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Indigenous scientist Dr Katrina Wruck awarded Young Australian of the Year, and charity co-founder Brother Olly Pickett named Senior Australian of the Year

Diplomatic frenzy and rattled nerves in republic as mayor and former president reject US president's commentsFrom a modern control room high above the canal expansion - overlooking the Cocoli locks, then lakes, rainforest canopy and, eventually, the Atlantic ocean - it barely registers that the era of gunboat diplomacy is returning to the Panama canal.But four days into Donald Trump's second administration, here we are. Trump has declared that he is taking back" the Panama canal, sending TV crews from Washington to Beijing scrambling here to cover a crisis that has led to frenzied diplomatic efforts and elicited fears of a repeat of the 1989 US military invasion. Continue reading...

The 70-year-old former collective farm boss has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994Belarusians began voting on Sunday, with president Alexander Lukashenko expected to cruise to victory unchallenged for a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule.Lukashenko - a 70-year-old former collective farm boss - has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994. Continue reading...

Striking image will be unveiled at National Portrait Gallery in March, as part of a major exhibition of the Norwegian master's portraitsAt first glance, it is a striking portrait by Edvard Munch, painted in 1892, a year before the Norwegian master was to create his most famous masterpiece, The Scream.But peer closely at the man's sleeve along the bottom edge and two embracing, ethereal figures in a mysterious moonlit landscape are revealed. Continue reading...

It's the latest example of the Coalition appearing to echo or praise US president Donald Trump's new administration

Full restoration could take days, says energy official, with conditions still difficult and more yellow alerts issuedAbout 40,000 people in Scotland remained without electricity on Saturday night in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn and some may have to wait several days before it is restored, according to an energy distribution director.As of 4pm on Saturday, about 28,000 Scottish Power customers were without power, while as of 7.30pm, about 12,000 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customers were also without power. Continue reading...

Nigerian officials say a Boeing 787-800 belonging to United Airlines was forced to make an emergency return last FridayMultiple people were injured on a United Airlines flight heading from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington DC last week.In a statement released on Friday, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said that a Boeing 787-800 belonging to United Airlines was forced to make an emergency return last Friday. Continue reading...

David Armitage, resident in Thailand since 2004 death of Lamduan Armitage, detained by immigration officialsThe British husband of Lamduan Armitage, a Thai woman whose body was found in a stream in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004, has been detained by police in Thailand.

Four soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza are back in Israel and 200 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails. This blog is now closed.It is being reported that dozens of Hamas fighters are gathering in Palestine Square in the heart of Gaza City, where the release of Israeli captives may take place.The release of the four female soldiers is expected at some point this morning. They will be received by the Red Cross in Gaza and then handed over to Israeli forces, who will transport them back to Israel. Continue reading...

Pressure growing on Labour to improve trade with EU as Rachel Reeves admits Brexit damaged UKKeir Starmer is under growing pressure to forge closer economic links with Europe five years on from Brexit, as a major new poll shows voters clearly favour prioritising more trade with the EU over the US.The MRP survey of almost 15,000 people by YouGov for the Best for Britain thinktank shows more people in every constituency in England, Scotland and Wales back closer arrangements with the EU rather than more transatlantic trade with Washington. MRP polls use large data samples to estimate opinion at a local level Continue reading...

Source says: The Danes are in crisis mode' after US president's call with prime minister Mette FrederiksenDonald Trump had a fiery phone call with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen over his demands to buy Greenland, according to senior European officials.Speaking to the Financial Times, officials said that Trump, then still president-elect, spoke with Frederiksen for 45 minutes last week, during which he was described to be aggressive and confrontational about Frederiksen's refusal to sell Greenland to the US. Continue reading...

Leo, 12, was stabbed while walking home from school on Tuesday afternoonA 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Leo Ross, 12, who was stabbed in the stomach while walking home from school in Birmingham.The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been remanded into custody to appear at Birmingham magistrates court on Monday having been charged on Saturday, West Midlands police said. Continue reading...

The latest protests come after private meeting between Robert Fico and Vladimir Putin in DecemberThe Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, has rejected calls for his resignation after tens of thousands demonstrated against his government's policy shift closer to Russia.About 60,000 people protested in the capital, Bratislava, on Friday and approximately 100,000 turned out for rallies in cities across the country, the largest demonstrations since Fico returned to power in 2023. Continue reading...

Detainees fear their return could be imminent despite UN experts urging Bangkok to halt possible transferRelatives of Uyghurs detained in Thailand for more than a decade have begged the Thai authorities not to deport the 48 men back to China, after the detainees suggested their return appeared imminent.A UN panel of experts this week urged Thailand to immediately halt the possible transfer", saying the men were at real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if they are returned". Continue reading...

Opinium survey of 2,000 adults found concern about the impact of growing wealth inequality in the UKGrowing wealth inequality is increasing the risk of societal collapse, according to a new Fairness Foundation report that shows nearly two-thirds of Britons are concerned about the political influence of very rich people. People losing faith with democracy, economic shocks and environmental breakdowns are some of the potential triggers for a decline or collapse in social cohesion, the thinktank said.One warning sign of democracy being undermined is a lack of public trust in institutions, so it commissioned a survey of 2,000 adults by Opinium, which found 63% believe the very rich have too much influence on UK politics, compared to 40% for businesses and religious organisations, and 38% for international organisations, such as the EU and UN. Continue reading...

Thousands of homes in Britain and Ireland still without power after wind speeds of up to 114mph recordedStorm Eowyn was probably the strongest to hit the UK in the past 10 years, the Met Office has said.At its height, it left more than 1 million people without power as hurricane-strength gusts battered the country, bringing widespread disruption to rail and air services. Continue reading...

Retailer says it plans to explore strategic options' for the future of cash generative' arm of the companyOne of the world's oldest retailers, WH Smith, has confirmed it is in talks to sell its city- and town-centre stores, which it has described as the hub of the high street".First established in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street in London by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna, it expanded to become one of the UK's best-known retail chains. Company bosses said this weekend they were exploring potential strategic options", including a possible sale. Continue reading...

Second series of BBC drama was initially rejected by all the streaming services, Peter Kosminsky tells inquiry into UK film and TVMark Rylance took a significant" pay cut along with other members of the Wolf Hall team to get the second series made, the director Peter Kosminsky has said.The BBC drama, based on Hilary Mantel's final novel in her epic Tudor trilogy, returned last year with Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Continue reading...

With four similar expansions set for take-off around the south-east of England, could the proposal finally get clearance?Two decades and 0.2C of global warming after a Labour government last weighed in on Heathrow, the answer appears the same: keep digging. Rachel Reeves's anticipated backing for a third runway would again prioritise growth and the global economy over climate. Interviewers are even asking Ed Miliband if he would resign in protest - a question that last troubled the headlines in 2009.Airport expansion in the UK, especially in the south-east of England, is coming regardless, with four other London-branded airports sneaking ahead in the queue. Stansted and City have both been granted permission to grow. Fully developed plans that will radically alter the scale of Gatwick and Luton have, meanwhile, been through the inspectorate and await ministerial signoff. Continue reading...

Arizona capital, made drier and hotter by climate crisis, edges towards longest streak without recorded rainThe US city of Phoenix is close to breaking another extreme weather record, this time the longest stretch without rain as drought conditions worsen across Arizona.As of Saturday, there had been no recorded rainfall in America's fifth largest city for 154 consecutive days - the second longest dry spell on record as the climate crisis collides with natural weather patterns. Continue reading...

Companies supplying freelance' workers contacted by minister over practices that could breach employment lawGig economy companies supplying freelance" workers to shops, restaurants and warehouses may be operating illegally, the government has warned, after a series of Observer reports highlighting their use.Justin Madders, the employment rights minister, last week wrote to YoungOnes and Temper, which provide thousands of purportedly self-employed workers to British businesses, to tell them their business practices could be breaching employment law and staffing agency regulations. Continue reading...

The young man who died in Ireland after a tree fell during Storm Eowyn has been named as Kacper DudekIrish premier Micheal Martin said every effort is being made to restore power and water supplies following Storm Eowyn.He described the destruction caused by some of the strongest winds on record as unprecedented". Continue reading...

Late Yolu Indigenous rights activist appointed companion of the Order of Australia, along with lawyer Megan Davis and refugee advocate Gillian Triggs

After 12 episodes, eight murders' and 14 banishments, winner or winners revealed on BBC One showWarning: this article contains spoilersAfter 12 episodes, eight murders" and 14 banishments, the winners of The Traitors were revealed after a nail-biting finale.Project manager Jake Brown and former soldier Leanne Quigley will share a prize pot of 94,600. Continue reading...

Owners claim singer blighted' sale of property she once rented but Partridge Green has no shortage of ghostly talesAt first it was the strange rumblings that would wake her. Then bright lights would fill the bedroom as a face appeared, looking down on her. Her husband, who worked nights, never believed her until one day, he saw it too.Shaken by the sightings, the couple sold the cottage and moved far away from Partridge Green, a quaint, isolated village in West Sussex. Thirty years later, a short distance away from where these night-time hauntings took place, the village welcomed a surprising new arrival. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some bidders demand temporary renationalisation to help cut debts and oust bossesThames Water's potential rescuers are seeking a clean break with the company's past before they commit fresh funds, with some demanding a temporary renationalisation to help cut debts and replace bosses, the Guardian can reveal.There has been public outrage at the governance of England's water industry amid sewage spills into rivers and seas, mounting corporate debts and rising consumer bills. Continue reading...

Heat moving east with temperatures over 40C expected in South Australia and Victoria

Three properties lost near Arthur River, about 200km southeast of Perth, while another property near Yellanup destroyed and many homes without power

Advocate and 2021 Australian of the Year previously went viral for interaction with former PM Scott Morrison at 2022 event

Entries selling fast for inaugural UK Nationals in Bradford in April, when contestants will race against clockJigsaw puzzling is traditionally considered a relaxing activity associated with mindfulness benefits, but the gentle hobby has gone all Squid Game as competitive speed puzzling fever" grips the UK.Entries are selling fast for the inaugural UK Nationals event in Bradford on 5 April, when hundreds of contestants will race against the clock to solve never-seen-before puzzles. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Gaie Delap told she will have to serve 20 more days that correspond to period of time at home after recallA 78-year-old climate protester has had her prison term extended for being unlawfully at large" when government contractors were unable to find the right-sized tag for her wrist, which would have allowed her to complete her sentence in the community.Gaie Delap, a retired teacher and Just Stop Oil protester, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for her participation in a climate protest on the M25 in 2022 and was released last November under the home detention curfew (HDC) scheme. Continue reading...

Woman in intensive care as NSW Health urges community to only receive cosmetic injections from authorised practitioners

How a chain of events apparently beginning at school five years ago led to the murder of three girls in horrific atrocityWhen Axel Rudakubana returned to school after the summer holidays five years ago, something had changed. He had turned 13 weeks earlier but this was not the usual difficult transition to teenage life.In year 7 and year 8 he was fairly unassuming. Nothing that would be red flags," said a source close to Range high school in the seaside town of Formby, Merseyside. What happened that summer is the question." Continue reading...

Work that made its creator a superstar then mysteriously disappeared is mesmerising art lovers once moreIt was commissioned by a Greek king, made its creator a superstar and in his native Denmark attracted crowds like no other painting before. Then it mysteriously disappeared.Now, nearly nine decades after it was last seen gracing the stairwell of the royal palace that would become the Athens parliament, Carl Bloch's masterpiece, Prometheus Unbound, has found fame again in Greece. Continue reading...

Labour's recognition of soft power's intangible value should take in the crucial work of the British Council British Council could disappear within a decade, says chief executiveSomething is jarring when the foreign secretary, David Lammy, regards UK soft power as so important he establishes a council to promote the country globally, while one of the longstanding British institutions devoted to bolstering that power is on the verge of a form of bankruptcy.The financial plight of the British Council, and the collapse of its income from English language teaching during the pandemic, has hardly been hidden from view, so much so the organisation was chosen as one of the subjects of inquiry by the Commons foreign affairs select committee. The chief executive of the British Council, Scott McDonald, told MPs that the UK international cultural and educational organisation was at risk of disappearing in two years. Continue reading...

Long-awaited shadow cabinet reshuffle has David Coleman taking over foreign affairs portfolio from outgoing Simon Birmingham

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres demands unconditional' release of all staff held by Iran-backed rebelsThe UN has suspended all staff movement in Houthi-held areas of Yemen after the Iran-backed rebels detained another seven UN employees.The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, called for the immediate and unconditional" release of all aid staff held in Yemen, which is suffering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Continue reading...

Flights cancelled, main roads closed and millions told to stay at home due to rare weather bomb'

Exclusive: Her social media presence resonates with younger voters but it comes with a horrific' dark side that has made her consider quitting

PC Samuel McGregor, formerly attached to the central north command unit, will be sentenced on 10 MarchA Metropolitan police officer has been convicted of rape.PC Samuel McGregor, 33, was found guilty of raping a woman at an address in London on 11 May 2021 after a trial at Inner London crown court, Scotland Yard said. Continue reading...

Police in Pearl, Mississippi, say welcome aboard' to Jeremy Rast, who lost job last year from nearby Richland agencyA Mississippi police department has proudly announced its hiring of an officer who was fired from another agency last summer after video captured him telling at least one Latino man that he encountered on duty to go back to Mexico".A social media post on Thursday from the police department of Pearl asked community members to join the agency in giving a warm welcome" to its newest member, Jeremy Rast, whose recorded comments while patrolling the streets of nearby Richland, Mississippi, in June cost him his job as an officer there. Continue reading...

Progressive Conservative leader of Canada's most populous province seeks strong mandate' to counter 25% tariff planThe Ontario premier, Doug Ford, has said an early election is needed in the Canadian province in order to fend off an income attack" from Donald Trump as a trade war looms between the close allies.But opposition parties criticized the move, calling it a distraction" from an ongoing criminal investigation into the government's handling of a controversial multibillion-dollar land swap. Continue reading...

New dollar bills will honor national heroes including George Cadle Price, considered country's father of independenceBelize has taken a significant step" toward removing the remnants of colonialism by replacing the image of the late Queen Elizabeth on its dollar bills with those of national heroes.Unveiling the new design of the bank notes late on Thursday, the governor of Belize's central bank, Kareem Michael, said that along with improved security and anti-counterfeit features, the new family of notes also allows us to recognize and celebrate our heritage and the rich history of Belize". Continue reading...

Almost all the shortlisted movies this year can be seen as a critique of the incoming president. Accident or design?

Experts say everything is basically in chaos' and warn of disruption to sectors such as health, infrastructure and taxThe wheels of the US government have ground to a halt in parts under a hail of new orders from Donald Trump that have left vital services paralysed and raised alarm about damaging disruption to key sectors such as health, roads and tax collection.Meetings on cancer research to discuss federal funding and reports on how to fight bird flu were cancelled after the incoming administration placed a halt on all external communication at the health department. Continue reading...

Health secretary will say it is time to fight battle of ideas against populist right and repairing NHS is vital for successWes Streeting is to criticise Nigel Farage for pushing a miserabilist, declinist" vision of Britain, arguing it is time to start fighting a battle of ideas against the rightwing populists.In a speech on Saturday the health secretary will say failing public services have been a fertiliser of populism" because they have bred cynicism about the ability of politics to effect change. Continue reading...

Fauci had served as leading infectious diseases official for seven presidents and had broken with Trump on CovidDonald Trump on Friday said he had pulled federal security protection for the former top US health official Anthony Fauci.Fauci, who served as the nation's top infectious disease official during the Covid-19 pandemic and had served seven US presidents, coming from both parties, as a public health leader for decades, was provided security under the National Institutes of Health, according to CNN, which earlier reported the move. Continue reading...

Prosecutors had offered seven-year sentence, three years probation and 180 days in jail in exchange for guilty pleaThe trial for the star rapper A$AP Rocky, who is accused of firing a gun at a former friend in a November 2021 incident, kicked off in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Friday.The proceedings come a year after the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. On Tuesday A$AP Rocky, 36, declined a plea offer from prosecutors who recommended a seven-year suspended sentence, three years of probation and 180 days in jail in exchange for a guilty plea. Continue reading...

UN human rights office criticises use of methods and means used for war fighting' in assault on city of JeninThe UN has expressed concern that the ceasefire in Gaza could be endangered by Israel's assault on the West Bank city of Jenin, which has involved what the UN human rights spokesperson labelled unnecessary or disproportionate use of force".Thameen al-Kheetan of the UN human rights office called Israeli tactics in Jenin deadly operations", after Israel targeted a refugee camp in the centre of the city and besieged a nearby hospital. Continue reading...

Protest group says it targeted insurers due to their critical role underpinning the fossil fuel economy'A man has been arrested after environmental activists claimed responsibility for sabotage attacks on fibre optic cables outside major insurance companies.The 29-year-old was arrested by City of London police after activists said they had cut the cables to insurance company offices in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Sheffield on Monday. Continue reading...