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Coffins of those who died are laid out in sports hall in Crotone, Calabria, as body of another child is foundThe grief-stricken relatives of the people who died in a shipwreck off the southern coast of Italy have travelled to the Calabrian town of Crotone, where the coffins of the victims have been laid out in a sports hall.Officials announced on Wednesday that the body of another child had been found, bringing the death toll in the tragedy to 67. Continue reading...

Couple being held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter have yet to tell police location of infantDetectives fear a missing baby may have come to “serious harm” as a huge search for the infant continues across a 90 square mile stretch of Sussex.Police say Constance Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon, have not told them the location of the baby since their arrest on Monday night after two months of evading authorities. Continue reading...

Heather Hallett hits back at scepticism that Isabel Oakeshott says led her to share Matt Hancock messagesThe Covid-19 public inquiry’s chair has insisted their investigation will not be a “whitewash”, after a journalist claimed that concern over the inquiry’s integrity prompted her to publish private messages shared with her by Matt Hancock.Isabel Oakeshott leaked 100,000 WhatsApp messages involving the former health secretary from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which are claimed to show he dismissed expert advice to test anyone entering a care home for coronavirus. Continue reading...

Submission says agency’s push to enable LGBTQ+ role models ‘preferences one worldview over another’

Latest statistics show migration from metro areas is still higher than pre-pandemic levels

‘Relay loans’ that can pass on to children follow other moves to make borrowing more flexibleIn an attempt to stimulate China’s flagging housing market, banks in some cities are extending the upper age limit on mortgages to between 80 and 95.Although not a national policy, banks in Beijing, Hangzhou and other big cities have started offering “relay loans” to elderly customers, which pass on to their children in the event that they cannot repay. Continue reading...

Calls for ex-health secretary to publish WhatsApp messages as he dismisses claims as ‘distorted’

Approvals at lowest since 2009 – bar during Covid lockdown – as demand for new homes continues to fallBritain’s mortgage market has contracted for a fifth month in a row, official figures show, as the jump in interest rates that followed Liz Truss’s September 2022 mini-budget continued to trigger a collapse in demand for new home loans.The Bank of England said the drop in January took the number of mortgage approvals to the lowest level since 2009, which followed the 2008 financial crash, excluding the dramatic drop after the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. Continue reading...

Report says Tata Motors approached Britain’s government as group weighs up site in Somerset or SpainJaguar Land Rover’s owner, Tata Motors, has reportedly asked the UK government for more than £500m in state subsidies to build a battery factory in Somerset, in a move seen as crucial to the future of the British car industry.Tata, the Indian conglomerate that owns Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), has asked for the money in the form of grants and support packages such as assistance for energy costs and research funding, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

Company criticised for late filing made profit of £26.3m in year to December 2021Revolut, the UK’s most valuable fintech company, claims it is at the “finish line” of winning a UK banking licence, as much-delayed accounts revealed its first annual profit.The company has been praised as a high-growth success story by leading UK politicians including the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, but it has also been criticised for the late filing of accounts, as well as EU regulatory breaches and fines. Continue reading...

Based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Kate Trefry and Jack Thorne, Stranger Things: The First Shadow promises ‘a journey into the past’After a dance-theatre version of Peaky Blinders and a musical of The Great British Bake Off, Netflix’s Stranger Things is the next TV hit to become a hot-ticket stage show.A new play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, will receive its world premiere later this year at the Phoenix theatre in London’s West End. The script is by Kate Trefry, a writer on the TV series, and is based on an original story by Trefry, the series’ creators the Duffer Brothers, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playwright Jack Thorne. It will be directed by Stephen Daldry. Continue reading...

Sportscar maker’s £495m loss in 2022 follows spending on new models and supply chain problemsAston Martin has revealed that its losses more than doubled during 2022 as the sportscar maker spent heavily on new models and struggled through supply chain problems hitting the global car industry.The UK-listed carmaker reported a loss before tax of £495m in 2022, up from £214m the year before, even as sales rose 26% to £1.4bn. It made an operating loss of £118m after adjusting for some one-off costs, less than the £135m expected by analysts. Continue reading...

Wilkinson has denied she acted recklessly in reporting Higgins’s allegations of rape

Year-on-year February 1.1% decline comes as average price of home drops to £257,406, says NationwideAnnual house price growth in the UK turned negative in February for the first time in almost three years, Nationwide data shows, falling to its lowest level since November 2012.The year-on-year 1.1% fall in prices represented the first annual decline in the cost of a home since June 2020, when the housing market reopened after the first Covid lockdown. Continue reading...

Yolŋu surf rockers claim prestigious prize previously awarded to the likes of Genesis Owusu, the Avalanches and Courtney Barnett

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Annette Musolino tells inquiry she did not withhold legal advice from her boss, the Department of Human Services secretary

Labor MP Peta Murphy rejects claims by broadcasters that further regulation could lead to a reduction in free sport coverage

Exclusive: Gillian Keegan opens up about 16-year-old relative as government prepares to publish Send improvement planThe education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has described her family’s battle to get the right support for her nephew, who has Down’s syndrome, as the government prepares to publish its improvement plan for special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in England.In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Keegan said the experiences of her 16-year-old nephew Joseph and his family had shown her first-hand how parents of children with Send have to fight every step of the way for the support they need. Continue reading...

Support grows for expansion of free school meals to struggling families in face of rising hungerThe number of UK children in food poverty has nearly doubled in the last year to almost 4 million, new data shows, ramping up pressure on ministers to expand the provision of free school meals to struggling families.According to the Food Foundation thinktank, one in five (22%) of households reported skipping meals, going hungry or not eating for a whole day in January, up from 12% at the equivalent point in 2022. Continue reading...

Labour leader tells Women’s Aid conference he will use his own experience as DPP after collapse in number of chargesKeir Starmer has vowed to make it his “personal mission” to stand up for victims of domestic violence, after a collapse in the number of charges brought for the crime.The Labour leader said that as the director of public prosecutions he had witnessed “the devastating impact domestic violence has on victims and their families”, and how abuse often escalated into other forms of serious violence. Continue reading...

Union calls document ‘incontrovertible proof’ institutions using ‘concerted’ plan to drive down wages

Party joins chorus of super funds and crossbenchers who want to use government’s tax concessions bill to call for broader changes

Opposition leader acknowledges ‘divergence of views’ but says the Liberal moderate represents the constituents in her marginal seat

Lower than expected inflation rate suggests worst of the price increases may be over

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...