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Perth man, who worked for Rio Tinto, dead after altercation in South Kuta bar

The first Polish Leopard 2 tanks arrive in Ukraine and western allies step up assistance as the Russian invasion enters second year

Albanese government under pressure to move ambassador to Kyiv after shift to Poland at start of Russia’s invasion

Veteran presenter says BBC has brought forward his last show to beginning rather than end of MarchKen Bruce has suggested he has been forced to leave the BBC earlier than he intended with his final Radio 2 show scheduled for next week rather than at the end of March.The 71-year-old Scottish broadcasting veteran will present his final 9.30am-to-midday show on 3 March. Continue reading...

US secretary of state warns peace plan proposed by China draws ‘false equivalence’ by calling on both sides to stop fightingThe US has launched a fresh bid to win over abstaining and neutral states by urging them not to be fooled by Russian calls for a temporary or unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, warning that a peace plan proposed by China drew “false equivalence” by calling on both sides to stop fighting.US secretary of state Antony Blinken was speaking at a highly charged meeting of the UN security council where he reminded his fellow diplomats that the Russian envoy only a year ago had dismissed his warnings that Moscow was about to launch an invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy says some points in Chinese statement for peace ‘understandable’ while Kremlin adds Beijing’s involvement appreciated

Much of Portland, Oregon, also shut down due to icy roads and nearly a million buildings without power in MichiganA slow-moving winter storm intensified over California on Friday, triggering the first blizzard warning in parts of the Los Angeles area since 1989 and creating the extraordinary sight of snowflakes swirling around the iconic Hollywood sign.The National Weather Service warned of a “cold and dangerous winter storm” that would last through Saturday in California. Blizzard warnings were posted in the Sierra Nevada and southern California mountain ranges, where as much as 5ft (1.5 meters) of snow was expected. Continue reading...

Poland’s PM visits Kyiv as allies demonstrate support on first anniversary of invasionThe first Polish Leopard tanks have arrived in Ukraine, as western allies including the G7 and EU announced a range of further economic, military and financial sanctions against Russia, in a renewed effort to weaken Vladimir Putin’s war machine.Speaking on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, confirmed that four Leopard tanks had been delivered to Ukraine. “Poland and Europe stand by your side. We will definitely not leave you, we will support Ukraine until complete victory over Russia,” he said, standing alongside the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, during his visit to Kyiv. Continue reading...

Singer said he wanted to pay for scans elsewhere in the UK to help people get treatment more quicklyRod Stewart visited his local NHS hospital on Friday and paid for a day of scans for patients to help reduce waiting lists.The singer-songwriter, 78, said he wanted to “prove I’m not all mouth and trousers” and added he would like to pay for scans elsewhere in the UK. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story hereForbes interrupted her maternity leave following the birth of her baby daughter last summer to run to be the next SNP leader.I want to lead Scotland into better days. I have a vested interest in achieving this, not least for the sake of my daughter’s future.Scotland needs a leader who is bold, brave and energised. My vision centres on delivering a strong growing economy that expands the tax base and reinvests in tackling poverty and making our public services sustainable.We need somebody competent, who voters trust, who speaks the truth, who has integrity and commitment … I’m the only candidate with a strong grip on the economy and our finances.If anything, can be said of me in the past week it is that I am willing to be honest and open, even at the cost of my leadership bid and my career. Continue reading...

Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains frontrunner for president but a new voice has captured the youth voteThe posters lining the roads of Lagos show the face of a smiling, bespectacled 70-year-old above a slogan promising renewed hope. Vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pedestrians and drivers negotiating the chaos of the Nigerian commercial capital are told. Vote for peace, justice, unity.On Saturday, the 6 million inhabitants of Lagos who have collected their voting cards will have to decide whether Tinubu and his ruling All Progressives Congress might fulfil any of these promises. So too will another estimated 81 million voters among the 220 million inhabitants of Africa’s most populous country. Their collective decision will determine the result of Nigeria’s seventh presidential elections since the end of military rule in 1999. Continue reading...

President says start of Russian invasion was ‘longest day of our lives’ and urges allies to ‘respect promises’

Move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to two-year standoff with EU

Family pay tribute to man they described as ‘journalist to his bones’Sir Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary, has died at the age of 90 after a short illness, his family has said.Ingham was a former journalist with the Guardian in the 1970s before going into communications for the government. He served as press secretary for Thatcher for almost her entire time in office. Continue reading...

TV presenter will take over in May when veteran Scottish broadcaster steps down after 31 yearsVernon Kay is returning to the BBC to replace Ken Bruce on his Radio 2 mid-morning weekday show, the broadcaster has confirmed.The 48-year-old TV presenter will take over in May to replace the Scottish broadcasting veteran, who announced last month he would be stepping down from presenting on Radio 2 after 31 years. Continue reading...

Move will increase pressure on larger RMT union to put similar offers to full vote by its membersMembers of the TSSA union have voted to accept pay offers made by train operating companies, ending their part in the long-running national rail dispute.In an online ballot, 80% of participating members in management grades and 60% in other grades voted in favour of deals worth 9% over two years. Turnout was 57%. Continue reading...

Candidate to become SNP leader and first minister also pledges to scrap gender recognition reform bill in campaign launch

Defenders of LTNs in Oxford report antisemitic and conspiracy-theory chanting at confrontations over traffic reduction measuresFar-right activists and other extremists are attempting to hijack local issues such as low-traffic schemes by linking them to conspiracy theories, campaigners have warned.It comes after Covid-19 protestors joined thousands demonstrating against Oxford’s Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) scheme, one of the most ambitious in the country and the source of long-running local debate. Continue reading...

Ukraine fears Russia intends to mark anniversary of invasion with new attacks on key cities; western officials estimate Russia’s military casualties at nearly 200,000

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

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...

Mike fled Ukraine with his wife and young son last year. Now in the UK, he describes the family’s past year

British Medical Association announces industrial action in dispute over pay and conditions

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...

Archbishop says Russia cannot be treated like Germany after first world war, nor Ukraine forced into unjust compromise

Inquest hears Michael Suckling struggled with drug addiction, back pain, mobility issues and significant weight gain in prison

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...

Expansion to include 15-year-olds is part of a suite of measures to crack down on youth crime, including making breach of bail an offence for children

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Two University of Sydney students claim they were prevented from talking to media or friends during a months-long investigation

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...

Former office manager for then Liberal party member Craig Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges, including sexual touching and indecent assault

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...

Despite calls for a ban, the season begins on 26 April and will run for about a month less than it did last year

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...

The Rabobank Australia agribusiness outlook for 2023 says profits will fall in line with a drop in global commodities prices

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...

Aishwarya Aswath died on Easter Saturday 2021, hours after presenting to an emergency department with a fever and unusually cold hands

Rolfe’s father says he expects his son to return and give evidence at Kumanjayi Walker inquest if his legal action to avoid doing so fails

State government defends payments for projects designed to help guarantee energy stability across Australia’s east coast

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...