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Eric Vidaud to step down after investigation criticises ‘failure to master the issues’ on war

Foreign secretary urges democracies to join in applying sanctions to Russia after Ukraine invasionIndia’s external affairs minister, Dr S Jaishankar, has defended his country’s right to buy discounted oil from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, despite an appeal from the from his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, for democracies to show solidarity against authoritarians.He also contrasted the concern the west has shown about the invasion with what he described as the relative uninterest in the Taliban takever of Afghanistan, saying people seemed motivated by the proximity of a crisis, as much as anything. Continue reading...

Government move shows ‘utter contempt’ for service that has worked through pandemic, say unionsPublic sector unions have reacted with fury after ministers announced that pay increases across the civil service would be pegged at an average of 2% for the year ahead, despite surging inflation.In a written statement published on Thursday, the Cabinet Office minister Heather Wheeler said public sector employers would “have freedom to pay average awards up to 2%”, plus up to an extra percentage point in some cases, to be “targeted at specific priorities in their workforce and pay strategies”. Continue reading...

Supreme court justice was fined 50,000 kronor after she was caught trying to hide a number of food items in StockholmA supreme court justice in Sweden has been fined for shoplifting a Christmas ham and meatballs, among other items, the prosecutor in the case has said.The 67-year-old woman was caught by staff at a grocery store in central Stockholm a week before Christmas. Continue reading...

Man who alleges assault by Imran Ahmad Khan when he was 15 contacted party press office after election of Wakefield MP in 2019A man who alleges he was sexually assaulted by a Tory MP when he was 15 has told a court that he contacted the Conservative press office to tell them what happened.The people he spoke to did not take him “very seriously,” a jury at the trial of Imran Ahmad Khan heard on Thursday. Continue reading...

Independent expert Wendy Williams finds ‘lack of tangible progress or drive to achieve cultural changes required’• Analysis: Claims of compassion ring increasingly hollowThe Home Office has broken pledges to transform its culture and become more compassionate after the Windrush inquiry, according to a report that prompted warnings the scandal could be repeated.Expressions of disappointment appear 13 times in the progress report published on Thursday by Wendy Williams, who was appointed to advise the Home Office on how to make changes. Continue reading...

Retailers to begin competing over price of tests as supermarket and Boots reveal pricesTesco is selling lateral flow tests in 1,5oo stores, many without pharmacies, as a high street price war sees kits go on sale for less than the price of a takeaway coffee.As universal free testing ended in England on Thursday, the UK’s biggest retailer said the £2 individual tests, from healthcare firm Everything Genetic, would be available in its supermarkets and, from May, across the country on its website. Continue reading...

Government has already decided to give ground on elections bill in an attempt to make it law before Commons is proroguedMinisters may be forced to make significant concessions on a string of flagship government bills to get them through the current session of parliament, it has emerged, amid an increasingly tight legislative logjam.The government has already written to peers saying it will give ground on a key part of its controversial elections bill before it is scrutinised by the House of Lords, in an attempt to get it into law before the Commons is prorogued, expected to happen later this month. Continue reading...

A worker at Anglicare facility tried to tell victim that assault didn’t happen, commission told

If minimum wage rises it’s ‘only a matter of time’ before cafes charge $7 for a coffee, employers say

Nadine Dorries’ second choice for Ofcom chair showed few signs of being the attack dog she had hopedJust a few weeks ago, Nadine Dorries had almost shed a tear during a Commons statement as she praised the efforts of BBC and Channel 4 journalists in reporting the war in Ukraine.For someone who has spent most of her career trashing the BBC and Channel 4, this was a rare slip. The culture secretary is a good hater. She doesn’t forgive and she doesn’t forget. Just as soon as the war is over she will revert to type. It will be like Lyse Doucet and Matt Frei never existed. Continue reading...

Kev Crane, 50, who landed record contract after he was overheard singing at work, signs movie deal for rights to his storyA plumber who landed a record contract after he was overheard singing at work has now signed a Hollywood movie deal for the rights to his story.Kev Crane, a 50-year-old plumber from Leicestershire, was fitting a bathroom for local record producer Paul Conneally in August last year when he started singing along to the radio. Continue reading...

Readers describe how soaring gas and electricity costs are adding to the cost of living crisisHouseholds in the UK will see their energy bills rise by 54% from 1 April, with prices expected to rise again in six months. Despite the chancellor’s spring statement offering a fuel duty cut and changes to the national insurance threshold, people are still struggling with the cost of living.We spoke to six people about their experiences and what spiralling heating costs will mean for them. Continue reading...

Russian president signals supplies could be halted from Friday unless ‘unfriendly’ states start paying in roubles

Concerns over Willis, who is ‘stepping away’ from acting after an aphasia diagnosis, had been circulating on sets, report saysAfter a statement revealed that Bruce Willis would be “stepping away” from acting after an aphasia diagnosis, a Los Angeles Times report has revealed that concerns over his cognitive state have been circulating for years.Speaking to directors and other crew members who have worked with the 67-year-old actor, the article details Willis struggling to remember dialogue, expressing confusion at his surroundings, needing shortened work days and having issues with gun use. Continue reading...

Measures will sever targets from UK wealth and help expose Russia’s ‘torrent of lies’, says foreign secretaryThe UK government has expanded its sanctions against Russia to 14 more people and organisations principally involved with information and media, including a prominent TV anchor and the group which controls the RT television channel.The new measures, unveiled by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is aimed at countering what Truss called the “torrent of lies” from Russian media about the invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Buses head to Mariupol in another attempt to evacuate people; morale low among Russian troops, says GCHQ

Officials and activists had urged more women to stand after none of the female candidates were elected in 2017Equalities campaigners are dismayed that only eight women are standing for election to Western Isles council, despite a campaign to diversify Scotland’s only all-male local authority.Council officials and equalities activists had urged more women to stand for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Gaelic for the Western Isles council, after none of the seven female candidates who stood in 2017 were elected, leaving the authority run solely by men. Continue reading...

Labour leader says No 10 should own up if Carrie Johnson gets fixed penalty notice over lockdown partiesKeir Starmer has said the public should be told if the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, receives a fixed penalty notice for breaking lockdown rules.No 10 has said it will reveal whether the prime minister – or the cabinet secretary, Simon Case – have received a fine, but have suggested other individuals will not be named. Continue reading...

Bloc pressed to threaten sanctions at summit on bilateral relations amid concern about authoritarian alliance

The Gender Index aims to support growth of female-led companies, which tend to have lower turnoversCompanies led by women disproportionately attract less investment than those led by men, according to a large-scale study of female entrepreneurship in the UK.The Gender Index, which was launched on Thursday, is a research study of all 4.4m active UK companies and allows users to track the impact of female-led firms on the economy via an online, interactive tool. Continue reading...

Committee says it has reservations over selection process and lack of diversity in shortlistA committee of MPs has rejected the government’s choice for the next chair of the Charity Commission, blaming ministers for a “slapdash and unimaginative choice” in selecting the one-time Conservative parliamentary candidate Orlando Fraser.While the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) committee said it had no grounds for concern about Fraser as an individual, it had serious reservations about the selection process, including the lack of diversity in the shortlist. Continue reading...

Shadow home secretary says tens of thousands of desperate people still stuck in system

A change to the law, ending a 20-year battle by 100-year-old Harry Shindler, passes a critical stage in the LordsBritish nationals living overseas for more than 15 years are set to get the right to vote in UK general elections, after a proposed change in the law passed a critical stage in the House of Lords.The move will end a 20-year battle by 100-year-old Harry Shindler who challenged the 15-year limit on voting rights in the high court in 2016 and in the European court of justice in 2018. Continue reading...

Guardian investigation finds labourers – including those on World Cup-related projects – were left with huge debtsLow-wage migrant workers have been forced to pay billions of dollars in recruitment fees to secure their jobs in World Cup host nation Qatar over the past decade, a Guardian investigation has found.Bangladeshi men migrating to Qatar are likely to have paid about $1.5bn (£1.14bn) in fees, and possibly as high as $2bn, between 2011 and 2020. Nepali men are estimated to have paid around $320m, and possibly more than $400m, in the four years between mid-2015 to mid-2019. Continue reading...

PwC’s postponement of financial audit without reason fuels further fall after 36% slump on WednesdayThe share price of Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising business has fallen further after a surprise delay from its auditors caused the postponement of financial results and a dive in the company’s valuation.S4 Capital’s share price dropped by 36% on Wednesday afternoon after it announced the delay by the auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers without outlining a reason. On Thursday morning it dropped by a further 4.2% to 298p, its lowest point since June 2020. Continue reading...

Exclusive: study finds women are providing 23.2bn hours of unpaid childcare care worth estimated £382bnNearly half of working-age women are providing an average of 45 hours of unpaid care every week, while 25% of men provide 17 hours, according to a study highlighting the gulf in unpaid care work.Every year women in the UK are providing 23.2bn hours of unpaid childcare care worth an estimated £382bn, while men provide 9.7bn worth £160bn, according to research from the thinktank Centre for Progressive Policy. Continue reading...

Kais Saied made the move after parliament voted to repeal decrees he used to assume near total powerTunisia’s president, Kais Saied, has issued a decree dissolving parliament, which has been suspended since last year, after it defied him by voting to repeal decrees he had used to assume near total power.Speaking after an online session of more than half the parliament members, their first since he suspended the chamber in July, Saied accused them of a failed coup and a conspiracy against state security and ordered investigations into them. Continue reading...

Minor injuries sustained by 11-year-old who was rescued by fire service in Dungannon, County TyroneAn 11-year-old boy has been rescued after falling 4 metres down a manhole at a petrol station forecourt in Northern Ireland.The incident happened shortly before 7pm on Wednesday at the filling station in Dungannon, County Tyrone. Continue reading...

Top temperatures expected to reach a maximum of 10C this weekend due to air coming from the ArcticParts of eastern England and Scotland woke up to flurries of snow on Thursday morning, with more snow, hail and ice expected in a dramatic contrast to last week’s spring-like weather.Top temperatures across the UK are plummeting from last week’s highs of 20C to reach a maximum of 10C this weekend due to air coming from the Arctic bringing temperatures below average for the second week of spring. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Australian contribution to become more critical as Scott Morrison pledges extra $25m in military assistance to Ukraine; Sydney rainfall tops record set in 1956; flood and hazardous surf warnings across NSW; nation records 32 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Ukrainian president’s address to federal parliament came after Scott Morrison called Vladimir Putin a ‘war criminal’ in strongest condemnation yet

Regional NSW hospital has come close to sending women two hours away to give birth due to lack of nurses

UK lacks sufficient understanding of China to make sensible decisions, finds higher education policy reportExperts have called for additional government funding to build “China competency” in the UK education system in the face of “a severe national deficit” in China literacy and Mandarin speakers.Despite the growing importance of China in the world today, research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) concluded the UK lacks sufficient knowledge and understanding of China to “make sensible decisions”. Continue reading...

Prices boom across all of UK with average price up by £33,000UK house prices grew at the fastest annual pace since 2004 in March, continuing the ascent to new record levels – a fifth higher than at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.Prices rose by 14.3% in the year to March, the strongest pace of increase since November 2004 when the UK experienced a housing boom that preceded the financial crisis, according to Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society. Continue reading...

Labor targets attorney general for engaging top lawyer at taxpayer expense for ‘NSW Liberal party factional war’

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Analysis: the Nato member that arms Ukraine and will not impose sanctions on Russia seems respected enough by both sides to host talks

Citizens Coalition for Change’s byelection success raises concerns of instabilityZimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party may be facing an uphill struggle to secure a clear victory in elections due next year after a new opposition party made significant gains in byelections last weekend, raising concerns of new political instability and possible violence.The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), which was only founded in January, won 19 out of 28 parliamentary seats in polls widely regarded as a test run for the 2023 presidential election. Continue reading...

Coroner criticises police for losing evidence and says priest Anthony Bongiorno and Peter Keogh are ‘persons of interest’

Several big name brands including Tiffany, Pandora and Chopard announce a pause on buying raw materials of Russian origin amid war in Ukraine

Just $67m over four years allowed for proposed – but not legislated – anti-corruption commission

Comedian makes first public remarks since incident during comedy show in BostonChris Rock has made his first public remarks after being slapped on live television by Will Smith during Sunday’s Academy Awards, saying at a Wednesday night comedy show that he was “still processing” the incident.At his show in Boston, his first since the Oscars and part of a pre-existing tour schedule, Rock addressed the controversy by jokingly asking the crowd, “How was your weekend?” before explaining he “did not have a lot to say” yet about that night. Continue reading...

Australian prime minister told a Brisbane radio station he is also ‘fiercely defensive’ of his wife

Board of governors says it has initiated disciplinary proceedings against actor after he hit Chris RockThe Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said that Will Smith was asked to leave to Sunday’s Oscars after hitting Chris Rock but refused.The Academy’s board of governors, which met on Wednesday, said it had also initiated disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Continue reading...

National Education Union found ‘no compelling reason’ for all schools in England to join academy trustsUnion leaders have accused the government of relying on “badly flawed” evidence to justify its plans for all schools in England to join academy trusts.The National Education Union (NEU) met the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, on Wednesday to challenge him over evidence used to support the government’s drive for full academisation by 2030, announced in the schools white paper earlier this week. Continue reading...

Labour campaign launch will capitalise on cost of living crisis and Partygate backlashLabour will launch its local elections battle with the slogan “On your side”, urging voters to send the Conservatives a message about the pain of the cost of living crisis and No 10 lockdown breaches.Keir Starmer will launch the party’s campaign in Bury, a symbolic location where one local MP, Christian Wakeford, defected from the Tories to Labour over Boris Johnson’s behaviour during the Partygate investigation. Continue reading...