rap group were performing at the club Arci Tunnel in Reggio Emilia. The location appeared to be no coincidence. It is the city that birthed the Red Brigades, the far-left terrorist group that shocked Italy with kidnappings, kneecappings and more than 80 political assassinations in the 1970s and 1980s – a period of social turmoil known as the “Years of Lead”. On stage that day, the four-piece covered their faces with balaclavas and made a three-fingered gesture representing the P38 gun – the symbol of the 70s leftist movement Autonomia Operaia. As usual, the group flew the Red Brigades flag at the back of the stage – the title of their 2021 debut album, Nuove BR, translates as “new Red Brigades”.Until then, the Bologna-based band had been considered one of the most bizarre and original newcomers in the Italian trap scene: angry, funny, outrageous, paradoxical, even a novelty act, depending on who you asked. Mixing bad taste with offending politicians and talkshow reporters, making fun of terrorism and dictatorships, P38-La Gang showed a face of Italy that few people want to see: the anger of workers paid €3 an hour and of a generation defeated by the class struggle who are surviving on memes and desperate irony. Continue reading...

Potential £9m profit dropped for £150m investment to shield consumers from price increases, says supplierOctopus Energy said it has decided against making its first ever annual profit after ploughing £150m into attempting to keep customers’ gas and electricity bills down.The energy supplier said it would have made a slim annual profit of £9m but instead decided to invest in protecting customers from the worst of the energy price increases caused by a sharp rise in wholesale gas costs linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision resulted in a £141m operating loss for the last financial year, to the end of April 2022. Continue reading...

Spire Healthcare contacts patients after opening historical databases, more than two decades after rogue doctor treated themHealth officials are recalling a further 1,500 patients of the jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson, more than two decades after he treated them, after the discovery of an old IT database.Paterson was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for 17 counts of wounding people with intent after he subjected more than 1,000 patients to unnecessary and damaging operations over 14 years. Continue reading...