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Union makes demand as health service in England prepares to contend with latest stoppage by ambulance staffJeremy Hunt has been urged to release new money to end the wave of strikes disrupting NHS services or risk the dispute dragging on for months.The public sector union Unison made the demand to the chancellor as the health service in England prepared to contend with the latest in a series of stoppages by ambulance staff on Monday. Continue reading...

Analysis by Lib Dems shows total was at record high in 2022, and compares with 1,306 people waiting as long in 2015A record 350,000 patients waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital from A&E last year, according to figures that raise fears about unsafe care as the NHS faces further waves of strike action.The figures, uncovered in an analysis by the Liberal Democrats, show a steep rise in delays since 2015, when just 1,306 patients waited 12 hours. Senior doctors described the situation as “unbearable” for patients and staff, ahead of a strike in which thousands of ambulance workers will walk out across England and Wales on Monday. Continue reading...

Labor will introduce a bill to move serious vilification from the anti-discrimination act into the criminal code

Social media users said Seiji Kihara had bad manners and ‘more attitude than the prime minister’ but it was his mother’s comments that struck homeA senior aide to Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has apologised for putting his hands in his pockets during an official trip to the US, admitting that his mother had scolded him and told him she was “ashamed” of him.Seiji Kihara, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, revealed on YouTube that his mother had read comments that he was “disgracing his parents” after he was caught with his hands in his trouser pockets as Kishida spoke to reporters outside Blair House in Washington. Continue reading...

Woman says she feared she could lose her home when Centrelink letter ‘turned my life upside down’, before debt was reduced to $120 then refunded

First Nations leader concerned opposition’s calls for more details on referendum is a diversion that threatens chance for reconciliation

Premier says proposed Right to Ask scheme ‘all about ensuring that women across NSW are safe’

People pay their respects at Memphis mansion that singer inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis PresleyMore than a thousand mourners gathered in Graceland on a chilly, grey Sunday morning to pay their respects to singer Lisa Marie Presley at the Memphis, Tennessee, mansion she inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis Presley.Presley died on 12 January at the age of 54. Earlier that day, she had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital after reportedly suffering cardiac arrest at her home. She is survived by her daughters, actress Riley Keough and 14-year-old twins Finley and Harper Lockwood.I’ve had my life and enjoyed every second,

Incoming prime minister echoes Jacinda Ardern’s promise to cut back Labour’s agenda to focus on cost of living issuesNew Zealand’s next prime minister, Chris Hipkins, has promised to cut back government reforms to focus on the “global pandemic of inflation”.Speaking to media on Monday morning, the prime minister-to-be promised to “run the ruler” over the government’s work programme and cut inessential reforms to focus on the economy. In the final months of 2022, Jacinda Ardern made similar commitments, in a tacit admission that the government’s packed legislative agenda may have become a distraction from the rising cost of living – a core issue worrying voters. Continue reading...

New role created to address over-incarceration of Indigenous people but critics say it lacks power and independence

Parents of boy stabbed in Manchester urge people to ‘do the right thing’ as police offer £50,000 rewardThe parents of a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Manchester have urged anyone with information to “do the right thing” as police announced a £50,000 reward on the anniversary of his killing.Joan Dixon and Glen Carter said they “can’t move on” until the person who stabbed “cheeky chappy” Kennie Carter on 22 January last year is brought to justice. Continue reading...

Immigration experts scathing about Home Office plans to tighten access to services for people without legal statusHome Office plans to reheat “thoroughly discredited” hostile environment policies show the government has not learned lessons from the Windrush scandal, immigration experts have said.A taskforce to crack down on illegal immigration is being set up, the Home Office announced on Sunday. As well as blocking access to banking for those without immigration status, it intends to find new ways of checking individuals’ immigration status when they use schools or the NHS. Continue reading...

Students say they were beaten and thrown out of dormitories as authorities crack down on protests against presidentScores of police raided a Lima university on Saturday, smashing down the gates with an armoured vehicle, firing teargas and detaining more than 200 people who had come to the Peruvian capital to take part in anti-government protests.Images showed dozens of people lying face down on the ground at San Marcos University after the surprise police operation. Students said they were pushed, kicked and hit with truncheons as they were forced out of their dormitories. Continue reading...

Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral alleged to have invited worshippers to his living quarters during lockdownThe Vatican is investigating rumours of a “sex party” at a British cathedral which is alleged to have happened during lockdown.As part of an investigation into the circumstances of Robert Byrne’s resignation as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, the Catholic church is looking into claims one of his priests invited worshippers to a private party at his lodgings. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary also says he has no idea whether BBC chair helped Boris Johnson arrange guarantee on loanJames Cleverly has said he does not know whether Nadhim Zahawi was investigated over his taxes when chancellor, or when Rishi Sunak knew about the issue, as the government attempted to defend the embattled Tory party chair.In an interview with Sky News, Cleverly, the foreign secretary, also said he had no idea if Richard Sharp, the BBC chair, helped Boris Johnson arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000, weeks before the then PM recommended Sharp for the BBC role. Continue reading...

Exclusive: small business and hospitality groups urge rethink to let firms renegotiate fairer contracts and stave off closureGroups representing more than 100,000 UK firms have accused ministers of taking a “scattergun” approach to supporting businesses with their gas and electricity costs, amid fears many will be forced to close this year by unaffordable bills.Earlier this month, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed that the scheme designed to soften the blow of soaring monthly payments for energy would become significantly less generous from April. Continue reading...

Extensive fox hunting investigation as 22 dogs seized in southern counties raids pursuing suspected wildlife offences by terrier menSix men have been arrested and 22 dogs seized in police raids over suspected illegal fox hunts across several English counties.The men were arrested in dawn raids on Wednesday by police from Kent, Norfolk, Sussex, and Thames Valley, in one of the UK’s largest ever fox hunting investigations. Continue reading...

Former UK PM Boris Johnson makes surprise visit to Ukraine; Russia claims to have made advances in Zaporizhzhia region

Images of violent clashes went round the world, and there are fears a crucial inquiry will leave ‘unfinished business’It has been four months since wide unrest broke out on the streets of east Leicester, and although calm has been restored on the streets, a sense of unease remains.“I don’t think we can ever go back to normal,” said the community worker Rukhsana Hussain. “It reminds me of Covid when everyone was talking about the ‘new normal’. I think we’ve got a new normal in Leicester now, because we’ve had quite a significant change in what the community perceives safety to be.” Continue reading...

Yellow weather warning for parts of England on Monday with freezing fog expected to bring travel delaysTemperatures plummeted to almost -10C in parts of the UK on Saturday night, as forecasters warned that the cold spell will continue into next week.RAF Benson in Oxfordshire had the coldest temperatures in Britain overnight, recording -9.7C, while in Scotland, thermometers remained above zero. Continue reading...

People with severe disabilities and chronic conditions struggling in cost of living crisis, research showsSoaring energy bills are forcing people with severe disabilities and chronic health conditions to choose in extreme cases between “eating or breathing” as they struggle to navigate the cost of living crisis, new research shows.According to a survey by the charity Euan’s Guide, people are either opting to reduce their use of vital, energy-intensive electrical medical aids and equipment – putting their health in jeopardy – or where this is impossible, cutting back drastically on food, heating and travel. Continue reading...

Families who relocate under federal scheme would not have access to Medicare, or relocation or housing costs, making move unviable for many, experts warn

Exclusive: eSafety commission investigating nearly 1,700 complaints and has asked social media companies to remove offensive content 500 times in a year

Russians have replaced Ukrainians since the war began and at least 14 have been arrested in Italy, NGOs claimPeople-smugglers are recruiting dozens of Russian citizens to replace Ukrainian sailors captaining boats carrying migrants from Turkey to Italy, NGOs have claimed.Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine at least 14 Russian nationals have been arrested by the Italian police on charges of illegally transporting asylum seekers.

In wake of David Carrick verdict, women from England and Wales come forward to report mental, physical and professional tollDespite having been a police officer and also married to one, Helen (not her real name) says she now “wouldn’t ring the police for anything”.When Helen separated from her husband, he subjected her to emotional and financial abuse and harassment. Continue reading...

Grant Shapps tells firms to stop pushing consumers on to pre-paid tariffs amid threat to ‘name and shame’ worst offendersThe business secretary has urged energy suppliers to stop forcibly switching households struggling with energy bills to prepayment meters, after calls for government action amid a surge in cases.Grant Shapps has written to companies saying he wants them to voluntarily end the practice of moving households on to more expensive prepaid energy tariffs against their will and promising to “name and shame” the worst offenders. Continue reading...

Classical, jazz, cabaret and even circus tricks are being laid on by restaurants and pubs to win back clientele in an ever-tougher marketPuccini with the prawn cocktail starter tonight? A little Lloyd Webber with the linguine? A growing number of London pubs and cafes are putting live music and performance on the menu to tempt reluctant patrons to dine out.The trend, also mirrored in other British cities as the cost of living crisis threatens to keep customers at home, now encompasses classical music and musical theatre. It is no longer only jazz musicians who play regularly to diners at London venues such as Soho’s Pizza Express or Toulouse Lautrec in Elephant and Castle. Even circus performers are taking to the small stages being set up in some restaurants. Continue reading...

Madelyn Train talks publicly for the first time about their ‘evil’ final act and the last message she got from them

Images found in attic taken by Polish firefighter who risked life to record how Jewish Poles fought the Nazis despite impossible oddsThe photographs are blurry, composed hastily and taken surreptitiously, sometimes with heads or objects in the foreground obscuring part of the view.But Holocaust historians say the imperfect pictures, discovered last month in a Polish attic decades after their creator died, are nonetheless priceless. They are the only known photographs from inside the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising not to be taken by Germans. Continue reading...

The identity of the muse for Für Elise has long puzzled experts. A new book suggests it was named by someone else, after the composer’s deathIt is one of classical music’s most famous compositions and also one of its most intriguing mysteries. Ludwig van Beethoven’s enchanting Für Elise has been played by generations of children learning the piano but musicologists have struggled in vain to find the “Elise” who inspired it.Now a leading Beethoven expert has come to the conclusion that there never was an Elise – or at least not one that Beethoven knew. Continue reading...

The searing memories of this winter will endure and any action ministers take now will come too late to improve their standing at the next electionCrisis, conflict and collapse have driven the NHS to the top of the political agenda. Every day brings new horror stories from the frontlines of a health service on its knees. Yet there is no evidence of urgency from the government, which seems determined to weather the winter struggle while handing out as little cash as possible to hospitals and staff. They may come to regret this. An unprecedented healthcare crisis poses unprecedented electoral risks on a broad front.The first of these is already obvious in the daily news rounds, which are now dominated by NHS stories, none of them good for the government. Polling shows rapid rises in the share of voters rating healthcare as an urgent priority. The dangers from this rise in salience are magnified because much of it will be driven by direct experience of a collapsing health system. Changing the focus of the media narrative won’t do much good when hundreds of thousands of voters are seeing the crisis for themselves every day. Continue reading...

The very first Factory club night was advertised with this poster. Now its designer wants it back to complete a major archiveThe hunt is on to locate an object that truly qualifies as “a sign of the times”. In 1977, the first Factory club night in Manchester was advertised with a poster using the now-famous symbol of a health and safety warning, urging workers to protect their ears from loud noise. But the original sign used in the artwork is missing.The acclaimed designer Peter Saville was a young student at Manchester Polytechnic when Tony Wilson, the TV presenter and promoter behind the city’s burgeoning music scene, asked him to create an advert for the event. Luckily, inspiration was near at hand. Continue reading...

Party to switch focus from economy after polling shows voters in southern Conservative seats put health service as No 1 issueA “blue wall” offensive focusing on the NHS is being plotted by the Liberal Democrats this weekend, amid mounting evidence that the Conservative brand has been significantly damaged among crucial voters in traditional Tory seats.Lib Dem campaigners charged with securing a breakthrough in seats in the south-east are gathering in a Staffordshire hotel this weekend, as all the parties begin to sketch out their early general election planning. The group will be told that the usual tactic of targeting liberal Tory voters in affluent areas with messages about the economy will be dialled down, after the NHS crisis was found to be resonating significantly in these areas. Continue reading...

Paul Nowak says prime minister faces general condemnation if he does not prioritise resolving public sector disputesRishi Sunak will provoke a public uproar should he prioritise pre-election tax cuts over better pay for nurses, ambulance workers and teachers, Britain’s most senior union figure has warned.With the prime minister already under pressure from Tory MPs to sanction tax cuts in the spring budget, Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, warned that the public would condemn any such move while a series of public sector pay disputes remained unresolved. Continue reading...

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As schools struggle to find staff for key roles, heads tell families to demand action from their MPs and to back strikersParents are being called on to help teachers in their fight for a pay rise as unions try to win the public relations battle against the government over next month’s strikes.With thousands of schools across England and Wales set to close in February after teachers voted to strike, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) union has told the Observer that it is working with Parentkind, the umbrella group for parent-teacher associations in schools, and with school governors to get parents to lobby backbench Conservative MPs on the crisis in recruiting and retaining teachers. Continue reading...

End of zero-Covid policy allows family gatherings and largest festivities since pandemic beganPeople across China have rung in the lunar new year with family gatherings and crowds visiting temples after the government lifted its strict zero-Covid policy, marking the biggest festive celebration since the pandemic began three years ago.The lunar new year is the most important annual holiday in China. Each year is named after one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac in a repeating cycle, with this year being the year of the rabbit. For the past three years celebrations were muted in the shadow of the pandemic. Continue reading...

Sole nominee secures Labour endorsement for prime minister, with Carmel Sepuloni as deputy, and incumbent’s last engagements on TuesdayChris Hipkins will be New Zealand’s next prime minister following a formal vote that endorsed him as Jacinda Ardern’s successor after her shock resignation on Thursday.New Zealand will also swear in its first ever Pasifika deputy prime minister, with social development minister Carmel Sepuloni, who is of Tongan and Samoan descent, to take the role. Continue reading...

YouGov poll shows opposition would easily win a majority, with strong backing from young voters

Statement calls for Albanese government to join landmark UN treaty banning nuclear weapons

People are being encouraged to ‘support their local areas’ in a drive to mark the three-day celebration in MayBritons will be encouraged to spend a day volunteering in their communities to mark the King’s coronation. The Big Help Out will take place on Monday 8 May and is intended to create a “lasting legacy” of the coronation weekend.Buckingham Palace said it hoped to convince as many people as possible to “join the work being undertaken to support their local areas” on the day, which has been designated as an extra bank holiday. Continue reading...

Event in front of Turkish embassy will further inflame tensions between two countriesTurkey has condemned a demonstration involving the burning of Qur’ans in Sweden on Saturday, further inflaming tensions between the two countries amid Stockholm’s Nato bid.The protest in Stockholm, which took place under heavy police protection in front of Turkey’s embassy, gathered about 100 people and a crowd of reporters, Agence France-Presse reported. Continue reading...

Júlio Cesar de Arruda reportedly stopped police detaining suspected rioters who took refuge outside army headquartersThe head of the Brazilian army has been sacked by the country’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after claims the commander tried to shield rightwing rioters from arrest after the 8 January insurrection in Brasília.Gen Júlio Cesar de Arruda, who only took up the role in late December, was removed from his position on Saturday, nearly two weeks after supporters of the former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro brought havoc to Brazil’s capital in what Lula’s administration called a botched coup attempt. Continue reading...

Embattled Tory party chair reveals he made ‘careless but not deliberate’ error over multimillion-pound share saleNadhim Zahawi was battling to save his political career on Saturday night after he finally admitted reaching a tax settlement with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) following an “error” over a controversial multimillion-pound shareholding in the polling company YouGov.In a carefully worded statement, Zahawi appeared to confirm that HMRC had carried out an investigation into his financial affairs while he was serving as chancellor last summer. Zahawi, now the Tory party chairman, said that the tax authority had concluded that he had made a “careless but not deliberate” error. Continue reading...

NSW residents urged to be on the lookout for symptoms and guard against infection in period before children return to school

Sydney’s light rail network is among the slowest in the country, new analysis shows, and tram lines around the country share similar problems. Can anything be done to speed them up?

The prime minister promised integrity but critics have questioned this in light of some dubious decisionsRishi Sunak entered No 10 promising “integrity”, but was forced to apologise this week after failing to wear a seatbelt in a moving car.It is the latest in a series of gaffes that have prompted critics to accuse him of showing “the same disregard for the rules” as his predecessor as prime minister, Boris Johnson. Continue reading...

The soaring price of ingredients and rise of veganism have led to a ‘notable decline’ in dishes made with animal productsRestaurants are removing meat dishes from their menus due to the impact of inflation and the rising popularity of Veganuary, researchers say.Only 20% of all dishes served at restaurant chains last summer contained meat, according to the latest figures from Lumina Intelligence, a drop of four percentage points from last spring. Continue reading...