World news | The Guardian

Group of unions step up campaign to protect historic pub popular with leaders of Australia’s labour movement

Louise Miller-Frost says current rate represents ‘intentional cruelty’ while Andrew Charlton says lifting it is ‘right thing to do’

Latest updates: Labour leader says Tories ‘know who this is’ and should address it immediately

Taxpayer-backed British Business Bank’s Future Fund, set up to provide loans in pandemic, announced 75 new investmentsThe UK government has become a shareholder in a cannabis oil company, a yoghurt bar business, a London-based craft brewery and a maker of land, underwater and air drones that “take inspiration from the clever tricks that animals use to move”.The taxpayer-backed British Business Bank’s Future Fund, set up by the government to provide loans to startups during the pandemic, announced investments in another 75 companies on Thursday including a stake in a yacht charter business, a virtual reality games developer and a cancer treatment firm. Continue reading...

Analysis: west’s punishment, payment and prevention approach to ending war could leave Putin corneredJust as Britain has positioned itself as the most munificent provider of weaponry to Ukraine, so it has adopted the most uncompromising of approaches to the terms for a final peace settlement with Russia. Judging by the near existential tone of the foreign secretary Liz Truss’s speech on Wednesday evening, the UK is self-consciously now on the provisional wing of the small group of allies that are privately discussing the terms of how the war might end.Not all of it is in the public domain, but in her speech Truss made clear that Russia would be required to leave the whole of Ukraine, and so no longer retain its foothold in the Donbas in the east and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. In this view she gained the support of the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, on Thursday. She also agrees with the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, that Russia must end the war so weakened militarily that it cannot repeat its threats not just to Ukraine but to Moldova and the Balkans. Continue reading...

Police release photofit of smartly-dressed man whose body was found off island of Heligoland in 1994The man sported a stripy Marks & Spencer tie, expensively made but possibly secondhand shoes – and 6 kg of cast-iron weights tied around his body, designed to drag him to the bottom of the North Sea.Almost three decades after finding the body of what appeared to be a murder victim in the waters off the island of Heligoland, German police have released new information and a first photofit in order to establish the identity of the man who was dubbed “the Gentleman” for his smart attire. Continue reading...

Stockpiling rife as city acts in attempt to avoid Shanghai-style lockdownBeijing has closed schools and suspended weddings and funerals in the city of 22 million in a whirlwind effort to avoid plunging China’s capital into a Shanghai-style Covid lockdown.Fears that Beijing could soon be in lockdown have already prompted widespread stockpiling, leading to shortages in some supermarkets. Continue reading...

Leiland-James Corkill was in care of Laura Castle and her husband, Scott, when he died at their Cumbria home in January 2021A woman has gone on trial accused of murdering the baby boy she and her husband were planning to adopt.Leiland-James Corkill was 13 months old and in the care of Laura Castle and her husband, Scott, when he died at their home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Continue reading...

Magdalena Andersson says both Islamism and rightwing extremism have been allowed to festerSweden’s prime minister has said the Scandinavian country has failed to integrate many of the immigrants who have settled there over the past 20 years, creating a nation of “parallel societies … living in different realities”.Unveiling a series of measures to tackle organised crime after violent riots over the Easter weekend that left more than 100 police injured, Magdalena Andersson said Islamism and rightwing extremism had been allowed to fester in Sweden. Continue reading...

The Sun tried to expose paedophile but had to back down over fears of costly libel case, investigative journalist says

Foreign Office says support being provided to families of the pair, reported to have volunteered to fight against Russia

Legislation protecting countryside’s ‘sensory heritage’ could scupper damages claim over bird’s crowingA rooster named Pitikok has ruffled feathers in southern France – and is now poised to test the limits of the law.A neighbour fed up with the bird’s crowing has taken the owner to court. But she could be spared a penalty under new legislation protecting the “sensory heritage” of the countryside, from noisy church bells to the smell of farmyard animals. Continue reading...

The pet duck’s inadvertent discovery led authorities to charge the missing woman’s granddaughter and grandson-in-law in the crimeA pet duck has helped authorities in the murder investigation of a missing woman in North Carolina.In 2020, Nellie Sullivan, in her early 90s, disappeared without a trace, prompting authorities to launch an investigation without avail. Continue reading...

Minister angers owners who fear they wasted millions to hurriedly install border infrastructureSome of Britain’s biggest sea ports are considering legal action against the government to recover the costs of building border control posts they fear will never be used, after confirmation that post-Brexit import checks will be delayed for a fourth time.Controls on food and animal products would not be introduced until at least 2023, said Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, in a written statement published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Men under 65 are spending their days in hiding, leaving wives and sisters to take over their jobsAn aggressive draft campaign by the Russian-backed separatists who control parts of eastern Ukraine has emptied the area’s streets of military-age men, with many in hiding to avoid being sent to the frontline.In a sign of how desperate pro-Russia authorities are to bolster the ranks of fighters, in late March they announced that the upper age limit of the draft had been raised from 55 to 65 in Donetsk, local media reported. And on Saturday authorities announced a mobilisation in the region of Kherson, which was largely captured by Russia after the war began. Continue reading...

Uniper and OMV to open rouble accounts with Gazprombank after Russia refuses dollars or euros• Why are firms agreeing to pay in roubles for Russia’s gas?

A workflow backlog is understood to be behind the often long wait before refugees are told their visas are approved

Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme was set up three years ago to process official HR complaints

Member of shadow cabinet allegedly told MP she was successful because men wanted to sleep with herA female Welsh MP has accused a member of the shadow cabinet of lewd sexism by stating she would be successful because men wanted to sleep with her, as the attorney general accused some male MPs of acting “like animals”.After the latest allegation of misogyny to hit Westminster, Labour promised to launch an investigation if a complaint was made. Continue reading...

Bridgend MP charged with failing to stop and driving without due care and attention over crash last NovemberA Conservative MP has been charged with failing to stop after a car crash in Wales in November last year.Jamie Wallis, who has been the MP for Bridgend since 2019, has also been charged with failure to report a traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position. Continue reading...

Alejandro Romero’s pre-recorded testimony in the defamation trial left the judge lost for wordsThe judge in the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial was left temporarily lost for words on Wednesday after the court was shown the pre-recorded disposition of a doorman who was driving and vaping as he spoke.A visibly flummoxed Penney Azcarate described Alejandro Romero’s testimony as “a first” and ordered the court to break early for lunch after the video played. Continue reading...

Moderna submits data to FDA, in hopes low-dose shots to protect babies, toddlers and preschoolers will be available by summerModerna on Thursday asked US regulators to authorize low doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than six, a long-awaited move toward potentially making injections available for millions of children by summer.Frustrated families are waiting impatiently for a chance to protect the nation’s youngest kids as all around them people shed masks and other public health precautions – even though highly contagious coronavirus mutants continue to spread. Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin warns against western intervention in Ukraine; Liz Truss says the war must be a ‘catalyst for change’; António Guterres visits Kyiv

Police believe 33-year-old Kenyon, last seen on Friday last week, has been killed and are looking for her bodyA man has appeared in court accused of murder as police continue searching for a missing woman from Lancashire.Katie Kenyon, 33, has not been seen since last Friday when she got into a van in her home town of Burnley. Police believe she has been killed and are looking for her body. Continue reading...

Independent expert panel has recommended Byrne be suspended from chamber for two days

Death of Hakeem Hussain was result of ‘catastrophic and deplorable’ parenting by Laura Heath, says judgeA heroin addict convicted of fatally neglecting her seven-year-old son, who died alone in a garden from an asthma attack, has been jailed for 20 years.Laura Heath was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter of her asthmatic son Hakeem Hussain, who was found dead in a garden in Birmingham in November 2017. Continue reading...

Treasurer ‘not taking anything for granted’ in Kooyong; low wage growth under Coalition ‘not an accident’, says Jason Clare; Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson in dispute over preference deal claims; at least 50 coronavirus deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

British Journal of Sports Medicine says it is investigating a body of work published by McCrory, its former editor-in-chief

Pauline Hanson says move is in retaliation for Liberals’ decision to preference Jacqui Lambie Network in Tasmania

Boy who went missing from hospital arrested and held at Gatwick facility after being wrongly recorded as NigerianA woman has described how her 17-year-old black British son was found at an immigration detention centre after going missing while being treated for psychosis.The boy – who is non-verbal – disappeared from a hospital in Kent, where he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, on 7 April. Two days later, he was arrested by British Transport Police (BTP) at Euston on suspicion of fare evasion, before being detained by Immigration Enforcement near Gatwick, despite being British. Continue reading...

The 2022 scheme is more limited – and expensive – than the original but is billed as a big step in reopening the backpacker market

Russian president says retaliation against outside interference will be ‘lightning-fast’ as UK foreign secretary calls for total expulsion of Russian forces.

Celsus Irokwato Talifilu says ordinary people also worried about being caught in a conflict between China and the USA key adviser to the premier of the most populous province in Solomon Islands has expressed concern that the China-Solomons security deal could enable the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, to use Chinese armed police and military personnel to quash democratic dissent and hold on to power for years to come.Celsus Irokwato Talifilu, who is an adviser to Daniel Suidani, the premier of Malaita province, said that while it was “fair” that Australia, the US and other regional partners had focused their attention on the prospect of a military base on the islands, the major fear for many in Solomon Islands was the erosion of democracy. Continue reading...

Former SAS soldier anonymised as Person 35 tells federal court there was no one inside the tunnel at Whiskey 108There were no people in the tunnel at Whiskey 108, a former SAS soldier has told the federal court, backing Ben Roberts-Smith’s version of events of a fiercely contested Australian military mission in Afghanistan.The crude, hand-dug tunnel, hidden inside a compound known as Whiskey 108 in the village of Kakarak, in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province, has become a critical contention in Roberts-Smith’s high-profile defamation trial. Continue reading...

Ex-service personnel claims are supposed to be processed within 90 days, but median waiting time has blown out to 207 days

Talent agent Christian Caruso, former representative of Depp and Heard, and members of LAPD provide testimonyAmber Heard dated Elon Musk while trying to reconcile with Johnny Depp, the couple’s former talent agent testified Wednesday in Depp’s $50m defamation case against his ex-wife.Christian Carino, an agent at Creative Artists Agency who had represented Depp and Heard, said that Heard had “spent time” with Musk, the Tesla car and SpaceX aerospace company owner while she sought to resurrect her relationship with Depp in 2016, the jury heard at Fairfax county court, Virginia, where the trial is taking place. Continue reading...

Decision comes after Liberals preference the Jacqui Lambie Network, labelled ‘green-left’ by Pauline Hanson, over One Nation

Andrew Burfield, 50, is due to appear at Blackburn magistrates court on Thursday over death of 33-year-oldA man has been charged with the murder of Katie Kenyon, who was last seen getting into a van with a man five days ago in Lancashire.The 33-year-old, from Padiham, was last spotted on Friday morning getting into a silver Ford Transit van in Todmorden Road, Burnley. Continue reading...

Analysis: While the west toughens its stance over Putin’s invasion, it is rejecting his foreign minister’s claim that Nato is in a proxy war with Russia

The chancellor says nothing is off the table but fellow Tory ministers remain dismissive of ideaRishi Sunak has opened the door to a windfall tax on oil and gas companies despite previously dismissing the policy, as Labour accused the government of burying its head in the sand over spiralling bills.The chancellor hinted at a possible U-turn on a tax on oil and gas providers, having repeatedly refused to countenance the idea in the past when suggested by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Continue reading...

EU hits out at move that Kremlin says is response to countries’ failure to pay in roubles

Daniel Challis, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak, is auditioning people to provide his new voiceDaniel Challis was born and brought up near Walsall, surrounded by family members with distinctive regional accents.Yet the communication aid he uses to speak with sounds nothing like them, instead vocalising in a robotic version of received pronunciation. The 18-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak, is appealing for people to audition to provide his new voice – providing they have the right accent. Continue reading...

Dan Ozarow felt terrorised by abuse of him and his family after negative campaigning in HertfordshireConservative councillors in Oliver Dowden’s constituency have been disciplined for a “hate” campaign against a Jewish Labour candidate, according to an independent investigation commissioned by Tory HQ.The report found the behaviour of five Hertsmere Tory councillors “may well have encouraged” antisemitic abuse of Labour’s Dan Ozarow, as well as multiple breaches of the party’s code of conduct. Continue reading...

British telecommunications giant says company will now take back seat as it makes EE its flagshipIt’s still good to talk but increasingly BT customers are doing it wherever they like via connected mobile devices, rather than fixed line broadband and old-fashioned telephones.In recognition of this generational shift, BT quietly announced in a blog post on Wednesday that after more than 30 years and some of the UK’s highest-profile ad campaigns, its flagship consumer brand is to take a back seat to upstart EE in its marketing strategy. Continue reading...

How does your area compare for housing stress, socioeconomic disadvantage and income? In the first of a series about Australian electorates, we look at inequality and wealth

Latest updates: No 10 says PM feels reporters must be free to report what they are told, after widely-condemned Angela Rayner article

We weigh up the Tory proposals – from eased safety rules for child nurseries to losing the green levy on energy billsThe cabinet has been discussing ways of lessening the burden on families and individuals struggling amid the cost of living crisis, in particular by coming up with “non-fiscal” proposals that do not involve increasing taxes.They include ideas which have been put forward by Boris Johnson, and others that have already been in circulation. Continue reading...

Ferdinand Marcos Jr ahead in polls for 9 May election in spite of notorious family historyThe frontrunner in the Philippines presidential race, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has praised his father – the country’s late dictator – as a “political genius”, and his mother as the dynasty’s “supreme politician”, less than two weeks before an election that could return the Marcos family to power.Ferdinand Marcos Jr, known as Bongbong, has a clear lead in the polls ahead of an election on 9 May, despite his father’s notorious history. Continue reading...

Louise Beardmore appointed chief executive at United Utilities, joining female chairs and CEOs of Pennon and Severn TrentAll but one of the top jobs at the UK’s FTSE-listed water companies will be held by women, after the promotion of Louise Beardmore to chief executive at United Utilities.Beardmore, currently customer service and people director at United Utilities, will succeed Steve Mogford at the top of the FTSE 100 firm. Mogford has spent 12 years leading the company, which services customers in the north-west of England, and plans to step down and retire from the board in early 2023. Continue reading...

Multi-instrumentalist who played with Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before admired solo career is hailed for his ‘innovative spirit’Klaus Schulze, the German multi-instrumentalist whose work with drones, pulses and synthesisers was hugely influential on generations of electronic music makers, has died aged 74.Frank Uhle, managing director of Schulze’s label SVP, wrote: “We lose and will miss a good personal friend – one of the most influential and important composers of electronic music – a man of conviction and an exceptional artist. Our thoughts in this hour are with his wife, sons and family. His always cheerful nature, his innovative spirit and his impressive body of work remain indelibly rooted in our memories.” Continue reading...