World news | The Guardian

Exclusive: Labour compiled analysis of waste suffered by cash-strapped local authorities on the scheme, binned by the government weeks laterCash-strapped councils are estimated to have spent £12.5m compiling bids to launch low tax and regulation-lite “investment zones” that were binned by the government just weeks later, new figures suggest.Labour, which compiled analysis about the waste suffered by local authorities, hit out at the “cost of Tory chaos” given the scheme was effectively ditched by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, when he took over after Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership. Continue reading...

MPs and peers warn bill ‘will damage UK’s international reputation as guardians of human rights’Rishi Sunak is being urged to abandon the government’s controversial attempt to overhaul human rights legislation after a warning that the bill of rights appears to “tip the balance” in favour of the state and seriously damages people’s ability to enforce their rights.A cross-party committee of MPs and peers said the bill, which would replace the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the European convention on human rights in the UK, showed a “disregard” for the UK’s international legal obligations and would lead to more cases going to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg. Continue reading...

PM’s call comes as Greens face party split on issue and Liberals signal they will oppose the proposal

Teresa Maher’s son, Kyle, was killed by Richard Wilson-Michael in supported accommodation in London in 2017A woman has won a legal battle against a mental health tribunal over its refusal to provide her with the the reasons for releasing her son’s killer into the communityIn a boost to open justice, a high court judge ruled that the tribunal unlawfully rejected requests for information from Teresa Maher, who feared that her son’s killer still posed a risk. Continue reading...

International code adopted as part of ‘anti-racism commitment’ could be used to shut down genuine criticism of the state of Israel, critics warn

Growing number of offenders on remand in England and Wales not offered support before being freed, prisons inspector saysPotentially dangerous prisoners are spending years on remand before disappearing into the community after their release without being properly monitored, the prisons watchdog has warned.Charlie Taylor, HM’s chief inspector of prisons, said a restructuring of probation services last year failed to address the growing number of offenders held on remand who are not offered support before being freed. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

National Highways faces third intervention by a local authority over infilling, after burying Congham bridge in Norfolk in tonnes of concreteA controversial practice by the government’s roads agency of burying historic railway bridges in concrete has been dealt a fresh blow after a third council intervened over another infilled structure.King’s Lynn and West Norfolk council has told National Highways it must apply for retrospective planning permission if it wants to retain hundreds of tonnes of aggregate and concrete it used to submerge Congham bridge, a few miles east of King’s Lynn. Continue reading...

Insurrection: A Work in Progress by Peter Brathwaite will highlight folk traditions as a form of resistanceA leading British opera singer is developing a work based on the music of his enslaved ancestors in Barbados as a way of examining complex historical events and highlighting forms of resistance.Peter Brathwaite and the Royal Opera House (ROH) will present Insurrection: A Work in Progress to audiences in March, inviting feedback from the public that will shape the opera’s next stages. Continue reading...

Lynn has pleaded not guilty to murdering the pair, who went missing in 2020 while camping in the Wonnangatta Valley, north-east of Melbourne

Extreme weather kills at least one person in Japan and more than 100 in Afghanistan while parts of China hit record low temperaturesWeather authorities in Japan and the Korean peninsula have issued warnings over freezing temperatures and gales that have killed at least one person, and stranded thousands.Severe cold weather has already caused fatalities, havoc and record low temperatures across the region in the last fortnight, with at least 124 people dead in Afghanistan and record lows of -53C in northeastern China. Continue reading...

In a focus group, residents of Stoke-on-Trent describe the health service as an ‘absolute mess’ and say the PM has just disappeared

Exclusive: Healthy Start scheme began switch away from paper coupons to digital system in 2021Struggling parents are having to wait more than a year for vouchers to buy healthy food for their children after the relaunch of an NHS scheme was plagued by IT problems.The Healthy Start scheme, which helps low-income parents and pregnant women pay for fruit, vegetables, milk and formula, has been misfiring since it began the switch away from paper vouchers in October 2021. As it moved from a paper coupon format to a prepaid card system, parents who had been using the old scheme were rejected for the new one without explanation. Continue reading...

Residents told that rising cases mean they must stay home for five days and do frequent temperature checksAuthorities in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice.The notice did not mention Covid-19, but said that residents in the city were required to stay in their homes until the end of Sunday and submit to temperature checks multiple times each day, according to NK News, which monitors North Korea. Continue reading...

Rob and Fern Messenger filed ‘acres of irrelevant and scandalous material’ during trial, court finds

Decision comes just days after Washington argued against sending the Abrams and follows reports Berlin will send Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Allied health groups say allowing people to see other practitioners in first instance would reduce load on doctors

Minister says Northern Territory government responded too slowly and a First Nations body advising parliament would have delivered earlier intervention

As Queensland cracks down on young offenders, experts fear ill-informed public sentiment is influencing policy

Community visitors should be checking on residents in privately run facilities, Victoria’s public advocate says

Crane nightclub in Digbeth where Cody Fisher was killed described as having inadequate search regime and widespread drug useA Birmingham nightclub where a footballer was stabbed to death on Boxing Day has had its licence permanently revoked.Cody Fisher, 23, died after being stabbed during a fight at an event at Crane nightclub in Digbeth. Continue reading...

Media reports say German chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send the vehicles and allow other countries to send their German-made tanks

‘Demand flexibility scheme’, which launched on Monday, to operate between 4.30pm and 6.30pm

Multiple officials have been dismissed or resigned since Saturday, with six facing corruption allegations

Michelle Rowland, state and territory ministers and representatives of dating apps to discuss ‘unacceptable levels of abuse and harassment’

Sharp says he will not step down, despite claims he helped secure £800k loan for Boris JohnsonRichard Sharp has insisted he had no conflict of interest when he was appointed the chair of the BBC by Boris Johnson, despite allegations he helped secure a loan of up to £800,000 for the prime minister only a week earlier.The BBC chair said on Tuesday he was confident he was given the job in 2021 “on merit” and said he would not step down. Continue reading...

Government convenes domestic violence experts after killings of six women and a young girl this monthThe Spanish government has called a second emergency meeting of domestic violence experts in less than a month after the murders of six women and a young girl since the start of January, and as it considers a plan to let abused women know if their partners have been convicted of violent offences.The crisis committee was last assembled after the murders of 11 women in December. Continue reading...

Tank Française watch, favoured by stars such as Michelle Obama, sets record for British Heart FoundationThe British Heart Foundation has sold a gold Cartier watch for almost £10,000 on auction site eBay, after it turned up in a bag of donations handed in at a shop in Hounslow, west London.The 18 carat Tank Française watch, favoured by celebrities such as Michelle Obama and Diana, Princess of Wales, set a record for the charity, which sold 236,000 donated items online last year to raise funds. Continue reading...

The 38-year-old appeared in court in Delhi by video link and will now face trial over the alleged murder of the 24-year-old QueenslanderThe man accused of murdering 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley on a Queensland beach four years ago is to be extradited to Australia.Rajwinder Singh, 38, appeared in a Delhi court on Tuesday via a video and heard Judge Swati Sharma tell him that the extradition to Australia had been allowed. Continue reading...

Critics say millions of dollars are being spent by local governments on offsetting when it should be the last resort

Tensions between the two countries have been further inflamed after a copy of the Qur’an was burned in a protest in Stockholm over the weekendSweden could not expect Turkey’s support for its Nato membership, the Turkish president has warned, days after a copy of the Qur’an was burned in a Stockholm protest.Protests near the Turkish embassy in Sweden’s capital on Saturday have heightened tensions with Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the military alliance. Continue reading...

From climate change to women’s rights, what effect will the demographic time bomb at the heart of China’s economy have?China has entered a period of “negative population growth”, an important moment in the history of the country. As recently as 2019, the UN projected the population would peak in 2031-32, but despite major government efforts to reverse the trend, China has now begun what is expected to be a long period of population decline.The ongoing shift in demographics could have a profound effect on everything from how the economy operates to Xi Jinping’s legitimacy. The Guardian spoke to experts about the implications for everything from climate change to the Chinese Communist party. Continue reading...

Tory party chair still has some explaining to do over why he paid a penalty to HMRC to settle his tax affairsNadhim Zahawi, who won plaudits for his work as vaccines minister during the pandemic, now faces questions that threaten his political survival.The Conservative party chair has been at the heart of a media storm over a disagreement with HMRC after the Guardian revealed on Friday that he had paid a penalty to the tax office as part of an estimated £5m tax settlement last year. Continue reading...

Streets in surrounding area closed and buildings evacuated after fire at department store which closed in 2021A firefighter is in a life-threatening condition after being injured battling a blaze at the Jenners building in Edinburgh.Five firefighters were hurt during the blaze at the former department store in the Scottish capital, which crews were called to at 11.29am on Monday. Continue reading...

Labour says figures underline railways are in crisis, as almost one in 12 services due to run ended up cancelledThe reliability of Britain’s trains fell to new lows in December, official figures show, with record levels of cancellations even on days when the railway was not affected by strikes.While train operators cut their schedules back in advance by about a third because of industrial action, almost one in 12 of those remaining services due to run still ended up being cancelled. Continue reading...

Italy celebrates return of 60 artefacts, some dating back to first century BC, with total value of more than $20mItalian art investigators have exhibited a fresco that survived the destruction of the ancient Roman beach town of Herculaneum in the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius only to be plundered from its ruins and smuggled to the US, among 60 relics returned to home soil.The total value of the works, some of which date back to the first century BC, looted from Italy over the past five decades and eventually traced to the US is estimated at more than $20m (£16m). The relics, which were displayed during a press conference in Rome on Monday, include a terracotta Etruscan kylix, bronze busts, ancient vases and kitchenware. Continue reading...

Former taoiseach tells Commons committee that UK, EU and DUP need to ditch red lines to make lasting dealIf politicians could persuade the IRA to drop their arms in 1998, then how to end the Brexit dispute over Northern Ireland is not “rocket science”, one of the architects of the Good Friday agreement has told MPs.Stressing that “compromise” and political leadership was needed, Bertie Ahern called on all sides including the UK, the EU and the Democratic Unionist party to ditch their red lines and make agreements that would deliver a lasting deal. Continue reading...

Commissioner for public appointments to examine selection after questions over loan of up to £800k secured by Boris Johnson

Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, who killed Thomas Roberts, was previously convicted of murder in SerbiaA man from Afghanistan previously been convicted of murder in Serbia has been found guilty of killing a young man in Dorset in a row over an e-scooter.Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was convicted on Monday of the murder of 21-year-old Thomas Roberts outside a Subway sandwich shop in Bournemouth in March last year. Continue reading...

Peter Cavanagh, 35, and Jordan Devine, 22, are charged with killing of journalist in Derry in 2019Two men are to stand trial for the murder of the writer Lyra McKee, who was shot dead while observing a riot in Northern Ireland in 2019.Peter Cavanagh, 35, and Jordan Devine, 22, both from Derry, have been charged with murdering McKee in the Creggan area of the city on 18 April 2019. They deny the charge and are on bail pending a trial date in Belfast. Continue reading...

Intruders wearing balaclavas broke into couple’s home in Ongar, Essex, in November 2021A man has been found guilty of robbing the Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife Peta of their high-value watches in a knifepoint raid at their home in November 2021.Intruders wearing balaclavas broke into the couple’s home in Ongar, Essex, at about 2.30am on 27 November 2021 and threatened to stab the athlete, a trial at Chelmsford crown court heard. Continue reading...

Prime minister initiates inquiry as ‘clearly in this case there are questions that need answering’

Promotion for Count Antrim hot tub, massage and shooting offer described as ‘truly appalling’A Northern Ireland resort has apologised for causing offence by advertising a “bikinis and balaclavas” spa package but said it will continue offering the service.Rosnashane House in Ballymoney, County Antrim, drew criticism over the weekend for using the image of a woman in a black bikini and balaclava to market a spa treatment with gun range shooting. Continue reading...

Andrey Medvedev, who is seeking asylum after claiming to witness war crimes in Ukraine, fears deportation to Russia

Frank McAveety apologised for comments made in Holyrood meeting in 2010 about 15-year-old girlThe Scottish Labour party has been criticised for putting a former MSP who made “deeply sexualised and racist remarks” about a 15-year-old girl on to its shortlist for a parliamentary seat in Glasgow.Frank McAveety, the former MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, was recorded calling a 15-year-old girl “dark” and “dusky” and describing her as “very nice and very slim” during a Holyrood committee meeting in 2010. Continue reading...

Yellow weather warning in place for large area of England after extremely cold temperatures overnightDozens of flights out of the UK’s largest airport have been cancelled as freezing fog causes disruption to transport networks. Forecasters warned that much of south-eastern England would be hit by travel delays as a patch of cold weather moves in.The Met Office said an area stretching from London almost to the Humber was at risk and issued a yellow warning – the least severe. Parts of south-eastern England, including most of East Anglia and the home counties, as well as much of the east Midlands, were likely to be affected, they said. Continue reading...

Sales for Christmas and new year period are up on last year but down on pre-Covid tradingThe pub group Fuller, Smith & Turner has issued a profit warning, blaming months of train strikes for a £4m slump in sales including a plunge in festive season trade.Fuller’s, which has more than 400 pubs, mainly in London and south-east England, said that since the start of October industrial action on the rail network had cost the business £4m in sales. Continue reading...

Martinez Zogo’s kidnapping is the latest in a string of attacks against journalists in the African countryThe mutilated body of a prominent Cameroonian journalist has been found near the capital, Yaoundé, five days after he was abducted by unidentified assailants.Media advocates described Martinez Zogo’s disappearance and death as a further sign of the perils of reporting in the African country. Continue reading...

Movement to tackle lack of diversity within Brazil’s foreign office coincides with Lula’s return to powerMore than a century after Maria José de Castro Rebello Mendes became, in 1918, the first woman to enter Brazil’s diplomatic service, the country’s female diplomats have launched a new push for equal rights and opportunity. Women make up less than 25% of Brazil’s diplomatic corps and just 12% of ambassadors.“We are blossoming at this moment of democratic government,” said Irene Vida Gala, a senior diplomat who served as ambassador to Ghana and is now the president of the newly created Association of Female Brazilian Diplomats. Continue reading...

National Grid scheme launches on Monday between 5pm and 6pm – we look at whether it’s worth itHouseholds and businesses in Great Britain will be paid to cut back on their electricity use between 5pm and 6pm on Monday, in the first real test of a National Grid scheme. With temperatures dropping sharply, the electricity system operator hopes to reduce strain on the grid by reducing consumption. The initiative, which has only been used as a test up to now, will take place during the early evening peak in Britain’s energy demand. Here, we examine how the scheme works. Continue reading...