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Ukraine says there will be prisoner swap but some Russian officials have said forces could be tried or executed

Latest updates: Maroš Šefčovič responds to Truss, saying EU keen to reach a settlement but stresses UK actions raise ‘significant concerns’

Derby manager says he asked teammate whether Rebekah Vardy could cut back on media activities, ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial hearsWayne Rooney asked Jamie Vardy if his wife could “calm down” and cut back on her media activities during the Euro 2016 football tournament because it was causing “distractions” for the England team, the high court has heard.Rooney told the “Wagatha Christie” libel trial that the then-England manager Roy Hodgson and his assistant manager, Gary Neville, were both concerned that Rebekah Vardy’s decision to write a column for the Sun during the contest was disrupting the squad. Jamie Vardy responded outside the court by saying England’s record goalscorer was “talking nonsense”. Continue reading...

Frontman and guitarist watched Bataclan fans’ excitement turn to confusion as gunmen opened fireThe frontman and guitarist for the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal have told a Paris court how they watched from the stage in confusion and horror as terrorists opened fire on the crowd at their sold-out concert at the Bataclan in 2015, leaving 90 people dead.Jesse Hughes, the band’s singer, and Eden Galindo, a guitarist, both said the attack had changed their lives “forever”. Continue reading...

Brussels vows to respond with ‘all measures at its disposal’ as Liz Truss sets out plan to make changesThe European Commission has raised the spectre of an economically damaging trade war with the UK, pledging to respond with “all measures at its disposal” if Liz Truss presses ahead with a plan to rewrite the Northern Ireland protocol.The foreign secretary set out plans on Tuesday to table a bill that would make key changes to the protocol, including waiving all checks on goods flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, where they are not destined for the Republic of Ireland. Continue reading...

Overseas-born doctors must stay for five years to get leave to remain, but GP training lasts only three yearsHundreds of overseas-born trainee GPs are at risk of deportation because of “nonsensical” immigration rules, the profession’s leader has warned Priti Patel.The NHS risks losing much-needed family doctors unless visa regulations are overhauled to allow young medics to stay in Britain at the end of their GP training, Prof Martin Marshall said. Continue reading...

MP arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconductA Tory MP has been arrested on suspicion of sexual offences, with the party banning him from attending the House of Commons.A Conservative Whips’ Office spokesperson said the MP would be asked not to come to parliament. “The chief whip has asked that the MP concerned does not attend the parliamentary estate while an investigation is ongoing. Until the conclusion of the investigation we will not be commenting further.” Continue reading...

Desperate parents are using fast food outlets as an emergency kitchen, bathroom and living roomFamilies struggling to cope with energy bills are seeking shelter in McDonald’s, with one charity saying hard-pressed parents and children are spending their evenings in the fast food restaurants, relying on the facilities as an emergency kitchen, bathroom and living room.“People are buying their kids a Happy Meal for a few quid and keeping them warm inside. Then they wash and brush their teeth in the sinks and watch television for hours on the free wifi,” says Matthew Cole. Continue reading...

Leiland-James Corkill was placed with Laura Castle in Cumbria months before his death from head injuriesA woman has been convicted of murdering a one-year-old boy she was hoping to adopt.Leiland-James Corkill was placed with Laura Castle, 38, and her husband, Scott Castle, 35, by authorities in Cumbria less than five months before his death from catastrophic head injuries. Continue reading...

Maud Lewis sold her paintings on Nova Scotia roadsides but found a larger audience after a documentary chronicled her life and workA Canadian painting that was swapped 50 years ago for a grilled cheese sandwich has sold at auction for an “astounding” C$350,000 (US$272,000).Black Truck by the folk artist Maud Lewis sold for 10 times its assessed value, setting a new high mark for a painter whose popularity has surged in recent years. Continue reading...

Jury finds Donald Robertson guilty of imprisonment, indecent assault and murder of 26-year-oldA man has been found guilty of the murder of Shani Warren, whose body was found bound and gagged in a lake 35 years ago.A jury at Reading crown court found Donald Robertson guilty of the imprisonment, indecent assault and murder of the 26-year-old, after the discovery of new DNA evidence. Continue reading...

Vice-chancellor says north-east now has biggest concentration of researchers anywhere outside LondonThe north-east of England has gained a “northern research powerhouse” to rival anything outside London, according to the vice-chancellor of the University of Northumbria after his institution rocketed up national research rankings.Andrew Wathey took over at the Newcastle university in 2008 when it was 81st for research output, and has now seen it vault into 28th place in the UK, according to results of the research excellence framework (Ref) published this month. Continue reading...

Gang who stole statues from Hindu temple in India return most items, with note saying they had suffered nightmaresA gang of thieves have returned more than a dozen idols they stole from an ancient Hindu temple in India, saying they had been haunted by nightmares since the crime, according to police.Last week, the group stole 16 statues from a 300-year-old temple to Lord Balaji – an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu – in Uttar Pradesh, police inspector Rajiv Singh told Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

Police say 48-year-old handed himself in after death of Daniel John Twigg on Sunday afternoonA man has been arrested after a three-year-old boy was killed by a dog at a farm property in Greater Manchester.Daniel John Twigg was named by police on Tuesday as the victim of the dog attack in Milnrow, Rochdale, on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading...

Monarch and Prince Edward attend event at London’s Paddington station before public opening of line named in her honourThe Queen has marked the completion of London’s Crossrail project by attending the opening ceremony of the Elizabeth line.Accompanied by the Earl of Wessex, she was welcomed by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the commissioner of Transport for London, Andy Byford, at Paddington station. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary confirms plans to ditch parts of deal, saying Good Friday agreement ‘under strain’

High court to hear claims that judges ‘in a very precarious position’ hiding from Taliban have faced long delaysAlleged inconsistencies in the way the UK Home Office and Foreign Office process asylum applications from vulnerable judges in hiding in Afghanistan are being challenged at the high court on Tuesday.If successful, the three separate judicial reviews will require the Home Office to undertake a wholesale rethink of how it is handling cases. The reviews – anonymised to protect the claimants from persecution by the Taliban – cover a male judge and a female judge who have had their applications for asylum rejected, and a prominent female women’s rights activist. Continue reading...

Amnesty International calls for restoring full tribal control over crimes on Native land to improve enforcementAmnesty International has called on the US government to fully restore tribal jurisdiction over crimes on Native lands in the face of staggeringly high rates of sexual violence against Native women, according to a report released on Tuesday.Nearly one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women have been raped – more than twice the average for white women and probably an undercount given gaps in data collection, according to the report. Continue reading...

Labour says auction by museum, whose trustees include Tory chair Ben Elliot, breached code of conductThe V&A has been urged to investigate why the museum auctioned a private tour as a prize at a Conservative fundraising dinner when one of its trustees is a Tory party chair.In a letter to the commissioner on public appointments, Labour’s shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell, said the auction was a clear breach of the code of conduct for trustees of public bodies. Continue reading...

Owner of Bluewater and Trinity Leeds says it has also seen a recovery at its shopping centresLand Securities has reported record office leasing in London as the lifting of Covid restrictions fuels a return of workers and a surge in demand for prime space, as the property company bounced back to profit last year.Landsec is one of Britain’s biggest property firms and about 60% of its portfolio is in central London. It reported a pre-tax profit of £875m in the year to the end of March. Continue reading...

Deadly incident renews debate over cross-strait tensions and Beijing’s reunification rhetoricTaiwan’s president has condemned the deadly shooting at a Taiwanese church in California by a man reportedly driven by hatred of the self-governing island, where debate about cross-strait tensions has intensified along with Beijing’s reunification rhetoric.Tsai Ing-wen’s office issued a statement saying she condemned “any form of violence” and extended her condolences to those killed and injured, and that she had asked the island’s chief representative in the US to fly to California to provide assistance. Continue reading...

If passed, the state will be the last in Australia to allow terminally ill people to choose when they die

Prime minister tells Tracy Grimshaw ‘I could have been more sensitive at times’; nation records 66 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news live

Dressed in red and blue, ‘Spidey’ is a fixture at protests against the military regime – and the subject of a new Guardian documentaryViolence and arrests will not deter Sudan’s young activists from resisting the military who “stole our revolution”, says one man who faces down the teargas and bullets in a blue and red superhero costume.Featured in a new Guardian documentary, “the ‘Spider-Man’ of Sudan”, who cannot be named for his safety, has become a symbol of protests that began in October. Dressed in his increasingly frayed suit and mask he and other demonstrators confront teargas canisters, water cannon and often live bullets. Continue reading...

Labor leader chased by reporters asking questions on costings, while Scott Morrison challenged over refusal to appear on NITV

The current prime minister is unpopular in city marginal seats, so the Coalition is banking on robocalls and letterbox drops from Howard to sway voters

Northern Ireland secretary reiterates stance as Liz Truss prepares to tell MPs of plans to lift checksThe UK will not “shy away” from legislating to change the Northern Ireland protocol without agreement from the EU, the Northern Ireland secretary has said, as Liz Truss prepares to tell the Commons about plans to unilaterally lift checks.The foreign secretary will tell MPs of plans to bring forward the draft legislation after a cabinet discussion on Northern Ireland. However, the timetable for the draft laws has slipped, with the text now only promised before the summer break, according to Whitehall sources. Continue reading...

Rob Priestly says he has no ALP links and lodges complaint after messages appearing to be authorised by Nationals sent to Victoria constituents of Nicholls

Rocky Horror Show actor tells defamation trial McLachlan looked ‘very frail’ and ‘in shock’ the day ABC and Fairfax reports were published

Patricia Jenkins tells Chris Dawson’s murder trial that she had not seen or heard from her sister, Lynette, since New Year’s Day 1982

One in 25 people sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges in Konasheher, Xinjiang province, where Communist party represses Muslim minorityNearly one in 25 people in a county of the Uyghur heartland of China has been sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, in what is the highest known imprisonment rate in the world, an Associated Press review of leaked data shows.A list obtained and partially verified by the Associated Press cites the names of more than 10,000 Uyghurs sent to prison in just Konasheher county, one of dozens in southern Xinjiang. In recent years, China has waged a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim minority, which it has described as a “war on terror”. Continue reading...

‘Test tourism’ to begin in May in the form of limited package tours as a way of gathering information prior to full reopeningJapan will start conducting “test tourism” in the form of limited package tours in May ahead of a full reopening to tourism.Though tourism was a major pillar of Japan’s economy, tourists have not been permitted to enter since it adopted strict border controls in 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...

RCP president says findings should ‘sound alarm bells’ as YouGov survey finds 55% of people already feel their health is worseMore than half of people in the UK have already seen their health deteriorate as a result of the cost of living crisis, a survey reveals as doctors warned some patients can no longer afford to look after themselves.A YouGov poll of 2,001 people commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found 55% felt their health had worsened owing to issues such as higher heating and food costs. One in four of these people had been told this was the case by a doctor or other medical professional, with stress seen as a driving factor of ill-health. Continue reading...

Lucy Worsley, whose BBC TV series focuses on powerless people, says women continue to bear brunt of men’s ragePrejudices that led to witch-hunts hundreds of years ago have not disappeared and women are still on the receiving end of men’s anger, a leading historian has said.Writing in the Radio Times, Lucy Worsley, a historian and author, said: “[Although] we like to think we’re better than the people who hunted witches, witch-hunting still happens in some parts of the world today.” Continue reading...

Economists say tighter credit conditions, higher mortgage rates and increased housing supply behind sinking pricesNew Zealand’s house prices are on track to drop by up to 20% in the next year – the biggest drop since the 1970s – two of the biggest banks have predicted, which would take prices back to where they were just over a year ago.For years, the country has been plagued by a runaway housing market. The cities of Wellington and Auckland have some of the least affordable property markets in the world, and homeownership rates have been falling since the early 1990s across all age brackets, but especially for people in their 20s and 30s. Continue reading...

Review also recommends new procedures to address complaints about ABC staff use of social media to help overcome ‘perception problem’

Refugee advocate Shane Bazzi brought the appeal after being ordered by the federal court in November to pay $35,000 in damages to the defence minister

Four other government departments scrapped as cash-strapped regime faces $500m budget deficitTaliban authorities in Afghanistan dissolved five key departments of the former US-backed government, including the country’s human rights commission, deeming them unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, an official said.Afghanistan faced a budget deficit of 44bn Afghanis ($501m) this financial year, Taliban authorities said as they announced their first annual national budget since taking over last August. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Ukrainian president says evacuation of injured soldiers has begun; Erdoğan says no need for visits to try to persuade him

Action for Children says levels of severe and persistent hardship in cost of living crisis are among worst it has seenHard-up families are skipping meals, wearing coats indoors to stay warm, and living in the dark because they can’t afford to switch on the lights, according to a leading children’s charity.Action for Children said in one case a boy it worked with had been off school with sore feet caused by chilblains. The boy told charity workers that the house was cold all the time because the heating was not on, and he and his siblings were wearing coats inside and sharing beds at night to keep warm. Continue reading...

Nice endorses Magtrace to use with probe, which work in similar way to metal detectorWomen with invasive breast cancer could be injected with a magnetic marker liquid to tell doctors if their disease has spread, according to a recommendation by the government’s health advisers.The substance, called Magtrace, has been shown to locate the presence of sentinel lymph nodes, which show if the cancer has progressed beyond the breast. Continue reading...

Boss Tony Danker wants chancellor to aid households skipping or having smaller meals as energy bills soarPressure on the government to help those hardest hit by Britain’s cost of living crisis has intensified after the head of one of the country’s leading employers’ groups said immediate support was a “moral imperative”.Tony Danker, the director-general of the CBI, said Rishi Sunak should step in to provide assistance to households skipping meals as a result of rising food and fuel bills. Continue reading...

Latin patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa described the intervention as a ‘disproportionate use of force’ against mournersThe top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land has condemned the Israeli police beating of mourners carrying the casket of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, accusing the authorities of violating human rights and disrespecting the Catholic church.Latin patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters that Friday’s incident, broadcast around the world, was a “disproportionate use of force” against a large crowd of people waving Palestinian flags as they proceeded from the hospital to a nearby Catholic church in Jerusalem’s Old City. The attack drew worldwide condemnation and added to the shock and outrage over the death of Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) operation in the occupied West Bank. Continue reading...

Speaking at memorial lecture, former Tory chair says what defines a nation is ‘deeper than flags and fanfare’Culture wars are “not just an ugly political phenomenon … they’re deeply dangerous”, Sayeeda Warsi has told the fifth annual Jo Cox memorial lecture at the University of Cambridge.The lecture was set up to memorialise the Labour MP who was shot and stabbed in a politically motivated murder in 2016. Cox was struck while campaigning in her Yorkshire constituency during the European referendum campaign, in which she supported remain. Continue reading...

Nearly 40% of doctors who trained abroad do not have legal representation, compared to 25% of doctors who qualified in UKDoctors from overseas working in the NHS are more likely to be suspended or struck off when they have no lawyer to represent them at a disciplinary hearing, new figures show.The findings have raised fresh questions about whether the General Medical Council (GMC) displays “systemic racial bias” in its treatment of foreign-born medics accused of wrongdoing. Continue reading...

Since 2017, counter-terrorism forces have foiled 32 plots: 18 were Islamist related, and 12 were from the extreme right wingIn MI5’s London headquarters there is a top secret grid, on which is ranked the top terrorist plots absorbing the attention and resources of the security services and police.While 15 years ago it was dominated by Islamist plotters, in recent years the most severe threats to the country’s national security feature people planning atrocities linked to extreme rightwing ideology. Continue reading...

Callum Wheeler, 22, convicted over killing of James, 53, as she walked her dog near her home in SnowdownA man who stalked women in the woods has been found guilty of bludgeoning a police community support officer to death.Callum Wheeler chased and ambushed Julia James, 53, with a 3kg metal railway jack as she walked her dog near her home in Snowdown, Kent, in April last year. The 22-year-old, who was described by police as a “loner”, was convicted of murder after a six-day trial at Canterbury crown court. Continue reading...

Exclusive: draft of Shawcross report calling for crackdown on Islamism raises concerns it will try to ‘politicise counter-terrorism’The government’s counter-terrorism programme has been too focused on rightwing extremism and should now crack down on Islamism, according to leaked draft extracts from a landmark review of the Prevent strategy.In one particularly provocative recommendation, seen by the Guardian, the review claims there has been a “double standard” approach to tackling different forms of extremism, with individuals targeted for expressing mainstream rightwing views because the definition of neo-nazism has expanded too widely, while the focus on Islamism has been too narrow.a renewed focus on Islamist extremism is needed, including when individuals do not yet meet the terrorism threshold.individuals have been referred to Prevent, the government’s anti-extremism programme, to access mental health support even when there is no evidence of extremism.some Prevent-funded groups have promoted extremist narratives including support for the Taliban. Continue reading...

Duke of Sussex calls for legislation to rein in socia media companies in their quest for profitsThe Duke of Sussex has urged world leaders to prevent social media companies from using children as “digital experiments to make money”, as he supported calls for legislation to rein in tech firms.Prince Harry said the social media industry makes unbelievable amounts of money by “vacuuming” up time and information from users, adding that children should “demand better”. Continue reading...

France’s first female PM in 30 years has been a regular in the corridors of power for several decadesÉlisabeth Borne, who has been appointed France’s first woman prime minister in more than 30 years, has a reputation as a technocrat with a long career in many different government ministries and local administrations. She is experienced in negotiating with trade unions, seen as crucial as Emmanuel Macron prepares an overhaul of the pensions and benefits system which could lead to street protests.The 61-year-old engineer, who had previously headed Paris’s state transport company, RATP, was fiercely loyal to the centrist president during his first term, when she served as minister for transport, environment and finally labour from 2020. Continue reading...