Officials say death toll could rise as rescue operation continues in southeastern town of SitakundaAt least six people were killed and several injured on Saturday when a fire broke out after an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said.The death toll could rise as a rescue operation was ongoing at the plant at Sitakunda, 40km (25 miles) from the south-eastern port city of Chittagong, they added. Continue reading...
Three guitars, a skull-encrusted vase and an easel among items bought by the Hollywood actor at Hemswell Antiques CentresJohnny Depp bought three guitars, a skull-encrusted vase and an easel to furnish his new London home during a surprise visit to an antiques centre in Lincolnshire on Friday.The Hollywood actor, 59, known for his roles in Pirates Of The Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts, arrived at Hemswell Antiques Centres by helicopter and was taken on a private tour after hours. Continue reading...
Poll finds 41% of people say Keir Starmer’s party better at backing national interest, compared with 23% for Rishi Sunak’s ToriesAlmost twice as many voters believe Labour under Keir Starmer has the nation’s best interests at heart than say the Tories do under Rishi Sunak, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.The findings will disappoint Conservatives after a week in which Sunak managed to strike a well-received deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol, an international negotiating success that enhanced his position as party leader and prime minister. Continue reading...
by Toby Helm Observer Political Editor on (#69F5J)
Senior MPs blast ex-PM’s ‘wicked’ claims after his backers level new accusations against Keir Starmer’s appointment of Sue GrayTory support for Boris Johnson is draining away tonight as party grandees likened his response to a cross-party parliamentary inquiry into whether he misled MPs over “Partygate” to the lies of former US president Donald Trump.Several Conservative MPs in senior positions reacted with disbelief after Johnson and his dwindling band of allies questioned the work of the independent Commons privileges committee and accused it of an “outrageous level of bias”, after it said on Friday there was a significant volume of evidence suggesting that the former PM may have misled parliament. Continue reading...
UK and Australian ministers have been hinting at a trilateral design for the eight boats, but all options are still on the table in Australia’s biggest defence purchase
Fashion designer’s widower and collaborator Andreas Kronthaler says new collection is his tribute to herLess than three months after the death of Vivienne Westwood, her widower and collaborator, Andreas Kronthaler, is still in the thick of overwhelming grief.“It comes in waves,” he said, speaking backstage before the label’s show in Paris on Saturday. “This work has been kind of helpful, yes. But sometimes you pick something up, and then it hits you. But this is my personal tribute to her.” Continue reading...
by Nadeem Badshah (now); Jane Clinton and Mark Gerts on (#69ER5)
UK intelligence says Ukraine attempting to reinforce contested city with elite units but resupply lines increasingly limitedMore from BBC Radio 4’s Today.General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s former deputy supreme allied commander Europe, told the programme that some countries view the conflict in Ukraine as a “European war”.There are many countries, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world where the battle of the narrative has not been won, and that’s something that I think the West absolutely need to focus on.I think there needs to be a recognition that many of the impacts of the war are hitting particularly African countries and other parts of the world very hard and that support needs to be given… and avoid the perception this is very much seen as a European war.”The Ukrainians have arguably achieved a strategic success thusfar in forcing the Russians to expend vast amounts of manpower and equipment in what is likely to be, if they take it, a Pyrrhic victory…”What we’ve seen from the West and Nato countries is a sort of incremental supply … it’s dribbled in rather that coming in in a concentrated way. If they’d had the stuff that they need months ago, we probably wouldn’t be where we are now. So this places a real imperative on speeding up the supply, the integration, the logistics support, the training and all the other stuff that needs to be done to give the Ukrainians the tools they need to do the job.”There is fighting in the city and there are also street fights but thanks to the Ukrainian armed forces they still haven’t taken control over the city.Their only goal is killing people and the genocide of the Ukrainian people…the tactic that the Russians are using is the tactic of parched land.They want to destroy Bakhmut, they want to destroy the city…and I honestly can’t understand why they’re doing this.” Continue reading...
Police say plane with two people onboard lost contact and had to be escorted to Stansted airportA loud noise thought to be a sonic boom, which was heard by many people across England, was caused by RAF jets escorting a plane.The plane had two people onboard and was flying from Iceland to Nairobi, Kenya via Southend when it lost contact and had to be escorted to Stansted airport, police said. Continue reading...
Latest set of leaked WhatsApp messages reveal animosity towards Boris Johnson’s former chief adviserDominic Cummings was criticised by one of Matt Hancock’s aides in an expletive-laden WhatsApp tirade, according to new leaked messages.The messages are among the latest set of WhatsApp correspondence to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by the journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph. Continue reading...
Press members living under the Taliban, and living uncertain lives in Pakistan, must be given clarity say campaign groupsHundreds of Afghan journalists remain stranded in increasingly “dire” circumstances as frustration mounts over the UK government’s refusal to share the latest entry criteria for its flagship resettlement programme.This weekend, a coalition of press freedom and free expression organisations, including Index on Censorship, the National Union of Journalists, PEN International and English PEN, have written to home secretary Suella Braverman asking why details of the next phase of the Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme (ACRS) have yet to be revealed. Continue reading...
Man who admits responsibility for disaster that killed at least 57 people is now due in court on SundayA court appearance for the stationmaster involved in Greece’s worst-ever train disaster has been postponed as the country braces for more mass protests over the crash that killed at least 57 people.Thousands of people have protested across the country since Tuesday’s collision between a passenger train and a freight train, with public anger mounting over government failure to manage the rail network. Continue reading...
Civil servant who led Partygate inquiry has ‘brains, knowledge, judgment and strength of character’, says Francis MaudeA Conservative former minister has defended the “integrity” of Sue Gray, the senior civil servant who led the inquiry into the Partygate scandal, after her appointment to Labour’s staff.Conservative MPs have expressed outrage over the planned recruitment of Gray, who received national prominence for her role investigating lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street. Continue reading...
With Russian forces closing in, police try to persuade remaining citizens to get out and access routes come under fire• Russia–Ukraine war: latest updatesWar breeds euphemism and metaphor. In the battle for the Donbas city of Bakhmut, threatened with a closing encirclement by Russian forces after seven months of bitter fighting, there are “White Angels” and “Dark Angels”, the “road of life” (the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway, which is anything but) and the “Invincibility Centre”.The White Angels, a police evacuation group, scour the lethal districts of the shell-ruined city to evacuate children and the elderly. Continue reading...
Students from across five provinces receive treatment as president asks ministers to investigate latest casesDozens of Iranian schoolgirls across five provinces have been admitted to hospital in a new wave of suspected poisoning attacks, according to local media.Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported over the past three months among schoolgirls mainly in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, with some needing hospital treatment. Continue reading...
Nearly 80 officers in 22 forces across England and Wales have faced action for inappropriate relationships, data revealsNearly 80 police officers in 22 forces in England and Wales have faced disciplinary action for inappropriate sexual relationships or sexual contact with victims, witnesses and suspects since 2018, the Observer can reveal.The data, obtained through freedom of information laws, shows the majority of those facing disciplinary action were dismissed or resigned before they were dismissed. However, 10 officers remained in their jobs, facing lesser sanctions such as written warnings, suspension, or management action. At least two faced criminal proceedings. Nearly all of the offending officers were men, and all but two of the victims female. Continue reading...
Journalist’s decision to share Matt Hancock Whatsapp texts with rival outlet questioned by Cathy NewmanThe journalist who published thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages left a radio interview after being questioned as to why she leaked the story to the Daily Telegraph.Isabel Oakeshott, TalkTV’s international editor, broke a non-disclosure agreement to leak thousands of messages sent by Hancock, which she had access to through co-writing his book, the Pandemic Diaries. Continue reading...
Spokesperson does not specify figure but announces rise is needed to meet complex security challengesChina’s military budget is set to increase again, the spokesperson for its rubber-stamping parliament has said, before a week-long political meeting expected to make big changes to China’s system of governance and increase measures to combat international sanctions.The spokesperson for the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, addressed the media on the eve of its annual meeting to outline the week’s agenda, including changes to the constitution and the legal sector, and endorsing new appointments to senior roles. Continue reading...
Yellow warnings for snow and ice for most of Scotland and north-east England on Monday and TuesdayNext week will bring the coldest day of the year so far across parts of the UK, with yellow warnings for snow and ice in place for most of Scotland and north-east England.The Met Office said the week would begin with temperatures dropping to near freezing in northern parts of the UK, with parts of north-east Scotland feeling like -4C (24.8F). Continue reading...
Another 60 people injured and hundreds evacuated after fire at Pertamina’s Plumpang depotAt least 17 people including two children have died after a fuel storage depot fire in Jakarta.Three people are still missing after Friday night’s blaze at state energy firm Pertamina’s Plumpang depot in north Jakarta, with Indonesian officials the next day calling for an audit of “all fuel facilities and infrastructures” in the country. Continue reading...
WhatsApp correspondence centres on then health secretary’s fight to save career after Sun published picture of clinchNew leaked messages between Matt Hancock and officials show the then health secretary scrambling to save his career after footage emerged of his embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo.They are among the latest set of WhatsApp correspondence to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by the journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph. Continue reading...
Uruguayan-born Viñoly’s sometimes controversial work included more than 600 structures around worldRafael Viñoly, the Uruguayan-born and New York-based architect known for designing landmark buildings around the world, has died aged 78.Viñoly’s death on Thursday was announced by his son, Roman, on the website of the family firm, Rafael Viñoly Architects. Continue reading...
People living near MDP Wethersfield believe it has been earmarked to house 1,500 male asylum seekersPeople in north Essex are urging ministers to abandon what they understand to be plans to accommodate 1,500 male asylum seekers at a former RAF base on their doorsteps.The group told the Guardian it had received information from multiple sources that MDP Wethersfield had been earmarked by the Home Office for use as an asylum accommodation centre. Continue reading...
Three Hong Kong Alliance members, including prominent pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung, face up to six months in jailThree former members of a Hong Kong group that organised annual vigils to mark China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown have been found guilty of not complying with a national security police request for information.Chow Hang-tung, 38, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was among those convicted by the magistrate court. Continue reading...
The actor, best known for his tough-guy roles in war and action movies including Black Hawk Down, also had a turbulent private lifeTom Sizemore, the actor best known for appearances in Saving Private Ryan and The Relic, has died aged 61, his manager confirmed in a statement.“It is with great sadness and sorrow I have to announce that actor Thomas Edward Sizemore … passed away peacefully in his sleep today at St Joseph’s Hospital Burbank. His Brother Paul and twin boys Jayden and Jagger (17) were at his side,” Sizemore’s representative, Charles Lago said. Continue reading...
World Health Organization’s director general says the politicisation of research into Covid’s origins was making the scientific work harderThe World Health Organization has urged all countries to reveal what they know about the origins of Covid-19, after claims from several US government agencies that a Chinese lab leak was behind the disease were furiously denied by Beijing.“If any country has information about the origins of the pandemic, it’s essential for that information to be shared with WHO and the international scientific community,” the WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Friday. Continue reading...
Cyclone Kevin passed over the capital Port Vila less than three days after Cyclone Judy cut power in the cityA state of emergency was declared in Vanuatu as category 4 Cyclone Kevin brought gale-force winds and torrential rain to the Pacific nation battling its second major cyclone in a week.Cyclone Kevin passed over the capital Port Vila late on Friday and was moving across the southern island province of Tafea on Saturday morning, bringing wind gusts in excess of 230km/h, according to the country’s meteorology department. Continue reading...
Deadly storm left wine regions of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne covered in mud just before harvest timeWine-growing regions in New Zealand’s North Island have been devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle, with some vineyards there facing a long path to recovery after being buried by torrents of silt just before harvest time.Wine drinkers could face a long wait for their favourite bottle from Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne after last month’s storm, which killed at least 11 people, and left grower Philip Barber sheltering on the roof of his house with his wife and two small children. Continue reading...
Irish Ferries says all passengers and crew are accounted for after flames discovered in engine roomThree lifeboats and a French salvage tug were launched after a fire broke out on board a ferry in the Channel.Irish Ferries, which owns the vessel, said all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for after flames were discovered in the engine room of the Isle of Innisfree at about 5:30pm on Friday. The ferry was about halfway across the Channel on a journey from Dover to Calais. Continue reading...
Oil has been created using olives from two groves on Mount of Olives, and a formula dating back centuriesThe fragrant chrism oil that will be used to anoint King Charles during his coronation in May was made sacred in Jerusalem on Friday.A ceremony took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the holy oil was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum. Continue reading...
Educational Institute of Scotland urges members to accept deal worth 12.3% by April and up to 14% in 2024A Scottish teaching union has suspended its industrial action and urged members to accept a new pay offer.The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union is to ballot members on a revised pay offer from local authority employers and the Scottish government. The union has recommended they accept the deal. Continue reading...
Then health secretary tried to get support of then cabinet secretary, according to leaked WhatsApp textsMatt Hancock expressed disdain for Rishi Sunak’s flagship Treasury initiative, “eat out to help out”, during the Covid pandemic, according to the latest cache of leaked WhatsApp messages.The messages show the then-health secretary also attempting to get the support of the then cabinet secretary, Simon Case, in challenging the stance of Sunak, who was the chancellor, and others over some pandemic-era rules. Continue reading...
Operation to locate missing passengers likely to be concluded three days after crash near Larissa that killed at least 57Rescuers are expected to wrap up efforts to find the bodies of victims of a head-on collision of two trains in central Greece, as anger grows over the deadly crash.Three days after the Thessaloniki-bound passenger train slammed into an oncoming freight train outside the town of Tempe, killing at least 57, the operation to locate missing passengers would likely be concluded, officials said. Continue reading...
Files show actor had relationship with Jho Low, on the run over links to 1MDB scandal, and Kim Kardashian was also interviewedNew details have emerged of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s ties to Jho Low, the Malaysian financier turned fugitive currently wanted by international authorities over his links to one of the world’s largest corruption scandals.On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed previously undisclosed details from FBI documents in which authorities interviewed DiCaprio in 2018 about his relationship with Low, who is accused of involvement in a money-laundering scheme of over $4.5bn being siphoned from the Malaysian state investment fund, also known as 1MDB. Continue reading...
Germany questions support for rules that would effectively make it impossible to sell combustion engine cars from 2035European Union countries have delayed a planned vote next week on the bloc’s landmark law to end sales of new CO-emitting cars in 2035 after Germany questioned its support for the rules.No new date for the vote was given and a spokesperson for Sweden, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said EU countries’ ambassadors would return to the topic “in due time”. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#69DNK)
Messages show Hancock urging ministers to ‘get heavy’ with police and making light of hotel quarantine situationMinisters have come under fire from police officers and the travel industry after private messages from Matt Hancock highlighted the rapid and occasionally haphazard way in which they wrote Covid lockdown policies.Senior representatives of the police service attacked the government’s handling of the pandemic after the Telegraph published messages showing the former health secretary urging ministers to “get heavy with the police” over lockdown enforcement. Continue reading...
Residents on Normandy coast describe influx of unfamiliar people after news of 2 tonnes of drug arriving onshoreFrench authorities have warned about “narco-tourism” on northern Channel beaches after news of more than 2 tonnes of cocaine washing ashore drew dozens of beachcombers, some equipped with quad bikes.Residents of villages along the Normandy coast have described an influx of unfamiliar people in luxury cars and 4x4s who have been scouring the sand this week. Continue reading...
Couple charged with manslaughter and concealing a birth will appear at Old Bailey on 31 MarchConstance Marten and Mark Gordon have been remanded in custody charged with the manslaughter of a baby named Victoria.Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, appeared at Crawley magistrates court on Friday charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...
This live blog has now closed, you can read the full story on the new evidence against Boris Johnson hereThe privileges committee report out today includes evidence that has not been made public before, suggesting Boris Johnson was not being honest with MPs when he told them the Covid rules were followed at all times in No 10.It includes this paragraph.The evidence strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious to Mr Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings.There is evidence that those who were advising Mr Johnson about what to say to the press and in the house were themselves struggling to contend that some gatherings were within the rules.The committee of privileges today is taking further steps in its inquiry into the conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP. Mr Johnson has accepted the committee’s invitation to give oral evidence in public in the week beginning 20March.The exact date and time of the evidence session will be announced shortly. The session arises out of the referral from the House of Commons of the matter to the committee. The session, which will be held in public, will see the committee’s members, comprised of four Conservative, two Labour and one SNP member, question Mr Johnson on a range of matters arising from evidence submitted to the inquiry, as set out in a report published today. Continue reading...
Eugene Shvidler wants expedited court hearing to hear his claim that impounding his jets was wrongA Russian billionaire who is a close associate of the former owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, has launched a legal challenge against UK government sanctions imposed on him in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.The case is the first to be launched in the British courts by a Russian hit with sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, and could serve as a test case for other oligarchs seeking to overturn restrictions such as travel bans or asset freezes. Continue reading...
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