World news | The Guardian

Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, prominent figures advocating for improved civil rights, given lengthy jail terms in latest crackdown on dissentA Chinese court has sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers to jail terms of more than a decade each, a relative and rights groups say, in the latest move in a years-long crackdown on civil society by President Xi Jinping.Xu Zhiyong, 50, and Ding Jiaxi, 55, were put on trial behind closed doors in June last year on charges of state subversion at a court in Linshu county in the north-eastern province of Shandong, relatives said at the time. Continue reading...

Flood moving abroad has come as a shock and is costing tens of millions in lost tax receiptsA record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%.More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions lost tax receipts. Continue reading...

Underfunded services resulting in more women choosing cheaper at-home abortion pill, study findsOverstretched and underfunded abortion services in England and Wales are leaving women feeling pressured into opting for the cheaper at-home pill rather than a surgical procedure, according to research.The proportion of medical abortions – using pills – rose from 47% in 2011 to 87% in 2021, while very few abortions are now administered surgically, finds research from the London School of Economics. Continue reading...

Volume of allegations suggests harassment and discrimination remains a problem within the government workforce

The list of hopefuls also includes sites in Birkenhead, Northern Ireland and the Cayman IslandsThe historic city centre of York and ancient settlements in the Shetlands are among seven sites backed by the UK government to win Unesco world heritage status, it has been announced.York, which boasts the Minster and enjoys a rich history bequeathed by its Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman inhabitants, and three ancient settlements known as the “zenith of iron age Shetland” join five other sites announced on the “tentative list” to bid for the status. Continue reading...

Directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos have joined campaign to save the Astor and Ideal from hotel and office developmentsThe spectre of two historic Athens cinemas being closed by commercial interests bent on turning them into a hotel and office block has spurred film-makers to get in front of the camera with pleas to stop the process.Directors of international acclaim have appealed to save the buildings amid mounting public disquiet over the pace of development in one of Europe’s oldest capitals. Leading the charge, Costa-Gavras, the Paris-based film director who shot to fame with the political drama Z, released when Greece was under military rule, called the existence of the Ideal and Astor cinemas indispensable for the enjoyment of film in an era when the “barbarism” of movies being watched on TV and mobile phones was widespread. Continue reading...

Support for the Liberal Democratic party had plunged last year as media uncovered its links to the Unification church after the killing of Shinzo AbeJapan’s ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) has won key local elections in the first big electoral test for the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, since damaging revelations emerged about his party’s ties to the Unification church.LDP candidates triumphed in governor elections in prefectures from Hokkaido in the country’s north to Oita in the south-west on Sunday, raising speculation that Kishida could call a snap general election. Continue reading...

Coalition of organisations says changes would have ‘devastating impact on press freedom’ and are not in public interest

Party leader says he will ‘make absolutely zero apologies for being blunt’ after facing widespread criticism over advertKeir Starmer has said he will “make absolutely zero apologies for being blunt” in an article published after a row over a widely criticised Labour attack advert on child sexual assaults.In a veiled message to critics within his own party, the Labour leader said he will “stand by every word Labour has said on this subject” and would continue to use the Conservatives’ record on crime as a legitimate criticism “no matter how squeamish it might make some feel”. Continue reading...

Return from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace will be more direct than five-mile journey of Queen Elizabeth IIKing Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, will arrive at Westminster Abbey for the coronation on 6 May in the sovereign’s newest state carriage, and depart it in the oldest, during a day of celebrations that will see a procession route far shorter than that of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation, it has been revealed.The king and queen consort will leave Buckingham Palace in the diamond jubilee state coach, built to celebrate the late queen’s 60th anniversary on the throne in 2012. They will depart, as King Charles III and Queen Camilla, in the 260-year-old gold state coach, which has been used in every coronation since William IV’s in 1831. Continue reading...

Buckingham Palace creates Twitter hashtags with motif of 17th century crown to sit on king’s head during May ceremonyBuckingham Palace has revealed an official emoji to celebrate the coronation. The colourful cartoon motif depicts the 17th-century gold jewelled St Edward’s crown with purple velvet cap – the regalia which will be used to crown the king on 6 May.It is the first emoji created for a British coronation, as the last crowning in Britain, Elizabeth II’s 70 years ago, predated the internet, social media and mobile phones. Continue reading...

Most items of regalia used for coronation are at most 350-years-old, but there is one notable exceptionJewel-encrusted crowns, swords and sceptres may glitter the brightest at Charles III’s coronation, but of all regalia the most significant from a historical perspective may be a simple spoon.When the 2,000 guests witness the crowning at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, the regalia – sacred objects symbolising monarchical duties and powers – will play the part they have played in this same theatre for almost 1,000 years. Continue reading...

Sunak government could ‘swiftly’ end spoofing calls, says Emily Thornberry in criticism of delayed fraud strategyLabour has pledged a crackdown on global scammers who call UK phone numbers to con people out of their money, and criticised the government for a five-month delay in producing a new fraud strategy.The shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, said Suella Braverman, the home secretary, had said the strategy would be published “shortly” exactly five months ago. Thornberry said that 1.5m offences would have been committed in England and Wales in that time. Continue reading...

Support for prime minister wanes as his ‘plot to overturn Israel’s democracy’ is seen as threat to national securityOn Friday afternoon, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, found himself standing at the side of a remote road in the vast desert valley that runs the length of the occupied West Bank’s frontier with Jordan.Along with his defence minister, Yoav Galant, Netanyahu was inspecting the scene of a shooting attack earlier in the day that killed British-Israeli sisters Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15, and left their 45-year-old mother Lucy fighting for her life. An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) search for the perpetrator is still under way. Continue reading...

Douglas Ross amends proposal for tactical voting against SNP after fury from Tory central officeThe Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has backtracked on comments he made suggesting Conservative voters could vote Labour at the next general election in seats where Keir Starmer’s party had a better chance of winning against the SNP.Ross, who has said he will step down at the next election, had told the Telegraph that unionist voters should consider putting country above party and “do what is best for the country” and support “the strongest candidate to beat the SNP”. Continue reading...

Police treating blaze at block of flats in which 15-year-old died as arsonPolice have named a 15-year-old girl who was killed in an east London fire as Tiffany Regis.Tiffany died in the blaze on Thursday at a block of flats in Beckton, the Metropolitan police said. Detectives are treating the fire as arson. Continue reading...

Hertfordshire police continue investigation into Met officer who was jailed for life in February for series of rapesMore than 10 people have contacted police investigating further allegations of offences by David Carrick since the disgraced Metropolitan police officer was jailed in February, Hertfordshire police have said.The 48-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 32 years in February after pleading guilty to 85 serious offences including 48 rapes.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

British community study finds groups experiencing high levels of poor health, racist assault, job insecurity and deprivation

Ukrainian forces strengthen defensive lines along Belarus and Russian border; children illegally abducted by Russia reunited with families Continue reading...

Nicotine-addicted students are reportedly struggling with concentration, behaviour and are leaving class to vape

While many Potterheads celebrated reports of HBO Max show, some feel it would be tainted by JK Rowling’s stance on genderAt Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross station, Harry Potter devotees from around the world gathered to take their picture in front of one of the book’s most celebrated locations.Fans of all ages were enthused by a particular story that took the internet by storm this week – that a long-rumoured Potter TV series could be in the works after reports that a deal was imminent between HBO Max and JK Rowling. Continue reading...

Victim in his 20s found with gunshot wounds when emergency services arrived at Gleadless Valley estateA murder investigation has been launched after a man in his 20s was shot dead in Sheffield.Shortly after 1.30am on Sunday, emergency services were called to the Gleadless Valley housing estate in the south of the city, after reports that a man had been shot. The victim was found with serious gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

In Easter sermon, archbishop of Canterbury says money was not set aside because of ‘postcolonial guilt’The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has used his Easter sermon to say that £100m pledged by the Church of England to compensate for its complicity in the international slave trade is not “postcolonial guilt” but “the presence of the risen Christ alive in the church”.Welby said the social impact investment fund announced in January was the right thing to do because the C of E “had done actions that denied the reality of God’s universal power and love”, which the church was “meant to live”. Continue reading...

Latest figures show 1,210 households in hotels and B&Bs for longer than the six-week legal limitThe number of homeless families being housed in hotels and B&Bs over the legal limit by English councils has doubled within a year, figures reveal.The latest figures released by the government show 1,210 families were in hotels and B&Bs for longer than the six-week legal limit between 1 July to 30 September in 2022, up from 570 in 2021 for the same period. These are the highest figures since 2017. Continue reading...

Ochakiv was ‘paradise’ before unwelcome visitors began raining down missiles from spit of land nearbyThe view from the Ukrainian town of Ochakiv appears idyllic. Beyond the beach, a narrow strip of land stretches out across the sea. The peninsula in Mykolaiv province is known as the Kinburn spit. In happier times holidaymakers would take a boat from Ochakiv and camp among the dunes. The nature reserve is home to swans, pelicans and migrating birds.Last June it got a new and unwelcome visitor: Russia. Soldiers captured the rustic territory, with its summer houses and mini-lakes, and turned it into a military base. Ever since the Russian army has bombarded Ochakiv, which is five miles (8km) away. Truck mounted launchers release Grad missiles, sending them over the Black Sea. Afterwards the crews speed off and take cover amid the mazy sands. Continue reading...

Prospective tenants are being asked to provide personal details in order to secure a contract, raising fears of discriminationRenters are being subjected to extreme vetting procedures by letting agents and landlords who are demanding personal statements – and even photographs – to choose between prospective tenants.Amid the worst rental market conditions to date, campaigners say that letting agents and landlords are increasing the potential for discrimination by telling renters to submit personal biographies to try to sell themselves as desirable tenants. Continue reading...

Sixty years ago, a little-known Liverpudlian band took to the stage at Stowe school in Buckinghamshire• Samira Ahmed: A tape that takes us back to an era of optimismIt was a sweet slice of cultural history and, at the same time, evidence of an unlikely clash of English social classes. The discovery of a tape recording of an early Beatles concert made in 1963 at a Buckinghamshire private school last week has astonished music experts and fans alike.And now the crackling, hissing 60-year-old tape, complete with audible banter from the Fab Four, is to be restored for wider listening, according to the BBC journalist who uncovered the story, Samira Ahmed. The former student who made the tape, John Bloomfield, hopes to have it enhanced with the same kind of technology that has recently improved other early Beatles demo tapes and first studio takes. Continue reading...

At 27 years old, he served as a prosecutor as Nazi defendants faced a series of trials for crimes against humanity including genocideBenjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials in Germany that brought Nazi war criminals to justice after the second world war and a longtime apostle of international criminal law, died on Friday at age 103, US media reported, citing his son.Ferencz, a Harvard-educated lawyer, secured convictions of numerous German officers who led roving death squads during the war. Circumstances of his death were not immediately disclosed. The New York Times reported that Ferencz died at an assisted living facility in Boynton Beach, Florida. Continue reading...

Dario Gambarin recreates 1907 Picasso self-portrait after similar images of Pope Francis and US leaders in Verona fieldAn Italian land artist has used a tractor to create a portrait of Pablo Picasso on wasteland in Castagnaro, Verona.Dario Gambarin said he was inspired by Picasso’s 1907 self-portrait to create what he says is the largest portrait of the Spanish artist in the world. Continue reading...

‘Armed terrorist groups’ attacked two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger borderForty-four civilians have been killed by “armed terrorist groups” in two villages in north-eastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border, a regional governor said Saturday.The provisional toll of “this despicable and barbaric attack” which targeted the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi overnight on Thursday “is 44 civilians killed and others wounded,” said Rodolphe Sorgho, lieutenant-governor of the Sahel region. Continue reading...

Rina and Maia Dee, aged 15 and 20, identified on Twitter by Benjamin Netanyahu as mother remains in intensive careThe two British-Israeli sisters killed in a gun attack in the occupied West Bank on Friday have been named as Rina and Maia Dee.Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, who were born in London, were identified on Twitter by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Resurrection shows cruel rulers and the sufferings they cause will vanish, archbishop of Canterbury to sayThe archbishop of Canterbury will use his Easter sermons to warn that “those who oppress and subjugate others will face divine justice”.Justin Welby will tell Canterbury Cathedral that while “cruel and oppressive rulers” may look as though they are only becoming stronger, they will “vanish”. Continue reading...

Scotland records its highest temperature yet for 2023 and whole of UK could follow suit on Easter SundayThe UK was hotter than Rome on Saturday, while Scotland recorded its highest temperature of the year so far.The mercury rose to 17.3C in Kinlochewe in the Scottish Highlands as Britons basked in glorious sunshine over Easter weekend. Continue reading...

Three-times Wimbledon champion describes eight months in jail as ‘very, very different experience to what you see in the movies’Boris Becker has spoken of his “brutal” prison experience in the UK, adding that during his incarceration he had to surround himself with “tough boys” for protection.The three-times Wimbledon men’s singles champion served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case. He was released from prison in December and deported from the UK. Continue reading...

All ski tourers survived the slide near summit of the Alphubel with light to moderate injuriesNine skiers survived a major avalanche high in the Swiss Alps on Saturday, emerging with only light to moderate injuries.All nine were found by rescuers and airlifed to hospital, police said. Continue reading...

Women who break Islamic dress code will be identified, warned on first instance and then taken to courtPolice in Iran plan to use smart technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code, the force said on Saturday.A statement said police would “take action to identify norm-breaking people by using tools and smart cameras in public places and thoroughfares”. Continue reading...

Consultants who refuse to do extra work threatened with having their pay docked as NHS trusts race to empty their wardsHospital trusts are taking desperate measures to limit the predicted loss of life from this week’s NHS strikes – including threatening consultants who refuse to do extra work, and tempting junior doctors to cross picket lines by increasing locum pay – as fears grows that many wards could be left without medical cover.NHS leaders and senior clinicians fear the four-day walkout by junior doctors – starting at 6.59am on Tuesday and continuing until 6.59am on Saturday – will lead to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of operations and appointments, while putting seriously ill patients at greater risk. Continue reading...

Co-host of Frank Skinner’s Absolute Radio show dies from injuries sustained in car crash in late MarchComedians across the UK have paid tribute to the comic Gareth Richards, who has died aged 41 from injuries sustained in a car crash on the M25 last month.Richards’ wife, Laura, said in a statement on Saturday: “It is with great sadness that I have to share that Gareth passed away on Friday 7 April (Good Friday) at 6.30pm. Continue reading...

Former first minister says she ‘will get on with her job’ in statement outside Glasgow home raided by police last weekNicola Sturgeon has pledged to “fully cooperate” with police after the arrest of her husband, the SNP’s former chief executive, during an investigation into party finances.Speaking publicly today for the first time since Peter Murrell’s arrest, the former first minister admitted that recent days had been “obviously difficult” in a brief statement outside the couple’s Glasgow home, which police had raided three days earlier. Continue reading...

The rocket attack that followed air strikes and mosque raids failed to provoke all-out war, but it must surely be inevitableThe groves of southern Lebanon had been quiet for nearly 17 years. But as farmers tended to orange trees and banana crops on Thursday, rocket men lurked among them, readying the biggest barrage fired into Israel since the war of 2006 and taking a startled region to the precipice of another conflict that leaders on both sides of the border fear will be worse than all before them.Familiar sights of streaks through a clear blue sky, sirens and billowing smoke from impact sites were soon replaced by fear and trepidation. In Beirut and Tel Aviv, an escalation seemed imminent. But as a troubling afternoon wore on, the apocalyptic showdown between Hezbollah and Israel that had been widely predicted started to fizzle. Rhetoric was of measured responses. Israel was content to blame Palestinian groups and put a distance between them and Hezbollah. War could wait, for now. Continue reading...

A mix-up on dates meant Rasikh Aziz travelled from Pakistan too soon. Now the University of Law has reported him to the Home OfficeAn international student who travelled to the UK two months early after being given the wrong enrolment date by his university is facing deportation after it reported him to the Home Office.Rasikh Aziz was incorrectly told by the University of Law that he must arrive by October 2022 for a postgraduate course beginning in January 2023, according to documents seen by the Observer. He subsequently flew to the UK and presented himself at the university’s Birmingham campus, where he had an induction, underwent an ID check and was issued with a student card. In January, he began attending classes without a problem. Continue reading...

Actor Melody Thornton apologises for disruption of Manchester performance after police called and disruptive theatregoers removedActor Melody Thornton has apologised to fans after a performance of the Bodyguard at Manchester’s Palace theatre was forced to end early and police were called to deal with two disruptive audience members.The last 10 minutes of the musical, in which the former Pussycat Dolls star plays the lead role, were axed on Friday night after several members of the audience refused to remain seated and refrain from loudly singing, leading to them being “forcibly removed”. Continue reading...

12-year-old is remanded into secure accommodation until crown court appearance on TuesdayA 12-year-old boy accused of murdering a 60-year-old woman by running her over with her own car in Sheffield has been remanded into secure accommodation by magistrates.Marcia Grant died after she was trapped under her Honda Accord, which is alleged to have been reversed over her at speed outside her semi-detached home in the Greenhill area of the city on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Industry leaders fear new entry restrictions and the UK’s tarnished image among some Europeans have caused a decline in EU visitorsFrench and German tourists are beginning to avoid the UK, tourism leaders fear, because of post-Brexit restrictions on travelling with identity cards.Since anti-Covid measures ended across Europe last year, tourism has started to recover, but there are growing signs that significant numbers of French and Germans – two of the largest markets for UK tourism – are staying away. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK government concedes it cannot substantiate assertion that majority crossing Channel are economic migrantsThe Home Office has admitted it has no evidence to back up one of the key justifications for its crackdown on small boat crossings.As home secretary, Priti Patel, the Tory architect of attempts to tackle Channel crossings, told parliament in 2021 that “70% of individuals on small boats are single men who are effectively economic migrants”. Continue reading...

Concerns over impact on patient safety of four days of strikes next week by junior doctors in EnglandUp to a quarter of a million medical appointments and operations could be postponed because of four days of strikes next week by junior doctors in England, the NHS Confederation has said.Dr Layla McCay, the director of policy at the confederation, which represents health trusts, said NHS bosses were more concerned about the impact of the latest strike than any other that had taken place so far. Continue reading...

Party president Mike Russell also says he does not think independence can be achieved ‘right now’A senior figure in the Scottish National party has said the party faces its biggest crisis in 50 years, amid a police investigation into its finances.Mike Russell, the SNP’s president and a former minister, also said he did not think independence could be achieved “right now”. Continue reading...

Government to take over care of Llys Rhosyr, the 13th-century site used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, to encourage more visitorsThe Welsh government has acquired the ruins of a medieval court used by the last native prince of Wales before the 13th-century English conquest of the country. The historic site will be conserved and presented for public view.Llys Rhosyr, in Newborough on the island of Anglesey, with views across the Menai Strait to the peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia), was an important administrative centre for Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, also known as Llywelyn the Last. Continue reading...

Ryde becomes most marginal electorate in NSW after Liberal candidate Jordan Lane wins by just 50 votes

More than 50 early years staff without work after Merseyside service closed days after one-day strikeA group of early years workers who lost their jobs without warning days after a one-day strike have called on others in the sector to “stand up and be counted”.More than 50 staff, thought to be the first group of early years workers to have their union recognised in England, were put out of work, leaving 200 families scrambling to find childcare, when the Orchard nursery in Huyton, Merseyside, closed suddenly. Continue reading...