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Independent’s comments made in support of proposal to bring to Australia 150 refugees and asylum seekers held in PNG and Nauru

The popular chocolate and peanut butter treat is one of two new ‘plant based’ offerings from the chocolatier in the next two monthsReese’s Peanut Butter Cups are getting the vegan treatment.The Hershey Company said on Tuesday that Reese’s plant-based peanut butter cups, which go on sale this month, will be its first vegan chocolates sold nationally. A second plant-based offering, Hershey’s plant-based extra creamy with almonds and sea salt, will follow in April. Continue reading...

Minister for women Katy Gallagher takes media to task for choosing ‘clickbait’ over community responsibility

Change in parents’ work patterns since Covid may have led to pupils staying homeSchools in England are seeing “a huge amount” of pupil absence on Fridays with children staying at home with their parents following a shift in attitudes post-Covid, MPs have been told.Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, told the education committee that persistent absence from schools is “one of the issues of our age” and called for a “razor sharp focus” on the problem. Continue reading...

Philip Lowe delivers speech saying it will soon be time to stop and assess the impact previous rate increases have had

Kate Forbes clashed with fellow frontrunner Humza Yousaf over his track record in first of four debates to decide Sturgeon’s successorThe battle to lead the Scottish National party became bitter and personal after the two leading candidates attacked each other’s suitability to succeed Nicola Sturgeon in the first televised debate of the leadership campaign.Kate Forbes clashed with Humza Yousaf over his track record in government, claiming that trains were never on time when he was transport secretary; the police were at breaking point when he was justice secretary; and now, as health secretary, the NHS had the longest ever waiting lists. Continue reading...

Candidates to replace first minister Nicola Sturgeon clashed in first TV debateNow Regan quizzes Forbes on how she plans to move the SNP away from being seen as just a “party of referendum” when “your plan is to keep asking for a referendum”.Forbes says the party needs to persuade people to believe independence is a “route to an end” rather than an “abstract concept”. It needs to be seen as a way of ending poverty and ending injustices and inequalities in Scotland.I’m the only potential leader who can reach out and persuade No voters to vote for independence in a referendum. Continue reading...

Two killed, third person injured and fourth unharmed after quartet traveling for cosmetic surgery were seized in TamaulipasTwo of four Americans kidnapped in northern Mexico have been found dead, authorities said on Tuesday, while their two compatriots were found alive, bringing to an end the frantic search that had captivated media attention on both sides of the border.The governor for Mexico’s northern Tamaulipas state, Américo Villarreal, confirmed the news at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, adding that one person who had been found watching over the victims was in custody. Continue reading...

Critics of ‘foreign agents’ law say it could dash Tbilisi’s hopes of joining the European UnionPolice in the former Soviet state of Georgia have used water cannon and teargas in an attempt to disperse thousands of people who rallied on Tuesday night after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on “foreign agents” which critics say represents an authoritarian shift.Some protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police in the centre of the capital Tbilisi, as demonstrators warned that the draft law could hurt the south Caucasus country’s hopes of EU membership. Continue reading...

Union suspends planned strike on 16 March after receiving fresh pay offer from Network RailThe RMT union has called off a strike at Network Rail next week, fuelling hopes of a significant breakthrough in the long-running dispute.The union said it was suspending the strike planned for Thursday 16 March and all other industrial action, which was to include an overtime ban, after it received a fresh offer from Network Rail. Continue reading...

Exclusive: energy secretary issued edict to deal with ‘outrageous’ backlog of support for paying billsMinisters in the newly formed energy department faced a ban on foreign trips due to a mounting backlog of issues raised with them by MPs, the Guardian can reveal.Grant Shapps issued the edict last month in a bid to speed up the “outrageously” slow response to cases raised on behalf of constituents, some of whom were struggling to claim support with their energy bills during the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Solvency II reforms governing sector may prove inadequate, warns Sam Woods, head of the Bank’s regulatory armMoves to hand the Bank of England fresh powers over insurers will not be enough to offset the risks posed by looser regulation, one of the central bank’s most senior officials has warned.The comments by the chief executive of the Bank’s regulatory arm, Sam Woods, come a day after his boss and the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, said that reforms to so-called Solvency II regulations would increase the possibility of life insurance firms failing by 20% in a given year. Continue reading...

Ukraine deputy PM says around 38 children remain in besieged city as western officials estimate Russia has sustained heavy losses thereSuspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports on its Telegram channel for Sumy that Bilopillia, a city in the north-east of Ukraine, close to the border with Russia, has been hit by mortar fire this morning. No damage or casualties were reported. The claim has not been independently verified.Russian forces carried out 50 airstrikes and five missile strikes overnight and Ukrainian forces repelled 37 attacks in the area around Bakhmut, according to the latest update by the General staff of the armed forces of Ukraine.This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com Continue reading...

Research finds ‘motherhood penalty’ is greater than 40 years ago, with mothers making 69% of fathers’ wagesThe pay gap between mothers and fathers with post-school education has increased since the late 1970s in the UK, according to research.As the world marks International Women’s Day on Wednesday, research from the University of Kent has found that the gap in pay between higher-educated mothers and fathers – the “motherhood penalty” – is greater now than 40 years ago. Continue reading...

Israeli forces enter camp to find gunman suspected of killing two brothers in Huwara last weekAt least six Palestinians have been killed and 10 wounded in an Israeli army raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, according to Palestinian officials, the latest bloody incident in a new chapter of violence across Israel and the Palestinian territories.A fierce gun battle erupted in the crowded refugee camp on Jenin’s western outskirts on Tuesday afternoon after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) mounted an operation to find the Palestinian gunman suspected of killing two Israeli brothers as they drove through the West Bank town of Huwara last week. Continue reading...

Only EU and Norwegian firms will be able to take advantage of joint procurement agreement, says leaked paper

New body will replace banking and insurance regulators after concerns over creaking property marketChina will set up a new financial watchdog to replace its banking and insurance regulators as part of an overhaul of state institutions after concern about exposure to its creaking property market.The new body, which does not have an official name yet, would bring oversight of China’s financial system under direct control of the State Council, the top government body. There are also reports that the president, Xi Jinping, who will in all likelihood be granted a third presidential term on Friday, will revive the Central Financial Work Commission, an organisation that would supervise the financial system on behalf of the Chinese Communist party, although this has yet to be announced publicly. Continue reading...

Britain’s biggest bakery chain says it expects cost inflation of between 9% and 10% this yearGreggs has said higher wage and energy bills are weighing on its profits but it plans to push ahead with opening 150 new stores this year as well as trialling a 24-hour drive-through outlet.Britain’s biggest bakery chain, known for its sausage rolls and steak bakes, said costs had risen by 9% last year and would continue to be a challenge in the year ahead. Continue reading...

Powerful voice of Tory backbenchers says he will no longer contest Altrincham and Sale West seatSir Graham Brady, whose role as chair of the Conservative party’s 1922 Committee saw him usher three prime ministers out of Downing Street in four years, is to step down as an MP at the next election.The most powerful backbencher of his political generation, Brady released a statement to his local newspaper saying it was time to “bring this fascinating and fulfilling chapter of my life to a close”. Continue reading...

WhatsApp leak shows then health secretary agreeing with idea of threatening to withhold funds for local projects

Ike Ekweremadu tells Old Bailey court he became suspicious of Lagos street trader offering kidneyA Nigerian politician at the centre of an alleged organ-harvesting plot said he feared his family was being scammed by a man from Lagos offering to donate a kidney, the Old Bailey has heard.Ike Ekweremadu, 60, his wife, Beatrice, 56, daughter Sonia, 25, and Dr Obinna Obeta, 51, are accused of conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of the man to exploit him for his kidney. They deny the charge. Continue reading...

Jack Benham and Sian Hedges accused of murdering boy in village near Faversham in November 2020Two people have been charged with murdering a one-year-old boy during lockdown.Jack Benham, 34, and Sian Hedges, 26, are accused of murdering the child on 28 November 2020 in the village of Hernhill, near Faversham, Kent. Continue reading...

Controversial deputy chair joins Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies on rightwing channelLee Anderson will become the latest Conservative MP to host a show on GB News, the channel has announced.The Conservative party deputy chair and MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, will join fellow Tories Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies as a GB News host and contributor. Continue reading...

Two adults and two children taken to hospital after blaze destroys second-floor flat in Stern CloseAn 11-year-old boy has died after a flat caught fire in Barking, east London.London fire brigade said it was called at 3.25am on Tuesday to a flat in Stern Close, Barking. A three-room flat on the second floor was destroyed by fire, the fire brigade said, and a child was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Legislation aims to increase number of women in decision-making roles such as in company boardroomsSpain’s government has approved a draft law that aims to bolster the presence of women in decision-making spheres by setting out quotas for women in politics, business and professional associations.“This is useful policy that changes people’s lives,” the country’s finance minister, Nadia Calviño, said on Tuesday. “It’s clear that we’ve come a long way … but there is still a lot to do.” Continue reading...

Ioanis Patsias plays pop star himself, replicating performance down to costume changes and dance numbers for 3,500 Lima fansThe Spanish pop superstar Rosalía disappointed thousands of fans in Peru when the country was left off the 15-country list on her Motomami tour last year.But one Peruvian, Ioanis Patsias decided to make sure his fellow fans did not miss out on her pop spectacle and put on a tribute show, playing the avant-garde pop queen himself. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to ‘find the murderers’ after video appears to show killing of unarmed combatant

Thomas Cashman, 34, accused of murdering nine-year-old in Liverpool shooting that went ‘horribly wrong’Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the nine-year-old girl who was shot dead in her home in Liverpool last August, screamed “Mum, I’m scared” before she was hit by a bullet, a court has heard.Thomas Cashman, 34, shot Olivia in the middle of her chest in a shooting that went “horribly wrong”, a prosecutor told Manchester crown court at the opening of the murder trial. Continue reading...

Road, rail and air services affected in protest over plans to raise pension age from 62 to 64France faced street protests and heavy disruption on Tuesday as transport workers and refinery staff began rolling strikes over Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age to 64.For the sixth time since the start of the year, unions called a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations, aiming to repeat the large turnout seen on the first major protest, on 19 January, when more than a million people marched against the pension changes. Continue reading...

If adopted, shake-up of 1967 Abortion Act would scrap rule that two doctors must approve terminationNurses and midwives should be able to approve abortions, MPs have been told, in what would be one of the biggest shake-ups of regulations in more than 55 years.If adopted, the “two-doctor rule”, which stipulates that abortions have to be authorised by two GPs, would be scrapped. Continue reading...

No details given about suspects as regime cracks down on criticism of its response to alleged school attacksIran has announced the first arrests connected to a spate of suspected poisonings of schoolgirls that has gripped the country.“Based on the intelligence and research measures of the intelligence agencies, a number of people have been arrested in five provinces and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation,” the deputy interior minister, Majid Mirahmadi, told state television. Mirahmadi did not provide details on the detained individuals. Continue reading...

Police say death not being treated as suspicious, after Albina Yevko found unconscious on Dawlish BeachThe mother of a Ukrainian teenager who died after being found unconscious on a beach in South Devon has said “nothing can ever replace her”.Devon and Cornwall police named the 14-year-old refugee as Albina Yevko, a Ukrainian national who was living near Dawlish on the south coast. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says bill will ‘take back control of our borders’ but critics argue the proposals are unworkable

Mada Masr, Egypt’s only remaining independent news outlet, reported alleged corruption among supporters of President SisiThree journalists from Egypt’s last remaining independent news outlet have gone on trial in Cairo on charges of misusing social media and offending members of parliament.Rana Mamdouh, Sara Seif Eddin and Beesan Kassab, who work for the Mada Masr news platform, face up to two years in prison and fines of 300,000 EGP (£8,100) if the court convicts them. Continue reading...

Warnings issued for snow and ice across all four nations with temperature forecast to plunge to -15From Tyneside to Buckinghamshire, snow fell across the much of the country on Tuesday as forecasters warned temperatures could plunge to a 2023 record low of -15C in some parts.The Met Office says the mercury could dip to the lowest of the year so far in some sheltered Scottish glens, especially where there is fresh snow cover. Continue reading...

London employment tribunal finds Ubah Jama received less favourable treatment than white counterpartsA senior NHS scientist has won a race claim after her colleague recorded her name as “Paininarse” on a work spreadsheet.

Growing numbers including from elite air force squadron say they are unwilling to serve ‘dictatorial regime’Growing numbers of Israel’s military reservists, including members of its most important air force squadron, are refusing to attend for service, an unprecedented step that comes as part of the protest movement against the country’s new far-right government.In an announcement on Sunday, all but three of the 40 reservist pilots in Israel’s elite 69 Squadron said they would not take part in a training exercise later this week, and instead participate in the widespread public protests, claiming they were not prepared to serve a “dictatorial regime”. Continue reading...

Trudeau resists calls for public inquiry as leaks spark fierce debate and threaten to dent country’s reputation with alliesA flurry of leaked intelligence reports has reignited allegations that China interfered in Canada’s recent federal elections, kicking off a fierce debate over possible responses to Beijing’s meddling.But the leaks also run the risk of harming Canada’s reputation among its allies, experts warn, as the country’s spy agency struggles to respond to mounting public concern. Continue reading...

Exclusive: One of UK’s biggest ad deals for 15 years is expected to be signed this week but may yet fall throughThe Japanese marketing giant Dentsu is understood to have struck a £533m (€600m) deal to buy Tag, the British-headquartered global content production group, in one of the largest UK ad deals of the last 15 years.The move by Dentsu – which became a global force in advertising with its £3.2bn takeover of the UK media group Aegis in 2012, the largest-ever deal for a British-based ad group – marks its latest push to challenge rivals including WPP, IPG and Omnicom in the US and France’s Publicis Groupe. Continue reading...

Bank apologises after error results in elderly woman having account closed and phone and energy cut offAn elderly widow was cut off from her money for three months and lost her phone line and energy supply when a banking error by Barclays marked her as deceased.Ninety-one-year-old Marjorie Roper* discovered that her pension and benefits payments had been stopped and her direct debits cancelled after a Barclays agent recorded that she had died and closed her account. Continue reading...

The Rural Fire Service warned Tambaroora residents ‘do not be caught in the open in the path of the fire’

Prospect says Cabinet Office not engaging over dispute that could lead to 150,000 public sector workers going on strikeA leading civil servants union has accused the government of ignoring its offer of talks to avert strikes and failing to even acknowledge its decision to take strike action.Tens of thousands of public sector members of the Prospect union will strike on 15 March and work to rule indefinitely after voting overwhelmingly for industrial action. Continue reading...

Ministers promised legislation forcing venues to draw up plans to prevent attacks, in wake of Manchester Arena deaths, in DecemberA draft bill known as “Martyn’s law”, aimed at forcing all venues to draw up plans to prevent terrorist attacks and ensure public safety, is on track to be published this spring, the home secretary told MPs on Monday.Suella Braverman’s commitment came as MPs debated the critical third and final public report of the Manchester Arena terrorism inquiry, released last week, in response to a question from her Labour counterpart. Continue reading...

PM welcomes endorsement of liberal values and support for Ukraine as far-right rival loses assembly seatsEstonia’s popular centre-right prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has begun weighing options for a new governing coalition after a sweeping election victory in which she received more personal votes than any politician in the country’s history.The centre-right leader, one of Europe’s strongest pro-Kyiv voices, said on Monday she felt “humble and grateful” for a result that showed Estonians “overwhelmingly value liberal values, security founded on EU and Nato, and firm support to Ukraine”. Continue reading...

Party has launched consultation process to decide whether to back Rishi Sunak’s Windsor frameworkThe Democratic Unionist party is unlikely to make a decision on whether to support Rishi Sunak’s deal with the EU to revise the Northern Ireland protocol until April.The party has just launched a consultation process with an eight-person panel including former party leaders, Lady Arlene Foster and Peter Robinson. Continue reading...

Met police were told of flashing incident days before officer abducted and murdered EverardSarah Everard’s life “could have been saved” if police had acted on reports of Wayne Couzens exposing himself, one of his victims has said.Couzens, a Metropolitan police firearms officer, flashed the woman at a fast food drive-through restaurant just four days before he abducted, raped and murdered Everard on 3 March 2021. Continue reading...

One of UK’s longest serving and most notorious prisoners says he is now a ‘man of peace’Charles Bronson, one of the UK’s longest serving and most notorious prisoners, has told a parole hearing that he is now a “man of peace” and just wants to “go out and do my art”.Bronson, 70, who has been in jail for 48 years, almost continuously, much of it in solitary confinement, said he had deserved “a good 35 years” of that stretch because he had been “naughty” but he is now reformed. Continue reading...

Head of UN nuclear watchdog had said Tehran agreed to restore equipment and hand over dataThe head of the UN nuclear weapons inspectorate was forced to qualify some of the claims he made about commitments he had extracted from Iran at the weekend about increasing access to UN inspectors.At his first press conference on his return from Tehran on Saturday, Rafael Grossi said “yes” when asked if Iran had pledged to restore all the cameras and other surveillance equipment that it had removed from its nuclear-related sites. But at Monday’s press conference he qualified this, saying it required further discussion. Continue reading...