World news | The Guardian

Federal government agreed to $250m in additional funding for measures including youth engagement programs and job creation

This blog is now closed

Recharge, which is also planning a factory in Victoria, revives goal to build £3.8bn ‘gigafactory’ in north EnglandAn emerging Australian company yet to construct a major project will be responsible for delivering on UK hopes to electrify its automotive industry after outbidding rivals to take over collapsed battery maker Britishvolt.In a whirlwind fortnight, Recharge Industries put together an aggressive package that also revives plans to build a £3.8bn (A$6.7bn) “gigafactory” in the north of England to supply the next generation of UK-built electric vehicles, free from Chinese materials. Continue reading...

Federal police sought former soldier’s phone as part of investigation into war crimes potentially committed in Afghanistan

Detectives seek evidence of further offending by serial rapist, who is due to be sentenced this weekThe criminal investigation into the serial rapist David Carrick will stay active even after his sentencing and imprisonment this week, as detectives sift through information about alleged further offending.Carrick used his status as a Metropolitan police officer to commit 48 rapes amid a spree of 85 serious offences against 12 women, all of which he has pleaded guilty to. Continue reading...

Exclusive: head of Aardman studio blames Brexit as UK falls behind on skills and tax reliefThe head of Aardman, the Oscar-winning British studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, has warned that the nation’s animation productions for children’s television will have to be made overseas because acute challenges are taking their toll on the UK sector.Sean Clarke, Aardman’s managing director, said the company is struggling with everything from serious competition from other countries on tax relief to a dire skills shortage. Continue reading...

Three-quarters of teachers surveyed say they have noticed children lacking access to toothpaste and toothbrushesFour out of five UK teachers have given toothbrushes and toothpaste to students, with the cost of living crisis affecting the oral health of children, according to new research.A survey of secondary teachers by hygiene poverty charity Beauty Banks and the British Dental Association (BDA) has revealed that 81% of teachers say some children in their school have no access to toothpaste, with 41% saying this leads to them being socially excluded because of poor oral hygiene. Continue reading...

Civil rights veteran who gave eulogy at Tyre Nichols’ funeral says racism in UK policing could produce similar tragediesThe Rev Al Sharpton has warned that racially charged incidents such as the brutal death of Tyre Nichols in the US will also occur in the UK without far-reaching police reforms.On the eve of a two-day visit to the UK, the US civil rights veteran said that “systemic racism” and a “culture of policing that produces brutality” must be addressed. Continue reading...

New legal advice will allow addition as part of $500m expansion to be completed by 2028, chair says

Five-storey blaze at Springvale’s Bright Moon hall drew a crowd of onlookers, firefighters say

Commutes from London to Richmond constituency by private helicopter would have taken about 2hr 15 by trainRishi Sunak has taken private helicopter trips to his constituency in North Yorkshire costing thousands of pounds since he became prime minister, the Guardian understands.The commute to Richmond from a London heliport is likely to raise further questions about the prime minister’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Unions say government making no moves to resolve dispute as staff in England prepare for biggest strikes in service’s historyDeadlock over NHS pay is putting patients in danger and risks hardening the position of unions, 10 chief nurses have warned on the eve of the biggest strikes in the health service’s history.Unions have warned that the government is making no moves towards resolving the strikes, with one general secretary accusing the government of lying about the state of negotiations. Continue reading...

The often discounted rate is to be replaced with two singles costing the same as the present return fareReturn tickets will be scrapped and new digital ticketing introduced under reforms of the British rail system expected to be announced this week.The two-way tickets, which offer a discounted rate, will be replaced by “single-leg pricing” which will mean that the price of two singles will be the same as the current return fare, according to the Telegraph. The idea was trialled by London North East Railway (LNER) in 2020. Continue reading...

Pennsylvania confectioner worked out how to mass produce marshmallow Easter treat that now sells billions each yearBob Born, the man who turned Peeps candy into an American phenomenon, has died. He was 98.Just Born Quality Confections announced that Born died on 29 January, 100 years after his father, Sam Born, started the company in New York before relocating to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Continue reading...

Oleksii Reznikov insists Kyiv has the ability to hold back Russian forces if new push comes for anniversary of start of invasion

Some arrested in recent anti-government protests included in pardons, according to state mediaIran’s supreme leader has pardoned “tens of thousands” of prisoners including some arrested in recent anti-government protests, state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, after a deadly state crackdown helped quell the nationwide unrest.However, the pardon approved by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came with conditions, according to details announced in state media reports, which said the measure would not apply to any of the numerous dual nationals held in Iran. Continue reading...

Lowy Institute ranks Australia sixth overall in the Asia Power Index, behind US, China, Japan, India and Russia

Manufacturers of insulation installed on the tower have yet to agree a voluntary funding scheme to fix dangerous buildingsCladding and insulation manufacturers whose products were involved in the Grenfell Tower fire face calls for sanctions after failing to pay into multibillion-pound funding schemes to fix the country’s unsafe residential blocks.The building supply firms Saint-Gobain and Kingspan have reported more than £7.5bn in global profits since the fire in June 2017 in west London which killed 72 people, corporate filings reveal. Combustible insulation products manufactured by both firms were installed on the tower. Continue reading...

Millions will see costs mount by another 40% in April as rebate scheme ends and chancellor lets cap go up to £3,000Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has rejected calls to prevent sharp rises in domestic energy bills for all households in his March budget – meaning millions of users will see costs soar by about 40% from April.Instead, Hunt will emphasise the extra support he is giving to the poorest and most vulnerable households, including those on benefits, in what he will describe as a more fairly targeted system of support. Continue reading...

Experts urge swimmers to be cautious as more sharks are in the local estuaries at this time of year

Business secretary accuses energy market regulator of ‘having the wool pulled over their eyes’ by suppliersThe business secretary has told the energy market regulator to toughen up on suppliers in the wake of the prepayment meter scandal.Grant Shapps accused Ofgem of “having the wool pulled over their eyes” by taking at face value what the energy company bosses were telling them and not listening to customers. Continue reading...

First victim of David Carrick to reveal identity says she has waived her anonymity to encourage others to come forwardThe first victim of sex predator police officer David Carrick to reveal her identity has said that she wants him to spend the next 40 years behind bars.Darciane Nunes Da Silva, 43, waived her anonymity in an interview with the Sunday People as she believes that there are more victims of the former Metropolitan police officer who have yet to come forward. Continue reading...

Former PM writes that ‘powerful economic establishment’ and lack of party support contributed to her downfallLiz Truss, who resigned as prime minister after just 45 days in office, has said she was never given a “realistic chance” to implement her tax-cutting agenda.In her first detailed comments since she relinquished the role in October, Truss said she was brought down by the combination of a “powerful economic establishment” and a lack of support from within the Conservative party. Continue reading...

Derbyshire constabulary say search of one property uncovered a number of suspicious itemsResidents who had been evacuated in a Derbyshire town after an explosives scare can now return to their homes, police have said.Several people had to leave their properties and nearby roads were closed after a man was arrested on suspicion of explosives offences at a property in Belper, a town seven miles north of Derby, according to Derbyshire constabulary. Continue reading...

Financial hardship support has not kept pace with the rising cost of uniforms, books, stationery and computers, peak body says

Announcement from Ukrainian president’s office follows Russian statement on 63 of its own soldiersThe head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, Andriy Yermak, has said that Ukraine has got 116 soldiers back as part of a prisoner of war swap.Earlier on Saturday, Russia said it had got 63 PoWs back in an exchange. Continue reading...

Essex police say man in his 40s was found injured in car park next to Iceland supermarket and died at the sceneThe death of a man in a car park in Canvey Island, Essex, may have been the result of a “targeted attack”, murder squad detectives have said.Essex police said the man, in his 40s, was found injured in the car park next to Iceland in the early hours of Saturday. Continue reading...

Conservatives on course to break flagship NHS pledge as cost of replacing crumbling wards and operating theatres soarsOnly a quarter of the 40 hospital construction projects that were at the heart of Boris Johnson’s 2019 general election manifesto have secured full planning permission, the Observer can reveal, amid angry claims from NHS figures that there is no chance the schemes will be delivered on time.Ministers have repeatedly claimed that the hospitals will be delivered by 2030, despite concerns from health chiefs and economists that “woefully insufficient” funding and rising costs will scupper the plan and put NHS capacity at risk. Continue reading...

Union appeals to prime minister to compromise to avert massive disruptionThe head of the UK’s biggest nursing union has issued a last ditch appeal to Rishi Sunak to agree a compromise over pay, to prevent the worst strikes in the NHS’s history from causing massive disruption to patients across England on Monday.In a letter to the prime minister, Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said she was “appealing directly” to Sunak for the first time as she asked him to match offers made by the Welsh and Scottish governments, both of which have led to strikes being suspended. Continue reading...

Juliette Lamour, a student from Ontario, makes history with £30m prize after taking part ‘for fun’An 18-year-old Canadian has made history by winning C$48m (£30m) after buying a lottery ticket for the first time.Juliette Lamour, from Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, was announced as the winner on Friday by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC), making her the youngest person to win tens of millions of Canadian dollars. Continue reading...

‘Extensive’ operation under way at Victoria Quay basin, near one of Scottish government buildingsEmergency services are searching for a man who reportedly fell into water in Edinburgh.Police were called at 11.25pm on Friday to the Victoria Quay basin, near one of the Scottish government’s office buildings. Continue reading...

Woman in life-threatening condition but baby unharmed, say police, after driver fails to stop in SouthallA woman is in a life-threatening condition after being knocked down by a hit-and-run driver while pushing a pram.Metropolitan police officers said they were called to the junction of North Hyde Lane and Raleigh Road in Southall, west London, at about 12.30pm on Friday to reports of a collision involving a car and pedestrian. Continue reading...

Fumio Kishida says official’s comments ‘outrageous and completely incompatible with policies’The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has sacked an aide who said he would not want to live next to LGBTQ+ couples and that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted.In remarks reported by local media, Masayoshi Arai, an economy and trade official who joined Kishida’s staff as a secretary in October, said he did not even want to look at same-sex couples. Continue reading...

Beijing says it will ‘not accept any groundless conjecture’ after balloons spotted over US and Latin AmericaChina has called for calm amid a growing diplomatic row with the US over suspected spy balloons.It comes after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Beijing after a large balloon was spotted in US airspace. Continue reading...

The Trevelyans were shocked to see their name in a slavery database and a journey to Grenada confirmed the continuing impact of their grim historyAn aristocratic British family is to make history by travelling to the Caribbean and publicly apologising for its ownership of more than 1,000 enslaved Africans. The Trevelyan family, which has many notable ancestors, is also paying reparations to the people of Grenada, where it owned six sugar plantations.Last weekend, the family met online and agreed to sign a letter of apology for its enslavement of captive Africans. Forty-two members of the family have so far signed and more signatures are expected. Continue reading...

Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw died in Soledar area while helping to evacuate people from frontline

Talenthouse claims to ‘democratise creativity’, but designers who have completed commissions for top brands are out of pocketIt is a global technology platform that claims to “democratise creativity” by allowing up-and-coming artists to submit work to the world’s biggest brands.But Talenthouse, which boasts clients including Netflix, Sony, Coca-Cola and the United Nations, has been accused of exploiting artists and failing to pay them, in some cases leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket. Continue reading...

Most of HMS Portland sailors who were taken to hospital have been discharged and all are expected to make full recoveryThe Royal Navy has announced an investigation into how sailors were hospitalised as a result of drinking contaminated water on their ship.The frigate HMS Portland was diverted to Portsmouth naval base on Friday after the discovery that the “wrong chemical” had entered the ship’s system to convert seawater into drinking water. Continue reading...

Home Office reportedly proposes two options to try to prevent those crossing Channel from claiming asylumRishi Sunak is proposing to stop asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats from appealing against deportation, according to reports.The Home Office has put forward two options for the prime minister’s consideration as he attempts to automatically prevent those arriving in Britain from claiming asylum, the Times reported. Continue reading...

Louise Cunningham asks people to keep open mind as search for missing 45-year-old enters ninth dayThe sister of Nicola Bulley has urged people to keep an open mind about her disappearance as the search enters its ninth day.Multi-agency search teams continued to trawl the river near St Michael’s on Wyre, working on the hypothesis that the 45-year-old mortgage adviser from nearby Inskip could have fallen in. Continue reading...

Pontiff says on peace mission that religious leaders ‘cannot remain neutral’ amid abuses of powerPope Francis has said churches in South Sudan “cannot remain neutral” but must raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power, as he and two other Christian leaders conducted a peace mission to the world’s newest country.On his first full day in South Sudan, Francis addressed Catholic bishops, priests and nuns in St Theresa Cathedral in the capital, Juba, as the archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Church of Scotland held services elsewhere. Continue reading...

NHS also says Sunday 12 February is last day this age group can attend a site for primary vaccinationsPeople in England aged 49 and younger are being urged to come forward for their free Covid booster if they have not yet received a full set of injections.The NHS has said Sunday 12 February will be the last day people in this age group can attend a vaccination site for their primary doses, while hundreds of thousands of appointments will be available for booster jabs. Continue reading...

Temperatures expected to plummet on Sunday evening in two-day cold snapA cold weather warning has been issued for England by the UK Health Security Agency, which is advising that vulnerable people be checked in on as temperatures plunge later this weekend.The UKHSA and the Met Office said a cold snap would hit England between 6pm on Sunday and 6pm on Tuesday. Temperatures could fall to -3C in rural areas and frost was expected. Continue reading...

Dragons’ Den investor wants to offer financial workshops after being asked for help by those affected by 2017 disasterSteven Bartlett, the multimillionaire Dragons’ Den investor, is planning a “money school” for the Grenfell Tower community to advise potential entrepreneurs.The 30-year-old wants to offer free weekend workshops with other financial advisers after being asked for help by people affected by the 14 June 2017 disaster, which claimed 72 lives. Continue reading...

Crammed with minuscule writing, manuscript is seen as earliest ‘proper reader’s response’ to first folioIn 2017, an expert on BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow was excited by a minuscule 17th-century notebook that bore the name of Shakespeare, but the writing was so tiny it was difficult to read.Since then, it has been transcribed and studied by leading scholars and its anonymous author has emerged as what is thought to have been the playwright’s first obsessive fan. Continue reading...

New US $2.175bn military aid also includes precision-guided rockets and HAWK air defence firing units. This live blog is now closed

Canadian province argues in court it is not responsible for compensating Indigenous people over broken treaty obligationsOntario has claimed that it does not need to pay billions of dollars owed to First Nations over broken treaty obligations, arguing that it has already spent the sum on the historical costs of resource extraction and the infrastructure of “colonization”.Canada’s federal government and the province have spent the last week in a Sudbury court arguing neither is responsible for compensating Indigenous nations for more than 150 years of lost revenues. Continue reading...

Survivors tell Italian authorities vessel carrying about 50 people lost its way trying to cross from TunisiaA baby was among nine people including his mother and a pregnant woman who died of cold and thirst on a boat carrying about 50 migrants across the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities have said.Survivors who landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa after being rescued late on Thursday told investigators the four-month-old baby slipped out of the boat after his mother, who was holding him, collapsed and died from exposure. Continue reading...

Award-winning director, who was arrested in July, is released from Evin prison in TehranThe acclaimed Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has been released on bail after starting a hunger strike to protest against his almost seven-month detention, a rights group and supporters said on Friday.Panahi has been released from Evin prison in Tehran “two days after starting his hunger strike for freedom”, the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said on Twitter. Iran’s Shargh newspaper posted an image of Panahi jubilantly embracing a supporter. Continue reading...

Welsh government offering health staff extra 3% – half one-off, half consolidated – on top of 4.5% increase. This live blog is closedMichelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland and first minister designate, has said she is “encouraged” by what she is hearing about the prospects of the UK and the EU reaching a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.Speaking after a meeting with Micheál Martin, the Irish foreign minister and tánaiste (Irish deputy PM), in Belfast, she said:I am very much encouraged by what we’re hearing, I think the tánaiste shares that same assessment and we want both sides to continue in earnest to get a deal, to close this out, to close it out as quickly as possible.This was a useful and constructive conversation. Over eighteen months ago we outlined the parameters for the way forward. We set our tests and those continue to be our yardstick for measuring any deal between the EU and UK.There will be no restoration of the NI executive until the protocol is replaced with arrangements that unionists, as well as nationalists, can support. Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market must be restored and our constitutional arrangements must be respected. Continue reading...