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Offering places by proximity results in selection of pupils from more affluent households, say researchersDisadvantaged children are suffering “geographic exclusion” from England’s best state schools because they cannot afford to live near those with the best exam results, according to new research published by the University of Bristol.The research found that very few state secondary schools give priority to pupils who qualify for free school meals, despite the government’s admissions rules being redesigned more than eight years ago allowing them to do so. Continue reading...

Beijing propaganda includes messaging aligned with Moscow on Ukraine war, says James Rubin

PM says DUP should be given time to assess deal as Steve Baker says party awaits reaction ‘with bated breath’In his Today interview Rishi Sunak said that Northern Ireland was an “incredibly attractive” place to invest because it was within the UK, but also within the EU single market. It is an argument ministers are regularly made over the past three years to try to persuade unionists of the benefits of the protocol, and Sunak indicated that he will be reviving it again today when he speaks to people in Northern Ireland. He said:I’ve spent a lot of time engaging with business group [in Northern Ireland]. I thank them, actually, for that engagement and this agreement ensures that they will have a continuing role.But they all say to me, if we can get this resolved in the way that we have, that will unlock an enormous amount of invesment. Continue reading...

Full ratification of Windsor framework agreed with EU likely to take months as PM continues sales pitchDowning Street has set out its apparent intent to push ahead with a new trading regime for Northern Ireland whether or not the Democratic Unionist party backs the plan – although a leading Conservative Brexiter predicted they ultimately would.A day after Rishi Sunak unveiled his self-styled “Windsor framework”, an attempt to patch the holes in Boris Johnson’s original post-Brexit protocol for Northern Ireland, a sense of elation among Conservatives was giving way to recognition that there was a long road ahead. Continue reading...

Court of appeal upholds one claim Brexit backer suffered serious harm by continuing publication of inaccurate Ted Talk criticismsThe multimillionaire Brexit backer Arron Banks has lost a significant part of his appeal against the decision in his unsuccessful libel action against the Observer and Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr.Banks, who funded the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign group, succeeded in only one of three challenges brought to the court of appeal. Continue reading...

Action by RMT and Aslef unions over pensions and staffing will hit service on day of budgetTube workers in the RMT union will strike on 15 March, joining Aslef in a 24-hour stoppage that will bring the London Underground to a halt.The strike, on the day of the budget, will be the first this year in London by the RMT, in a long-running dispute over pensions and reducing the number of staff. Continue reading...

Fashion house upturns decade’s retrograde image with aesthetic of French musesThe 1950s were much cooler than you think. That was the message as Paris fashion week opened with a Dior show that upturned that decade’s retrograde image. Instead of pastel sweaters and milkshakes, this was the aesthetic of Juliette Gréco and the cafe society of Paris’s Rive Gauche (left bank) – strong black coffee, and little black dresses to match.The designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri, set out to reclaim the 1950s for France, because they have been monopolised in popular memory by the US, she said backstage at the show. “I realised that like many foreigners, so much of my image of France was formed by Paris as it is seen through an American lens,” she said, referencing the romantic images of the photographer Richard Avedon, as well as Hollywood films. Continue reading...

Retailer to close warehouses in Basildon, Essex and Heywood, Greater Manchester, by 2026Sainsbury’s is planning to close two Argos distribution centres, putting up to 1,400 jobs at risk, and will ditch the catalogue shop’s Milton Keynes head office and three remaining Habitat showrooms to cut costs.The retailer said it expected to close the warehouses in Basildon, Essex and Heywood, Greater Manchester, by 2026 leaving three non-food warehouses that will serve both Sainsbury’s and Argos. Continue reading...

Chancellor urged to ditch plans to cut support for energy bills when he delivers his budget for 2023More than 2m households in England fell into fuel poverty last year, raising pressure on Jeremy Hunt to ditch a planned cut to energy bills support.The number of households in England who spend more than 10% of their income, excluding housing costs, on energy has increased from 4.93m households in 2021 to 7.39m in 2022. Continue reading...

Trust responsible for overseeing legacy projects received £1m loan from city council in OctoberThe trust responsible for overseeing legacy projects from Coventry’s year-long UK city of culture celebrations has entered administration.It has faced financial difficulties for a number of months and in October received a £1m loan from Coventry city council after reporting “short-term cashflow problems”. Continue reading...

Biden’s plan to clear up to $20,000 in debt hit roadblocks as six Republican-led states claim president overstepped his authorityStudent loan borrowers braved a cold snap on Tuesday to gather on the steps of the US supreme court as justices inside heard arguments for two crucial cases that could determine the fate of Joe Biden’s giant loan forgiveness program aimed at easing a financial burden for millions of Americans.The president’s plan to clear up to $20,000 in debt for nearly 40 million student loan borrowers has hit several roadblocks since it was announced in August of last year amid staunch Republican opposition that has taken to the courts to block it. Continue reading...

Wreckage suggests UAV was Ukrainian-made, marking rare attempted strike hundreds of miles behind Russian lines

Villagers of Staveley want to turn closed care home into new facility for older people but have run into council roadblock

Zholia Alemi earned £1.3m in wages after forging degree certificate she used to register with the General Medical CouncilA bogus psychiatrist who practised in the NHS for 22 years with a fake degree has been jailed, as a judge criticised medical authorities for an “abject failure of scrutiny”.Zholia Alemi was ordered to serve seven years in prison after being found guilty of a “deliberate and wicked deception” that allowed her to treat hundreds of patients across Britain. Continue reading...

Draft plan addresses inflated claims about products’ environmental credentialsCompanies will have 10 days to justify green claims about their products or face “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties, under a draft EU crackdown on greenwashing seen by the Guardian.Inflated claims by firms about their products’ environmental bona fides have grown along with public awareness of global heating in recent years. Continue reading...

Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in 2017 atrocity, speaks out before inquiry publishes final reportA man left paralysed by the Manchester Arena attack has said he wants the truth and not “excuses” from MI5, as it faces damning criticism from an inquiry into the atrocity.Martin Hibbert said he wanted to know “why it happened and how it happened” when the inquiry publishes its long-anticipated final report about the blast on Thursday. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary defends decision condemned as ‘crass’, with No 10 and palace failing to clarify who organised meeting

The not-for-profit group helped up to 600 clients at a time access services including healthcare, financial and employment support

Brad Stansfield says ‘politically crazy’ move is spurred by MP’s independent stance on range of issues

Bryson, 31, committed offences in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019 before transitioningA transgender woman found guilty of raping two women before transitioning has been jailed for eight years.Isla Bryson was convicted last month of raping two women – one in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Glasgow in 2019 – while still a man known as Adam Graham. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Leaked emails show airport staff were guided to ease passenger waits during school holidaysAirport managers have asked Border Force officers to “deprioritise” customs work such as searching for guns and drugs in order to stop passport queues frustrating travellers.Leaked emails show that staff at Manchester airport were told this month that customs work should be carried out only if “there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time”.Any staff who are contingency trained should be prioritised to the PCP [Primary Control Point] when required to prevent excessive queues.Customs work is deprioritised and will only be carried out when you are satisfied there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time or in the event of a cat A target,” he wrote. Continue reading...

PM criticised for boasting about trade benefits of new deal while denying same gains to rest of UK

Government urged to take action to address condition of school estate ‘before anyone else is harmed’The government has been accused of “a complete dereliction of duty” over the state of school buildings in England after a woman sustained a serious head injury when a large piece of cladding fell off while she was waiting to pick up her children.The incident at Dore primary school in Sheffield, which was raised in the House of Commons on Monday, came at a time of growing concern about the deteriorating condition of the school estate, and warnings that some buildings are in danger of collapse. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak lauded for making ‘adult relationship’ possible between UK and EU after post-Brexit dispute

Suggestion to abolish catch-all offence will be among thousands considered at Chinese Communist party summitChina should abolish the catch-all crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a political delegate has proposed before next week’s major Two Sessions legislative meeting.Zhu Zhengfu, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) advisory body, said the law risked undermining China’s legal system and was open to “selective enforcement” by authorities, according to state media. Continue reading...

Almost all minority ethnic groups were more likely to die from virus than white British peopleThe Covid-19 public inquiry is facing calls to consider structural racism in every part of its investigation after it emerged almost all minority ethnic groups were more likely to die from the virus than white British people.Earlier this month, the lead counsel to the government-commissioned inquiry said it was not planning to consider structural racism in the first module of the inquiry examining pandemic preparations. But bereaved families and race equality organisations have told the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, that all 11 modules of the sprawling investigation must consider the phenomenon as a key issue. Continue reading...

Online supermarket attracts more customers, but they buy fewer items in each shop than previous yearOcado has slumped to a £501m annual loss after a “challenging year” for the online grocer, as retail revenues fell amid the cost of living crisis, with customers putting less in their baskets and using more discount vouchers.Revenues at Ocado Retail, its joint venture with Marks & Spencer, fell by 3.8% in 2022, despite the company reporting record sales over Christmas. The Ocado group’s pre-tax loss widened to £500.8m from £176.9m in 2021. Analysts had forecast an annual loss of £399m. Continue reading...

Report says Aboriginal kids now account for 43.8% of children in out-of home care, up from 38.4%

Human rights commissioner Scott McDougall warns against making breach of bail an offence for children at tense parliamentary committee hearing

Murray Smalpage tells coroner he is ‘struggling to find a reason’ for deviation from arrest plan on day Warlpiri teen was killed by Zachary Rolfe

Former human services secretary says Coalition minister told her ‘legal advice is just advice’ when briefed on solicitor general’s opinion on scheme’s legality

Exclusive: Eurovision host will issue licences only for concerts and festivals that agree to help reduce emissions by 50%The Eurovision host Liverpool has become the first city in the UK to commit to the Paris agreement for major live events.The city will issue licences for only those concerts and festivals that agree to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to help meet climate goals, including using a proportion of renewable energy to power the festival and reducing the number of cars visitors take to events. Continue reading...

Health department has expanded vaccine eligibility after a survey indicated the virus was more widespread than previously reported

Most Tory MPs welcome breakthrough as hardline Brexiters are mulling response

Prime minister unveils agreement with European Commission president after four months of negotiationsRishi Sunak has hailed a “new chapter” in the UK’s relationship with the EU as he secured a deal to end the long-running dispute over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol.The prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, described a “decisive breakthrough” at a joint news conference in Windsor after four months of intense negotiations. Continue reading...

Trade and governance will be at centre of new post-Brexit pact, but what about other areas of disagreement?

Jennifer McBride, who returned the dogs after they were stolen, says star failed to honor a $500,000 ‘no questions asked’ rewardA woman who was charged in connection with stealing Lady Gaga’s dogs has sued the pop star, alleging that she was denied a $500,000 reward for returning the dogs with “no questions asked”.Jennifer McBride was previously arrested and charged in connection to the theft of Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs in February 2021. Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot and wounded during the robbery. Continue reading...

Laura Trevelyan, a BBC correspondent who investigated her family’s link to the slave trade, also pays £100,000 in reparationsAn aristocratic British family has travelled to the Caribbean country of Grenada to publicly apologised for its ownership of more than 1,000 enslaved Africans and promise £100,000 in reparations.Laura Trevelyan, a New York-based BBC correspondent who investigated her family’s link to the slave trade, donated the money to the University of the West Indies (UWI). Continue reading...

Janet Yellen, on surprise visit to Ukrainian capital, says US and allies discussing strategies to ensure Russia pays for devastation of war. This blog is now closed

Number falls well short of target to respond to one of world’s biggest humanitarian disastersThe United Nations has raised about $1.2bn (£996m) from crisis-strained donors towards its $4.3bn aid plan for Yemen, one of the world’s biggest humanitarian disasters despite a no-war, no-peace stalemate that has largely stopped fighting.Underfunding has seen agencies scale back Yemen aid projects, including food rations, in the past couple of years. Last year donors gave $2.2bn of the $4.27bn sought, UN data shows. Continue reading...

Windsor framework makes it harder for the DUP to oppose the deal without losing the chance of effective veto on new single market rulesThe most interesting part of the press conference between the UK prime minister and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, was probably what Rishi Sunak said about the deal including a “Stormont brake”, which will allow the Northern Ireland assembly to stop new EU single market rules from applying in the region.He said the agreement “safeguards sovereignty” for Northern Ireland as a result. It had been reported that the – known as the Windsor framework – would give the Northern Ireland a right to be consulted on new single market rules; but this goes further, because the assembly would be able to block new rules applying in Northern Ireland.The only EU law that applies in Northern Ireland under the framework is the minimum necessary to avoid a hard border with Ireland and allow Northern Ireland business to continue accessing the EU market.But I know many people in Northern Ireland are worried about being subject to changes in EU goods law. Continue reading...

Advent of Israel’s most right-wing government, and spiralling violence, expose dangers of light-touch diplomacyWith an in-tray bulging with the war in Ukraine, the Chinese threat to Taiwan and the potential collapse of the Iran nuclear deal, the US State Department has tried to avert its gaze from the clouds gathering over Israel and Palestine, but has now found it impossible to do so.Since John Kerry, as secretary of state, expended diplomatic muscle trying to revive the Middle East peace process in the final year of the Obama administration, US Democrats have gently welcomed the rapprochement symbolised by the Abraham accords, but not done much else. However, the advent of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, and violence spiralling out of control, have shown the dangers of light-touch diplomacy. Continue reading...

Police appeal for information about Ford Fiesta used by gunmen to attack DCI John Caldwell in OmaghPolice have released CCTV footage of the car used by the men who shot a senior detective, John Caldwell, at a sports complex in Omagh last week.DCI Caldwell remains in a critical condition in hospital after he was shot in front of his young son in County Tyrone on Wednesday. Continue reading...

People share sightings of aurora borealis, with reports from as far south as Cornwall, and spectacle expected to repeat on Monday nightShimmering greens, purples and pinks of the northern lights appeared in the night sky across Britain and Ireland on Sunday night in a display that reached as far south as Hertfordshire and Cornwall.The light spectacle, also known as an aurora, is usually most visible near the Earth’s magnetic north and south poles when high-speed electrically charged particles from space collide with gas molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Continue reading...

Two killed as Ukraine claims to have shot down 11 of 14 drones in overnight attack; partisans claim to have destroyed Russian plane at Belarusian airstrip

Upgrade to City underground transport hub includes new entrance and ticket hall at Cannon StreetThe £700m upgrade of Bank station has been completed after seven years of construction, transforming London Underground’s major hub in the City into a “like-new, world-class” station.The opening of a spacious, accessible entrance and ticket hall marks the end of an overhaul that has increased the station capacity by 40% and unpicked a notoriously labyrinthine and busy interchange. Continue reading...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the photo appeared to show an alux, a creature from Yucatán folkloreMexico’s president posted a photo on his social media accounts on Saturday showing what he said appeared to be a mythological woodland spirit similar to an elf.Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not seem to be joking when he posted the photo of an alux, a mischievous woodland spirit in Maya folklore. Continue reading...

One man killed and four wounded in apparent worst outburst of settler violence in northern West Bank in decadesScores of Israeli settlers have gone on a violent rampage in the northern West Bank, setting alight dozens of cars and homes after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman.Palestinian medics said one man was killed and four other people were badly wounded in what appeared to be the worst outburst of settler violence in the area in decades. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak accused of ‘dragging the king into a hugely controversial political issue’

Project to revive 1,000-year-old village of Fraguas ended as activists face fines of up to €110,000An abandoned village in Spain has been condemned to its third and final death after the rural activists who occupied it 10 years ago gave up the struggle to bring it back to life.Fraguas’s first death came in the late 1960s, when it was expropriated by the Franco regime to make way for a huge reforestation programme; its second when it was used as an army training ground. Continue reading...