World news | The Guardian

Factions have clashed following Jim Molan’s death, with some saying infighting is ‘disrespectful’

Actor, known for roles in Leaving Las Vegas and Warlock, was reported missing on Friday eveningA hiker reported as missing in southern California has been named as the British actor Julian Sands.The 65-year-old was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel mountains on Friday evening, with searches by local authorities continuing over the weekend. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Three men charged with damage offences, with the state government yet to outlaw the display of hate symbols

MPs and peers say draft mental health bill must go further to strengthen patients’ choicesMinisters must use legislation to address an “unacceptable and inexcusable” failure to address racial disparity in the use of the Mental Health Act, MPs and peers have said.The joint committee on the draft mental health bill says the bill does not go far enough to tackle failures that were identified in a landmark independent review five years ago, but which still persist and may even be getting worse. Continue reading...

Wind energy agreements have generated windfall that would normally go towards monarchyThe King has asked for profits from a £1bn-a-year crown estate windfarm deal to be used for the “wider public good” rather than as a funding boost for the monarchy.Under the taxpayer-funded sovereign grant, which is currently £86.3m a year, the King receives 25% of the crown estate’s annual surplus, which includes an extra 10% for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. Continue reading...

Comments range from ‘the monarchy is valuable’ to ‘Harry and Meghan are having their cake and eating it’Last week, the tell-all autobiography by Prince Harry, Spare, was released and sold a combined 1,430,000 copies on its first day on sale in the US, Canada and the UK.Here, readers from Commonwealth countries share their thoughts on Prince Harry, his new book and whether the controversies surrounding the royal family have changed their views towards the monarchy. Continue reading...

Ex-prime minister used £800,000 facility backed by a relative, wealthy Canadian businessman Sam Blyth, while at No 10Labour is calling for an investigation into an alleged arrangement by which Boris Johnson used a relative to act as a guarantor for an £800,000 credit facility when he was prime minister.The party has written to the parliamentary standards commissioner after the Sunday Times reported Canadian businessman Sam Blyth, a distant cousin, had agreed to act as a guarantor for a credit facility for Johnson. Continue reading...

Town in prime minister’s Yorkshire constituency to receive £19m from latest £2.1bn package, which Labour says overlooks neediestRishi Sunak’s wealthy rural constituency is receiving £19m of funding from the government’s latest round of levelling up funding, prompting accusations of favouritism towards Conservative seats.Catterick Garrison, a small army town in the prime minister’s Richmond constituency in North Yorkshire, will receive money to regenerate its town centre as one of 100 projects awarded a share of the £2.1bn package after months of delays. Continue reading...

Labour leader and shadow chancellor to promote green investment at forum in Sunak’s absenceKeir Starmer hopes to entice global finance leaders in Davos on Thursday by ensuring them Britain “will be open for business” under a future Labour government.With Rishi Sunak declining to attend this year’s World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the Labour leader will arguably be the most high-profile UK politician attending. Continue reading...

New policy after Carrick scandal would bring police in line with teachers under future Labour governmentPolice officers accused of rape or domestic abuse will be immediately suspended under a future Labour government, the party has announced, amid growing concern that other serial sexual abusers will be found in the UK’s forces.The announcement follows criticisms of the government’s response after the former police officer David Carrick was formally sacked on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 49 charges of sexual assault including dozens of rapes. He had been allowed to continue to work as a police officer despite multiple allegations. Continue reading...

Attorney general has clarified solicitor general is being consulted on voice to parliament after Anthony Albanese said otherwise

Police had declared an exclusion zone in the centre of Tara, 40km south of Wieambilla which saw a deadly ambush of police in December

Reality star acquired amethyst cross for £163,800 in Sotheby’s royal and noble saleKim Kardashian has acquired the Attallah Cross worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, after the pendant went on sale at Sotheby’s London.The Attallah Cross, a 1920s pendant by luxury jewellery designer Garrard, which was worn on several occasions by Diana, sold for £163,800 in the Sotheby’s royal and noble sale on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Aristocrat’s daughter Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, a registered sex offender in the US, were last seen 11 days agoA couple missing for 11 days with their newborn baby have a substantial amount of cash, which is helping them evade the search effort, police have said.Constance Marten, Mark Gordon and their baby have no luggage with them after most of their belongings were destroyed in a car fire, and are using cash to pay for taxis and places to stay. Detectives have also revealed that Gordon is a registered sex offender. Continue reading...

Timetable piles pressure on EU and UK to resolve dispute over Northern Ireland protocolMinisters are giving themselves until 5 March to decide whether to call fresh elections in Northern Ireland, as the Democratic Unionist party continues to block power-sharing at Stormont in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.This allows the EU and the UK a six-week window to try to thrash out a deal to end the dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol. Continue reading...

Eight-year-old daughter of wealthy gem dealer follows family’s Jain faith to enter strict religious orderAn eight-year-old girl in India who was due to inherit a multimillion-dollar diamond fortune has instead been admitted as a nun to a strict religious order after renouncing worldly pleasures.Devanshi Sanghvi was, until this week, an heiress to the Sanghvi and Sons jewellery business in the western city of Surat, known locally as Diamond City for its prominence in the global gem trade. Continue reading...

Dominga project included insufficient efforts to mitigate impact on reserves for dolphins, whales and penguins, committee saysChile’s government has rejected a controversial $2.5bn iron and copper mining project proposed in an important area for biodiversity and marine life.The Dominga project, 70km north of the city of La Serena, would have seen an open-pit mine, processing and desalination plants, as well as a large port, installed just 30km from a famed Humboldt penguin reserve. Continue reading...

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...