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Star ‘smashed numerous records’ and raised close to 3% of the company’s revenues from recorded music in 2022Taylor Swift’s Midnights album, released in October, helped to generate $230m in sales for her label Universal last year, according to a report Wednesday.According to JPMorgan Chase, the music superstar raised close to 3% of the company’s revenues from recorded music in 2022. As a result, analysts at the bank raised their estimates for last-quarter sales growth at the music giant to 10% from 6%. Continue reading...

Huw Merriman insists the need for reform to working practices made the standoff necessaryRail strikes have cost the UK economy more than £1bn and it would have cost less to settle the dispute with unions over pay and conditions months ago, a government minister has admitted.However, the rail minister Huw Merriman said the need for reform to working practices made the standoff necessary, as he told MPs on the Commons transport select committee on Wednesday that the government had not “torpedoed” a deal, nor “interfered in a negative manner”. Continue reading...

Denys Monastyrskiy and other key officials among dead after crash near kindergarten in Kyiv suburb

‘Last godfather’ of Sicilian mafia Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested after 30 years on runItalian military police have found a possible secret bunker suspected of being used by Matteo Messina Denaro, the “last godfather” of the Sicilian mafia who was arrested on Monday after 30 years on the run.The structure is in Campobello di Mazara, a small town in Sicily where the apartment Denaro, 60, had been living in was discovered on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Ex-MEP allegedly called on friends to ask questions at meeting to lead Qatari minister ‘on a known path’Belgian police seized nearly €1.5m in cash from homes and hotels in Brussels last month, allegedly paid by Qatar to sway decisions in the European parliament. Now a series of reports have suggested what that money may have been attempting to buy.Investigators have homed in on a meeting of the European parliament’s subcommittee on human rights on 14 November 2022, where Qatar’s minister for labour, Ali bin Samikh al-Marri, defended his country’s record on workers’ rights. Continue reading...

Pro-Russia sympathies meant operation providing crucial help was covert, reveal politicians involved

David Carrick rape case prompts call for all officers to be checked against national police databasesUK police forces have been asked to check all officers and staff against national police databases to identify suspected misogynistic predators who have “slipped through the net” in the wake of the David Carrick rape case, the Home Office has said.The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has also asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice for police vetting, making the obligations all forces must legally follow stricter and clearer. Continue reading...

Alan Titford on trial over death in ‘horrific circumstances’ of his 16-year-old daughter Kaylea in WalesA man has gone on trial accused of manslaughter after his disabled teenage daughter became so obese that she died in “truly horrific circumstances” weighing 146kg (22st 13lbs).By the time of her death in October 2020, Kaylea Titford, who had spina bifida, was “living in conditions unfit for any animal let alone a vulnerable 16-year-old girl who depended entirely on others for her care”, a jury at Mold crown court heard. Continue reading...

Fans and bands fear regional network that helped launch careers of Ed Sheeran and Little Simz will be cut back as BBC confirms changes to schedulesIt is the nationwide network of weekly regional radio programmes and festival stages that has helped launch the careers of British superstars such as Ed Sheeran, Florence + the Machine, Celeste and Little Simz. But now, the future of BBC Music Introducing is believed to be under threat. For days, social media has been buzzing with reports that the local radio side of what the BBC calls its “platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent” is to be scaled down, with claims that all 32 BBC Introducing presenters across the UK have been put on notice of redundancy.A source told the Guardian that the plan was to “rationalise” the network, with a two-thirds reduction in the number of shows, which would then operate across larger regional boundaries. Such changes would greatly increase competition and reduce the amount of airtime available for individual emerging artists. Continue reading...

Bishops resist change that would allow clergy to marry same-sex couples but propose civil marriages can be blessed in churchThe Church of England has rejected demands to allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages but is proposing that couples who married in a civil ceremony may have their union blessed in church.The C of E released “historic plans” on Wednesday outlining a proposed way forward after decades of bitter and anguished division over sexuality. The proposal, endorsed by bishops this week, will be put to the C of E’s governing body, the General Synod, next month. Continue reading...

Supermarket’s rise to £13.18 on 1 February puts hourly minimum rate 20% ahead of January 2022Aldi is increasing pay for UK warehouse workers for the third time in a year – with the hourly minimum rate now 20% ahead of last January.The German-owned discounter, which is the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, said pay would rise to £13.18 on 1 February, up 4% on the current minimum of £12.66, which was introduced in September. Continue reading...

British luxury goods firm reports 1% increase in global sales in last quarter of 2022Burberry offset a plunge in Chinese sales of more than a fifth amid Covid disruption, thanks to the return of tourists to Europe who snapped up bags, scarves and trenchcoats in the run-up to Christmas.The British luxury goods firm reported a 1% increase in global sales in the three months to the end of December, below its 2% target and sharply down compared with the 11% growth reported in the previous quarter. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s interior minister Denys Monastyrskiy among at least 15 dead after helicopter crashes near kindergarten in Kyiv outskirts

Girl, seven, remains in serious but stable condition after shooting in Euston on Saturday, say policeA man questioned over a drive-by shooting at a church in central London that left a seven-year-old girl in a life-threatening condition has been bailed.Mourners attending a memorial service for a young woman and her mother came under gunfire outside St Aloysius church in Phoenix Road, Euston, central London, on Saturday. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan says he will seek to prevent serial rapist from receiving the estimated £22,000-a-year pensionThe London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he will apply to the home secretary to strip serial rapist David Carrick of his police pension.A spokesperson for the mayor said Khan would make the move to strip the former Metropolitan police officer of his estimated £22,000-a-year pension because his crimes were committed in connection with his job. Continue reading...

Lectern featuring blocks of wood was made for former PM who lasted 45 days and resembled popular game

The Caribbean territory plans to exterminate at least 450 of the invasive primates – but critics disagree with the proposalThe government of Sint Maarten in the eastern Caribbean has approved a controversial plan to cull its entire population of vervet monkeys, as the proliferation of the invasive species becomes an increasing nuisance on the Dutch island territory.Authorities will fund the Nature Foundation St Maarten NGO to capture and euthanise at least 450 monkeys over the next three years in the territory which borders French St Martin. Continue reading...

Latest Black Panther and Ant-Man superhero flicks get February release in country famously controlling over Hollywood moviesChina has ended its de facto ban on Marvel films, with superhero flicks Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania both locking in surprise release dates, after a three-and-a-half-year gap that has cost Disney hundreds of millions in ticket sales.The films will be released in February, after the lunar new year, marking the first Marvel releases in the world’s second-largest theatrical market since Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Continue reading...

Strikes are the third and fourth time nurses have refused to work in pursuit of a better pay offer

The British author, who lived in the US, blended memoir and travelogue in books that were often inspired by the seaJonathan Raban, the British travel writer, critic and novelist known for his candid accounts of travelling the world in books such as Passage to Juneau and Coasting, has died aged 80, his agent has confirmed.Born in Norfolk in 1942, Raban grew up in several Church of England vicarages, in a family with little income but several “upper-middle-class connections: coat-of-arms, one-time country house”. “We belonged nowhere,” he wrote in his 1986 book Coasting. “We had the money of one lot, the voices of another - and we had an unearthly goodliness which removed us from the social map altogether.” Continue reading...

Observatory Hill recorded the city’s hottest temperature in 331 days on Wednesday

Labor and the Coalition promise to ease penalties for ‘low-level’ offences if they win the state election

Exclusive: Party fears basic rights such as maternity protections and holiday entitlement could be swept awayLabour is seeking to protect workers’ employment rights from being abolished as part of ministers’ controversial retained EU law bill by forcing a Commons vote on the topic on Wednesday.The party fears basic rights, including maternity protections and holiday entitlement, could be swept away under the government’s plans to “sunset” 4,000 laws derived from Brussels by the end of this year. Continue reading...

Renaissance for open-air swimming as communities restore derelict sites and campaign for new poolsThis year is set to be the “year of the lido”, with three new or revamped outdoor baths due to open in England in 2023 and more communities across the UK agitating for the opportunity to swim in the open.What campaigners are dubbing the “lido revolution” has been given extra impetus following the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarding £99,800 to a project aimed at helping people bring their local pools back to life. Continue reading...

Lynn has been charged with murdering the pair, who went missing in March 2020 while camping in the Wonnangatta ValleyTwo campers may have been killed after a fight over a drone before their alleged murderer left a hotel room covered in blood, court documents show.Greg Lynn, a former airline pilot, is charged with murdering Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, who went missing in March 2020 while camping in the Wonnangatta Valley, east of Melbourne. Continue reading...

Labor government confirms it will buy Black Hawks from the US at a likely cost of about $3bnFinally, it’s official. Australia’s long-expected dumping of its European-backed Taipan helicopters in favour of US Black Hawks closes an inglorious chapter in the country’s defence acquisition history.Over the past few years, there has been no shortage of negative headlines about the MRH90 Taipan, which has been used by both the army and the navy. Continue reading...

Report says young person has to have attempted suicide multiple times to be offered inpatient support

Committee hears ParentNext program is ‘punitive and prescriptive’, with threats of payment suspensions ‘significantly detrimental’ for families

Queensland researchers train artificial intelligence to trawl recordings and help confirm presence of elusive eastern bristlebird

Los Angeles judge rules porn star is in “incurable neurocognitive decline”, sparing him trial on rape and sexual assault chargesA Los Angeles judge on Tuesday declared that porn performer Ron Jeremy is mentally incompetent to stand trial on dozens of rape and sexual assault counts.Superior court judge Ronald S Harris said in a hearing that after reviewing reports from both prosecutors and Jeremy’s defense that he is in “incurable neurocognitive decline” from which he is unlikely to recover. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says he is not ‘leading with a position that assumes a loss of a referendum’ on the Indigenous voice

CRLN Network draft proposal designed to address confusion in existing law around issue of consentA new criminal offence of intentionally deceiving a person into engaging in sexual activity should be created to address confusion in the law around consent, legal experts and lawyers have said.The new offence of inducing sexual activity by deception would cover both making of false representations as well as failing to disclose information. As such, it would potentially apply in future to cases such as those involving “spy cops”, in which undercover police officers adopted fake personas and conducted sexual affairs with female activists. Continue reading...

Food Standards Agency chairwoman likened culture to passive smoking, and said offices should be a ‘supportive environment’The head of a food watchdog has suggested people should not bring cake into the office for the sake of their colleagues’ health.Prof Susan Jebb, chairwoman of the Food Standards Agency, also lamented that the advertising of junk food is “undermining people’s free will”. Continue reading...

James Cleverly says support must be intensified to bring war to conclusion in remarks that appear aimed at US

Mobile phone hidden in studio by prankster emitted loud moaning cries during live broadcastThe BBC has apologised after its coverage of an FA Cup football match was marred by pornographic noises being played loudly while its presenters were live on air.Gary Lineker, the host, later said in a tweet that the moaning noises came from a hidden mobile phone which had been “taped to the back of the set” in the studio looking out over the pitch at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux stadium. Continue reading...

The announcement comes a day after Labor announced its own policy offering a demerit discount for safe driving

Sister Andrée was born in 1904 and survived an outbreak of Covid-19 in 2021 in her nursing home that killed 10 other residentsThe world’s oldest known person, French nun Lucile Randon, has died aged 118, a spokesperson has said.Randon, known as Sister Andrée, was born in southern France on 11 February 1904, when the first world war was still a decade away. Continue reading...

Nicola Sturgeon says her government will be ‘vigorously defending’ democracy as well as the bill passed in ScotlandI am sorry the comments are closed at the moment. There has been an update this morning that has created a glitch with the system, but the developers are trying to fix it as quickly as possible.Labour has been anxious to avoid taking sides on the Scottish gender recognition reform bill. Although Keir Starmer has criticised aspects of the bill, and argued it might have an impact on UK equality laws, he has accused both the UK and Scottish governments of politicising the issues and implied that Labour would adopt a more consensual approach. Continue reading...

Bolsonaro supporters are also accused of armed criminal association and violent attempt to subvert democratic state of lawThe office of Brazil’s prosecutor-general has presented its first charges against some of the thousands of people who authorities say stormed government buildings in an effort to overturn former president Jair Bolsonaro’s loss in the October election.The prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat antidemocratic acts have also requested that the 39 defendants who allegedly ransacked the Brazilian congress building be imprisoned as a preventive measure, and that 40m reais ($7.7m) of their assets be frozen to help cover damages. Continue reading...

Joseph Watts, 35, will face court on Friday charged with assault and throwing a missile on to pitchA man has been charged with assault after the Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was kicked by a Tottenham Hotspur fan at Sunday’s north London derby.Joseph Watts, 35, of Hackney in east London, was charged with assault by beating, going on to an area adjacent to a playing area and throwing a missile on to a football pitch, the Metropolitan police said. He is due to appear at Highbury magistrates court on Friday. Continue reading...

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte in Washington; death toll from Saturday’s Russian missile attack on a residential building rises to 45. This live blog is now closed

Geographers formulate ‘diversity index’ ranking areas where ethnic diversity is on the rise and segregation on the waneWatford is one of a number of growing “rainbow” towns and cities in England and Wales, places where ethnic diversity is on the rise and segregation is on the wane.Using the latest census data, a team of international geographers formulated a “diversity index” that ranks places by the spread of different ethnic groups represented. Continue reading...

Latest government U-turn on policy comes amid row over Scotland’s gender recognition bill

Jake Davison’s family tell jury they wish they ‘could turn back time’ to prevent deaths of five people in 2021The family of a gunman who killed five people, including his own mother and a three-year-old girl, in Plymouth in 2021 have spoken of their devastation and told an inquest jury that they wished they could turn back time to prevent the tragedy from happening.Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother, Maxine Davison, 51, after an argument. He then shot dead four others, among them Lee Martyn, 43, and his three-year-old daughter Sophie – who was pushing a buggy with a teddy inside as they walked the family dog, in the 12-minute attack. Continue reading...

Oleksiy Arestovych said rocket that hit Dnipro building detonated after being downed by Ukraine forcesA Ukrainian presidential adviser has resigned after causing widespread anger when he suggested a Russian missile that killed dozens had been shot down by Ukraine.Over 40 people were killed in the south-central city of Dnipro and 39 are still missing when a Russian X-22 anti-ship ballistic missile hit an apartment block on Saturday. In comments to a YouTube channel that he appears on daily, hours after the attack, Oleksiy Arestovych said the rocket had detonated after it had been downed by Ukrainian air defence forces. Continue reading...

After a fatal crowd crush at the London venue in December, the BBC has spoken to a guard who says hundreds were let in for cashA security guard at London’s O2 Academy Brixton, which has been closed since a fatal crowd crush occurred at the venue in mid-December, has alleged in a BBC report that other guards regularly took bribes to let people in without tickets.Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, both died after a show by Afrobeats star Asake on 15 December, with several more injured.This article was updated on 17 January 2023 to reflect that there were 157 security guards present on the night of the Asake show, not 158, as a spokesperson for the Brixton Academy previously said. Continue reading...

Italian investigators discover designer clothes and expensive shoes inside ‘normal’ two-storey buildingThe mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the world’s most-wanted criminals who had spent 30 years on the run, lived in a modest apartment in western Sicily in his final months as a free man, Italian investigators said.Denaro, 60, who was apprehended as he came out of a well-known private clinic in Palermo, lived in a small apartment inside a two-storey yellow building in the centre of the town of Campobello di Mazara, in the province of Trapani, in the heart of his territory. Continue reading...

Britain’s car industry relies on petrol or diesel vehicles – and every failure to be part of the electric revolution makes it more exposed

Met Office warns of up to 15cm of snow in some areas as public urged not to travel due to treacherous conditionsHeavy snow could cause power cuts and road closures in parts of the UK as the country is hit by freezing weather that has caused widescale disruption.The Met Office issued a number of yellow and amber weather warnings for snow and ice on Tuesday, with Scotland expected to be the worst hit. Continue reading...