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Monument to evolutionary theorist and TV scriptwriter in Mountain Ash celebrated by campaignersWhen she arrived to study at the University of Oxford, Elaine Morgan was mistaken for a cleaner because of her broad south Wales valleys accent.But she went on to be a scriptwriter, evolutionary theorist and trailblazing feminist, and on Friday a statue of the Welsh renaissance woman was unveiled in the town of Mountain Ash, where she tried to change the world from her desk. Continue reading...

The company said its request covered all adults over the age of 18, including for those at higher risk due to age or comorbiditiesModerna late on Thursday sought emergency use authorization from US health regulators for a second Covid-19 booster shot, as a surge in cases in some parts of the world fueled fears of another wave of the pandemic.The US biotechnology company said its request covered all adults over the age of 18 so that the appropriate use of an additional booster dose of its vaccine, including for those at higher risk of Covid-19 due to age or comorbidities, could be determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and healthcare providers. Continue reading...

Two Afghan men jailed for 50 years who say they were forced by traffickers to drive boats among many asylum seekers sentenced for people smugglingHanad Abdi Mohammad is haunted by nightmares.They start as soon as he opens his eyes in a cell in the squat, whitewashed prison building on the Greek island of Chios. Continue reading...

Known as the ‘six triple eight’, battalion was only group of African American women to serve overseas during second world warThe only all-Black, all-female second world war battalion will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal after Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill on Monday to honor the women’s efforts.The 6888th central post directory battalion, also known as the “six triple eight” was the only group of African American women to serve overseas during second world war. Created in 1944, it included 824 enlisted Black women and 31 officers from the women’s army corps, the army service forces and the army air forces. Continue reading...

Media did not find family ‘very relatable’ and they had to fight for help, says Elika AshooriThe daughter of Anoosheh Ashoori, a British-Iranian businessman who returned to the UK this week after years of captivity in Iran, said they struggled to draw the media’s attention to her father’s plight because they did not see the family as “very relatable”.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Elika Ashoori said the family had experienced an “outpouring of love” since her father’s return but the last five years of his captivity had been very different and they had to fight for help. Continue reading...

Media regulator says decision was a ‘proportionate and necessary’ move in a democratic society

Russians have woken up in a different country, one seeking internal enemies to blame for the country’s descent into economic isolation and hardship

James Heappey’s comments echo those of US president Joe Biden, who called Vladimir Putin a ‘war criminal’

Rosa Maria Maione pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the 2020 death of Adelaide woman who had cerebral palsyThe carer who admitted the manslaughter of Adelaide woman Ann Marie Smith, who had cerebral palsy, has been jailed for at least five years and three months for her criminal neglect.Sentencing Rosa Maria Maione in the Supreme Court, Justice Anne Bampton said the 70-year-old was grossly negligent with her care for Smith falling well short of the standard expected. Continue reading...

Photographer Chris Leslie talks to residents of Glasgow’s Wyndford estate, slated for demolition and regeneration.Glasgow is no stranger to demolitions – the city’s built environment has been torn down, built up, and then torn down again every generation. It has witnessed the wholesale demolition of many of its tenements in the 1950s and 60s and then more recently the demolition of its high-rise flats that were built to replace its torn down tenements.Since 2005 the city has lost 35% of these high-rise housing blocks and schemes, and next for the wrecking ball are four high-rise blocks in Maryhill’s Wyndford estate in the West End of the city.The view from Norman Cunningham’s balcony overlooking the city Continue reading...

‘Giant brutalist-looking shape’ can only be finished by nature, says the artist, making a point about the climate crisisPutting a large concrete block used to protect coastlines against erosion at the top of a cliff rather than at the foot of it is odd, the artist Ryan Gander cheerfully admits.Calling it art may also get some people’s backs up too. But that’s fine. “I love Korean and Japanese food and I detest pizza,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have pizzerias.” Continue reading...

Suppression orders made in police officer’s trial have been lifted, revealing details about a previous case in which he was accused of giving unreliable evidenceA Northern Territory judge found constable Zachary Rolfe lied about a violent arrest that left a man unconscious and gave evidence that “lacked credibility” and parts of which were “pure fabrication” in a criminal case before he was involved in the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker.In November 2019, Rolfe shot Walker three times during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu. He was found not guilty of murder and two alternative charges earlier this month after he argued that he had acted to protect his safety and that of his colleague after Walker had stabbed him with scissors. Continue reading...

Public funds to farms breeding bulls keeping ‘cruel practice’ of bullfighting alive, say animal rights campaignersBullfighting across Europe is being kept alive by millions of euros paid out by the EU, claim campaigners, despite attempts by MEPs to ban the subsidies.The funding goes to farms that breed bulls for fighting through the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), a long-running system of subsidy support to the sector. Continue reading...

The termination comes as Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge apologises for his post-match tirade where he called Morris a ‘gutter journalist’Fox Sports presenter Tom Morris has been sacked following an investigation of leaked WhatsApp audio which allegedly contained sexist and homophobic slurs against a female colleague.Fox Sports executive director Steve Crawley said the audio message the company became aware of on Thursday was “unacceptable” and the network has a “zero tolerance” policy. Continue reading...

Ukrainians describe anger and frustration as they try to communicate invasion’s reality to relatives across the borderAlexander Serdyuk has stopped talking to his mother. He is nervously watching war edge ever closer to his home in Lviv. She is 1,500 miles (2,400km) to the east in Russia, denying that any of it is actually happening.“I can’t speak with her,” says the 34-year-old Russian who moved to Ukraine 10 years ago. “She doesn’t understand me. She says it’s just Nazis killing each other, and that we are responsible for all this.” Continue reading...

Judge overseeing Rolfe’s trial did not make any finding the alleged incident occurred but issued a general warning to courtConstable Zachary Rolfe’s father spoke to a witness about their evidence and stared at them in an intimidating manner during his son’s trial for murder, counsel for the Department of Public Prosecutions claimed during Rolfe’s trial.The court did not consider or make any finding as to whether the alleged incident occurred and no explanation from Rolfe’s father was sought, but he has denied the allegation. Instead, Justice John Burns issued a general warning to all people present at the court about the importance of not speaking to witnesses. Continue reading...

Would-be hosts still awaiting details, while some charities describe government efforts as shambolicAbout 8,000 of the 122,000 people who hope to offer rooms in their homes to Ukrainian refugees joined a hastily organised online conference on Wednesday night to hear how they could be matched with families fleeing conflict.A stream of questions poured in, reflecting an intense willingness to help and profound confusion about how the scheme will work and what hosting traumatised people will entail. Continue reading...

Telstra says the fire appeared to be deliberately lit and would make the town’s recovery ‘much harder’

The two men have stakes in Australian resource projects and had been omitted from an earlier list of targeted individuals

A cross-party committee of MPs said the Coronavirus Act was passed in an ‘unsatisfactory’ mannerMinisters failed to allow parliament enough opportunity to scrutinise the sweeping laws passed to tackle the Covid pandemic, according to a cross-party committee of MPs.The 329-page Coronavirus Act of 2020 included a wide range of emergency powers, from allowing more court hearings to take place by video, to allowing retired healthcare workers to come back into the workforce. Continue reading...

The 12-year-old is charged with 14 counts of burglary and his brother with three, alongside an adult co-defendantA 12-year-old boy has denied carrying out a 10-month burglary spree at prestigious hotels in London and the BBC Television Centre complex, a court heard.The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with 14 counts of burglary. His 13-year-old brother, who also cannot be named, is accused of being involved in three of the burglaries between April 2021 and February 2022. Continue reading...

More than 4,000 visas issued to Ukrainians since Russian invasion began amid fears community support systems could be overwhelmed

Decision restores humanitarian pardon granted to Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for murder and corruption chargesPeru’s constitutional court has approved the release from prison of former president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for murder and corruption charges.Judge Eloy Espinosa-Saldana confirmed the 4-3 ruling in remarks broadcast on local channel Canal N. It was unclear when Fujimori could leave prison or if new legal challenges could halt the decision. Continue reading...

The well-known public health expert will be replacing Jeff Zients, who was appointed 14 months agoJoe Biden has selected a new White House Covid-19 response coordinator to help lead the US’s fight against the virus, the US president announced on Thursday.Dr Ashish Jha has been named as the new response coordinator. Jha, who is the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, is a well-known public health expert. Continue reading...

Ministers and unions call for action against transport company’s Dubai owners

Richard Ratcliffe says they are looking forward to a new, normal life after his wife’s long detention in IranThe parents-in-law of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe have joked that their son’s home needed to be tidied as it is in an “appalling” state, and said they hope to see their daughter-in-law at the weekend.On BBC Breakfast John Ratcliffe described his son Richard’s home as “appalling”, to which his wife, Barbara, replied: “It is, but if you can think about it, it was a three-bedroom flat when Nazanin got taken and they’d only got a baby in it. Well, that baby’s grown up.” Continue reading...

Ben Wallace has launched an immediate inquiry to find out how apparent impostor was able to speak to him

Campaigners say legislation leaves children over 15, some living in caravans or barges, at risk of abuseCampaigners are to appeal after a court ruled the government had acted lawfully by allowing councils to place looked-after children aged 16 and 17 in “unregulated” accommodation without care or supervision.They had argued that legislation introduced last year was discriminatory because it required local authorities to provide minimum accommodation standards for children in care aged 15 or under, but not for those who were older, leaving the latter group at risk of abuse. Continue reading...

Court of appeal’s rejection of the Home Office’s appeal a ‘landmark ruling’ for victimsVictims of trafficking have secured two significant victories in the courts in separate rulings which have condemned the Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service.In one case the police initially refused to investigate a UAE diplomat over a woman’s complaint of trafficking claiming that the suspect had diplomatic immunity, but the high court found the CPS’s decision not to prosecute unlawful. Continue reading...

Survivors emerge from Mariupol theatre as death toll mounts in Chernihiv and Kharkiv area

UK foreign secretary says there is ‘very strong evidence’, and France says Putin is only pretending to negotiate

The equalities minister condemns the treatment of Child Q, but adds that ‘police are saving the lives of young people all across this country’The equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, has strongly condemned the strip-searching of a 15-year-old black girl in a London school, but said the public backlash against the incident shows the UK is “a country that cares about ethnic minorities”.The experiences of Child Q were repeatedly raised with Badenoch by MPs, as she presented the government’s strategy for tackling racial disparities in the UK. Continue reading...

Many say they disagree with time limits on outside work as Labour leader accuses PM of breaking promiseAt least 20 Conservative MPs lobbied a committee investigating new rules on second jobs and their behaviour in the Commons chamber, with many saying they strongly disagreed with time limits on outside work.The revelation came as the Guardian revealed ministers have argued to ditch plans to cap MPs’ earnings from second jobs, months after Boris Johnson himself suggested the curbs amid a sleaze scandal which provoked widespread Tory rebellion. Continue reading...

Agencies forced to cut back aid in Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia despite growing need as funds go to UkraineRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has put huge pressure on an already shrinking pot of international aid.Aid agencies working in countries with the most pressing emergencies, including Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia, are facing difficult decisions on how to spend their money. Continue reading...

Experts and campaigners say data is further evidence of misogyny in ranks and poor leadershipMore than 1,000 police officers and staff accused of domestic abuse are still serving in law enforcement, new figures show.Eight out of 10 kept their jobs after the allegations were made, with a small fraction being disciplined or dismissed. Continue reading...

Footballer died when plane flown by David Ibbotson crashed into the sea close to GuernseyThe footballer Emiliano Sala died as a result of a plane crash, having been overcome by toxic levels of carbon monoxide from the aircraft’s faulty exhaust system during an unlicensed commercial flight from France to Wales, an inquest jury has ruled.Sala’s family welcomed the jury’s conclusion and said that they were pleased that the coroner Rachael Griffin expressed concerns about safety issues that arose during the inquest. Continue reading...

Government honours president who activists accuse of undermining Indigenous protectionsBrazilian activists are outraged after Jair Bolsonaro – who has been accused of spearheading a cataclysmic attack on Indigenous rights – was honoured by his own government for his supposedly “altruistic” efforts to protect Indigenous lives.Bolsonaro was granted the Medal of Indigenous Merit on Wednesday in recognition of what the justice ministry called his attempts to defend Indigenous communities in the South American country. Continue reading...

Recumbent Magdalene, an art world ‘sleeping beauty’, was identified in 2002 after it was bought for £5,200It was one of the last marble sculptures completed by the great Italian artist Antonio Canova before his death in 1822 and depicts Mary Magdalene in a state of ecstasy.But Maddelena Giacente (Recumbent Magdalene) – originally commissioned by the then British prime minister, Lord Liverpool – became an art world “sleeping beauty” as her authorship was gradually forgotten and her whereabouts became unknown. Continue reading...

Carrick, 47, faces 41 charges against 11 victims, including rape and sexual assaultA Metropolitan police officer accused of a series of sexual attacks against women has been charged with another 12 offences, bringing the total number of alleged victims to 11.David Carrick, 47, previously faced 29 charges against eight alleged victims, including rape, coercive and controlling behaviour and sexual assault. Continue reading...

Efforts to stock up Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro are under way as the wider repercussions of the conflict are felt in Yemen and LebanonAid workers are racing to deliver emergency food supplies to Ukrainian cities at risk of “medieval tactics of besiegement”, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) has said.In a dramatic turnaround for a country long hailed as the “breadbasket of the world”, the UN’s emergency food agency is now trying to get stocks into warehouses in Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro before it is too late, said Jakob Kern. Continue reading...

Corporation apologises ‘unreservedly’ to Patrick Jephson over way Martin Bashir obtained 1995 Panorama interviewThe BBC has paid the former private secretary of Diana, Princess of Wales, Patrick Jephson, a substantial sum in damages and has apologised “unreservedly” to him over the way Martin Bashir obtained his 1995 Panorama interview with her.Bashir produced forged bank statements purporting to show Jephson and another palace colleague receiving substantial payments into an off-shore bank account, according to an investigation by former high court judge Lord Dyson. Continue reading...

Former hostage in Lebanon speaks of difficulties processing memories of captivity once initial euphoria at release has passedIt was just a few days ago that Terry Waite told a worn-out, despondent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe that she must “keep hope alive”.“Nazanin emailed me to say that she was weary and longing to be with her husband and daughter after spending six years detained in Iran,” he said. Continue reading...

Three weeks after Russian forces invaded, Kherson is the only major city to have fallen under their controlRussian forces invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday 24 February, crossing multiple border points from the north, east and south.Three weeks later, Kherson is the only major city to have fallen under the invaders’ control. Continue reading...

Analysis: Having seen off hostile headlines, the prime minister has reversed course … againBoris Johnson’s promise to crack down on MPs’ second jobs came at a perilous moment for his premiership last autumn, with backbenchers in open revolt over the botched attempt to save the disgraced MP Owen Paterson.It was a classic Johnson manoeuvre – a bold bid to get ahead of the story, claiming to outflank Labour by promising that MPs would be “appropriately punished” if they put their second employers, not their constituents, first. Continue reading...

Unions brand move ‘scandalous’ with jobs axed without notice and agency workers lined up to staff vesselsThe leading UK ferry operator P&O Ferries has sacked its crew across its entire fleet after stopping all its sailings on Thursday.Unions called it a “scandalous betrayal”, and said about 800 jobs at all grades had been axed with no notice, with P&O planning to use cheap agency staff to operate its ships. Continue reading...

Laura Murray receives £40,000 damages for untrue comments made in piece by former Labour MP Ian AustinThe Telegraph has apologised and paid £40,000 in damages for falsely describing a former aide to Jeremy Corbyn as an “anti-Jewish racist” and part of the “vile antisemitism of Corbyn’s Labour”.The allegations about Laura Murray, which the Telegraph has accepted were untrue and without basis, were contained in an opinion piece by the former Labour MP and current independent peer Ian Austin, who has also apologised. Continue reading...

Actor played Richard DeVere in BBC comedy series alongside Penelope Keith from 1979 to 1981To The Manor Born star Peter Bowles has died from cancer at the age of 85.Bowles was best known for his role as Richard DeVere in the BBC sitcom, which aired from 1979 to 1981, starring as the self-made businessman alongside Dame Penelope Keith, with the pair reprising their roles in a 2007 special. Continue reading...

Treasurer says ‘crisis level’ spending must stop amid Australia’s improving economic conditions

Former Labour health secretary also tells author monarch was ‘good company’ and talked about DianaThe former health secretary Alan Johnson unwittingly ate dog biscuits meant for the Queen’s corgis as he sat next to the monarch during a lunch at Windsor castle in 2008, a new book has revealed.After the meal, Johnson who was also a former Labour home secretary, remarked that he had “particularly enjoyed the cheese and the unusual dark biscuits” laid on by the Queen, according to her latest biographer, Robert Hardman. Continue reading...