Tank Française watch, favoured by stars such as Michelle Obama, sets record for British Heart FoundationThe British Heart Foundation has sold a gold Cartier watch for almost £10,000 on auction site eBay, after it turned up in a bag of donations handed in at a shop in Hounslow, west London.The 18 carat Tank Française watch, favoured by celebrities such as Michelle Obama and Diana, Princess of Wales, set a record for the charity, which sold 236,000 donated items online last year to raise funds. Continue reading...
The 38-year-old appeared in court in Delhi by video link and will now face trial over the alleged murder of the 24-year-old QueenslanderThe man accused of murdering 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley on a Queensland beach four years ago is to be extradited to Australia.Rajwinder Singh, 38, appeared in a Delhi court on Tuesday via a video and heard Judge Swati Sharma tell him that the extradition to Australia had been allowed. Continue reading...
Tensions between the two countries have been further inflamed after a copy of the Qur’an was burned in a protest in Stockholm over the weekendSweden could not expect Turkey’s support for its Nato membership, the Turkish president has warned, days after a copy of the Qur’an was burned in a Stockholm protest.Protests near the Turkish embassy in Sweden’s capital on Saturday have heightened tensions with Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the military alliance. Continue reading...
From climate change to women’s rights, what effect will the demographic time bomb at the heart of China’s economy have?China has entered a period of “negative population growth”, an important moment in the history of the country. As recently as 2019, the UN projected the population would peak in 2031-32, but despite major government efforts to reverse the trend, China has now begun what is expected to be a long period of population decline.The ongoing shift in demographics could have a profound effect on everything from how the economy operates to Xi Jinping’s legitimacy. The Guardian spoke to experts about the implications for everything from climate change to the Chinese Communist party. Continue reading...
Tory party chair still has some explaining to do over why he paid a penalty to HMRC to settle his tax affairsNadhim Zahawi, who won plaudits for his work as vaccines minister during the pandemic, now faces questions that threaten his political survival.The Conservative party chair has been at the heart of a media storm over a disagreement with HMRC after the Guardian revealed on Friday that he had paid a penalty to the tax office as part of an estimated £5m tax settlement last year. Continue reading...
Streets in surrounding area closed and buildings evacuated after fire at department store which closed in 2021A firefighter is in a life-threatening condition after being injured battling a blaze at the Jenners building in Edinburgh.Five firefighters were hurt during the blaze at the former department store in the Scottish capital, which crews were called to at 11.29am on Monday. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#683WW)
Labour says figures underline railways are in crisis, as almost one in 12 services due to run ended up cancelledThe reliability of Britain’s trains fell to new lows in December, official figures show, with record levels of cancellations even on days when the railway was not affected by strikes.While train operators cut their schedules back in advance by about a third because of industrial action, almost one in 12 of those remaining services due to run still ended up being cancelled. Continue reading...
Italy celebrates return of 60 artefacts, some dating back to first century BC, with total value of more than $20mItalian art investigators have exhibited a fresco that survived the destruction of the ancient Roman beach town of Herculaneum in the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius only to be plundered from its ruins and smuggled to the US, among 60 relics returned to home soil.The total value of the works, some of which date back to the first century BC, looted from Italy over the past five decades and eventually traced to the US is estimated at more than $20m (£16m). The relics, which were displayed during a press conference in Rome on Monday, include a terracotta Etruscan kylix, bronze busts, ancient vases and kitchenware. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#683WY)
Former taoiseach tells Commons committee that UK, EU and DUP need to ditch red lines to make lasting dealIf politicians could persuade the IRA to drop their arms in 1998, then how to end the Brexit dispute over Northern Ireland is not “rocket science”, one of the architects of the Good Friday agreement has told MPs.Stressing that “compromise” and political leadership was needed, Bertie Ahern called on all sides including the UK, the EU and the Democratic Unionist party to ditch their red lines and make agreements that would deliver a lasting deal. Continue reading...
Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, who killed Thomas Roberts, was previously convicted of murder in SerbiaA man from Afghanistan previously been convicted of murder in Serbia has been found guilty of killing a young man in Dorset in a row over an e-scooter.Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was convicted on Monday of the murder of 21-year-old Thomas Roberts outside a Subway sandwich shop in Bournemouth in March last year. Continue reading...
Peter Cavanagh, 35, and Jordan Devine, 22, are charged with killing of journalist in Derry in 2019Two men are to stand trial for the murder of the writer Lyra McKee, who was shot dead while observing a riot in Northern Ireland in 2019.Peter Cavanagh, 35, and Jordan Devine, 22, both from Derry, have been charged with murdering McKee in the Creggan area of the city on 18 April 2019. They deny the charge and are on bail pending a trial date in Belfast. Continue reading...
Intruders wearing balaclavas broke into couple’s home in Ongar, Essex, in November 2021A man has been found guilty of robbing the Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife Peta of their high-value watches in a knifepoint raid at their home in November 2021.Intruders wearing balaclavas broke into the couple’s home in Ongar, Essex, at about 2.30am on 27 November 2021 and threatened to stab the athlete, a trial at Chelmsford crown court heard. Continue reading...
Promotion for Count Antrim hot tub, massage and shooting offer described as ‘truly appalling’A Northern Ireland resort has apologised for causing offence by advertising a “bikinis and balaclavas” spa package but said it will continue offering the service.Rosnashane House in Ballymoney, County Antrim, drew criticism over the weekend for using the image of a woman in a black bikini and balaclava to market a spa treatment with gun range shooting. Continue reading...
Frank McAveety apologised for comments made in Holyrood meeting in 2010 about 15-year-old girlThe Scottish Labour party has been criticised for putting a former MSP who made “deeply sexualised and racist remarks” about a 15-year-old girl on to its shortlist for a parliamentary seat in Glasgow.Frank McAveety, the former MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, was recorded calling a 15-year-old girl “dark” and “dusky” and describing her as “very nice and very slim” during a Holyrood committee meeting in 2010. Continue reading...
Yellow weather warning in place for large area of England after extremely cold temperatures overnightDozens of flights out of the UK’s largest airport have been cancelled as freezing fog causes disruption to transport networks. Forecasters warned that much of south-eastern England would be hit by travel delays as a patch of cold weather moves in.The Met Office said an area stretching from London almost to the Humber was at risk and issued a yellow warning – the least severe. Parts of south-eastern England, including most of East Anglia and the home counties, as well as much of the east Midlands, were likely to be affected, they said. Continue reading...
Sales for Christmas and new year period are up on last year but down on pre-Covid tradingThe pub group Fuller, Smith & Turner has issued a profit warning, blaming months of train strikes for a £4m slump in sales including a plunge in festive season trade.Fuller’s, which has more than 400 pubs, mainly in London and south-east England, said that since the start of October industrial action on the rail network had cost the business £4m in sales. Continue reading...
Martinez Zogo’s kidnapping is the latest in a string of attacks against journalists in the African countryThe mutilated body of a prominent Cameroonian journalist has been found near the capital, Yaoundé, five days after he was abducted by unidentified assailants.Media advocates described Martinez Zogo’s disappearance and death as a further sign of the perils of reporting in the African country. Continue reading...
by Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro on (#683EY)
Movement to tackle lack of diversity within Brazil’s foreign office coincides with Lula’s return to powerMore than a century after Maria José de Castro Rebello Mendes became, in 1918, the first woman to enter Brazil’s diplomatic service, the country’s female diplomats have launched a new push for equal rights and opportunity. Women make up less than 25% of Brazil’s diplomatic corps and just 12% of ambassadors.“We are blossoming at this moment of democratic government,” said Irene Vida Gala, a senior diplomat who served as ambassador to Ghana and is now the president of the newly created Association of Female Brazilian Diplomats. Continue reading...
National Grid scheme launches on Monday between 5pm and 6pm – we look at whether it’s worth itHouseholds and businesses in Great Britain will be paid to cut back on their electricity use between 5pm and 6pm on Monday, in the first real test of a National Grid scheme. With temperatures dropping sharply, the electricity system operator hopes to reduce strain on the grid by reducing consumption. The initiative, which has only been used as a test up to now, will take place during the early evening peak in Britain’s energy demand. Here, we examine how the scheme works. Continue reading...
The UK charity facilitates music workshops in immigration detention centres – but frequently faces a lack of resources and the deportation of key playersLamin Joof began making music in the Gambia at the age of 16. He sang in a band called Chossan Bi with three friends until, one by one, everyone but Joof left the country to find work elsewhere. After the group disbanded, Joof began DJing at nightclubs and wedding parties and formed a sound system of reggae artists. But, despite spending a year building a musical career, Joof struggled to sustain himself. In 2015, he left the Gambia to find employment in the UK. There he was detained for nine months in three immigration detention centres.“Most of the tunes I make now are inspired by that experience,” Joof says today, speaking via video. “When I was at Brook House in Gatwick, the only outside space was a smoking area, which was tiny and [crowded]. Above was a net instead of the sky. Detention centres are similar to prison, but it’s worse than prison because you don’t have a release date. In my music, I want to convey the struggle that I went through, how I was mistreated, and how I fought to get to where I am today.” Continue reading...
Government accused of ‘censorship’ over ban on film about PM’s role in violence during 2002 Gujarat riotsThe Indian government has invoked emergency laws to block a BBC documentary examining the role of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, during riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002.Controversy has erupted in India over the first episode of the two-part programme, India: The Modi Question, which tracked his rise through the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata party and his appointment as chief minister of Gujarat. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6839R)
Union makes demand as health service in England prepares to contend with latest stoppage by ambulance staffJeremy Hunt has been urged to release new money to end the wave of strikes disrupting NHS services or risk the dispute dragging on for months.The public sector union Unison made the demand to the chancellor as the health service in England prepared to contend with the latest in a series of stoppages by ambulance staff on Monday. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6839T)
Analysis by Lib Dems shows total was at record high in 2022, and compares with 1,306 people waiting as long in 2015A record 350,000 patients waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital from A&E last year, according to figures that raise fears about unsafe care as the NHS faces further waves of strike action.The figures, uncovered in an analysis by the Liberal Democrats, show a steep rise in delays since 2015, when just 1,306 patients waited 12 hours. Senior doctors described the situation as “unbearable” for patients and staff, ahead of a strike in which thousands of ambulance workers will walk out across England and Wales on Monday. Continue reading...
Social media users said Seiji Kihara had bad manners and ‘more attitude than the prime minister’ but it was his mother’s comments that struck homeA senior aide to Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has apologised for putting his hands in his pockets during an official trip to the US, admitting that his mother had scolded him and told him she was “ashamed” of him.Seiji Kihara, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, revealed on YouTube that his mother had read comments that he was “disgracing his parents” after he was caught with his hands in his trouser pockets as Kishida spoke to reporters outside Blair House in Washington. Continue reading...
People pay their respects at Memphis mansion that singer inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis PresleyMore than a thousand mourners gathered in Graceland on a chilly, grey Sunday morning to pay their respects to singer Lisa Marie Presley at the Memphis, Tennessee, mansion she inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis Presley.Presley died on 12 January at the age of 54. Earlier that day, she had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital after reportedly suffering cardiac arrest at her home. She is survived by her daughters, actress Riley Keough and 14-year-old twins Finley and Harper Lockwood.I’ve had my life and enjoyed every second,
Incoming prime minister echoes Jacinda Ardern’s promise to cut back Labour’s agenda to focus on cost of living issuesNew Zealand’s next prime minister, Chris Hipkins, has promised to cut back government reforms to focus on the “global pandemic of inflation”.Speaking to media on Monday morning, the prime minister-to-be promised to “run the ruler” over the government’s work programme and cut inessential reforms to focus on the economy. In the final months of 2022, Jacinda Ardern made similar commitments, in a tacit admission that the government’s packed legislative agenda may have become a distraction from the rising cost of living – a core issue worrying voters. Continue reading...
Parents of boy stabbed in Manchester urge people to ‘do the right thing’ as police offer £50,000 rewardThe parents of a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Manchester have urged anyone with information to “do the right thing” as police announced a £50,000 reward on the anniversary of his killing.Joan Dixon and Glen Carter said they “can’t move on” until the person who stabbed “cheeky chappy” Kennie Carter on 22 January last year is brought to justice. Continue reading...
Immigration experts scathing about Home Office plans to tighten access to services for people without legal statusHome Office plans to reheat “thoroughly discredited” hostile environment policies show the government has not learned lessons from the Windrush scandal, immigration experts have said.A taskforce to crack down on illegal immigration is being set up, the Home Office announced on Sunday. As well as blocking access to banking for those without immigration status, it intends to find new ways of checking individuals’ immigration status when they use schools or the NHS. Continue reading...
Students say they were beaten and thrown out of dormitories as authorities crack down on protests against presidentScores of police raided a Lima university on Saturday, smashing down the gates with an armoured vehicle, firing teargas and detaining more than 200 people who had come to the Peruvian capital to take part in anti-government protests.Images showed dozens of people lying face down on the ground at San Marcos University after the surprise police operation. Students said they were pushed, kicked and hit with truncheons as they were forced out of their dormitories. Continue reading...
Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral alleged to have invited worshippers to his living quarters during lockdownThe Vatican is investigating rumours of a “sex party” at a British cathedral which is alleged to have happened during lockdown.As part of an investigation into the circumstances of Robert Byrne’s resignation as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, the Catholic church is looking into claims one of his priests invited worshippers to a private party at his lodgings. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Political correspondent on (#682Q7)
Foreign secretary also says he has no idea whether BBC chair helped Boris Johnson arrange guarantee on loanJames Cleverly has said he does not know whether Nadhim Zahawi was investigated over his taxes when chancellor, or when Rishi Sunak knew about the issue, as the government attempted to defend the embattled Tory party chair.In an interview with Sky News, Cleverly, the foreign secretary, also said he had no idea if Richard Sharp, the BBC chair, helped Boris Johnson arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000, weeks before the then PM recommended Sharp for the BBC role. Continue reading...
Exclusive: small business and hospitality groups urge rethink to let firms renegotiate fairer contracts and stave off closureGroups representing more than 100,000 UK firms have accused ministers of taking a “scattergun” approach to supporting businesses with their gas and electricity costs, amid fears many will be forced to close this year by unaffordable bills.Earlier this month, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed that the scheme designed to soften the blow of soaring monthly payments for energy would become significantly less generous from April. Continue reading...
Extensive fox hunting investigation as 22 dogs seized in southern counties raids pursuing suspected wildlife offences by terrier menSix men have been arrested and 22 dogs seized in police raids over suspected illegal fox hunts across several English counties.The men were arrested in dawn raids on Wednesday by police from Kent, Norfolk, Sussex, and Thames Valley, in one of the UK’s largest ever fox hunting investigations. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#682VB)
Images of violent clashes went round the world, and there are fears a crucial inquiry will leave ‘unfinished business’It has been four months since wide unrest broke out on the streets of east Leicester, and although calm has been restored on the streets, a sense of unease remains.“I don’t think we can ever go back to normal,” said the community worker Rukhsana Hussain. “It reminds me of Covid when everyone was talking about the ‘new normal’. I think we’ve got a new normal in Leicester now, because we’ve had quite a significant change in what the community perceives safety to be.” Continue reading...
Yellow weather warning for parts of England on Monday with freezing fog expected to bring travel delaysTemperatures plummeted to almost -10C in parts of the UK on Saturday night, as forecasters warned that the cold spell will continue into next week.RAF Benson in Oxfordshire had the coldest temperatures in Britain overnight, recording -9.7C, while in Scotland, thermometers remained above zero. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#682TD)
People with severe disabilities and chronic conditions struggling in cost of living crisis, research showsSoaring energy bills are forcing people with severe disabilities and chronic health conditions to choose in extreme cases between “eating or breathing” as they struggle to navigate the cost of living crisis, new research shows.According to a survey by the charity Euan’s Guide, people are either opting to reduce their use of vital, energy-intensive electrical medical aids and equipment – putting their health in jeopardy – or where this is impossible, cutting back drastically on food, heating and travel. Continue reading...
Families who relocate under federal scheme would not have access to Medicare, or relocation or housing costs, making move unviable for many, experts warn
Exclusive: eSafety commission investigating nearly 1,700 complaints and has asked social media companies to remove offensive content 500 times in a year
Russians have replaced Ukrainians since the war began and at least 14 have been arrested in Italy, NGOs claimPeople-smugglers are recruiting dozens of Russian citizens to replace Ukrainian sailors captaining boats carrying migrants from Turkey to Italy, NGOs have claimed.Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine at least 14 Russian nationals have been arrested by the Italian police on charges of illegally transporting asylum seekers.
World news | The Guardian