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Annalena Baerbock promised Ukraine aid and arms but did not confirm release of Leopard 2 tanks

Authority admits it failed to properly inspect decaying willow that crushed Ella Henderson in school playgroundA council has been fined £280,000 for oversights that led to a six-year-old girl being crushed to death by a falling tree in her school playground.Newcastle city council pleaded guilty at South Tyneside magistrates court to a charge relating to the death of year 2 pupil Ella Henderson, who was killed when a decaying willow tree fell on her in high winds at Gosforth Park first school in Newcastle while she was playing at lunchtime on 25 September 2020. Continue reading...

Former Bolivia leader banned from Peru after weeks of unrest following leftist president Pedro Castillo’s removal from powerPeru has barred Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales from entering the country, as it accuses foreign interests of stirring up deadly protests in support of the imprisoned former president Pedro Castillo.Peru has seen weeks of violent unrest following last month’s removal from power of Castillo, who was arrested on 7 December after attempting to dissolve congress in an attempt to avert his impeachment trial. Continue reading...

Survey shows majority of indie booksellers had average sales over the festive period, with many concerned about the cost of living crisisIndependent bookshops largely saw “average” sales over the 2022 festive period, according to a new survey.A majority of bookshops – 39% – that took part in trade magazine the Bookseller’s annual survey said they had average sales compared with the same period of 2021, while 29% of bookshops said the period was “very good”. Continue reading...

Philip North’s appointment approved by King Charles after previous attempts stopped by protestsA prominent Church of England cleric who is opposed to the ordination of female priests has been appointed as a senior bishop after two earlier attempts were thwarted by protests.Philip North, the junior bishop of Burnley, was named by Downing St as the next diocesan bishop of Blackburn, with the appointment approved by King Charles. Moves to promote him in 2012 and 2017 failed after vigorous protests by women in the C of E and others over his theological position on female clerics. Continue reading...

The Serbian-American poet, who was the US poet laureate from 2007-2008, won the Pulitzer in 1990 for The World Doesn’t EndCharles Simic, the Pulitzer prize-winning poet who awed critics and readers with his singular art of lyricism and economy, tragic insight and disruptive humor, has died at age 84.The death of Simic, the US poet laureate from 2007-2008, was confirmed on Monday by executive editor Dan Halpern at Alfred A Knopf. He did not immediately provide additional details. Continue reading...

Beijing had said it would retaliate against countries that require negative tests from Chinese travellersChina has suspended issuing short-term visas in South Korea and Japan after announcing it would retaliate against countries that required negative Covid-19 tests from Chinese travellers.China has ditched mandatory quarantines for arrivals and allowed travel to resume across its border with Hong Kong since Sunday, removing the last major restrictions under the “zero-Covid” regime that it abruptly began dismantling in early December after protests against the curbs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Strike would aim to pressure government to improve pay offers in NHS, education, railways and civil serviceTrade unions are to meet to discuss holding a coordinated “day of action” across the public sector in an attempt to maximise pressure on the government to give workers a better pay deal.Unions representing staff in the NHS, railways, education and civil service were meeting on Tuesday at the Trades Union Congress headquarters to examine the possibility of escalating the current wave of strikes by all of them staging stoppages on the same day. Continue reading...

Russia and Wagner likely to be in control of Soledar in Donbas, says UK; UK considering supplying small number of tanks to Ukraine

Primary schools close on Tuesday with secondary schools to shut on Wednesday after government and unions fail to reach deal

Jonathan Ashworth calls lack of support for disabled people a ‘scandal’ and says party would change assessments regime

Church to back community projects to compensate for financially benefiting from chattel slaveryThe Church of England has committed £100m to a fund it is setting up to compensate for its historical benefit from the international slave trade.A report for the Church Commissioners, the body that manages the C of E’s £9bn-plus endowment fund, traced the origins of the fund partly to Queen Anne’s Bounty, a financial scheme established in 1704 based on transatlantic chattel slavery. Continue reading...

Business department says bill will enforce ‘basic’ level of service from different sectors during stoppages

Zhao Lijian's shift to low-profile department seen by some as a sign of Beijing softening its diplomatic strategyThe face of China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy, Zhao Lijian, has been moved from his role as foreign affairs spokesperson to a low-profile department, in what some analysts say is a demotion.Zhao is the most well-known of the ministry of foreign affairs’ public-facing spokespeople, making a name for himself during his three years fronting the foreign press, with strong criticism and hostility towards the west and combative defence of China’s policies. Continue reading...

Design Museum exhibition to feature more than 90 saris, including first one ever worn to Met BallNearly 100 trailblazing saris, including the first ever to be worn at the Met Gala, will be displayed in the UK as part of a new large-scale exhibition examining the garment’s modern reinvention.The first-of-its-kind show at the Design Museum, entitled The Offbeat Sari, brings together more than 90 items that have been loaned by designers and studios across India to tell the story of what has been called a “fashion revolution”. Continue reading...

Army and riot police clear Bolsonaro supporters from Brasília as US, Mexico and Canada say they ‘stand by’ democratic institutionsThe far-right storming of Brazil’s supreme court, congress and presidential palace was a “grotesque and failed assault” on its institutions, the country’s ambassador to the UK has said, as troops moved in to break up protest camps set up by supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro.A day after the would-be insurrectionists attacked all three branches of government in a brazen effort to topple the democratically elected government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Fred Arruda, Brazil’s ambassador in London, said: “What happened in Brasília yesterday was a grotesque and failed assault on our institutions. As President Lula put it, democracy requires people to respect the institutions.” Continue reading...

An estimated 100 homes are feared uninhabitable in WA communities where it’s not uncommon to have up to 20 people living in a house

In today’s newsletter: For years Jair Bolsonaro set the anti-democratic tone that fomented Sunday’s attacks. Our Latin America correspondent explains how

Cancer death rates are 1.6 times higher than general population probably due to toxic chemicalsFirefighters are more than three times as likely to die from certain cancers than the general population, probably due to exposure to toxic chemicals while battling blazes, a study has found.Rates of prostate cancer, leukemia and oesophagal cancer appear to be 3.8, 3.2 and 2.4 times higher than the norm and overall firefighters have faced cancer death rates 1.6 times higher than the general population, according to the study published this week in the peer-reviewed Journal of Occupational Medicine. Continue reading...

Wes Streeting, Dan Jarvis and Yvette Cooper received donations from MPM Connect, which has no obvious line of businessLabour MPs have defended taking money from a little-known company that has emerged as one of Westminster’s biggest political donors.Wes Streeting, Dan Jarvis and Yvette Cooper have all said they did nothing wrong by accepting tens of thousands of pounds from MPM Connect, which is part-owned by Peter Hearn, a Labour donor, but does not have any obvious line of business. Continue reading...

Chinese envoy in Canberra largely positive about enhancing ties between countries while stepping up criticism of Aukus security deal

Pharmacists are having to convert tablets into liquid alternatives needed for small children

Premier says he believes best practice allows for passengers to use their own ‘handheld devices’

The British citizen is awaiting trial on national security charges in Hong Kong that could see him jailed for life if convictedLawyers for the Hong Kong activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai have reportedly requested a meeting with the British prime minister to discuss his case.Lai, a dual Hong Kong and British citizen, is awaiting trial on national security charges in one of the most high-profile cases brought by Hong Kong authorities against the pro-democracy movement. If convicted he could face life in prison. Continue reading...

Trent Wayne Lawson, 38, pleaded guilty to common assault, wilful damage, stealing and torture for 2021 attack and can apply for parole

New cricket documentary The Test reveals former PM added Cummins to messaging group not long after he became captain

The rapper rejected the use of Still DRE by the ‘divisive’ Republican in a video posted to TwitterThe rapper Dr Dre has spoken out against the use of his song Still DRE in a self-promotional video by the Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to celebrate her role in electing fellow GOP lawmaker Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” the rapper and producer told TMZ on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Total sales for the month increased by 6.9% compared with a year earlier despite cost of living crisisBritain’s retailers benefited from a sales boost in December fuelled by Christmas shopping and the World Cup, despite growing concerns over the impact of the cost of living crisis on the high street.The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales growth picked up over the pivotal festive buying period, with a sharp rise on the same month in 2021, as consumers braved cold weather and strikes to ensure friends and family received the gifts they wanted. Continue reading...

Charles, Camilla and the press all come under attack, but the charge sheet against William is longHarry’s wrath. Harry’s revenge. Harry’s truth. The Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare is finally hitting bookshops and its pages are dripping with accusation, anger and sorrow.Harry’s brother, the Prince of Wales, the “heir” to Harry’s “spare”, is portrayed as taking sibling competitiveness to “Olympiad” levels, throwing tantrums over Harry encroaching on his territory: Africa. Continue reading...

Cross-party committee agrees with findings of Kathryn Stone that Conservative MP breached rules on multiple occasionsThe Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has been suspended from the House of Commons for five days after being found to have breached rules on paid lobbying and declaring interests.The MP for north-west Leicestershire was found to have repeatedly broken the MPs’ code of conduct by a cross-party committee, which endorsed findings from Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Continue reading...

Nineteen-year-old man charged after drivers on M1 at Ourimbah and Somersby reported nail gun shots from white Mitsubishi

Some suggest political naivety played a role as No 10 admits it is taking a ‘new approach’ by discussing payAt the end of talks over next year’s pay deal for NHS workers, which broke up without resolution on Monday, union negotiators told Steve Barclay: “You know we’re going ahead with strikes?” One of those in the room said the health secretary shrugged his shoulders in resignation. “I accept that,” he told them.But the fact ministers sat down with unions to discuss pay at all is, in itself, a breakthrough. For weeks the government has been indicating that, while it would meet unions to avert further strikes, reopening this year’s pay deal was not an option. Continue reading...

Masked men broke into Olympian’s house and stole two expensive watches, trial hearsThe Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish described in court how a knife was held to his face before masked intruders took two high-value watches belonging to him and his wife from their home.The masked men broke in as Cavendish was asleep upstairs with his wife, Peta, on 27 November 2021, Chelmsford crown court heard. Continue reading...

Claire Perry O’Neill, who was part of Theresa May’s cabinet, lauds Labour leader’s ‘sober’ and ‘competent’ leadershipA former Conservative minister has quit the party, claiming it is dominated by “ideology and self-obsession”, and has instead thrown her support behind Keir Starmer.Claire Perry O’Neill, who was part of Theresa May’s cabinet and was briefly retained by Boris Johnson to help run preparations for the Cop26 summit, praised the Labour leader’s “sober, fact-driven, competent political leadership”. Continue reading...

Ex-film mogul faces up to 18 additional years in prison after being convicted of forcibly raping a woman in CaliforniaHarvey Weinstein’s sentencing on his second rape and sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles has been delayed until February, as his lawyers ask for a new trial.Winstein, 70, faces up to 18 additional years in prison after being convicted of forcibly raping a woman in California in 2013. He is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape and sexual assault charges in New York in 2020. Continue reading...

PM changes tack to allow negotiations on wages but unions remain frustrated at lack of clear offer

Bakhmut and Soledar under intense attack after Russian forces regroup and change tactics, Ukraine deputy defence minister says. This live blog is now closed

Defendant pleads guilty at the Old Bailey to the murder of Jermaine Cools in Croydon in 2021A teenager has admitted fatally stabbing a 14-year-old boy in south London. Jermaine Cools was injured in London Road, Croydon, near West Croydon railway station, after a fight involving a number of people on 18 November 2021.Police said that at 6.41pm, a member of the public reported the incident outside a chicken shop. The defendant, then aged 16, was caught on CCTV walking towards the fight and drawing a large knife from his coat, police said. Continue reading...

James Watt says bungled promotion in which cans were only gold plated looked ‘dishonest and disingenuous’The chief executive of BrewDog has paid out almost £500,000 from his own pocket to winners of a bungled “solid gold” beer can promotion which he has admitted made the controversial brewer look “dishonest and disingenuous”.James Watt said he got so personally carried away with the Willy Wonka-inspired promotion, which hid 50 gold cans in cases of beer, that he made some “costly mistakes” that misled treasure hunters. Continue reading...

David Price, who taught at Ashdown House in East Sussex and in Cape Town, is due in court next monthA retired teacher has been arrested in South Africa after a BBC radio programme about alleged paedophilia in British schools prompted more individuals to come forward.David Price, 76, who taught Boris Johnson at the now-closed Ashdown House school in East Sussex, has been charged with three counts of indecent assault in the 1980s and is due in court in South Africa next month. He denies all charges. Continue reading...

New scheme promises £5.5bn of ‘transitional’ help for businesses over 12 months from 1 April 2023Businesses will receive reduced support for their energy bills from the end of March as the Treasury attempts to cut the cost of compensating for soaring gas and electricity prices, the UK government has confirmed.James Cartlidge, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said on Monday that the government would provide £5.5bn of “transitional support” for businesses over 12 months from 1 April 2023. Continue reading...

Emanuela Orlandi case has triggered several theories but never yielded any concrete answersThe Vatican has reopened an investigation into the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, a case that has gripped Italy for almost 40 years and embroiled the powerful Holy See.Emanuela was 15 when she vanished on 22 June 1983 while making her way home from a flute lesson in Rome. The Orlandi family lived in Vatican City, where her father was a lay employee in the papal household. Continue reading...

‘No concrete progress’ towards avoiding action affecting English schools at education secretary’s meeting with unionsThe threat of strike action still hangs over schools in England after talks between teaching unions and the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, ended with “no concrete progress”, though the door remains open for further discussions.Union leaders described the meeting as constructive, but with no extra money for teachers on the table, strikes could be just weeks away. Ballots for strike action among hundreds of thousands of union members are due to close this week. Continue reading...

Nurses’ and ambulance strikes to go ahead after latest round of talks failed to make substantial progress. This live blog is now closedRishi Sunak also insisted in his pooled TV interview that the government was focused on “the people’s priorities”. Referring to the promises he announced last week, heWhat the government is getting on with is delivering on the people’s priorities. I set out five priorities, five promises I wanted to make to the country – that’s to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, reduce waiting lists, and stop the boats. That’s squarely what everyone in government is focused on. Continue reading...

In US interview to promote book, Duke of Sussex also points finger at Camilla but says she is not an ‘evil stepmother’Prince Harry has described how he “can’t ever get out” of the royal family, but he does not believe it will ever be possible for him and the Duchess of Sussex to return to the UK as working royals.In his latest TV interview to promote his autobiography Spare, the Duke of Sussex continued to point the finger at Camilla, the Queen Consort over allegations he had been “sacrificed on her personal PR altar”. Continue reading...

PM aims to further restrict right to demonstrate by giving police powers to tackle fuel protesters’ latest tacticRishi Sunak is drawing up powers for the police to stop “go-slow” protests in a further crackdown on people’s right to demonstrate.The prime minister said the proposals would be set out in the coming weeks to prevent “a small minority” from disrupting the lives of the “hard-working majority”. Continue reading...

One of the world’s top eateries with three Michelin stars says it wants to reinvent itself as a food laboratoryThe Copenhagen restaurant Noma, one of the world’s top eateries, with three Michelin stars, has said it will close at the end of 2024 to reinvent itself as a food laboratory.“To continue being Noma, we must change … Winter 2024 will be the last season of Noma as we know it,” the restaurant, wrote in a post on Instagram. Continue reading...

Two deaths on Monday come amid a deadly summer in the water across Australia

Court rejects NSO claim it could not be sued because it was acting as agent for unidentified foreign governmentsThe US supreme court has let Meta Platforms Inc’s WhatsApp pursue a lawsuit accusing Israel’s NSO Group of exploiting a bug in its WhatsApp messaging app to install spy software allowing the surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents.The justices turned away NSO’s appeal over a lower court’s decision that the lawsuit could move forward. NSO has argued that it is immune to being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the Pegasus spyware. Continue reading...

Hoda Muthana, currently detained by Kurdish forces, says she is prepared to serve prison time and advocate against extremismA woman who ran away from home in Alabama at the age of 20, joined the Islamic State group and had a child with one of its fighters says she still hopes to return to the United States, serve prison time if necessary, and advocate against extremism.Speaking from the Roj detention camp in Syria, where she is detained by US-allied Kurdish forces, Hoda Muthana said she was brainwashed by online traffickers into joining the group in 2014 and regrets everything except her young son. Continue reading...