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Australia news live: Bunnings topples Woolworths as most trusted brand; autumn heatwave to scorch southern states
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Comparisons between 14 largely retired environmental protesters unfurling banners in Queensland’s parliament and the January 6 US Capitol riots are “odious”, one of the protesters has said. On Thursday, Queensland’s parliamentary ethics committee handed down its findings, which cleared Greens MP Michael Berkman of inciting or encouraging the Extinction Rebellion protest in November 2022, but described his conduct as “disgraceful”. Fourteen people aged between 24 and 88 face the possibility of jail, if convicted, over their brief but raucous protest in which demonstrators unfurled banners with anti-fossil fuel slogans from the public gallery of parliament, interrupting question time with chants of “end fossil fuels now” and “stop coal, stop gas” for about three minutes. In an interview with ABC Brisbane, Berkman later expressed shock at news the activists faced charges – not laid in more than 30 years – of disturbing the legislature during a protest. He said the charges were “a really scary indicator of where we are up to”, and later posted on social media that the protesters were “absolutely right”. Read more on this story from me and my colleague Eden Gillespie, here: Related: ‘Outrageous and disgusting’: Greens MP condemns comparison of Queensland climate protests to US capitol riots Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey fends off preselection challenge The results are in and the Nationals deputy leader, Perin Davey, has fended off a preselection challenge and will keep her Senate spot at the next election. The numbers are not confirmed as yet, but Davey came out on top, putting to bed the challenges surrounding her parliamentary career. Updated at Advocates call for ‘more than platitudes’ as Australian women faced with ‘impossible choice’ between domestic violence and homelessness Continuing from our last post: The report notes that lack of access to safe housing prevents many women from escaping violence and pushes women back to violent homes. Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia, said: Thousands of Australian women are faced with an impossible choice - return to a violent home or confront homelessness. This is not a decision anyone should be forced to make, yet it’s happening more and more. Pathways to safe housing are the missing piece in the government’s response to family violence, but can be addressed in the new five-year national housing and homelessness agreement that will soon be released. This International Women’s Day it would be refreshing to see more than platitudes. We would like firm commitments to improve a desperate, parlous situation that puts the lives and safety of too many women and girls at risk. Updated at New report shows 45% of homeless women and girls seeking assistance are fleeing domestic and family violence A new report has revealed a growing crisis of women and children fleeing domestic and family violence into homelessness, prompting calls for an urgent funding package to provide pathways to safe housing. Homelessness Australia’s state of response report for International Women’s Day analyses Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data and found 45% of women and girls seeking homelessness assistance do so due to family and domestic violence. It finds that over the last decade: The number of women and children sleeping rough or in a car at the end of homelessness support more than doubled, from 1,041 to 2,428; and The number of women and children couch surfing at the end of support more than doubled from 3,465 to 7,214. In the past year alone, the number of women and children sleeping rough or in a car after receiving homelessness support increased by 23%. Updated at Following on from our last post, the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has posted this video on the mass coral bleaching occurring across the Great Barrier Reef: An important update about the Great Barrier Reef. pic.twitter.com/DHbl9u3h3h— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) March 8, 2024 Updated at Fifth mass coral bleaching event in eight years hits Great Barrier Reef, marine park authority confirms The Great Barrier Reef is in the grip of a mass coral bleaching event driven by global heating – the fifth in only eight years – the marine park’s government authority has confirmed. The authority, together with scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, have completed aerial surveys across 300 reefs over two thirds of the reef, with more to come. The authority said in an update: These surveys confirm a widespread, often called mass coral bleaching event, is unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef. Read the full story below: Related: Fifth mass coral bleaching event in eight years hits Great Barrier Reef, marine park authority confirms Updated at Melbourne’s west yet to see promised public transport reform Tomorrow will be 1,000 days since Victoria’s bus plan was released, with advocates arguing little has been done to ensure Melbourne’s west has a fast, frequent and reliable bus service. In 2021, Victoria’s Labor government committed to a bus plan that promised to create a bus network to Victoria’s public transport needs and demands, including route reforms and improved accessibility and safety. The lack of frequent and direct bus routes has been particularly difficult for communities such as those in Wyndham in Melbourne’s west, advocates say. In Hoppers Crossing, for example, the average bus trip takes four times longer than the same journey by car. According to the government’s bus plan, 2023 was supposed to see the implementation of reforms to transform Victoria’s bus network to align it with growing demand. Sustainable Cities spokesperson Elyse Cunningham said: Victoria’s bus plan has no solid timeline, and no solid funding commitments. They’ve been sitting on this plan for 1,000 days, but the people of Melbourne’s west are still stuck waiting for better buses, and taking hours to get to uni, work or the shops. In a cost-of-living crisis, families in the west are spending hundreds of dollars more on petrol just to get where they need to go. Updated at Full review to come into accidental release of inmate from correctional facility, NSW premier says The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has commented on reports from earlier this morning that a man was accidentally released from a correctional facility yesterday, and located in a Bondi hotel this morning. Minns told reporters in Sydney that there would be a full review to determine what went wrong: There’s over 12,000 inmates across Corrective Services in the state ... when you put it against the mid-90s when there was over 100 inmate escapes or accidental releases per year, it’s well down. But any inmate that’s released accidentally or earlier than they should be, is a major concern for Corrective Services and we want to make sure we get it right. Earlier, Corrective Services said the man was released from Long Bay correctional complex due to an “administration error following a court appearance”, which is now being investigated. - with AAP Updated at NSW veterans minister says Jack Fitzgibbon’s death at RAAF base a ‘tragedy’ New South Wales’ veterans minister, David Harris, has released a statement on the death of soldier Jack Fitzgibbon in a parachuting incident. Related: Soldier Jack Fitzgibbon dies after parachute incident during training at RAAF base in Richmond Harris wrote: This is a tragedy. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this most difficult time and extend our deepest condolences. Our thoughts are also with those who served alongside Lance Corporal Fitzgibbon – his friends and colleagues in uniform – and the broader defence community. His service and sacrifice on behalf of our nation will not be forgotten. Updated at Good morning from Canberra As you read this, the Nationals deputy leader, Senator Perin Davey, is fighting for her political survival as the NSW branch decides its senate ticket positions. Davey is fighting off a very strong preselection challenge from federal secretary Juliana McArthur and academic and agricultural physicist professor David Lamb. Davey recently came under fire for appearing to slur her words during a senate estimates hearing. While she admitted to having two wines before the evening hearing, she said a medical incident five years earlier was to blame. We expect to hear the result very soon. Insurance claim tally nears 20,000 after Victoria thunderstorms Nearly 20,000 insurance claims have been lodged following the severe thunderstorms that lashed Victoria last month. In February, intense rain hit Melbourne’s outer suburbs, causing flash flooding and fallen trees, all while bushfires were still burning. During the storms two transmission towers collapsed and about 500,000 lost power. The Insurance Council of Australia says claims for the storm have risen to 19,932. About 85% of claims are related to homes and contents damages. About 9,170 claims for damaged contents have been lodged, totalling $10m. Nearly 30% are already closed. The estimated cost of the storm has reached $104m, the ICA said. CEO Andrew Hall: These storms caused extensive damage across Victoria and show us just how quickly and unexpectedly extreme weather events can occur. The significant number of claims reflects the severity of the event, and insurers are working hard to support customers affected by this event. Updated at Hot weather ahead for Melbourne and Adelaide Speaking of sweltering weather: Melbourne is in for a very hot weekend, with temperatures in the high 30s forecast until Monday. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the city is forecast to hit a maximum of 39C on Saturday, 38C on Sunday and 38C on Monday – before dropping down to a max of 26C on Tuesday. Yesterday, the Bureau issued a heatwave warning for much of Victoria this weekend, and said: Severe heatwave conditions are expected to peak across the long weekend with a prolonged run of heat. The expected passage of a trough on Tuesday should bring relief from the south. Melbourne is included in the warning, and other locations likely to be affected include Ararat, Ballarat, Edenhope, Hamilton, Leongatha, Melton, Moe, Mallacoota, Traralgon and Warragul. Meanwhile, Adelaide is forecast to hit a maximum of 40C on Saturday, with temperatures remaining above 30 for much of next week. The city has a maximum forecast of 38C on Sunday, followed by 38C on Monday and 34C on Tuesday. A heatwave warning has also been issued for southeast parts of the state, including Adelaide. Like with Victoria, a trough on Tuesday is expected to bring some relief. As well as Adelaide, the following locations across South Australia are set to be affected by the heatwave: Kingscote, Maitland, Mount Gambier, Mount Barker, Murray Bridge, Narracoorte, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie and the Barossa Valley. Updated at Victoria urged to add cooling and insulation to minimum rental standards NGO Sweltering Cities, along with 50 doctors and health organisations across Victoria, are calling on the government to follow through on its commitment to putting cooling in the minimum rental standards. Sweltering Cities executive director Emma Bacon has said: In just a few weeks, the government will begin its public consultations on updating the rental minimum standards with cooling and insulation. We need to ensure that the standards are fit for purpose in reducing the risk of heat related health impacts for renters. Heatwaves kill more Australians than all other environmental disasters combined. Renters are more likely to live in homes with no insulation or air con, so are at higher risk of heat related illness on hot days and during heatwaves. As we face increasingly hotter summers, the Victorian Government has the opportunity to make a real difference for residents across Victoria who are baking in dangerously hot homes. Updated at We flagged earlier that it is the ten-year anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. For the full story on this, including Australia’s offer of support for a renewed search, Elias Visontay has you covered: Related: MH370: Australia offers Malaysia support for new search on 10-year anniversary Updated at ‘It’s shifted remarkably’: Wong hopeful on more women in politics The foreign minister, Penny Wong – who became Australia’s longest-serving female cabinet minister on Wednesday – says while there has been progress on the number of women in senior positions, there is still a long way to go. Marking International Women’s Day, Wong said there had been significant change to how women have been treated in politics since she first entered the Senate in 2002. She told Adelaide radio station 5AA: It’s shifted remarkably, actually … it does make a difference when you have this many women in a cabinet. There are many more women on both sides of politics, there are many more women in senior positions and I think that has changed things. We’ve still got some way to go, but it’s certainly better than it was. Wong said she remained optimistic about the next generation of women wanting to enter politics: Girls these days and younger women these days have a sense of their right to aspire to whatever they wish to be and to do, and they are not willing to accept some of the barriers and prejudices. Young women are that empowered, and it’s wonderful to see. I mean, they are fearless. Does the world enable that? Not as fully as we want, but I think we’re well down the path, and I’m very hopeful about the next generation of feminists and young women. – from AAP Updated at PM posts to social media celebrating Australian government ‘where women are the majority’ In a post to social media for International Women’s Day, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he is “proud to lead a government that is over 50% women”. It’s the first time Australia has had a government where women are the majority. I’m so proud to lead a government that is over 50% women.It’s the first time Australia has had a government where women are the majority. And with more women at the table, we’re delivering for women across the country. pic.twitter.com/y40DJrHFsV— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 7, 2024 Albanese wrote that on IWD, “we reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and look for new ways to do better.” Updated at Driver charged after interstate truck pursuit from Queensland to NSW A man has been charged after a truck was pursued across state borders from Queensland to New South Wales, allegedly hitting two police vehicles en route, before it was stopped near Moree overnight. Officers in NSW were alerted by Queensland police around 6pm yesterday that a table-top truck, allegedly laden with a stolen bobcat, had crossed the border at Boggabilla and was travelling along the Newell highway. NSW police were told the truck had been followed by Queensland police and a 27-year-old senior constable had sustained minor injuries when his vehicle was allegedly rammed at Millmerran. Police attempted to intercept the truck 100km north of Moree but will allege the driver ignored directions and continued south, “frequently crossing to the incorrect side of the highway”, a statement said. A pursuit was initiated and road spikes were deployed north of Moree. One front tyre deflated on the truck, but the driver continued south. A fully marked police caged-truck, positioned to block northbound traffic as a precaution, was also clipped by the truck, police said. The truck continued and later hit a power pole, dislodging the bobcat and bringing powerlines down. But the truck drove from the scene. The truck eventually stopped 30km south of Moree, “with the front nearside wheel ground down to the steel hub”. Police arrested the alleged driver, a 24-year-old man from Quirindi. He was taken from Moree district hospital for assessment and mandatory testing before being transferred to Moree police station. He was charged with using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, driving while licence cancelled, receiving property stolen outside NSW, negligent and predatory driving, and driving recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous. He has been refused bail to appear at Inverell local court today. Updated at Bill Shorten says he will not ‘pile in’ on Sam Kerr case Bill Shorten was asked about Sam Kerr while on the Today Show earlier, who has dominated headlines this week. According to sources with knowledge of the case, Kerr allegedly called a UK police officer “a stupid white bastard” during a dispute over a taxi fare in southwest London on 30 January last year. She is set to face trial in the UK over the alleged comment, but according to reports, her legal team is planning to have the charge downgraded or dismissed at an April hearing. Shorten said he isn’t going to “pile in and be judge, jury” when Kerr has said she’s not guilty: I’m just going to let her case take its way through. I’m not going to join in on that. But the case, it appears, has brought up some memories for Shorten he would rather forget: There’s one [sledge I’ve had] which I still remember. I was going for a jog; I was going for a jog on a country road. And this old digger, you know, he would have seen his 90th birthday already. And I’m running along, not Chariots of Fire speed, but nonetheless. And he rolls down the window. He rolls down the window and says, “and you can’t even effing run either!” Anyway, I just want to say, that bloke, I’ve never forgotten you. Updated at Simon Birmingham says MH370 disappearance investigation should be renewed The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, said a renewed commitment is needed for investigation efforts into missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, on the ten-year anniversary since its disappearance. As Daniel Hurst reported yesterday, the Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was “inclined to support” the reopening of an investigation into the missing flight, while speaking in Canberra. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has said Australia is supportive of any renewed efforts to find MH370, according to AAP. Writing on X today, Birmingham said: 10 years since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The memory of those lost remains vivid. We honour the 239 passengers, including 6 Australians who boarded that fateful flight. As we pause to remember, let’s renew our commitment to the pursuit of truth, the families who continue to seek answers, & the tireless efforts of search & investigation teams worldwide. Updated at Cranbrook principal Nicholas Sampson resigns The headteacher of the prestigious Cranbrook school in Sydney has resigned after it emerged he had known that a current Cranbrook teacher had engaged in “extremely concerning past conduct” while at a previous school and kept him in his position. An emergency meeting of the school council was held yesterday to investigate Nicholas Sampson’s response to the incident. Geoff Lovell, the president of the school council, wrote in an email to parents at the school: The circumstances of the matter and subsequently Mr Sampson’s failure to disclose the matter to the current school council … have led to an irrevocable breakdown of trust between the headmaster and the school council. The school council communicated this to Mr Sampson and this morning received his resignation. Updated at Opposition leader Peter Dutton has also paid tribute to soldier Jack Fitzgibbon. Speaking on the Today Show, Dutton noted that Jack’s parents – former Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon and his wife, Diane – would be “devastated beyond words”, and that the regiment “will be heartbroken”. Dutton said he had texted Joel yesterday, and has also reached out to defence minister Richard Marles. He’ll be feeling it not only as a friend and … former colleague of Joel’s, but also as defence minister. You feel each one of those incidents and you have a special burden that you carry as defence minister, and Richard will certainly be feeling that. Dutton was defence minister from March 2021-May 2022. Updated at Rishworth pays tribute to son of former MP who died in RAAF base incident Amanda Rishworth paid tribute to soldier Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon, who died in a parachuting incident. She said the incident is “hitting home really hard”. My thoughts are with Joel and his family and also all those in the ADF. A training incident such as this would have huge reverberations through those colleagues that perhaps were first responders and those that were around him. So, it’s absolutely tragic news and a reminder that serving in the defence force comes with risk. And I’d just like to acknowledge Jack’s service to our country and really, though, mainly today, is my thoughts are with his grieving family, which is an absolute tragedy. Updated at Government has employed 17 full-time equivalent frontline domestic violence workers out of promised 500, Rishworth says Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Amanda Rishworth was asked about claims from the Coalition the government has only employed two of the promised 500 frontline domestic violence workers it promised in 2021. She said the government has 17 full-time equivalent workers on board, but “we do need to work hard” to employ more workers. She added that the states and territories have received two funding payments towards this and the government is working with them to recruit staff. But I am disappointed that Sussan Ley has turned this into a political football. Of course, if they had been re-elected, we wouldn’t have seen any money for national partnerships, any money for these workers. We put the money in our budget and we’re working with the states and territories through paying them to employ these workers and get these workers on the ground. Updated at ‘Still a lot to do’ on gender equality, social services minister says after status of women report card released The minister for social services, Amanda Rishworth, was on ABC News Breakfast earlier today, discussing the release of the second annual status of women report card. This was released yesterday, in time for International Women’s Day, today. Host Michael Rowland noted that Australia is now ranked 26 globally for gender equality, compared to 43rd in last year’s report, and that 26% of women recently reported experiencing sexual harassment at work. Rishworth responded “there is a lot still to do” to ensure not only economic equality for women, but also that they feel safe in our society. Speaking on violence against women, Rishworth said one area the government is focused on is holding perpetrators to account. That’s something that victim-survivors have said they want us to hear, changing the attitudes of men and boys, but also making sure that perpetrators are held to account for their behaviour. Men that choose violence do get held to account, so there is a lot of work going into that. One of the biggest challenges in addressing attitudes towards women is online influences, Rishworth said. There are many online influences that are encouraging negative stereotypes towards women and encouraging violence against women, people like Andrew Tate. And so we need to be tackling that with alternative, healthy role models so that we do not see that the progress we’ve made in terms of the attitude toward violence against women actually go backwards in the next generation. Updated at Bunnings replaces Woolworths as Australia’s most trusted brand Bunnings has overtaken Woolworths as Australia’s most trusted brand, breaking the supermarket’s three-and-a-half year stronghold, according to new research from Roy Morgan. Bunnings lost its title as Australia’s most trusted brand to Woolworths in May 2020, but since October 2022 has shown a strong recovery. Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine, said Bunnings is a brand with “a vast reservoir of goodwill” and its reputational strength is fed by “dramatically more trust than distrust”. The research found that Australians’ distrust in companies has grown over the past year, with reasons including “corporate greed, poor customer service, unaffordable prices, dishonesty, unethical practices, and poor privacy practices”. Both major supermarkets fell in the latest rankings: Woolworths slipping one place to second, and Coles slipping two places to fifth. Aldi (third), Kmart (fourth) and Bunnings (first) each rose by one place. Apple came in at sixth, followed by Toyota, Myer, Big W and Australia Post consecutively. Australia’s top five most distrusted brands were Optus, followed by Facebook/Meta, Qantas, Telstra and News Corp, according to the research. This was followed by Medibank in sixth, then Amazon, TikTok, Twitter/X and Nestlé. Updated at Arrest of man in relation to Samantha Murphy’s death has brought some ‘closure’, Ballarat mayor says Ballarat mayor Des Hudson says the arrest of a 22-year-old man in relation to the death of missing woman Samantha Murphy has brought some closure to the community. Related: Samantha Murphy: Victoria police allege man murdered Ballarat woman in ‘deliberate attack’ Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Hudson said there has been “many questions” and an outpouring of community concern over the past month about what happened to Murphy, who “set off for an early morning run on Sunday morning, and then just didn’t come home to her family”: I think the fact that Sam was a mum, had young kids, or young teenagers, and just disappeared without any trace, it really sparked the emotion of our community and communities from everywhere … Samantha will never come home to her family [and] they will never have a beautiful mother, a beautiful wife to be with them as [they] go forward. Hudson said that rumour-mongering and “speculation” has been “hurtful” for those involved, urging people to allow the investigation to “follow through to its natural conclusion”. Hopefully in that we will get the answers to what happened to Samantha Murphy. Updated at MH370 mystery endures a decade after disappearance Australia is supportive of any efforts to find the missing flight MH370, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, has said. A decade on from the disappearance of flight MH370, families and loved ones of its 239 passengers are no closer to finding answers. The Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared from radar on 8 March 2014 on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Six Australian citizens and one New Zealand resident of Western Australia were on board. Australia’s sympathies remained with the families and loved ones, Wong said. We recognise their ongoing heartache and grief without the answers they seek. As Daniel Hurst reported yesterday, the Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was “inclined to support” the reopening of an investigation into the missing flight, while speaking in Canberra. Australia was ready to assist the Malaysian government, Wong said: While the searches have not been successful, and families continue to endure such heartache, the effort to find MH370 demonstrates the close cooperation between our countries through difficult times. The Australian government is supportive of all practical efforts to find MH370. – with AAP Updated at Man located at Bondi hotel after accidentally being released from correctional complex A man who was accidentally released from a New South Wales correctional facility has been located in a Bondi hotel this morning. Police said in a statement that the 30-year-old man was seen leaving the facility in Matraville about 1pm yesterday. Police located the man at a hotel in Bondi around 6am this morning. He has been taking to Waverley police station and “arrangements are being conducted to return him to the correctional facility”, police said. Corrective Services NSW said the man was released from Long Bay correctional complex due to an “administration error following a court appearance”, which is now being investigated. Updated at Scooter rider dies in crash in Sydney A scooter rider has died following a crash at North Ryde in Sydney this morning. New South Wales police said that just after 5am, emergency services were called to an intersection in North Ryde after reports of a crash involving a car and a motorised scooter. The rider – who is yet to be formally identified – was treated by paramedics who performed CPR, but died at the scene. The male driver was taken to Ryde hospital to undergo mandatory testing. Officers established a crime scene and an investigation is under way into the circumstances surrounding the crash. Updated at Ten-year-old girl leaves ICU after car crash on the way to Taylor Swift concert The 10-year-old girl who went into a coma following a horror crash on her way to see Taylor Swift has left the intensive care ward. Freya Pokarier suffered serious injuries when the SUV her mum was driving collided with a semi-trailer, suffering brain injuries, a damaged pelvis and broken leg. The crash occurred while the family was driving from the Gold Coast to Melbourne for the first night of the Eras tour. Her 16-year-old sister Mieka died at the scene and the mother has since been discharged from hospital. Karleigh Fox, Mieka’s godmother, began a GoFundMe page for the family. An update, penned by Freya’s mum yesterday, says that Freya has left the ICU and has moved to a rehabilitation ward: We are yet to see her beautiful eyes open, however, she has shown some really positive signs that she may be hearing her loved ones. She said things are progressing “one day at a time”, but any movements are “exciting and bring hopes of progress”. Updated at ‘Not everybody is aligned to the FCAI’s narrative’: Polestar spokesperson says other industry players could ‘take a stand’ Polestar spokesperson Laurissa Mirabelli said the company had not had any conversations with the FCAI after suggesting they were poised to quit. I think it’s a given, given Tesla’s move yesterday. I haven’t received any calls from the peak body either. I think that they are also just waiting for our response and for us to take the next … move from here. And does Polestar expect more companies will leave the FCAI? Mirabelli: I don’t know how that will land. I thought that perhaps it would only be the electric vehicle companies that would take a bit of a stand but I understand that there’s other industry bodies or industry players who are still assessing their own position because obviously, not everybody is aligned to the FCAI’s current narrative … There are some companies that are going to be able to meet these standards, and we can see that there are companies, even those that are suggesting that they can’t meet the standards, who are meeting them elsewhere in the world. Updated at Vehicle emissions standard would not be ‘that far from business as usual’: Polestar The FCAI said it had encouraged successive governments to introduce an efficiency standard for more than a decade, but not the kind that the government has proposed. If the government was to adopt the standards as proposed by the FCAI, Mirabelli said this would not be “that far from business as usual”. Mirabelli noted the transport sector is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia and is “on track to become the largest” – with passenger cars and light commercial vehicles accounting for 60% of this. So we have to address it. There are health issues, there are cost issues … There are other things to consider here, not just what importers want to do. We don’t have a local manufacturing industry any more, we’re not protecting anybody. We have to determine, you know, what kind of cars are we letting into this country and what’s best for Australians? Updated at Polestar says proposed standard about ‘cap on emissions’ for fleets, not ‘cherrypicking’ Q: So you don’t think that some of Australia’s most popular cars will see price increases under the proposed vehicle efficiency standard? Polestar spokesperson Laurissa Mirabelli: Well, I think it’s a different thing. It’s about a cap on the overall emissions of the brand’s entire fleet, it’s not about cherrypicking different products within a lineup and saying, well, that car is going to increase by x [amount]. The idea is that you’re trying to find balance, you’re trying to determine, you know, of your high emitting vehicles, are they over or are they under the target? And of your low emitting vehicles, how does that all balance? So it’s not about one car or another, it’s looking at the entire fleet. Updated at Polestar may join Tesla in quitting auto lobby FCAI over ‘false’ claims about vehicle emissions standard Automotive manufacturer Polestar says it is “poised to leave” Australia’s main auto industry lobby group, one day after Tesla quit. Yesterday, Tesla announced it was quitting the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), asking the consumer watchdog to investigate what it says are the organisation’s “demonstrably false claims” about the impact of the Albanese government’s clean car policy. You can read the full details from Adam Morton below: Related: Tesla quits major Australian auto lobby over its ‘false claims’ about government’s clean car policy Laurissa Mirabelli, a spokesperson for Polestar, told ABC radio today that the FCAI’s campaign against the government’s proposed vehicle efficiency standard “really doesn’t represent our position” on the shift to electric, and that the campaign has done “serious damage to consumer perception and trust”. Polestar is currently a member of the FCAI. Mirabelli said that when you look overseas, the price increase that FCAI has been touting just has not been seen. There’s no reason why Australia wouldn’t be able to introduce cost effective solutions to meet this standard, and closer to home, the Grattan Institute has actually said that they don’t think the prices will increase more than average of 1% and that even if that happens, the lower fuel and maintenance costs are really going to make consumers better off in the long term. Updated at Good morning, and happy Friday. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be bringing you our live coverage today. See something that needs attention? You can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s get started. Updated at State funeral to be held for Lowitja O’Donoghue in Adelaide Hundreds of mourners are expected to mark the loss of Aboriginal rights trailblazer Lowitja O’Donoghue at a state funeral in Adelaide today, AAP reports. The Yankunytjatjara woman, who played a key role in the 1967 referendum, lobbied the Keating government to recognise Indigenous land ownership through native title laws and advised on the apology to the stolen generation, will be remembered at a ceremony at St Peter’s Cathedral. She died on 4 February aged 91 on Kaurna Country in Adelaide with her immediate family by her side. She gained prominence after becoming the first Aboriginal person to train as a nurse at Royal Adelaide hospital in 1954. After being denied the opportunity because of her Indigenous heritage, she successfully lobbied then-premier Thomas Playford to win her right to admission, setting her on a lifelong path of fighting for equality. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described her as one of the most remarkable leaders the country had known. O’Donoghue became the inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in 1990. One of her greatest achievements was lobbying the Keating government to recognise Aboriginal land ownership through the Native Title Act. The non-profit Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation was set up in 2022 to continue her legacy. Her family has asked mourners to donate to the foundation in lieu of flowers. Updated at Could the Coalition make nuclear power work? We’ve already mentioned our piece today looking at some of the problems that might stand in the way of the Liberals’ new policy of building nuclear power stations in Australia. You can read environment writer Graham Readfearn’s full piece here: Related: The Coalition wants nuclear power. Could it work – or would it be an economic and logistical disaster? And the wider issue of what policies the Liberals will actually run on is the issue tackled in today’s Newsroom edition of the Full Story podcast. Gabrielle Jackson talks with head of newsroom Mike Ticher and national news editor Patrick Keneally about how the Dunkley byelection exposed the problem. Listen here: Related: Newsroom edition: the Liberal party’s policy problem - podcast Welcome Good morning and welcome to our end-of-week news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the best of the overnight stories before my colleague Emily Wind gets into the main business. One of the big stories of the day will be the court hearing in Sydney where the company at the centre of the investigation into contaminated mulch will try to have an order preventing it from making mulch products quashed. In documents lodged with the court, the parent company of Greenlife Resource Recovery will point out today that the NSW environment court cannot be certain that the contamination took place at its facilities, and complain about the order’s “unjustified impact” on its business. The Coalition appears set to commit itself to a policy of building nuclear reactors across Australia to replace ageing coal-fire generators. But is it practical? Graham Readfearn assesses the challenge. The identity of the 22-year-old man charged with the murder of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy could be revealed today as the search continues for her body. The Scotsburn man appeared in Ballarat magistrates court on Thursday but his name was concealed because his lawyer argued releasing the name could cause prejudice to the man’s right to a fair trial. That will be challenged at hearing at the court today, AAP reports. We’ll have all the details as the story develops. And hundreds of mourners are expected at St Peter’s Cathedral in Adelaide today for the state funeral of Aboriginal rights trailblazer Lowitja O’Donoghue. More on that coming up.
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New Zealand v Australia: second Test, day one – live
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WICKET! Williamson lbw b Hazlewood 17 (New Zealand 84-5) Blundell uses a delightfully retro old Kookaburra. It could be the Ridgeback or maybe even the Bubble. Childhood memories of Alec Stewart twirling away with that between deliveries in the 90s. Blundell gets a lesser spotted single to rotate the strike. Hold on… could be a HUGE wicket here! Hazelwood jags one back into Williamson and it pins the bearded one right in front. Umpire Nitin Menon raises the finger! Has he hit it? Williamson sends it upstairs but does not look confident. Sure enough there is no edge and four reds – OUT! Hazelwood snares Kane Williamson! A clinic from Josh Hazlewood#NZvAUS— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) March 8, 2024 31st over: New Zealand 83-4 (Williamson 17, Blundell 0) Cummins is too short once again to Williamson. He’s too good a player to miss out when runs are few and far between. Cut for four. Cummins readjusts and sends down four dots at box height. Williamson plays late with soft hands to see out the over. 30th over: New Zealand 79-4 (Williamson 13, Blundell 0) Hazlewood has been sublime today. He has 3-18 from ten overs. I don’t think I can recall a bad ball (Unless I was distracted by my Walnut Whip binge…) Tom Blundell is the new batter. New Zealand need a partnership. WICKET! Mitchell c Carey b Hazlewood 4 (New Zealand 79-4) Daryl Mitchell off the mark with a doozy. Hazlewood is driven on the up down the ground for four. What a response! Hazelwood brings his length back a touch and the ball climbs and moves away late on Mitchell who follows it and gets a thin edge through to Carey. Corker of a ball to get early in your innings, Mitchell knows as much, a rueful glance over to Williamson as he departs. 29th over: New Zealand 75-3 (Williamson 13, Mitchell 0) Cummins drops short and Williamson doesn’t miss out – a cut shot has enough legs on it to just beat a chasing Nathan Lyon to the boundary rope. 28th over: New Zealand 71-3 (Williamson 9, Mitchell 0) Hazlewood lands it on a pocket square outside off stump. Mitchell is up to it, positive in footwork and solid in defence. Another maiden. Frugal start to the session. Ian Smith wasn't happy with Rachin Ravindra's dismissal in the last over before Lunch.@imarAust #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/lCw9oEFd3R— SEN Cricket (@SEN_Cricket) March 8, 2024 27th over: New Zealand 71-3 (Williamson 9, Mitchell 0) Cummins to start from the other end, bowling to Kane Williamson. Two titans of the modern game going head to head. A tussle ensues. Cummins is full and in the channel on off stump. Williamson is solid in defence. After six balls they call it a truce. A maiden. 26th over: New Zealand 71-3 (Williamson 9, Mitchell 0) Hazlewood to Mitchell, first ball of the session. Beats him with a beauty. Starting as he left off, just outside off stump with a hint of away movement. Josh Hazelwood has four balls to finish in his over after snaffling Ravindra on the stroke of lunch. Let’s play! Looks a beautiful day in Christchurch. Afternoon session about to begin. Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell will beat the crease for the Kiwis and they are going to have to have a scrap on. Spectators in Christchurch are permitted to stand right on the edge of the wicket square during the lunch break and get a fantastic view of the pitch. Junior cricket is also played on the outfield on most weekends.They do things differently (better) in New Zealand!#NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/VkvWx9TfaH— 🏏Flashscore Cricket Commentators (@FlashCric) March 8, 2024 I really enjoyed Tanya’s piece on day one in Dharamshala. You will too: Related: England chug along before masterly Kuldeep makes the wheels fall off | Tanya Aldred Lunch: New Zealand 71-3 Josh Hazlewood the pick of the bowlers, he has 2-14 off 7.2 overs. The visitors will enjoy their sustenance that bit more. New Zealand safely negotiated the first hour but as is often the case, the Aussie bowling line up found a way. WICKET! Ravindra c Khawaja b Hazlewood 4 (New Zealand 71-3) Loosey Goosey! Ravindra falls in the final over of the session! A really loose drive to a wide and full Hazlewood delivery sees him nick to the safe hands of Khawaja at 1st slip. Ravindra is livid with himself, as well he might be. A poor shot. Australia follow him off the field – the final act of the session complete. Updated at 25th over: New Zealand 71-2 (Williamson 9, Ravindra 4) A patient Williamson waits for Starc to stray too straight and picks him off the pads through midwicket for three. Ravindra gets a meaty edge wide of point and the batters scamper another three. 24th over: New Zealand 65-2 (Williamson 6, Ravindra 1) A nervous looking Ravindra gets off the mark with a flick off his pads to fine leg. Sun beating down in Christchurch now. Williamson hangs back in the crease and turns his wrists on a length ball into the on side. One more to the total. 23rd over: New Zealand 63-2 (Williamson 5, Ravindra 0) Williamson gets on the front foot and drives Starc away for a couple through the covers. Ten minutes or so til lunch, Australia will be very happy with their morning’s graft if they winkle another out before then. 22nd over: New Zealand 61-2 (Williamson 3, Ravindra 0) Gut punch for Tom Latham who looked so good this morning. Hazlewood got a ball to just straighten enough and it really was the thinnest scratch on the bat. Top bowling, Latham didn’t do much wrong. Rachin Ravindra is the new bat. He’s such an exciting talent. Don’t do that though! A flat footed waft outside off nearly sees him perish off Hazlewood’s final ball. WICKET! Latham c Carey b Hazlewood 38 (New Zealand 61-2) Tiny feather of an edge through to Carey and Latham has to go! Updated at 21st over: New Zealand 61-1 (Latham 38, Williamson 3) Shot! Tom Latham drives Starc away handsomely through the covers for four. That boundary takes Latham to sixth place on the all time Test run scorers list for New Zealand. The man at number one is stood at the non-strikers end. Four more! A thick but controlled edge from Latham runs away wide of gully. 20th over: New Zealand 52-1 (Latham 29, Williamson 3) Latham drops and runs into the covers to bring Williamson on strike. Oooft! Marsh beats him with a full ball that nibbles past the edge. Goes full again and Williamson drives away in compact fashion to pick up three runs. Fifty up for New Zealand. 19th over: New Zealand 47-1 (Latham 27, Williamson 0) In walks Kane Williamson in his 100th Test match. The Hagley Oval rings with applause. Half an hour until lunch, crucial passage in this match coming right up. WICKET! Young c Marsh b Starc 14 (New Zealand 47-1) Young gets a leading edge off Starc and it is a great grab from Mitch Marsh at third slip! Updated at 18th over: New Zealand 47-0 (Latham 27, Young 14) Mitch Marsh find his radar and joins the dots. A maiden. This just made me laugh. Cameron Ponsonby is well worth a follow or whatever it is you do these days? A fine writer and budding broadcaster. Decent left-footed five-a-side footballer too. Engine. All left-arm wrist spinners are moronspic.twitter.com/Qa7T5HiDj9— Cameron Ponsonby (@cameronponsonby) March 7, 2024 17th over: New Zealand 47-0 (Latham 27, Young 14) Mitch Starc comes back into the attack and whangs down a wild ball that soars away over Carey and away for five wides. 16th over: New Zealand 41-0 (Latham 26, Young 14) Will Young tucks in! Mitchell Marsh is into the attack and he serves up a short and wide loosener that Young pounces on. The batter stands tall and punches from his tippy toes away through point for four. There's something wonderfully relaxing about Tests in NZ @Jimbo_Cricket. I think it's the level of cooperation on show: hard, but fair cricket with more smiles than snarls; crowds trusted to find their own space on the banks; and respectful applause for friends and foes alike.— Gary Naylor 85 (@garynaylor85) March 7, 2024 Updated at 15th over: New Zealand 36-0 (Latham 26, Young 10) Cummins would have wanted at least one wicket in the first hour after winning the toss and sticking the Kiwis in. Latham has looked good whilst Young has been becalmed and had that let off from Travis Head at short leg. This pitch is a belter. I think Pat may have misread it badly when electing to bowl first. #NZvAUS— Sulli (@SulliAU) March 7, 2024 Will you tell him or should I? 14th over: New Zealand 35-0 (Latham 26, Young 9) Young clips Lyon away for a single and that’s the sole action of the over. Time for a walnut whip Drink! I meant a drink. 13th over: New Zealand 34-0 (Latham 26, Young 8) Cummins continues, stitches together a maiden. A quiet first hour at the Hagley but the home side will be happy with their work. Updated at 12th over: New Zealand 34-0 (Latham 26, Young 8) Nathan Lyon on for an early twirl. I hate to use the phrase but that feels like a moral victory for the Kiwis. Indeed, this is the earliest a spinner has ever been deployed at the Hagley Oval. Latham greets him with a paddle for four. Fran in Stroud sends a lovely, wistful message along the wires: “For some reason, matches at the Hagley Oval always make me think of England’s match there in late March 2018. Jack Leach’s debut, and a Bairstow 100, but otherwise not an especially memorable match I don’t think. Usually, following a Test match in Australasia implies freezing December nights at home while the Ashes is played out in baking heat. But this was very different. Spring was in full flow in the UK and our cricket season itself just round the corner. Listening to the commentary on TMS from Christchurch was dreamy as they described the beautiful parkland setting and the cool of the New Zealand autumn just coming in. The vision of it just stayed with me somehow. From memory, the start of play was at three different times in the UK through the course of the Test, as they left their daylight savings time and then we went into BST over the weekend. It feels like such a treat to still have Test cricket going on, with this series and the series in India. Even though I don’t have the stamina to follow coverage through the night. It’s my favourite sporting thing, and I wonder how much longer we’ll have it for. Thanks for your OBO. Have a good one!” 11th over: New Zealand 29-0 (Latham 21, Young 8) Cummins to Young. A single eked behind square. Latham has looked much the more in form of the two openers and he rolls his wrists on a controlled pull shot to pick up three into the leg side. DROP! Travis Head spills Young at short leg, it was a diving chance but Head got a good hand on it and it slipped out of his grasp and onto the turf. A let off for Young. Mike Jakeman is feeling his age. “Hi James, It seems astonishing to me that Tim Southee and Jonny Bairstow have played the same number of Tests. I’m fairly sure that Southee made his NZ debut in 1991, while spiky young tyro Bairstow is still finding his role in the England side.” Southee made his Test debut in 2008, four years before Bairstow. Jonny has missed something like 52 Test matches in that time too. 10th over: New Zealand 25-0 (Latham 18, Young 7) Shackles be gone! Tom Latham unfurls a delicious cover drive, on the up, and it traces away all along the baize for four. 9th over: New Zealand 21-0 (Latham 14, Young 7) Three maidens in a row. Cummins on the button. Pressure cooker starting to hiss quietly. 8th over: New Zealand 21-0 (Latham 14, Young 7) Miserly stuff from Hazlewood, not giving an inch or a sniff of anything to hit. Maiden. Marais Erasmus’ last Test! A few years ago I did a piece speaking to quite few of the elite Test umpires ‘The Men in White Coats’ – it was all men back then. Anyway, to a man they all said how much Marais Erasmus was their favourite colleague. Players, fans and other officials will be said to see him hand in his badge and gun shades and ball-clicker. We are never ever getting back together pic.twitter.com/v7A87cwDXI— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) March 7, 2024 Updated at 7th over: New Zealand 21-0 (Latham 14, Young 7) Cummins replaces Starc after just three overs from the top end. Lack of swing perhaps? Or a change of ends maybe? Searing insight? Young plays a loose shot at a length ball and luckily for him only connects with the fresh Christchurch breeze. Settle down William. A maiden to start from the Aus captain. I’ve just polished off six (miniature, I’m not a monkey, ape animal) walnut whips. Self loathing due to peak in about two minutes. 6th over: New Zealand 21-0 (Latham 14, Young 7) Five dots from Hazlewood, the tall seamer is in the groove. Bop! Latham is on his toes and gets his reward for being watchful, the last ball of the over is a smidge too full and is driven down the ground for four. Updated at 5th over: New Zealand 17-0 (Latham 10, Young 7) A quieter six balls after the special last over from Hazelwood. That was McGrath esque. Metronomic. Masterful. Updated at 4th over: New Zealand 14-0 (Latham 9, Young 5) A single off the inside edge to Latham brings Young on strike and he clips Hazlewood for two through midwicket. Confident start this from the home side. Oooft. Beaten. Hazlewood pitches it on line with the off stump and moves it away late, a whisper from the edge. And again! A carbon copy. Not much Young can do with that. Three times! Hazlewood has it on a string, Young just nods and strolls away to square leg. Last ball of the over… beats him again! Connect Four! What an over from Josh Hazlewood. Updated at 3rd over: New Zealand 11-0 (Latham 8, Young 3) Starc is straight, looking to get one to spear into the pads. Young keeps him out and clips for two into the leg side off the last ball of the over. A perfect ground, Hagley Oval. Bit of breeze, some sun getting through. Cricket time. #NZvAus pic.twitter.com/N5KhhZ4NgS— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) March 7, 2024 2nd over: New Zealand 9-0 (Latham 8, Young 1) Josh Hazlewood shares the new orb. Will Young is watchful, allowing the ball to pass through and defending off the front foot when required. A nudged single off the last ball sees him get off the mark/pinch the strike. “Evening James” And to you, South London’s Andrew Cosgrove. Maybe we are on the same street? “Don’t listen to Wignall. He’s right about gibbons, but baboons very definitely are monkeys. I don’t have anything to contribute to the cricket discussion (yet).” What about a funky gibbon? Billy Gibbons? I’m being a daft apeth. 1st over: New Zealand 8-0 (Latham 8, Young 0) Mitchell Starc begins with the new ball. There’s decent carry and some nice movement in the air too. Tom Latham - face daubed in white zinc – opens the face and runs a length ball wide of gully for four. New Zealand are away. Shot! Nothing more than a defensive push from Latham to an attempted yorker from Starc, the ball evades mid off and runs away for four. Two boundaries off the first over, plenty in it for bat and ball. Richard Hadlee rings the bell and gives a hearty wave, he looks trim and fit, almost like he could do a job with the new ball. Geoff Wignall has put me and my preamble firmly in our place. “Sorry James, but neither gibbons nor baboons are monkeys. They’re apes.” I stand corrected… said the man in the orthpedic shoes. The players emerge under cloudy blue skies for the anthems. Ben Sears looks like a nice bloke. Well, of course he does. Batting first at Hagley Oval after a toss win for Pat Cummins. Ben Sears (Cap #287) to make his Test debut and Tim Southee and Kane Williamson become the fifth and sixth New Zealanders to play 100 Tests 🏏 Follow LIVE in NZ from 11:00am with @TVNZ+, DUKE, @SENZ_Radio. #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/Gvg3BAEWWY— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 7, 2024 “Love these Tests!” enthuses Daniel Kalucy in the OBO mailbag. “Perfect timing for those working the late night euro bar job. Which is obviously why they’re held!” Absolutely. I’ll have a Guinness Dan, and chuck in some of Jamie Dornan’s chiselled good lucks for good measure why don’t ya? Oh and a bag of bacon fries. Do you have them? So, New Zealand will have the chance to post a score and set up the game. They’ll have the small matter of Australia’s gun bowling line up steaming in on a green top to negotiate first thing. Best coin toss ever! You could have heard a pin drop as the entire ground went dead quiet. No exageration - zero noise. Followed by a groan from kiwi supporters. #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/rddxMAVKun— Anthony Sherratt (@AnthonySherratt) March 7, 2024 Updated at Teams: Australia unchanged once again. New Zealand have replaced the injured O’Rourke with the debutant seamer Ben Sears. New Zealand 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Tim Southee (capt), 11 Ben Sears Australia 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Steven Smith, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood Australia win the toss and will... bowl Pat Cummins calls correctly and sticks the Kiwis in. Ten minutes or so until the toss. More than enough time to dig into this piece about Steve Smith’s velcro mitts and the joy of catching. Written by some quill wielding oik called James Wallace? Related: The Spin | Steve Smith and the unbridled joy of taking catches in Test cricket Me either. It is bright and clear in Christchurch. The pitch has a green hue but don’t be fooled too much by that, it’s normally a belter for the first few days at least. Kiwi bowler Ben Sears looks set to make his debut. Poor old Mitchy Santner. No real intensity in Mitch Santner’s training this morning. Looks like New Zealand are sticking with Scott Kuggeleijn with Ben Sears making his debut #NZvAus pic.twitter.com/OOsOP77FG1— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) March 7, 2024 Tim Southee is excited to see what debutant Ben Sears can bring at Test level ⚡️https://t.co/DEmIYWuHWw | #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/vK6QYvz1sd— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 7, 2024 Updated at Preamble Hello and welcome to the day one OBO of New Zealand v Australia from Christchurch’s Hagley Oval. “It is nice to get the monkey off the back” said Ireland’s Test captain Andrew Balbirnie a few days ago after his side notched up their first victory in the format with a six wicket win over Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi’s Tolerance Oval. Ireland’s historic victory came at the eighth time of asking, which is actually pretty darn quick in the grander scheme of things. Seven losses though was enough for Balbirnie to be summoning the imagery and heavy burden of the primate in his post match press conference. Which begs the question: if seven losses on the trot is a monkey (or an ape!) – a medium sized gibbon rather than a burly baboon say – then what exactly is one victory over your neighbouring rivals in the last 30 years? Last week’s 172 run loss to Trans-Tasman rivals Australia only added to New Zealand’s woeful record against their beefier bigger brother. Since their five wicket win in Auckland way back in 1993, the Kiwis have conquered those in baggy green on one solitary occasion – an arse nipping seven wicket win in Hobart in 2011. Forget monkey, New Zealand have a hulking great albatross complete with green and gold bill tethered round their necks, squawking with glee and defecating down their back*. The next five days will see New Zealand get their last chance of sticking one back to Australia in Test cricket for at least a couple of years and what better way to do it than in the game where former and current captains Kane Williamson and Tim Southee reach their 100th Test match? Australia are vulnerable in the batting department, the spotlight particularly is on a chronically out of form Marnus Labuschagne and a sputtering Alex Carey. The bowling though? Australia’s bowling attack is ridiculous. Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon have been good enough to bail a mis-firing batting card out time and again over the home summer. There’s plenty to get into then as we tick around to the teams and toss in Christchurch. Play starts at 11am local/9am AEDT and 10pm here in London. Jim here on the tools for the first half of the day before Angus Fontaine tags in later on. Please do Email or tweet @Jimbo_Cricket with your musings and missives. Righto, let’s take the plunge, shall we? *Apologies if you are reading this with your muesli, it is post watershed where I am in the UK. Squawk! Updated at
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Orlando makes Barbra Banda second most expensive female player in world
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Orlando Pride have completed a deal to sign Zambia forward Barbra Banda for the second-highest transfer fee in women’s football. Recruited from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shengli for $740,000 (£582,128), Banda has signed a four-year contract with the NWSL side. The price tag makes her the second most expensive player in the history of women’s football, following Bay FC’s recruitment of Banda’s international teammate Racheal Kundananji from Liga F side Madrid CFF for $787,600 in February. Related: Copa 71 review – riveting story of Women’s World Cup goes way beyond football “The National Women’s Soccer League is one of the most competitive and strongest leagues in the world so it’s very humbling to get a chance to play in it,” Banda said. “Since my first meeting with the club and the general manager I knew this was a club I wanted to join. I can’t wait to meet my new teammates and start working with them. I hope to help the team in my small capacity to do great things and win a lot of trophies together.” Banda scored 41 goals in 51 games for Shanghai Shengli and won the golden boot in her first season at the club. The forward then burst onto the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics, scoring back-to-back hat tricks against the Netherlands and China. In 2022 Banda scored 10 goals to finish top scorer as Zambia won the Cosafa Women’s Championship. In the run up to the 2023 World Cup she netted twice, either side of a Kundananji goal, as Zambia earned an exhilarating 3-2 win over Germany. At the tournament itself Banda scored Zambia’s second in their final group game, a 3-1 win over Costa Rica, which was their first World Cup win. “It has always been our vision to build the Orlando Pride into an NWSL Championship contender and we believe investment in the world’s best players is a prerequisite for success,” said the Orlando Pride owner and chairman, Mark Wilf. Orlando Pride vice-president of soccer operations and general manager, Haley Carter, added: “Barbra is a natural-born goal scorer and one of the most physically imposing forwards in the world. Turning only 24 years old this month we have every confidence she will be an impact player in our attack for years to come. We are excited to help her grow and expand upon the various layers of her game and cannot wait to see her in purple.”
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Imaginary review – a shoddy and unimaginative creepshow
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It’s yet another sub-par day at the Blumhouse factory, production line operating at full, breakneck speed, yet machinery on the perilous verge of total collapse. The house of horror, behind hit franchises like Insidious, Paranormal Activity and The Purge, has become something of a franchise in itself, a branded string of low-budget films making a high profit, yet quality control has forever been an issue and in the last year or so, it’s barely existed. Related: Ricky Stanicky review – Zac Efron can’t save deeply unfunny bro comedy On the first cursed weekend of January 2023, usually home to the most unintentionally horrifying horror films, M3gan upended critical expectations and scored reviews as impressive as its box office total. But normality soon resumed with a limp Insidious sequel, a junky time travel slasher, a loathed Exorcist reboot, an astonishingly dull video game adaptation and, most recently, a soggy haunted pool horror. Yet somehow, the very worst was yet to come and now here it is, crash-landing into cinemas with an embargo so late, some preview audiences will have already started watching it. Imaginary, teased by an audio-first, cinema-only trailer far smarter than the movie itself, is a shameless grab bag of stolen parts clumsily stitched together with such carelessness, it’s a miracle it’s even getting a theatrical release. The bar might have fallen to its lowest ever point for studio horror but it’s still a surprise to see just how bad things can really get. I was kinder than most about writer-director Jeff Wadlow’s first Blumhouse offering, the gimmicky yet fun franchise non-starter Truth or Dare which worked just about enough in a low stakes kinda way, a Final Destination rip-off for the sleepover crowd. His follow-up Fantasy Island was a disordered mess, trying and failing to do far too much and there’s a similar level of unearned confidence on display in his latest, world-building done with an unsteady hand and an unfocused mind. Things start off in familiar genre territory as a woman named Jessica (played by DeWanda Wise) returns to her childhood home with new family in tow, husband Max (British actor Tom Payne) and his two children from a former marriage. Both Jessica and Max have some sort of trauma in their past – her absent father, his mentally unwell ex-wife – and both are hoping that a new start will help them heal. But when youngest daughter Alice (Pyper Braun) finds an old teddy bear and claims it as her new imaginary friend Chauncey, their dream home becomes a nightmare. While red flags start to fly pretty early on – some bad acting, some even worse dialogue – the build-up is at the very least competent, if entirely derivative, recalling the 2005 Robert De Niro thriller Hide and Seek as well as Poltergeist and M3gan, a child falling into dangerous fantasy dragged deeper by a nefarious presence. But like so many horror films these days, it’s a logline scrawled on a napkin rather than a fully-formed and fully thought-out script and so when the plot inevitably thickens, the cracks turn into chasms and a two-star time-waster descends into a one-star catastrophe. Along with the year’s other Blumhouse misstep Night Swim, Imaginary feels like the sort of bottom-shelf shocker that would have littered video stores decades ago, modernised only by its almost parodic obsession with trauma, the word that has ruined many a horror film of late. The last act, as drip-drip creepiness turns into flash flood chaos, is a laughably incoherent string of question marks – how did they, how could she, what was that – which plays out as if it were being made up on the spot, sloppy enough for a refund, Wadlow and his co-writers Greg Erb and Jason Oremland in need of a stern sense-checker. There’s such lumbering gracelessness to how rules are introduced – characters stumbling over nonsensical realisations and reveals – and such shamelessness to how other, better films and shows are copied. There are too many to list but you can feel elements of It, Beetlejuice, Housebound, Come Play, Stranger Things and most obviously Coraline with a visual trick so brazenly similar, legal action should follow. Wise can be a charming presence elsewhere but there’s only so much that can be done with the suffocatingly soapy dialogue she’s lumped with and she quickly gets lost in the murk surrounding her. Even the promise of Betty Buckley playing a mysterious neighbour frantically ranting about demonic mythology isn’t as much fun as it should have been. Wadlow has spoken of his desire to make a four-quadrant horror intended for a broader audience, the likes of which audiences saw more of in the 1980s, operating like a roller coaster that’s exciting in the moment but unlikely to leave a mark. It’s an admirable mission statement and given how self-serious so many horror films can now be, aiming for more fun is no bad thing but Imaginary is far too dumb and ungainly to move at the pace required and bring the thrills it should, a theme park ride that should be closed for repairs. Imaginary is out now at cinemas
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‘Outrageous and disgusting’: Greens MP condemns comparison of Queensland climate protests to US capitol riots
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Comparisons between 14 largely retired environmental protesters unfurling banners in Queensland’s parliament and the January 6 US Capitol riots are “odious”, one of the protesters has said. On Thursday, Queensland’s parliamentary ethics committee handed down its findings, which cleared Greens MP Michael Berkman of inciting or encouraging the Extinction Rebellion protest in November 2022, but described his conduct as “disgraceful”. Related: NSW police drop claim that protest involving Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco blocked ambulance Fourteen people aged between 24 and 88 face the possibility of jail, if convicted, over their brief but raucous protest in which demonstrators unfurled banners with anti-fossil fuel slogans from the public gallery of parliament, interrupting question time with chants of “end fossil fuels now” and “stop coal, stop gas” for about three minutes. In an interview with ABC Brisbane, Berkman later expressed shock at news the activists faced charges – not laid in more than 30 years – of disturbing the legislature during a protest. He said the charges were “a really scary indicator of where we are up to”, and later posted on social media that the protesters were “absolutely right”. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Though clearing Berkman of contempt, the ethics committee report into the incident was scathing of the Greens MP. “The effect on democracy of celebrating such behaviour, such as that which occurred when protestors stormed the US Capitol building on 6 January 2021, is all too easy to see,” the committee wrote. “While the Member, no doubt, would be aghast to have his behaviour compared to those Congressmen who celebrated a violent disruption in their own House of Assembly, in reality his actions were little better. Naivety is not a sufficient excuse.” Berkman described the comparison to events in Washington as “outrageous and, frankly, disgusting” on social media on Thursday. “The Committee has labelled the protest and my post ‘immature’, ‘disgraceful’, and an ‘affront to democracy’,” he tweeted. “Supporting climate action and peaceful protest is none of those things. It is a moral obligation that the major parties have chosen to disregard.” Related: Violet Coco is not alone: the climate activists facing jail One of the protesters was Lee Coaldrake, an anaesthetist who is married to former Queensland University of Technology vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake, who led a review into the integrity of the public service and Queensland government in 2022. Lee Coaldrake told Guardian Australia the committee’s findings were another attempt to “demonise” climate protesters as “extremists”. “There is just no parallel whatsoever between an attempt to violently overthrow a democratically elected government in the States and what we were doing,” she said. “We were engaging in peaceful protest which is a fundamental pillar of our democracy. “We’re not extreme, we are very rational people who are following the science – and the science is terrifying. “And our politicians are not acting with the urgency and the speed that the scientists are begging of them”. The 14 protesters are scheduled to face court in July.
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‘We can be a role model’: the activism of Hazara women in regional Australia
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Zara Khademi fled Afghanistan in the late 1990s when the Taliban attacked the capital of Kabul. “They were looking for the Hazara people,” she says. “My daughter was four and my son was 18 months. We had to walk through the mountains at night until we reached the (Iranian) border.” After living in Iran for three years, Khademi arrived in Australia in 2001, initially settling in Sydney before moving to Shepparton in Victoria’s north-east in 2008. And while she left her homeland more than 20 years ago, the situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women and minority groups including the Hazara people, hasn’t changed. If anything, it continues to worsen. In February, Khademi co-founded the Goulburn Valley Afghan Women’s Association Shepparton, a space for the region’s Afghan women to have a voice, support each other, and encourage younger people to take on leadership roles. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter Greater Shepparton has the highest Afghan population in regional Victoria, with 1,144 Afghans calling the town home as of 2021. The community has been growing since about 2005 when many arrived to work on the region’s fruit farms. Working in educational support and as a multicultural aid, Khademi says it’s important for the association to inspire Afghan girls to “really celebrate their achievements”. “They’re not allowed to study in Afghanistan so we need to build their hopes, build them to a place where they can reach whatever they want. “For the past 100 years the Hazara people have been pushed back from education and society but now they are in a place where they can reach freedom. We can be a role model for our younger generation.” On Friday, International Women’s Day (IWD), the association will rally with national refugee support groups Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR), Women for Change and volunteer network Azadi-e Zan, to launch a 12-month campaign raising awareness about the persecution faced by women and girls in Afghanistan. The campaign aims to spotlight the increasing oppression, and the escalating reports of ill-treatment, arrests and detention since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Mansfield’s Hamida Samar arrived in Australia almost one year ago on a humanitarian visa. She says RAR, which sponsored her visa, “saved my life”. The 26-year-old worked as a police officer and for the Ministry of Defence. After the Taliban returned, she lived in fear of being kidnapped, raped or imprisoned. “The situation is always getting worse and worse,” Samar says. “The best way is to leave Afghanistan. “Please don’t forget us. Don’t turn your back on us. Australian people are our last hope.” The new association plans to establish Australia’s first Afghan-founded RAR group. Most of these groups are founded by white Australians. “There are other groups in Shepparton that look at welfare and wellbeing, but RAR takes on a more political role which is more appropriate for us and we also want to be able to network with the other RAR groups in our geographic area,” the association’s co-founder, Rabya Jamshaid, says. “We think that’s important.” RAR Afghan subcommittee convener, Marie Sellstrom, says the regions have much to gain from the leadership of newly arrived migrants and the exchange of cultural practices and experiences. “We support and work with many different ethnic communities, but this then becomes a group who is showing leadership and hopefully it will prompt more people to join. “Mansfield is quite monocultural, but the two Afghan families have made such a difference to our community. It’s been fascinating.” Former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, congratulated the association for its “leadership and support”. Australia’s 2023-24 humanitarian program will accept 20,000 refugees. The situation in Afghanistan, particularly regarding the Hazaras, Shia community, women and children, has been identified as a priority. Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community
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Fifth mass coral bleaching event in eight years hits Great Barrier Reef, marine park authority confirms
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The Great Barrier Reef is in the grip of a mass coral bleaching event driven by global heating – the fifth in only eight years – the marine park’s government authority has confirmed. The authority, together with scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, have completed aerial surveys across 300 reefs over two thirds of the reef, with more to come. “These surveys confirm a widespread, often called mass coral bleaching event, is unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef,” the authority said in an update. Researchers and scientists told the Guardian they were devastated by the bleaching, particularly in the reef’s southern section where corals hundreds of years old were severely bleached. Dr Roger Beeden, the chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said: “We now have widespread often called mass coral bleaching across the surveyed reefs.” He said the bleaching was being driven by global heating and an El Nino climate pattern. In-water surveys were ongoing to understand the severity of the bleaching, he said, and in the past the reef had shown resilience. The Great Barrier Reef – the biggest coral system in the world – is about 2,300km long, covers an area bigger than the size of Italy and is made up of about 3,000 individual reefs. Widespread mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef was first seen in 1998 and happened again in 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and now in 2024. Ocean temperatures around the world have been the highest on record for almost a year and the US government’s Coral Reef Watch program has said the planet is on the cusp of a fourth global mass coral bleaching event, with reefs in the Atlantic, pacific and potentially the Indian Ocean all bleaching. The world’s most southerly coral reef, at Lord Howe Island off Australia’s New South Wales coast, is also being hit be bleaching. In July, the World Heritage committee will consider if the reef should be placed on a list of sites “in danger” after concerns over the impacts of climate change and pollution and sediment running into the reef’s waters. Scientists have been warning since the 1990s that as global heating took hold, the world’s coral reefs would be among the earliest ecosystems to be impacted. When corals bleach due to higher than average ocean temperatures, they expel the algae that lives inside them and gives them much of their nutrients and colour. If temperatures fall, corals can survive but scientists say they tend to be more susceptible to disease and struggle to reproduce. In extreme cases of heat stress, corals can die. Dr Neal Cantin, senior research scientist at Aims, said: “We now need to combine the spatial coverage captured from the air with in-water surveys to assess the severity of coral bleaching in deeper reef habitats across the different regions of the Marine Park.” According to Coral Reef Watch data, the heat stress on corals in the reef’s southern and central region has been the highest on record, and the second highest in northern areas. Diana Kleine, project manager of Coral Watchat the University of Queensland, has been at Heron Island off Gladstone in the reef’s south. “It’s devastating. Unbelievable. The water was way too warm. Heron has escaped bleaching several times but this year it has hit so hard,” she said. Coral Watch had observed four metre-wide boulder corals that take hundreds of years to grow bleached bone white. Lyle Vail, co-director of the Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station in the north of the reef, said corals started to show heat stress in early February. He said: “It’s devastating. Pretty much all of the heat sensitive corals in the shallow waters have bleached.” He said a small number of corals had died. The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said: “We know the biggest threat to coral reefs worldwide is climate change. The Great Barrier Reef is no exception. It’s essential we do everything we can to protect this amazing place for our kids and grandkids. “We know Australians, especially local communities and businesses along the Reef, will be concerned by this news. The health of the reef is vital for the 64,000 people who rely on it for work, and the plants and animals that call the reef home.” She pointed to the government’s legislated target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, an improved 2030 target, and $1.2 bn investment to help the reef adapt to climate change and improve water quality. Richard Leck, WWF-Australia’s head of oceans, said there was particular concern for the southern areas of the reef that had not been badly bleached since 2016. “Unless we see a significant drop off in temperatures in the next few weeks, the risk of significant coral mortality is high,” he said. “Five mass bleaching events in eight years shows that climate change is putting tremendous pressure on the reef.” He said the federal needed to sharply raise its ambition on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and Queensland needed to do more to cut deforestation rates. Dr Lissa Schindler, reef campaigner at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said: “This is a huge wake-up call for Australia and the global community that we need to do much more to address climate change, which is driving the marine heatwaves that lead to coral bleaching. “Australia’s current target of a 43% cut in carbon pollution by 2030 is consistent with a 2C warming pathway, which equates to the loss of 99% of the world’s coral reefs.”
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The US will build a port off Gaza to get aid to Palestinians. Too little, too late?
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The US plan to build a floating port off the Gaza coast is a bold move, reminiscent of the Mulberry harbours built after D-day in Normandy, but there are serious concerns that what relief it brings will be too little too late for Palestinians facing starvation. “When we talk about the sea route, it’s going to take weeks to set up and we are talking about a population that is starving now. We have already seen children dying of hunger,” said Ziad Issa, the head of humanitarian policy at the ActionAid charity. Related: Biden to announce US will build port on Gaza shore for large-scale aid delivery US officials have presented the plan as Washington taking leadership and “not waiting for the Israelis”, but the Israelis will still have a say on how effective it is in delivering aid, especially in the north, where the threat of famine is most imminent. Israeli inspectors will be in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, scrutinising cargoes of aid going into southern Gaza, and the inspections will provide Israel a tool with which to regulate the flow in the name of security vetting. That might be harder for Israel to do when dealing directly with US military logistics officers rather than aid officials, but there are many other ways the Israeli government, a coalition that includes ministers who oppose any aid entering Gaza, can play an obstructionist role. “People say this is a complex situation, but it’s very simple,” Issa said. “Israel is not allowing aid to get to the Gaza Strip.” The plan involves US military engineers building a floating pier off the Gaza shore, on which shipborne food aid can be unloaded from ships from Larnaca, and a causeway for it to be driven onshore. The question is, then what? Most of Gaza’s population, most of whom have been displaced several times over, are not concentrated at the beach. “Who is going to distribute it?” asked Jeremy Konyndyk, a former senior aid official in the Biden administration, and now president of the Refugees International aid advocacy group. “The aid organisations’ presence in northern Gaza is pretty close to zero because the Israelis have wanted everyone out and then have been restricting access to the north ever since.” The proposed maritime aid corridor, Konyndyk said, “doesn’t obviate the problem of obstruction by Israel, but rather than being a problem at the entry point, now it’s going to be a problem at the distribution stage”. “You need drivers that don’t exist, trucks that don’t exist feeding into a distribution system that doesn’t exist,” he added. In the short term, it might involve communities near the shore distributing the food among themselves. To get assistance around the strip would not just require trucks and drivers but also some sort of security, as desperation has taken over and looting is rife. The Israeli army has escorted some small NGO food deliveries, but an attempted delivery on 29 February on the outskirts of Gaza City ended with the deaths of at least 115 Palestinians after Israeli soldiers opened fire after people rushed for the food trucks. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that most of the casualties had been caused by a crush, but UN officials and doctors said the overwhelming majority of injuries were gunshot wounds. “Even if there is a ceasefire, it is going to be very messy for the initial period, because the security apparatus that used to exist has collapsed, the clan structures and community leaders who would provide assurances and safety have also been very splintered,” Konyndyk said. “And from what we saw in the incident last week, the Israeli military is not a reliable security guarantor.” “It’s very tough and I think it’s worthwhile to try this,” he added. “I think they’re going to be figuring a lot of it out as they go, and I think that’s OK. I’m in favour of anything that helps at this point.” “But let’s also just be realistic about why this is necessary, and it’s necessary because of five months of obstruction of access in the north by the IDF and five months of intentional degradation of humanitarian capacity in the strip,” Konyndyk said. “And frankly the US has tolerated that for five months.”
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The MH370 families seeking closure, justice and a fresh search
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Ten years on, Jiang Hui still hopes he will one day find the answer to what happened when his mother disappeared in 2014. “My mother was a very normal person. She came from a working-class family. She was very resilient, persistent,” says Jiang, 50, from Beijing. His mother, Jiang Cuiyun, was a 72-year-old retired picture editor and had just been on a holiday in Malaysia. She was one of 153 Chinese citizens onboard flight MH370. Jiang now tries to embody those tenacious qualities of his mother in his decade-long search for answers. His quest for closure has seen him sell his house and quit his job as an IT manager to campaign for the victims full-time. He now relies on his savings. He has travelled the world, including to Madagascar, where he found a piece of possible debris in 2016. In Malaysia, Grace Nathan thinks of her mother, Anne Daisy, during significant life events such as her wedding and the birth of her sons, and still speaks of her in the present tense. “My children resemble her; I see a lot of similarities,” says the 35-year-old from Kuala Lumpur. “They are both very jovial and I think that’s from her.” Nathan says she has come to terms with the fact that she may never see her mother again, but when it comes to the emotional side of things, she says she has simply not been able to bridge that gap. ‘It took me 10 years to get this hearing started’ In a court in Beijing, Jiang and the families of more than 40 other Chinese passengers are suing the airline and related companies, including German insurer Allianz, Boeing and Rolls-Royce. The first trial, at Chaoyang people’s court, concluded on 6 December last year after only 10 days of hearings. No date has been given for a verdict. Related: Timeline of the search for MH370 – a visual guide “I am really disappointed in the Chinese legal system,” Jiang says. “The legal nature of this case is not that complicated. I can’t comprehend at all why it would take so long –more than a decade.” Some families want compensation, ranging from 10m-80m yuan ($1.4m-$11.2m). Some, like Jiang, simply want a fund restarted that would offer a reward for new information. “The search could very soon have tremendous progress. The bounty could provide critical momentum.” But despite his steadfast belief that more of MH370 can be found, Jiang is “not very optimistic” about the lawsuits. Similar efforts in Malaysia and the US have failed, in part because of disagreements about accountability and jurisdiction. In 2018, judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the US dismissed a lawsuit from relatives on the grounds that the disappearance was “at its core a Malaysian tragedy”. “It already took me 10 years to get this hearing started,” Jiang says. “It really reflects that the courts are not sufficient in their determination. It is mistreatment in terms of justice.” Grace Nathan in Malaysia remains resolute in her quest for answers and justice. She emphasises how international cooperation – 14 nationalities were represented onboard – and corporate responsibility can help fund further searches. “Malaysia has never come out to say it is a budget issue,” she says. “But even if it is, that is really one of the easiest obstacles to overcome because there were so many nationalities onboard the plane, China being the world’s second-largest economy.” On Sunday, prime minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated Malaysia’s position that it was willing to reopen an investigation if there was compelling new evidence. Transport minister Anthony Loke said he was ready to meet the US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity to discuss a new search after it submitted a proposal to the government. Nathan hopes this is a step in the right direction. “This is an optimistic move... No search can guarantee the finding of the plane, [but] if we don’t try we will never know.” Jacquita Gonzales, whose husband Patrick Gomes was the flight supervisor on MH370, has long been frustrated by the lack of search activity, even if only to prevent another tragedy. She is now awaiting the results of any meeting with Ocean Infinity. “We are happy that the announcement was made. It’s a step in the right direction for them not to forget about it or keep silent,” she says. However, Fuad Sharuji, the crisis director for Malaysian Airlines when MH370 was lost, is more cautious. “I’m very happy to note that Ocean Infinity has graciously offered to search for MH370 at ‘no-find, no-fee’ basis. However, I’m rather sceptical that the new search area would result in a positive find..” ‘The Malaysian government has delayed justice’ The victims’ families in China have organised themselves into a rare collective able to express their grief and anger publicly. That is because most of their ire is directed at Malaysian, rather than Chinese, authorities. Related: MH370: Australia offers Malaysia support for new search on 10-year anniversary “I am disappointed in the Chinese justice system, but even more angry with the Malaysian justice system,” says Jiang, who also accuses Malaysia of actively impeding the relatives’ quest for justice. “The Malaysian government has delayed justice,” he says, referring to the fact that the government allowed the airline to be restructured in a way that frustrated the ability of families to sue the company. In 2015, Malaysia Airlines was nationalised following months of financial difficulties over MH370 plus another disaster, the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine. A restructuring process followed, in which the legal liabilities arising from the loss of MH370 were not passed on to the new entity, Malaysia Airlines Berhad. Dr Ghouse Mohd Noor, a friend of MH370 pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, is critical of the Malaysian government’s handling of the investigation, accusing it of self-interest, and has called for accountability. “The government is only working for what they think is best for their political purposes … with their decisions influenced by the expected outcome that would benefit the ruling government,” Noor says, in reference to claims of early efforts to use the tragedy to smear Anwar, who was opposition leader at the time. Jiang and the other relatives have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems. “It’s not only the original incident. The reluctance and the nonchalant attitude of the Malaysian government and the other companies, it’s really causing a secondary level of damage,” he says. The families of more than 100 of the Chinese passengers have accepted compensation from the airline, with settlements reportedly ranging from 2.5m to 3m yuan ($349,000–$418,000). But Jiang has never considered accepting the offer. The settlement specifies that there is no duty to continue the search, he says, and “that is not in my best interest”. Like many of the families, Jiang has faced financial difficulties. He estimates he’s spent 30,000-40,000 yuan investigating MH370. Other families have struggled to pay medical bills, he says. Although initially supportive of the victims’ families, the Chinese government has been cautious about the potential diplomatic fallout. Some relatives feel Beijing should put more pressure on Kuala Lumpur to continue the search. When the court proceedings in Beijing began in November, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the government was paying “high attention” to the lawsuits, but declined to comment further. Meanwhile, the families continue to cope as best they can, with their minds sometimes filling in the gaps where the mystery endures. For Jacquita Gonzales and the family of her missing husband, Patrick Gomes, there is little respite, even at night. “An aunt that brought him up said she had a dream he was drenched from head to toe and he said to her, ‘I’m sorry but I tried my best.’ “Knowing the kind of person Patrick is, he would have done his best to help everyone onboard.” Additional research by Tau Yang and Tzu Wei Liu
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Government failing targets to fix UK railway system, watchdog reports
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Government plans to overhaul the country’s ailing railway system are significantly delayed while promised savings have yet to be achieved, according to a highly critical report by the government’s spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) assessment of how ministers’ plans were progressing found the government had failed to meet any of the 12 “high level benefit” targets it set for rail in 2021. It also revealed that the government had not delivered the £2.6bn savings it promised by 2024/25, instead forecasting that only three-quarters of the target would be achieved. In 2021 the government published its white paper on rail reform, which included setting up Great British Railways, an arms-length body intended to provide a “guiding mind” to oversee the management of the network. At the time it had intended to have set up GBR by early 2024, as well as establish a new operating model and introduce new passenger service contracts. However, the NAO said that these, and most of the government’s other commitments, remained either a work in progress, or completely paused. Of the 12 high-level benefit targets, which focused on issues ranging from finances to customer performance, none had been give a green rating, which would indicate they were on track. Five had been rated red, while the remaining seven were rated amber. It also found that none of the necessary legislation had been passed, despite 21 of the 62 commitments in the white paper requiring a change of law before they could be completed. The 2022 queen’s speech included plans to introduce legislation by the end of the parliament that would allow structural changes to support the reforms. However, this was pushed back by the government, and the king’s speech last year did not include any mention of rail reforms, further pushing back legislation. The NAO report found the governance arrangements for the programme had been “complex and ineffective”. Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “The speed at which DfT intended to move on a complex set of reforms gave it too little time to plan, build agreement and deliver.“DfT should work more closely with organisations across the rail sector to help improve collaboration and culture ahead of any structural changes; clearly understand what it wants to deliver and then set out realistic plans for achieving its objectives.” Andy Bagnall, chief executive of Rail Partners, which represents private sector rail organisations, said that the rail sector needed a “root and branch” review but without legislation, the plan would remain “stuck in the sidings”. A DfT spokesperson said: “We have laid out a clear plan for the industry’s future under Great British Railways in our recently published draft Bill and we are now pressing ahead with improvements that will benefit millions of customers like expanding pay-as-you-go ticketing, piloting simpler fares, and announcing a target for rail freight growth.” Separately, the DfT revealed on Thursday that delays on England’s road network were now higher than before the pandemic. Its statistics show the average delay on England’s motorways and major A-roads last year was 10.5 seconds per vehicle per mile.This was up from 9.3 seconds in 2022 and 9.5 seconds in 2019, before the coronavirus crisis. The average speed on the network was 57.0mph in 2023, down from 58.1mph during the previous year and 58.0mph in 2019. The RAC head of policy, Simon Williams, said: “It’s very concerning to see delays on our most important roads increasing to above pre-pandemic levels and average speeds dropping.“With more people than ever working from home at least part of the week and no growth in the number of cars on the road since then, we’re struggling to see what the cause can be other than roadworks. A DfT spokesperson said: “This government backs drivers, which is why we’re getting on with our plan to invest over £24bn into our roads to reduce congestion, improve road safety and grow the economy.”
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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
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United must match ambition with effort Bruno Fernandes lamented that last week’s Manchester derby defeat came down to “individual quality from the players of City”. Difficult to argue with, but the most frustrating part of United’s loss was the failure to commit for the full 90 minutes. At 2-1 down even some senior players had their heads down and appeared to show a lack of effort in the final 15 minutes. Never mind individual quality, that in itself is unforgivable. And that attitude only drives future opponents on. Jordan Pickford has said he is confident that Everton will outrun Erik ten Hag’s side on Saturday. “For me, I think [with] the intensity and the workrate the lads give out, the running stats. I think we will be able to get after them. We will be able to run all over them.” Yara El-Shaboury Manchester United v Everton, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT) Luton keen to dash Palace’s expectations Until they were breached by the unlikely figure of Timo Werner at Tottenham last week, the optimism of Oliver Glasner’s opening win over Burnley had Crystal Palace fans dreaming of achieving Premier League safety with plenty to spare. “A great job over 60-70 minutes,” said the manager. Collapsing to a 3-1 defeat against Spurs, especially considering Burnley’s poor form –retrenched expectations for Palace. Beating Luton can go some way to restoring confidence and pull the rope away from Rob Edwards’ team, whose confidence might be ebbing. Losing to Aston Villa last week after clawing level from two goals down could end up serving as a microcosm of Luton’s spirit in adversity falling short. Defeating Palace in November, a first home league win at Kenilworth Road, was an essential part of Luton’s upturn. It will need to be repeated if Glasner’s team and others can be dragged back into trouble. John Brewin Crystal Palace v Luton, Saturday 3pm Hughes will be big loss for Bournemouth A big story broke at Bournemouth this week, with confirmation their technical director, Richard Hughes, is to move on at the end of the season. Aside from Eddie Howe, arguably no individual has been as influential in shaping the club in the top flight as Hughes, the former midfielder who played under and then worked closely with Howe. It was Hughes who drove the appointment of Andoni Iraola, who has impressed after a tough start, and is the architect behind their recruitment, including the eye-catching arrivals of exciting talents such as Alex Scott, Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi. Hughes, who is highly respected across the game, will hand over the baton to Simon Francis, another former player, who has worked as his assistant for the past three years. Such joined-up thinking has been in short supply at bottom club Sheffield United for a while. Ben Fisher Bournemouth v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm Small squad hurting Wolves’ big dreams After three wins on the spin, Wolves suffered a hiccup at Newcastle last time out with a jarring 3-0 defeat. It was the kind of game where almost everything that could go wrong did, with José Sá and Pedro Neto forced off through injury. The good news for Gary O’Neil is that those substitutions were both precautionary but the bad is he is still without a bona fide striker. Nathan Fraser, a 19-year-old academy forward, is their only recognised No 9 with Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan possibly sidelined until May due to hamstring issues. So light are they on numbers, Wolves named the 15-year-old defender Wesley Okoduwa on the bench at St James’ Park. Wolves are targeting a European berth that seemed beyond them at the start of the season but, ultimately, their thin squad may sabotage those plans. BF Wolves v Fulham, Saturday 3pm Havertz thriving in Arsenal’s push for summit Kai Havertz finally seems to have found his place at Arsenal and adapted to the rhythm of the Premier League. Doubts were raised about his ability after an overall underwhelming stint at Chelsea and poor performances early in the season did not help. But Mikel Arteta’s faith never wavered and he’s finally reaping the rewards. In Arsenal’s last three Premier League matches – thumping wins against Burnley, Newcastle and Sheffield United – Havertz has five goal involvements, equalling the number in the previous 32. The German is thriving and he, along with the team, seem to prefer being hunters than the hunted. It was around this time last year where Arsenal, who were top of the table, started to crack. They finally have a chance to go top again and this time they must not let the pressure get to them. With Liverpool and Manchester City playing each other on Sunday, Arsenal can leapfrog the pair with victory over Brentford. YE-S Arsenal v Brentford, Saturday 5.30pm A big battle in race for Champions League When the team news dropped 75 minutes before kick-off at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday, it offered a major indication of Unai Emery’s thinking and quite how significantly he views Tottenham’s visit to Villa Park on Sunday. John McGinn, the captain, in-form forward Leon Bailey and full-backs Matty Cash and Alex Moreno began the game on the bench, with 20-year-old midfielder Tim Iroegbunam given his second start, almost two years after his full debut. Spurs trail fourth-placed Villa by five points but have a game in hand so a home victory would establish a welcome buffer between them and their nearest challengers for a Champions League place. Villa won the reverse fixture in November courtesy of Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins goals and a repeat would be priceless. BF Aston Villa v Tottenham, Sunday 1pm New faces waiting in West Ham wings West Ham have some talented youngsters and it was a shame that David Moyes did not bring any off the bench during his side’s recent win over Brentford. It was 4-1 after 69 minutes and George Earthy, Ollie Scarles and Divin Mubama were waiting in reserve. However Moyes erred on the side of caution. He needed a win after a bad run of results and the closing stages became nervy after Brentford pulled a goal back. However it would be good to see Moyes give his young players a taste of first-team action if West Ham are in a similarly dominant position against Burnley on Sunday. Jacob Steinberg West Ham v Burnley, Sunday 2pm Will Clattenburg grab limelight again? Whether Mark Clattenburg emerges into the Amex Stadium mixed zone, handily placed next to its dressing rooms and press conference facilities, may depend on whether Nottingham Forest feel they get a fair toot of the referee’s whistle at Brighton. After last week’s 99th-minute concession to Liverpool, the Gladiators’ TV star’s appearance in the City Ground’s mixed zone raised the eyebrows of even the most time-served reporters. A role as Forest’s “referee analyst”, appointed by the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, after a friendship struck up when the Durham card-waver was working as the Greek Super League’s referees chief appears the latest – and not necessarily welcome – development in modern football’s determination to re-referee each match. That Clattenburg and other former officials have such colourful post-reffing careers and live increasingly public lives is another dimension to the Premier League’s extended universe. Add all that to the growing pile of unforeseen circumstances the introduction of VAR has brought to the game. JB Brighton v Nottingham Forest, Sunday 2pm Will City banish their Anfield demons? Anfield gets to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, and Anfield knows it. The all-conquering City manager has won only one of his eight visits since taking over at the Etihad in 2016 and that 4-1 rout, while a significant moment in wrestling the title back from Liverpool in 2021, was played against the backdrop of an empty stadium due to the pandemic. In a full, frenzied arena, as will be the case on Sunday, Guardiola’s record at Liverpool reads: lost, lost, lost, drawn, lost, drawn, lost. It is a place where Liverpool pressure, refereeing decisions, missed penalties and spells of unrewarded dominance have broken Guardiola’s temperament, and where his reputation for unnecessary tinkering has had foundation. The City manager has spoken of the need for his champions to focus only on what they can control in their pursuit of an unprecedented fourth Premier League title in succession. A cold-eyed approach in the white heat of Anfield, where Jürgen Klopp’s leaders are unbeaten in 29 matches in all competitions, would not only tilt the title race in City’s favour but would represent a departure for them. Andy Hunter Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday 3.45pm Newcastle’s leaky defence faces stern test Newcastle’s previous trip to London did not go well, a 4-1 drubbing by Arsenal exposing a multitude of flaws and leaving Eddie Howe open to questions over his future. But the response has been decent. Newcastle reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup by beating Blackburn on penalties and they will hope that last weekend’s emphatic 3-0 win over Wolves is a sign of things to come. To secure European qualification for a second consecutive season, though, the consistency of old has to return. Newcastleare still conceding too many goals. They have only kept three clean sheets since the turn of the year and will be without Kieran Trippier against Chelsea, who remain dangerous in attack despite being weighed down by weaknesses in other areas. JS Chelsea v Newcastle, Monday 8pm Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Liverpool 27 39 63 2 Man City 27 35 62 3 Arsenal 27 45 61 4 Aston Villa 27 22 55 5 Tottenham Hotspur 26 16 50 6 Man Utd 27 -2 44 7 West Ham 27 -4 42 8 Newcastle 27 12 40 9 Brighton 27 5 39 10 Wolverhampton 27 -3 38 11 Chelsea 26 1 36 12 Fulham 27 -3 35 13 AFC Bournemouth 26 -12 31 14 Crystal Palace 27 -15 28 15 Brentford 27 -11 26 16 Everton 27 -8 25 17 Nottm Forest 27 -15 24 18 Luton 26 -17 20 19 Burnley 27 -35 13 20 Sheff Utd 27 -50 13
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Cryptic crossword No 29,325
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You be the judge: should my best friend get a dog when he works such long hours?
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The prosecution: Janette The poor dog will spend five days a week living with the sitter. So what’s the point of having one? I don’t think my best friend, Pádraig, should get a dog because he works too much. I have a dog myself and know how much it entails. He’s a corporate lawyer who works all the hours God sends, and I just don’t think he will be able to give the dog the life it deserves. Pádraig is very diligent and hardworking – work is his life. He’s had several high-powered jobs and I’ve seen him get quite stressed. Sometimes, when he’s got a lot on, he can work until 3am for weeks on end. I don’t think he has the time or space for a dog. He wants a puppy but I just think: you can’t handle it. When I got my puppy I was working from home during lockdown with my partner. We were at home all the time so it was easy to train our little pug. With Pádraig, I feel the opposite will happen. He’ll be dropping the dog off at a dog-sitter five days a week while he goes to work. What is the point in that? The dog won’t even know him. I flagged how expensive this dog-sitter will be, but Pádraig said he has so much money it doesn’t actually matter I think it’s cruel because the dog will probably prefer its life with the dog-sitter, as that’s where it will be spending most of its time. Pádraig will be traumatising a young dog by dragging it between two homes in its formative years. I also flagged how expensive this dog-sitter will be, but Pádraig said he has so much money that doesn’t actually matter. He also wants a big dog that he can take out when he goes for runs, so he’s after a Hungarian vizsla. I don’t have a problem with people choosing dogs that suit their lifestyle, but Pádraig hasn’t found a suitable breeder and says he will just buy a puppy off someone online when he sees a good price. I think this is irresponsible as a lot of these online breeders don’t always wean the dogs from their mother properly. Pádraig isn’t really taking any of my concerns seriously. He says he will make the dog fit around his lifestyle and that I should stop worrying so much. I just don’t want him to make a mistake, and don’t want to see his poor puppy neglected and confused. The defence: Pádraig I will make changes to the way I work – I’ve wanted a dog my whole life It’s unfair to say I haven’t made plans to accommodate a dog in my life. Even though I work long hours, I will make changes to my lifestyle. I will work from home more to make sure the puppy gets used to me and is well trained. I will also arrange day care for a few days a week. Contrary to what Janette says, day care will help my puppy become well socialised, as there will be other dogs there. I have also spoken with lawyer friends at work and they say dog ownership is completely achievable: if you want a dog and you are willing to show enough love, you will make it work. I have lots of friends who are prepared to help out and look after the dog while I’m away, too. The breed that I’m choosing, the vizsla, is a very active dog and I’ll take it out with me wherever I go. Janette doesn’t do this with her dog – she’s left it at home for hours, so she can’t really talk. Running is my main hobby so a vizsla is the perfect fit. When it’s 18 months old or so, you can take them on pretty long runs and they can keep up, so that will be fun. The dog will be slotting into my life as it is, but I am going to be more accommodating I have wanted a dog my whole life but it has just never seemed like the right time. I used to think, “I’ll do it when I quit my job.” But even though my work has been stressful at times, I won’t be quitting anytime soon, because the money is too good. The dog will be slotting into my life as it is, but I am going to be more accommodating. Janette is well-meaning, but she has also left her dog with friends – a year or so after getting it, she went off travelling for months. I think that’s worse than me getting my dog accustomed to a life of moving between me and a dog sitter from the get-go. I won’t be going off for weeks at a time because of my work. I pointed out that this would make me a more responsible dog owner than she is, but Janette disagreed. It’s like the battle of the dog lovers. But I do think I’ll make an excellent owner. And if anything goes wrong, I will just pay someone to fix it – I’m rich, after all. (Just joking – but not really.) The jury of Guardian readers Should Pádraig call off the dog? Pádraig seems to think dog ownership can be outsourced at his convenience. He says the dog will go everywhere with him, but that’s only feasible with a well-trained dog. Training is a relentless task and he hasn’t got the time – and no amount of money can fix a sad dog.Rachel, 34 A puppy will require near constant attention while awake – the first six months are exhausting as they need consistent training and company. A dog shouldn’t just slot into your life – you must be willing to change your routine to ensure your dog is happy and healthy. A highly active dog coupled with a workaholic owner who thinks that two days of doggy day care is enough, is a recipe for disaster.Alice, 27 Pádraig has considered how a dog will work with his life and is willing to organise extra care to make sure it’s happy and socialised. Sending a dog to day care is not cruel or neglectful as Janette suggests, it’s responsible dog ownership – unlike her leaving her dog with friends for months.Aphra, 25 Pádraig sounds willing to make changes to his life. But he still seems focused more on what a dog can provide for him rather than what he can provide for the dog.Daniel, 32 It seems like Pádraig is looking for a reason to drop the focus on work so much, and this dog could be it. I agree it’s wrong to leave a dog on its own for hours at a time, so if he has the money for a dogsitter then he should use one. James, 30 Now you be the judge In our online poll, tell us: should Pádraig call off the dog? The poll closes at 10am GMT on Thursday 14 March Last week’s result We asked whether Lily should stop taking cuttings of plants in the park. 65% of you said Lily is guilty – she needs to nip this behaviour in the bud 35% of you said Lily is not guilty – there’s no need for an argument to take root
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Biden to announce US will build port on Gaza shore for large-scale aid delivery
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US forces will build a temporary port on the Gaza shoreline to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale, Joe Biden will announce in the State of the Union speech, amid warnings of a widespread famine among the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians. “We are not waiting on the Israelis. This is a moment for American leadership,” a senior US official said on Thursday, reflecting growing frustration of what is seen in Washington as Israeli obstruction of road deliveries on a substantial scale. The scheme will take several weeks to put into action, however, carrying the risk of supplying too little relief, too late. While aid experts welcomed it as a step in the right direction, they said it was a less effective way of getting aid into Gaza than the US using its leverage to make Benjamin Netanyahu’s government open more land routes to more humanitarian assistance. “This just shows the lengths to which President Biden is being forced to go to avoid actually putting meaningful pressure on Netanyahu,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former senior aid official in the Biden administration, now president of the Refugees International aid advocacy organisation. The temporary pier will be built by US military engineers operating from ships off the coast of the old Gaza City port in the Rimal district, aid sources said. US troops would not need to step ashore, but could build the floating dock from ships offshore, according to US officials. The aid deliveries will be shipped from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, which will become the main relief hub. “Tonight, the president will announce in his State of the Union address that he has directed the US military to undertake an emergency mission to establish a port in Gaza, working in partnership with like-minded countries and humanitarian partners,” the official said. “This port, the main feature of which is a temporary pier, will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day.” Biden’s announcement on Thursday night will be followed by a joint statement by the countries and humanitarian organisations involved in the sea corridor. One of the nations involved is the United Arab Emirates, but it is unclear whether they would offer troops to secure the aid bridgehead. Aid groups have said that efforts to deliver desperately needed supplies to the beleaguered territory have been hampered by difficulties coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order. Related: Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says In his State of the Union speech, Biden will also announce the opening of a new land crossing into the occupied and devastated coastal strip. Biden has been fiercely criticised within his own party for the failure to open up Gaza to humanitarian aid, with a famine looming and 30,000 Palestinians dead already since the start of war on 7 October. The UN said in February that more than a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were “estimated to be facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation”. It said without action widespread famine could be “almost inevitable”. Israeli officials will be able to conduct inspections of the aid shipments in Larnaca, administration officials said. “We will coordinate with the Israelis on the security requirements on land and work with the UN and humanitarian NGOs on the distribution of assistance within Gaza,” a senior official said. “Initial shipments will come via Cyprus enabled by the US military and a coalition of partners and allies. This new significant capability will take a number of weeks to plan and execute. The forces that will be required to complete this mission there are either already in the region or will begin to move there soon.” The White House said that the operation would not involve boots on the ground, as the port and its temporary pier could be built from off the coast. “The concept that’s been planned involves the presence of US military personnel on military vessels offshore but does not require US military personnel to go ashore to install the pier or causeway facility that will allow the transportation and humanitarian assistance ashore,” a senior official said. Israel “fully supports” creation of such a facility, an Israeli official told Reuters. The independent US senator Bernie Sanders welcomed the proposal, but said the obstructionism of the Israeli government “led to this incredible situation, in which a US ally is using US weapons and equipment to block the delivery of US humanitarian aid”. He added: “And now American taxpayers have to pay even more to build a port to get aid into starving people, because Israel won’t let it be driven safely and efficiently across the border.” Until now, the only land access routes for food aid into Gaza have been at the southern end of the strip, at Rafah and Kerem Shalom, but the flow of assistance has rarely been more than a trickle in relation to the vast needs of 2.3 million Palestinians. Fewer than 100 trucks a day are getting across. Looting has become one of the problems hindering deliveries, but Israeli inspections have led to many truckloads of aid being rejected if they contained anything from a long list of prohibited goods. There has also been a lack of coordination, with aid convoys with official permission to go to northern Gaza being turned back by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints. US officials believe Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing different wings of his coalition – in which extreme rightwingers oppose any aid deliveries – with a compromise that only lets in a token amount. “The president has directed that we look at all options, that we not wait for the Israelis and we are pursuing every channel possible to get assistance into Gaza. So we will do it by air, by sea, by land – however we can get the maximum amount in,” a senior US official said. US military transport planes, acting jointly with the Jordanian air force on Thursday, made a third airdrop of food aid over Gaza in a week, bringing the total of US military-style rations dropped to nearly 113,000. However, each airdrop is typically equivalent to a handful of truckloads of food, and nowhere near enough to meet the needs of a population on the brink of starvation. “In order to avert a famine, we need huge volumes of assistance. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of people. Airdrops are not an option for averting famine,” said the deputy executive director of the World Food Programme, Carl Skau, who appealed for a sea corridor to be opened. The White House said that Israel had also agreed to open a third road crossing into Gaza, giving more direct access to northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is the most imminent. “Over recent days at our request, the government of Israel has prepared a new land crossing directly into northern Gaza. This third crossing will allow for aid to flow directly to the population in northern Gaza that is in dire need of assistance,” an administration official said. James McGoldrick, the interim UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, confirmed on Thursday that the Israeli army had “given the green light” for use of a military road leading from east to northern Gaza.
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Rupert Murdoch, 92, to wed retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 67
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Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is engaged for a sixth time, it emerged on Thursday, this time to Elena Zhukova, a retired scientist. Related: Rupert Murdoch met Rishi Sunak five times in 12-month period Murdoch’s office announced that the 92-year-old is set to marry Zhukova, a 67-year-old retired molecular biologist, according to the New York Times. Last April, news reports emerged of Murdoch dating Zhukova just four months after he ended his two-week-long engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, a 67-year old conservative radio host. Invitations for Murdoch’s wedding, which will be held at Moraga, his California vineyard and estate, have already been sent out, the Times reports, citing a representative for Murdoch, who has been married four times before. Murdoch met Zhukova through a large family gathering hosted by his third ex-wife, Wendi Deng, whom he stayed married to for 14 years before filing for divorce in 2013. Her 42-year-old daughter, Dasha Zhukova, is a Russian-American art collector and philanthropist who was previously married to Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch and former owner of the Premier League football club Chelsea. News of Murdoch’s latest engagement comes just five months after he announced that he was stepping down from his media empire, which he built after his father handed him his first newspaper. Murdoch’s publicly traded and New York-based company News Corp owns hundreds of local, national and international digital news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Fox News and Sky News Australia, as well as book publisher HarperCollins. The media mogul boasts a net worth of $8.96bn, according to Bloomberg. Murdoch’s new fiancee previously worked as a molecular diabetes specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. Zhukova, who originally hails from Russia and once described her family as being part of the “usual, normal Moscow intelligentsia”, was married to Alexander Zhukov, a Russian-born British billionaire energy investor. Murdoch’s last wife was the former supermodel Jerry Hall, whom he divorced in 2022. His other previous wives were Wendi Deng, Anna Murdoch Mann and Patricia Booker. He has six children. The wedding this summer will come after a year of setbacks for the Murdoch empire in 2023, including a $787.5m settlement between Fox News and the voting equipment company Dominion. The settlement ended a dispute over whether the network and its parent company knowingly broadcast false and outlandish allegations that Dominion was involved in a plot to steal the 2020 US election.
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‘We need to do a deal’: PGA Tour’s Webb Simpson calls for LIV Golf agreement
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A player director of the PGA Tour has admitted it would be “very dangerous” for the organisation not to complete a deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Webb Simpson, speaking after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, believes the “good of the game” would be harmed if the PGA Tour does not form an alliance with LIV Golf. Last June’s framework agreement between golf’s existing tours and the PIF has resulted so far in the creation of a new commercial entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, which a US sports ownership conglomerate has invested $1.5bn in. The PIF remain on the outside pending regulatory approval. LIV, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, has continued to coax players from the PGA Tour. Related: McIlroy saves latest lightweight Netflix series that exposes golf’s stark divisions | Ewan Murray Recent noises, including from Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, have suggested the PGA Tour can now operate without PIF’s assistance. Simpson offered a cautionary note. “Very dangerous,” Simpson said of that possibility. “I think we’re in a position where we want to do the right deal. We don’t want to just do a deal because we’re afraid that the LIV tour might recruit more players. That’s certainly a fear. “But I think it’s obvious [we need to do a deal]. The writing is on the wall. We’re not in a position where we need to do a deal for money. We need to do a deal for the good of the game. And for the health of the PGA Tour long-term. That’s my hope. “One thing I’m certain of is fans, players, media, sponsors alike all feel strongly that the game is divided. The game has been divided for a year and a half now. The game misses the personalities of LIV. I think the game misses the personalities of LIV and the PGA Tour playing together.” This week’s PGA Tour event at Bay Hill plus next week’s flagship Players Championship will take place minus the Masters and US PGA Champions – Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka – who both now play under the LIV banner. “I don’t know what they [LIV and PIF] want,” Simpson added. “I don’t know what the players playing for LIV want. I think they’re very happy where they are. I think they’re very happy with the decisions they’ve made. But I’ve heard from enough people who have grown a little distasteful with the current state of golf. When you come to big tournaments like the Arnold Palmer Invitational, you want to know the guy who won beat most or all of the best players.” Simpson admitted no PGA Tour player director has communicated directly with the PIF. “We probably should have talked to them already,” he said. Shane Lowry shot to the top of the leaderboard on day one in Orlando. The Irishman, who conceded his Bay Hill record is “horrific” posted a six-under-par 66. “Maybe that’s the kind of score I need to shoot to just give myself the confidence to go out and play my game around here,” said Lowry.
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Australian women are chalking up some wins in the workplace – yet our male leaders remain out of touch
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This International Women’s Day, ladies, put out your cupcakes for the 9-to-5 white collar working week. Recent changes to Australia’s industrial relations laws and public sector bargaining agreements suggest we just might be achieving some real progress towards more gender-equal workplace structures – and the blokes who have run the economy for the last 150 years are having a collective fit of the vapours. First came the “right to disconnect” legislation as part of the government’s agreement with the Greens to pass the closing loopholes bill. This, according to the business lobby, will “kill” workplace flexibility. Apparently, if workers don’t want to answer their telephones or respond to emails when they are having dinner with their families or reading bedtime stories, they can forget about going to the dentist or picking the kids up from school, because “flexibility cuts both ways”. Really? Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of workers who have worked permanent shifts on casual contracts for years, or to parents who have been forced back to the office after finally achieving some semblance of a work-life balance in the wake of Covid lockdowns. Related: Some people are desperately averse to hard data – the gender pay gap is no exception | Van Badham So who is really out of touch here? Last week’s data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) revealing the real gender pay gap in Australia’s largest companies showed that a huge part of the reason women suffer an income penalty of up to 30% compared with men is that the big money goes to those who can outsource their unpaid domestic work to others (almost always their wives) and work long hours in the office in a full-time role. That’s how you climb the ladder to senior roles in the “white collar” industries that pay high salaries. A vast proportion of women don’t even try to work in offices once their children come along. Despite more Australian women than men now graduating from university, they still make up the majority of workers in the grossly underpaid and casualised retail, hospitality and care workforces, as these are the jobs that can most easily be fit in around the domestic work and care responsibilities that still fall overwhelmingly to women in heterosexual partnered households. When women do work in offices on a 9-to-5 schedule, they are much less likely to be promoted to management and executive roles, primarily because they “choose” to work part time. This choice, of course, is due to the fact that schools operate from 9am to 3.30pm and women are still the most likely to be doing the drop-offs and pick-ups. They are also more likely to do the grocery shopping, cook meals, do laundry and take on the mental load of running a household. And as they get older, they are the ones who take time out again to care for ageing parents or other family members who are sick or disabled. Do the men running most of Australia’s businesses get this? Do they even understand the contribution women make to the economy? Comments by the business lobby about “those who have no choice but to be at work – truck drivers, plumbers, teachers, paramedics, factory workers, chefs, doctors” suggest not. Other than teaching, every one of those professions is dominated by men. Women often choose teaching because it fits with their kids’ school hours. They don’t “choose” the other jobs in this list because the structure of those workplaces makes it impossible for them to look after their families. Yet more evidence that the highly paid men who dominate both business and our economic discourse utterly fail to consider the needs of women came in an astonishing piece by former deputy chief medical officer of Australia Nick Coatsworth this week. Working from home, he said, is “likely to be bad for your health” because it leads to more stress and a sedentary lifestyle – no walking or cycling to and from the office or the train, less movement while working because you only have to get up to go to the toilet, and you can’t exercise at home on company time. Related: If politics is personal, is it any wonder young women are becoming more progressive? | Julianne Schultz Again, who is out of touch here? Any working woman with responsibilities at home will tell you we don’t have time to walk or cycle to work – we have to drop the kids on the way to and from the office, so we are rushing, often in the car. When we do work at home, we get up from our desks multiple times a day to put on a load of washing or unload the dishwasher or greet the grocery delivery driver at the front door. (Each of these tasks, by the way, takes five minutes: less than you’d spend on the “water cooler chat” that Coatsworth thinks so valuable.) As for time to exercise, don’t make me laugh. There’s a multitude of evidence showing that women don’t exercise because they don’t have the time, and if they get any time, they are too exhausted after pulling a double shift – one in the office and one at home. The UN theme for International Women’s Day this year is “Invest in women: accelerate progress”. If the stale, pale males who represent the interests of big business and employers in this country can’t keep up with the long-overdue progress in workplace practices that is finally under way then, frankly, we’ll all be better off when they accelerate into retirement. Emma Dawson is executive director of Per Capita
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MH370: Australia offers Malaysia support for new search on 10-year anniversary
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Australia has offered the Malaysian government support for a renewed search for MH370, on the 10-year anniversary of the aircraft’s disappearance. On Friday, Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, and transport minister, Catherine King, said the government’s “sincere sympathies” remained with the loved ones of those who were onboard. “Despite coordinated efforts to locate the missing plane over the last decade, those who lost loved ones have not had the answers they seek. We recognise their ongoing heartache and grief,” the ministers said in a statement. “Australia coordinated what was one of the biggest search operations of its kind in history when the aircraft disappeared, searching over 3 million square kilometres above the water and more than 120,000 square kilometres under the water, sadly without locating the missing aircraft,” they said. “The Australian Government is supportive of all practical efforts to find MH370. Australia stands ready to assist the Malaysian Government if it considers that Australian agencies are able to offer technical information as a result of their involvement in previous searches,” the ministers said. Related: ‘We need to go again’: Australian who led MH370 search joins calls for fresh effort to find plane The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 departed Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2014, bound for Beijing with 12 crew and 227 passengers on board – including seven Australians. About 40 minutes later it disappeared from the radar and its fate remains unknown. On Sunday the Malaysian government said it was in talks with the US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity to discuss a new search. The company says it is willing and able to return to the search and has submitted a proposal to the Malaysian government. The Malaysian government initially did a surface search in the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. But electronic blips picked up by satellites indicated the plane had turned around, flown until it ran out of fuel, then plunged into the Indian Ocean between Western Australia and Antarctica. At that point Australia took over, with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) leading the Indian Ocean underwater search effort from May 2014 to early 2017. Australian agencies also involved in the search included the Defence Force, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
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State of the Union: what to watch for as Joe Biden addresses the nation
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President Joe Biden will address a joint session of Congress Thursday night in his last state of the union speech of his presidential term. He’s expected to highlight his legislative record in office, with the rapidly-approaching election raising the stakes. How to watch Biden’s State of the Union address: Biden’s state of the union address is scheduled for 9pm ET/6pm PT tonight – 7 March – and will be broadcast on most major news networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. It will also be carried by CSPAN and streamed live on the White House website here. What to watch for: Biden will likely portray this election as he did in 2020: a contest between democracy and Trump, whose authoritarian rhetoric has escalated since he lost the 2020 election to Biden. Biden has been consistently been polling behind Trump and will likely cast himself as the last line of defense against autocracy. It is unclear how Biden will position himself on foreign policy. His administration faces mounting pressure from the right to abandon its support for Ukraine, which for more than two years has been fighting a Russian ground invasion. And he faces calls from a progressive anti-war movement to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military campaign. During his speech, Biden is expected to announce the creation of a port on the coast of Gaza to deliver more aid to the besieged enclave. A week ago, Biden and Trump made dueling visits to the US-Mexico border, underscoring the centrality of immigration policy to the 2024 race – and the shift to the right that Biden and other Democratic politicians have made on the issue. During his speech in Brownsville, Texas, Biden called on Trump to support the bipartisan bill to restrict immigration on the southern border, which is languishing in Congress. How, and if, Biden speaks about immigration, will be a prelude to his approach during the months ahead on the campaign trail. This speech will also offer Biden an opportunity to address abortion rights, an issue that has mobilized Democratic voters since the supreme court decision protecting abortion access, Roe v Wade, was overturned. An Alabama supreme court ruling in February that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law – threatening to cut off access to in vitro fertilization there – brought concerns about reproductive healthcare access back to the fore. Biden has expressed his personal misgivings about abortion on religious grounds, but has defended Roe v Wade. What notable guests are attending? Among Biden’s guests in attendance will be Latorya Beasley, whose second round of in vitro fertilization was canceled following the Alabama supreme court ruling on IVF, and Kate Cox, who was forced to flee her home state of Texas to seek an abortion. Beasley’s experience, the White House said, is “yet another example of how the overturning of Roe v Wade has disrupted access to reproductive health care for women and families across the country”. Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers union, will join Beasley, Cox and first lady Jill Biden in a “viewing box” in the House gallery. Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, were invited but declined to attend. Related: Who is Katie Britt? Alabama senator to deliver rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union The House speaker, Mike Johnson, will also have guests in attendance, including family members of people thought to be taken hostage by Hamas and family members of service members killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Johnson also invited the parents of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia. Who is delivering the rebuttal? Katie Britt, a first-term senator from Alabama – and the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the Senate – will deliver a rebuttal to Biden’s address. Britt is a rightwing Republican and a staunch Trump supporter. In the wake of the Alabama court ruling on frozen embryos, Britt defended IVF services and is expected to counter Biden’s talking points on reproductive health.
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Matt Dufty’s late try gives Sam Burgess’s Warrington victory over Hull KR
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Sam Burgess will know that nothing is won at this stage of a rugby league season but a month into his first head coaching role, you suspect he will be satisfied, if nothing else, with the way his Warrington Wolves team are progressing. Burgess has made no secret of his desire to strengthen the mental resolve of a side who undoubtedly possess the ability to challenge for silverware but last year limped their way through to the end of the season. That change was evident in key moments here as the Wolves made it three consecutive victories at a place where few teams will come and win in 2024. Related: Confusion reigns in Super League as new rules and legal case cast shadow | Aaron Bower Hull Kingston Rovers, like Warrington, have aspirations of a tilt at the Grand Final this season. This absorbing contest, in which the lead changed hands no fewer than five times, could have easily gone either way. But in the end a Matt Dufty try nine minutes from time, and some spirited defending in the final moments when Rovers were piling on the pressure, proved enough to get the Wolves over the line. “It was a great game,” Burgess said. “Both teams were good, both teams had their moments of energy swings and we managed to clinch it at the end. I didn’t think it would be that close but I’m really proud of the players, I felt they got what they deserved.” It is now three wins from four after defeat at Catalans on the opening weekend and while they are far from the finished article, there are promising signs in the impact Burgess had so far. Burgess has introduced a number of younger players into his squad and one of those, the teenage half-back Leon Hayes, was influential here, as was full-back Dufty, who not only scored the winning try but had a hand in almost everything the Wolves did well in attack. Dufty’s creativity helped open the scoring, with a wonderful pass that enabled George Williams to touch down. Hayes then kicked through for Matty Ashton to make it 10-0, but Rovers hit back. Tries from Tyrone May and Ryan Hall were both converted by Jez Litten to make it 12-10, but Warrington responded with two tries as half-time approached. First, Hayes and Lachlan Fitzgibbon teed up Toby King to put the visitors back in front before Dufty broke from deep and kicked ahead for Connor Wrench. Both conversions were missed to leave Warrington’s lead a slender six, but the momentum of the contest could have been far different had Rovers not spurned two glorious opportunities either side of the break. James Batchelor should have scored when it was 12-10, but he dropped the ball in the act of scoring, before a wonderful break from Mikey Lewis wasn’t finished by Rovers to leave them ruing what might have been. “I’m gutted for the players,” their coach, Willie Peters, said. “Most of the time you put that effort in you win. I can’t fault the effort.” The opening 20 minutes after half-time were certainly cagey but Rovers eventually struck when Oliver Gildart crossed, and then a stunning pass from May opened up a gap for Tom Opacic to touch down in the corner. The eight points from the two tries were enough to make it 20-18 in Rovers’ favour but crucially, James Batchelor missed both attempts at goal. You wondered if that would eventually prove decisive and the answer arrived with nine minutes remaining. Warrington had largely been ineffective in attack for large periods of that second half but the one moment they did have, they took full advantage of it to seal their victory. A wonderful move direct from the scrum involving Hayes and Williams allowed Dufty to cut through and touch down. The Australian almost turned from hero to villain when he dropped a kick with seconds remaining to hand Hull KR one last chance but the Wolves held firm with the kind of endeavour and spirit that perhaps underpinned the impact Burgess is wanting to have at this club in the months and years ahead. So far, so good.
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Cranbrook school principal resigns over allegations he knew about teacher’s ‘extremely concerning past conduct’
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The headteacher of the prestigious Cranbrook school in Sydney has resigned after it emerged he allegedly knew one of his teachers had engaged in “extremely concerning past conduct” and kept him in his position. An emergency meeting of the school council was held on Thursday to investigate Nicholas Sampson’s response to the incident. “The circumstances of the matter and subsequently Mr Sampson’s failure to disclose the matter to the current school council … have led to an irrevocable breakdown of trust between the headmaster and the school council,” Geoff Lovell, the president of the council, wrote in an email to parents at the school on Friday. “The school council communicated this to Mr Sampson and this morning received his resignation.” Related: MH370: Australia offers Malaysia support for new search on 10-year anniversary “The allegations do not involve past or present Cranbrook students. The Senior School teacher involved was immediately placed on leave pending the School’s further assessment of the matter,” wrote Lovell. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Guardian Australia understands the “past conduct” related to graphic emails sent by the teacher to a former student when the student, from a previous school, was an adult. The teacher was investigated by police at the time and found not to have engaged in criminal behaviour, it is understood. The teacher was also investigated by a team from the Association of Independent Schools of NSW, which concluded the teacher had engaged in “no reportable conduct”, meaning his behaviour did not need to be reported to the Office of the Children’s Guardian, according to a source familiar with the AISNSW report. Guardian Australia has not seen a copy of the report but understands it suggested Cranbrook could examine whether professional boundaries had been violated. The teacher exchanged graphic sexual emails with a woman in her early 20s who had been a student of his when he worked at a previous school. In them, he allegedly talked about sexual fantasies about her and her classmates, according to the source familiar with the AISNSW report. The emails were sent while the teacher was working at Cranbrook and were reported to the police, the AISNSW, the teacher’s former school and to Cranbrook. Sampson was aware of the incidents but kept the teacher in his position, the school council said. The council said it became aware of the allegations against the teacher on Thursday. AISNSW said on Friday that Cranbrook engaged its services in 2015 to conduct an investigation into three “potentially reportable conduct allegations” made against one of its staff members. “These matters are obviously highly confidential. Every alleged victim and every alleged person subject of allegations has a right to a rigorous and unbiased investigation,” the association said in a statement. “AISNSW has a team of qualified and experienced child protection investigators, including ex-police detectives, and works closely with the Office of the Children’s Guardian and police when conducting investigations on behalf of schools. “AISNSW investigated the allegations and provided its findings to the school. At all stages of the investigation, the school remains the decision-maker. AISNSW’s findings were reviewed and upheld by the NSW Ombudsman.” This is not the first time Sampson has been accused of mishandling complaints against a staff member. Sampson appeared before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2016 in relation to his handling of an incident while headmaster at Geelong grammar school. In 2004, Sampson was informed that one of the teachers, Jonathan Harvey, had allegedly sexually abused a boy in the 1970s. Harvey was later found guilty of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy. The commission criticised Sampson for keeping Harvey in his job for several months after learning of the allegation, paying Harvey to retire early, and writing him a glowing letter praising his “outstanding service”. The latest incident comes at the end of a difficult week for Cranbrook which was the focus of an ABC Four Corners investigation on Monday. The program included interviews with former staff and students who claimed the school had a toxic culture, including bullying, sexual harassment and sexual abuse. After the episode aired on Monday night, Cranbrook school council issued a statement saying: “The council has considered in detail the matters raised by the ABC and remains fully supportive of the headmaster and the school’s leadership.” “Cranbrook takes all allegations of abuse, and its duty of care to its students, extremely seriously and follows relevant and mandatory reporting processes in relation to these matters,” the school council said. “We acknowledge survivors and their stories.” Sampson and the teacher were approached for comment via Cranbrook.
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Freiburg 1-0 West Ham, Benfica 2-2 Rangers, and more: Europa League – as it happened
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Thank you for joining me. Here is the report from Lisbon. Related: Rangers squander lead twice as Goldson gifts Benfica Europa League draw Philippe Clement: “I am not happy. I think we were really close to rewriting happy against a team who have never lost a Europa League game at home. I am really proud of my team. We did all the right things, scored good goals and were unlucky with the goals we conceded. “Every showed great character and gave everything to get this good result.” Jacob Steinberg was in Germany for Freiburg 1-0 West Ham. Related: Gregoritsch gives Freiburg first-leg lead as West Ham denied late penalty Tom Lawrence: “We dug deep but we had some chances that we should have done better with. “We will give it our all at Ibrox. I don’t think they will like to come to Ibrox.” Michael Owen “it looks unnatural but it is natural”. I think he is talking about the handball. Europa Conference League full times Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 PaokMaccabi Haifa 3-4 FiorentinaServette 0-0 Viktoria PlzeňUnion Saint-Gilloise 0-3 Fenerbahce Full time: Benfica 2-2 Rangers A hard-fought result for Rangers. Should be a cracking second leg. Benfica 2-2 Rangers: Di Maria flies into a challenge on Souttar. Somehow gets away without a booking. Full time: Marseille 4-0 VillarrealMilan 4-2 Slavia Prague Benfica 2-2 Rangers: I would think Rangers would take the draw. Benfica 2-2 Rangers: Five minutes of added time in Lisbon. Full time: Freiburg 1-0 West Ham West Ham are made to pay for failing to take chances. Freiburg 1-0 West Ham: NO PENALTY GIVEN AFTER FOUR MINUTES OF REVIEW! Updated at Freiburg 1-0 West Ham: Still waiting … this is why VAR is all a bit shit. The ref is off to the monitor … Freiburg 1-0 West Ham: Personally I would find it a very harsh decision to give it. Soucek knocks the ball up onto the defender’s hand. This is taking an age. Go look at the monitor, mate. Freiburg 1-0 West Ham: THERE IS A VERY LATE CHECK FOR A PENALTY FOR HANDBALL. WEST HAM PENALTY? Benfica 2-2 Rangers: Di Maria picks out an unmarked Otamendi with a corner but the centre back gets under the ball and heads over. Freiburg 1-0 West Ham: Four minutes of injury time in which to find an equaliser … Benfica 2-2 Rangers: The match is looking pretty open at the moment. There could be another goal in Lisbon soon … Benfica 2-2 Rangers: Di Maria lifts the ball to Neres in the box but Goldson does well to get there first. Benfica 2-2 Rangers: What Rangers need is fresh legs and Clement is preparing three sets. Jack, Roofe and McKinnon are being readied. Updated at GOAL! Freiburg 1-0 West Ham (Gregortisch, 81) Sallai shoots and Gregortisch taps home. Freiburg’s Michael Gregoritsch slots the ball home to open the scoring against West Ham. Photograph: Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images Updated at Benfica 2-2 Rangers: Benfica counter and Rafa Silva pulls back for Di Maria but his finish is a poor one. GOAL! Benfica 2-2 Rangers (Goldson og, 67) An unfortunate leveller. Updated at Oooooh that’s nice from Auba. That's lovely from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang! 👌Pepe Reina never stood a chance!#UEL pic.twitter.com/5SmsaJmBsg— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2024 Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Ward-Prowse has a good chance on the edge of the box but needs to shoot with his left foot and cannot generate the power nor accuracy. Benfica 1-2 Rangers: Leonardo is on for Cabral. Updated at Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Gregoritsch has a good chance but heads straight at Fabianski. Not a classic. Marseille 4-0 Villarreal: GOAL! Aubameyang gets a second against the Spaniards who are down to 10. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Takes aim from 40 yards but his free-kick drifts wide. Benfica 1-2 Rangers: Bah takes a touch inside the box and then leaps into the air somewhere near Lawrence’s outstretched leg. It is a comical dive. The referee and VAR once again laugh it off. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Bowen shows some nifty feet and cuts inside before taking aim for the far post but Atubolu pulls off a superb save. Benfica 1-2 Rangers: Tavernier whips in a corner from the right but Benfica clear. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Paqueta has to do better. Kudus lifts a cross to the back post but the Brazilian heads up and over. Updated at Benfica 1-2 Rangers: Once against Benfica are ramping up the pressure on the Rangers goal. It could be a tiring second half for the visitors. “Neither side of the Prague derby will be encouraged by results so far today,” says Joe Pearson. “Sparta got hammered by Liverpool, and now Slavia are two goals and one man down at the half against Milan. Woe to the Czechs” Benfica 1-2 Rangers: Neres has another fine chance but Tavernier throws himself at his feet to block. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: YELLOW CARD! Pacqueta flies into a challenge for no reason on the touchline nor is it his first poor challenge. Benfica 1-2 Rangers: Can Rangers hold onto this scoreline? They are going to battle, that’s for sure. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Bowen lifts a cross to the back post for Pacqueta who waits for the ball to reach him but Doan gets back just in time. The resulting corner is swung to Mavropanos who heads against the post. West Ham should be ahead. Updated at Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: A deep free-kick into the box sees Sallai tumble in the box in the vicinity of Coufal. Freiburg want a penalty but all they get is a booking for Sallai. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Sallai goes for the spectacular but his bicycle kick whacks into Soucek’s thigh resulting in the ball dribbling towards goal. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Kudus drops a shoulder and cuts inside but his shot is straight at the goalkeeper. The drama was so late in Lisbon that we are back playing at the other matches … Kári Tulinius emails: “Freiburg v West Ham has been a match between two counter-attacking teams that are very good in set-piece situations. This is a case of the immovable object meeting the immovable object. Not even the purists will have enjoyed that half of football.” Andy Hunter’s report from Liverpool in Prague. Related: Núñez double fires Liverpool to 5-1 win at Sparta Prague but Konaté limps off Europa Conference League half-time scores Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 PaokMaccabi Haifa 2-1 FiorentinaServette 0-0 Viktoria PlzeňUnion Saint-Gilloise 0-1 Fenerbahce Europa League half-time scores Benfica 1-2 RangersMarseille 3-0 Villarreal Milan 3-1 Slavia PragueFreiburg 0-0 West Ham GOAL! Benfica 1-2 Rangers (Sterling, 45+4) Sterling taps in at the back post after good work down the left. Updated at GOAL! Benfica 1-1 Rangers (Di Maria, pen, 45+2) Butland is booked for his delaying tactics but Di Maria scores from the spot. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: PENALTY! The corner catches Souttar on the arm. It flicks off his head from the corner but really it is not a penalty. Naturally, the referee has awarded it. A bit of a nonsense for me. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: There is a check for a handball for a penalty but frankly if it is award it would be hilarious. There is a lengthy discussion between officials and the referee goes to the monitor. I am not so sure … Benfica 0-1 Rangers: A corner reaches Rafa Silva on the edge of the box, he lines up a strike as Yilmaz charges out to him to deflect the shot. The resulting corner is once again whipped to the front post and causes plenty of havoc before Butland claims. The goalkeeper is forced into another save soon after when Neves pings a shot across goal. Rangers holding on here. Lundstram is down with a head injury. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Down the other end Sterling gets past Aursnes and into the box. He tumbles over in front of the Benfica man and calls for a penalty but, like Di Maria, there is nowhere enough in it. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Di Maria does a lovely turn in the box and gets a shot away but there is no power in it. Goldson tries to block the shot leading to a clash with Di Maria who rolls around for no obvious reason. The fans think a penalty should be awarded but they are as deluded as Di Maria. The VAR has a quick look, chuckles to himself and rightly awards nothing. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: YELLOW CARD: Sildillia bashes into Alvarez to stop an attack and is carded. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Yilmaz wins a corner on the left. The Turk takes it but against it does not meet the first man. Rangers need to make more of these situations. Milan 1-0 Slavia Prague: GOAL! Giroud makes the most of Slavia being down to 10 men after Diouf’s sending off. Updated at Benfica 0-1 Rangers: It is pouring down in Lisbon! Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Dessers battles his way through to the Benfica midfield and defence. He reaches the edge of the area and the ball runs loose to Sterling who is scythed down. Tavernier lines it up … but hits the wall. Marseille 2-0 Villarreal: GOAL! Mosquera puts the ball into the back of his own net. Propia Puerta! Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Nice work from Freiburg opens up West Ham but Höler fires the ball straight at Fabianski. Down the other end Bowen has a good chance but makes poor contact on a Kudus cross and sends a shot wide. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: YELLOW CARD! Sterling overstretches to win the ball and catches Otamendi in the process. The centre-back is hilariously overdramatic. What a ludicrous individual Otamendi is. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Aursnes takes aim for goal but his shot is deflected wide. Another Di Maria corner is whipped into the front post but once again Rangers deal with it. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: All very even in Germany where the crowd is the most entertaining thing on show. Updated at Marseille 1-0 Villarreal: GOAL! Veretout opens the scoring. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: The hosts are getting back on top once more in Lisbon. Cabral spins in the box but his shot is blocked by Yilmaz. The resulting corner is headed clear by Goldson. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Yilmaz shows Di Maria who is boss, blocking out his cross for a corner. The Argentinian sends the ball over everyone but Neres cannot make sufficient contact at the back post. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: A solid discussion in the commentary box about the beauty of knowing when to stand still as a football. David Silva was always great at this. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Neres goes down in the box under a challenge from Sterling. The Brazilian desperately thinks the non-foul merits a penalty but he is having a laugh. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: A superb double save from Butland keeps Rangers ahead. First blocking from Neres and then Cabral. Yilmaz whips in a corner from the left but it does not get further than the front post as Benfica head clear. Updated at Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: Bowen whacks a cross along the six-yard line but the goalkeeper is there to catch before Kudus can get a touch on the ball. Benfica 0-1 Rangers: Sterling intercepts a pass then gets whacked by Neres to earn Rangers a free-kick. Are Benfica a little rattled? GOAL! Benfica 0-1 Rangers (Lawrence, 7) After such a strong start from the hosts, it is Rangers who have the lead thanks to the former Manchester United man, heading home from 10 yards. Updated at Peter Oh emails: “Is it just me or does ‘Servette - Viktoria Pilsen (Plzen)’ sound like someone behind a bar just placed a tall glass of golden suds and a napkin in front of you?” I await someone giving me a pint. Benfica 0-0 Rangers: Neres flashes a shot at goal but Butland does well to save. Benfica have a couple of corners in quick succession. Di Maria whips one towards goal but Lundstram heads clear. Benfica 0-0 Rangers: The hosts are dominating the early period and putting Rangers under pressure. Clement’s side might need to increase the tempo here because Benfica are looking a little sharper. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: The Germans chuck a few crosses into the box in quick succession but Mavropanos is not worried about them, heading each one clear. Benfica 0-0 Rangers: There are plenty of seats available in Lisbon. Maybe Rangers are not the draw they once were. Freiburg 0-0 West Ham: It is a lively atmosphere in Germany. The hosts are trying to pass the ball around the back but it is an unsuccessful concept, leading to the goalkeeper kicking it out for a throw. Updated at Kick off The whistles do peep around the continent. Ben Fisher on a quiet night in Amsterdam. Related: Villa and Ajax down to 10 men as Konsa and Gooijer see red in goalless draw A difficult night for Brighton in Rome. Ed Aarons was there. Related: Lukaku on target as Roma destroy Brighton’s Europa League dreams Philippe Clement: “I expect a storm, a reaction [from Benfica]. They have a lot of quality and they have never lost in the Europa League at home. It is a nice challenge for us to play against a team of that level.” Liverpool defeated Sparta Prague 5-1 in Czech Republic. I think it is fair to say they are very much through to the next round. Klopp will make some changes next week for sure. West Ham played Freiburg in the group stage winning both games, which is an indication that they have the Germans’ number. They must be bored of facing them. Football finance is all the rage. Related: Football Daily | Spurs, Chelsea and Leicester re-enter the finance subset chat My only trip to the Estadio da Luz came when I was on holiday in Lisbon. There was no football on but they have a bar open in the stadium and you can have a pint overlooking the pitch. It was lovely on a hot day. Jacob Steinberg on the Hammers (mainly Lucas Paqueta). Related: West Ham must make most of Lucas Paquetá’s genius while they still can | Jacob Steinberg Starting lineups: Benfica v Rangers Benfica: Trubin; Aursnes, António Silva, Otamendi, Bah; João Neves, Florentino; Di María, Rafa Silva, Neres; Cabral Subs: Samuel S., André Gomes, Diogo Spencer, T. Araújo, Morato, A. Carreras, Kökcü, J. Mário, Tiago Gouveia, Rollheiser, M. Leonardo and Tengstedt Rangers: Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Yilmaz; Lundstram, Diomande; Sterling, Fabio Silva, Lawrence; Dessers. Subs: McCrorie, K. Wright, Jack, Roofe, Davies, Barisic, King, Raskin, McCausland, Yfeko, Fraser, McKinnon. Starting lineups: Freiburg v West Ham Freiburg: Atubolu, Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Günter, Höfler, Doan, Eggestein, Höler, Grifo, Sallai Subs: Muller, Uphoff, Szalai, Weisshaupt, Keitel, Kubler, Adamu, Muslija, Philipp, Makengo, Rohl, Gregortisch West Ham: Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Bowen Subs: Areola, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Ings, Johnson, Phillips, Antonio, Mubama, Earthy, Anang, Orford, Casey Preamble After the fun of the early evening kick-offs, we head into the late night action. For those of a British persuasion the interest comes in Lisbon where Benfica host Rangers, while West Ham have travelled to Freiburg (again). Elsewhere, Marseille host Villarreal which should be a fun tie in the Europa League. Benfica will be a good barometer for Rangers to find out where they stand on the continent. They have plenty of talented young players who will undoubtedly move in the years to come but with plenty of experience mixed among the tearaways. Ángel Di María and Nicolás Otamendi provide a little bit of Argentinian glitz and experience to the formula. They come into the match off the back of a 5-0 pummelling at Porto, so will be desperate to bounce back. This is the business end of the European football calendar but the Europa Conference League is offering little to whet the appetite. Here’s to a fun night. 8pm GMT kick offs: Europa League Benfica v RangersMarseille v Villarreal Milan v Slavia PragueFreiburg v West Ham Europa Conference League Dinamo Zagreb v PaokMaccabi Haifa v FiorentinaServette v Viktoria PlzeňUnion Saint-Gilloise v Fenerbahce Updated at
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Liverpool owners hope to lure Michael Edwards back for post-Klopp rebuild
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Liverpool’s owners met Michael Edwards in Boston on Sunday in their attempts to convince the club’s former sporting director to shape the post-Jürgen Klopp era at Anfield. Fenway Sports Group’s principal owner, John W Henry, and president, Mike Gordon, were among the senior executives who held talks with Edwards about returning to the club he left in 2022. The 44-year-old, a consultant at the sports advisory business Ludonautics, is regarded by FSG as the ideal candidate to lead Liverpool’s transition when Klopp steps down after nine hugely successful years as manager this summer. However, the club’s owners will need to offer a more powerful role than sporting director to tempt Edwards back. Related: Núñez double fires Liverpool to 5-1 win at Sparta Prague but Konaté limps off Edwards has rejected numerous approaches from clubs, including Chelsea, since ending a 10-year association with Liverpool and playing a key role in the club’s transformation under Klopp. He turned down an initial approach from FSG in January regarding resuming his career as Liverpool’s sporting director and is likely to want total control in a more far-reaching position, such as head of football operations, to accept the invitation to return. Edwards would be expected to head the recruitment and analytics departments. He would lead the appointments of any new sporting director and Liverpool’s manager, with Xabi Alonso the front-runner to succeed Klopp. The club’s new football structure is expected to take shape in the coming weeks. FSG’s concerted efforts to rehire Edwards demonstrates its conviction that he is the best person to shape Liverpool’s next era. The owners have been searching for a permanent sporting director since Julian Ward, Edwards’ former right-hand man and replacement, unexpectedly announced he would be leaving in the summer of 2023. Jörg Schmadtke was brought in as a temporary measure to assist Klopp’s rebuild last summer and departed at the end of the January transfer window. Klopp’s decision to leave has changed the requirements for the new sporting director, from one who could work alongside a well-established manager to dealing with a period of transition. Alonso is the leading candidate for the Liverpool manager’s job but the Premier League leaders, unlike Bayern Munich, wish to respect his attempts to win the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen rather than enter a public courtship of their popular former midfielder. Alonso is acutely aware of Liverpool’s interest but the Sporting coach Rúben Amorim, who has other suitors, is also under consideration.
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Steve Borthwick’s England feel ‘weight’ of shirt before tough Ireland test
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Steve Borthwick believes the England jersey has been weighing heavy on his players as they seek to salvage their Six Nations campaign against Ireland on Saturday and suggested inconsistent team selections during Eddie Jones’s reign were a contributing factor. As England prepare to face what Borthwick believes is “the best team in the world”, the head coach has made three changes to the side that lost 30-21 to Scotland last time out, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso handed a first start and Alex Mitchell and George Martin coming into the team. Borthwick might have gone further but Marcus Smith has been deemed ready only for a place on the bench after returning from a calf injury, while George Furbank stays at full-back with Freddie Steward again omitted. Instead, the head coach highlighted the importance of the “continuity of selections” when attempting to ease the burden on his players. Related: ‘I couldn’t tell you what we are:’ England’s search for identity goes on | Gerard Meagher It is a telling remark, coming not long after the former England wing Jonny May revealed the anxiety that goes on behind the scenes with players fretting over their places on a weekly basis, though Borthwick has just once in his tenure named an unchanged starting XV, and in the backs only George Ford and Henry Slade have been constant fixtures in this Six Nations. “We know that against Scotland there were errors,” Borthwick said. It’s probably the first time in a while that I’d seen the weight of the shirt feel heavy on the players. As a player and in teams I’ve been part of, I saw a lot of players feel the weight of that shirt and feel the scrutiny the team was under. “The environment we want to create is supportive of the players and we understand that mistakes are going to happen. What I’m after is a response to that. What do we learn from it? How quickly do we move forward from it? If you look at the game this weekend, what a game for the shirt to lift you up. What a game for Twickenham to add fuel to the team. What a game to add every ounce of energy and fight that’s within the players together, when you are going to be tested against the best team in the world.” Asked how he can lift the weight on his players, Borthwick added: “I think we try to make an environment where the players enjoy it, where we know mistakes are going to be made, but it’s about continuing to do the right things. I back the players. Yes we made errors [against Scotland], we’re disappointed in the performance and we’re disappointed in the result. But I also think this is a group of players that have made enormous progress over the last year, and now we’ve started the next step of the journey in this Six Nations. “The continuity of the selections, it’s an important factor. When I track this back … the continuity of selection over the last few years has potentially not always been as evident and it’s not always helped the team to have lots of changes regularly. “I’ve looked closely at what’s happened with the England team in previous cycles. I’ve looked closely and compared. Things like continuity and cohesion of selection. We can all see at times that’s not really been the case. You see England has done well, generally, when they’ve had a club side that’s been dominant and has had a large number of players coming from one team.” Ireland, meanwhile, welcome back Hugo Keenan against England but will be without lock James Ryan for the remainder of the Six Nations. Keenan has recovered from a knee problem which ruled him out of the 31-7 victory over Wales and replaces Ciaran Frawley in the only change to Andy Farrell’s starting XV. Ryan, who has been reduced to a peripheral role during the championship, suffered a “freak” bicep injury in training on Wednesday and the second row will sit out the trip to Twickenham, in addition to next week’s finale against Scotland. Garry Ringrose is fit after a shoulder injury but must wait for his first international appearance since the World Cup due to the impressive form of midfield pair Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki. Ireland, who are chasing successive grand slams on the back of bonus-point wins over France, Italy and Wales, could retain their title with a game to spare with victory in south-west London but Farrell warned against any complacency. “I don’t get involved with the criticism at all,” he said of England’s performances so far in the championship. “I look at the individuals, the way that they’re playing, the coaching staff that they got, the plan that they’ve got, a fantastic side that is going to be preparing to give it everything they’ve got at the weekend. “That makes them unbelievably dangerous, we just prepare for them to be at their best and if that’s the case it’s going to be one hell of a battle. If they’re at their best, you expect them to be as hard as anyone in world rugby to beat.” England15 George Furbank (Northampton) 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter) 13 Henry Slade (Exeter) 12 Ollie Lawrence (Bath) 11 Tommy Freeman (Northampton) 10 George Ford (Sale)9 Alex Mitchell (Northampton) 1 Ellis Genge (Bristol)2 Jamie George (Saracens)3 Dan Cole (Leicester) 4 Maro Itoje (Saracens)5 George Martin (Leicester) 6 Ollie Chessum (Leicester) 7 Sam Underhill (Bath) 8 Ben Earl (Saracens) Replacements: 16 Theo Dan (Saracens) 17 Joe Marler (Harlequins) 18 Will Stuart (Bath) 19 Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins) 20 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins) 21 Danny Care (Harlequins) 22 Marcus Smith (Harlequins) 23 Elliot Daly (Saracens) Ireland15 Hugo Keenan (Leinster)14 Calvin Nash (Munster)13 Robbie Henshaw (Leinster)12 Bundee Aki (Connacht)11 James Lowe (Leinster)10 Jack Crowley (Munster)9 Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)1 Andrew Porter (Leinster)2 Dan Sheehan (Leinster)3 Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)4 Joe McCarthy (Leinster)5 Tadhg Beirne (Munster)6 Peter O’Mahony (Munster)7 Josh van der Flier (Leinster)8 Caelan Doris (Leinster)Replacements16 Ronan Kelleher (Leinster) 17 Cian Healy (Leinster) 18 Finlay Bealham (Connacht) 19 Iain Henderson (Ulster) 20 Ryan Baird (Leinster) 21 Jack Conan (Leinster) 22 Conor Murray (Munster) 23 Ciaran Frawley (Leinster) Ireland, meanwhile, welcome back Hugo Keenan against England but will be without lock James Ryan for the remainder of the Six Nations. Keenan has recovered from a knee problem which ruled him out of the 31-7 victory over Wales and replaces Ciaran Frawley in the only change to Andy Farrell’s starting XV. Ryan, who has been reduced to a peripheral role during the championship, suffered a “freak” bicep injury in training on Wednesday and the second row will sit out the trip to Twickenham, in addition to next week’s finale against Scotland. Garry Ringrose is fit after a shoulder injury but must wait for his first international appearance since the World Cup due to the impressive form of midfield pair Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki. Ireland, who are chasing successive grand slams on the back of bonus-point wins over France, Italy and Wales, could retain their title with a game to spare with victory in south-west London but Farrell warned against any complacency. “I don’t get involved with the criticism at all,” he said of England’s performances so far in the championship. “I look at the individuals, the way that they’re playing, the coaching staff that they got, the plan that they’ve got, a fantastic side that is going to be preparing to give it everything they’ve got at the weekend. “That makes them unbelievably dangerous, we just prepare for them to be at their best and if that’s the case it’s going to be one hell of a battle. If they’re at their best, you expect them to be as hard as anyone in world rugby to beat.”
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‘It’s a penalty’: Moyes fumes at spot-kick snub as West Ham go down to Freiburg
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The burning sense of injustice that coursed through West Ham after being denied the chance to wipe out Freiburg’s slender advantage should not make them look past the failings that left their hopes of salvaging a draw from the first leg of this last-16 tie dependent on the whims of a referee with a curious interpretation of the handball law. Admittedly the fury that greeted Alejandro Hernández not awarding a penalty after Noah Weisshaupt blocked Tomas Soucek’s attempted shot with an outstretched arm deep into stoppage time was understandable. The home crowd roared, perhaps as much out of disbelief as jubilation, and David Moyes fumed. The initial check by the VAR had taken an age and it seemed inevitable that the decision would go against Freiburg when the Spanish official ran over to the pitchside monitor. Related: Rangers go back to Ibrox level despite Goldson own goal in Benfica thriller “I think it’s a penalty,” Moyes said. “Nowadays if you have two hands above your head, it is a penalty. If it was a free-kick for a push, he never restarted the game with that. If he kicked it on to the arm, it is a really poor clearance. With Uefa, if anything hits your arms they tend to give penalty kicks.” Even so West Ham, who were guilty of too many bad choices throughout a disappointing 1-0 defeat, will only have themselves to blame if they exit the Europa League at the London Stadium next week. Nothing summed up the lethargy more than the only goal of a poor game coming when Edson Álvarez lost the ball with nine minutes left and the Freiburg substitute, Michael Gregoritsch, tapped into an empty net after eluding West Ham’s increasingly vulnerable centre-back, Kurt Zouma. It was hard to tell that West Ham were favourites following their wins over Freiburg during the group stage. Moyes raged at their passing for much of a forgettable first half. They created little after Jarrod Bowen volleyed wide from Mohammed Kudus’s cross. Lucas Paquetá repeatedly losing possession was not a good sign. There was no control in midfield. Kudus toiled on the right and James Ward-Prowse did nothing in open play. Yet Freiburg, who are ninth in the Bundesliga after a patchy run, lacked conviction. Roland Sallai spurned two chances and Lucas Höler shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski. West Ham perked up at the start of the second half. Paquetá headed over and Konstantinos Mavropanos hit the woodwork after Noah Atubolu flapped at Ward-Prowse’s corner. Space appeared on the counterattack. A combination between Paquetá and Kudus released Bowen, who drew an excellent save from Atubolu. Yet the game remained bitty. West Ham had to make a change at left-back, Aaron Cresswell coming on when Emerson Palmieri went off with a groin injury, and Freiburg stirred after Ward-Prowse shot tamely. Gregoritsch headed straight at Fabianski after coming off the bench. West Ham’s focus faded. They played themselves into trouble, Álvarez giving possession away. Freiburg pounced, Sallai shot from the left and Zouma failed to notice Gregoritsch lurking in the six-yard box.
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Kathryn Scanlan wins Gordon Burn prize for novel Kick the Latch
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American author Kathryn Scanlan has won this year’s Gordon Burn prize for her “desperately consumable” novel about horse training. Kick the Latch is based on a series of interviews with Sonia, a horse trainer from the midwest. The novel is “a thundering achievement, liberated from hard lines of genre and form by a laser-focus on not just excavation, but building of voice,” said judging chair and journalist Terri White. Scanlan said it is “a thrill and an honour to receive this prize, which is unique in its recognition of work that plays with form, style and genre”. She was announced as the winner at a ceremony in Newcastle, Burn’s home city, on Thursday. She wins £10,000 and the opportunity to go on a writing retreat at Burn’s cottage in Berwickshire. “In a series of vignettes drawn from transcribed conversations between Scanlan and Sonia, the reader encounters dilapidated trailers, racetracks, backs of vans, long hours, brutality, beauty and joy,” wrote Wendy Erskine in her Guardian review of the novel. “Sonia’s voice is unsentimental and humane, alert to absurdity and human frailty.” The prize recognises fiction and nonfiction books that “push boundaries, cross genres and challenge readers’ expectations” and that show an “affinity with the spirit and sensibility” of Burn’s “literary methods”. Burn, who died in 2009, wrote 10 books including the novels Alma Cogan and Fullalove. “Kick the Latch is a rare beast, setting out with a premise that feels neatly bordered but revealing itself almost immediately to be a desperately consumable piece of literature, pushing boundaries in terms of form and structure but never becoming inaccessible,” said judge and journalist Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff. Los Angeles-based Scanlan’s first novel, Aug 9 – Fog, was a reworking of an elderly woman’s diary found at an estate auction. Her short story collection, The Dominant Animal, was published in 2020. Related: Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan review – secrets of the racetrack Judge and author Sheena Patel said that Kick the Latch is a “remarkable novel” of “tender, sparse and muscular” prose. “A worthy winner for this prize, you all need to read it.” Kick the Latch was chosen over six other shortlisted titles: Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll, If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery, Wifedom by Anna Funder, O Brother by John Niven, Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan and Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq. “The choice of subject, the method, the execution – it was all perfect in a book that deserves to be on record as an award-winner,” said judge and journalist Andrew Hankinson. Previous winners of the prize include Benjamin Myers, Peter Pomerantsev and Hanif Abdurraqib. Last year, Preti Taneja won for her examination of the 2019 London Bridge terror attack, Aftermath.
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England hope ‘Super Manny’ can help break cycle of underachievement
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It is not just England who are seeking to put the past behind them. In Australia they have conducted a lengthy review into the Wallabies’ failed World Cup campaign and come up with a list of recommendations almost as long as the Great Barrier Reef. Along with a massive “unapproved” overspend of A$2.6m [£1.34m], it emerged the players felt there was a lack of transparency about team selection and insufficient clarity around training. Ring any bells? Back in 2017-18 when Eddie Jones was in charge of England, the Rugby Football Union ended up making more than 60 redundancies after a budget blowout of around £900,000. And in that 2018 Six Nations, England trailed in fifth, their worst finish in 31 years. Those who pay little heed to history’s lessons are, as they say, doomed to repeat them. Related: ‘I couldn’t tell you what we are:’ England’s search for identity goes on | Gerard Meagher The review into England’s latest campaign has yet to be written but, as and when the RFU’s top brass convene, there is a risk of some serious deja vu. Lose to a rampant Ireland on Saturday and England, now under the coaching leadership of Steve Borthwick, will be on course for a fourth underwhelming Six Nations season in a row. As Borthwick and others have discovered, this cycle of underachievement – in stark contrast to Ireland’s consistent upward graph – is mighty hard to rectify overnight. At the very least it requires a catalyst: either a striking result or a talented newcomer. In part Borthwick’s selection tweaks, with George Martin and Alex Mitchell returning, reflect the reality of his side’s underperformance against Scotland at Murrayfield. They would love to bounce back with a statement win but, for that to happen against this ultra-organised Irish side, they need something – or someone – capable of transforming the stadium vibe in a split second. Step forward, then, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the country’s most athletic medical student, who is due to make his first Test start on the right wing, with Tommy Freeman shifting over to the left. A little over 10 months ago, on 23 April to be precise, Feyi-Waboso was playing in the back three for Taunton Titans in their final National One fixture against Leeds at the mighty Veritas Park. Now here he is starting at Twickenham, an inspiring role model for ambitious young backs everywhere. They felt much the same about him at Taunton as England currently do: a likable, level-headed young man with lashings of natural talent. The big difference between then and now is his physique: when he reappeared in an Exeter singlet at the start of this season, having spent an intensive pre-season in the gym, he looked every inch the top pro athlete. Super Manny? There are any number of cautionary tales that could be lobbed in at this point. Ollie Hassell-Collins was capped twice only to be summarily discarded. Henry Arundell was England’s golden boy as recently as the last World Cup; now he is playing in France and currently ineligible for his country. Joe Cokanasiga? Max Malins? Ollie Thorley? Adam Radwan? Ruaridh McConnochie? England, over the past five or six years, have been quicker to blood young thrusters than back them. Borthwick, though, clearly likes what he sees in the 21-year-old and the Exeter wing’s decision to opt for England over Wales, where he was born, is already bearing fruit. His try at Murrayfield, ghosting in so late the Scottish defence were left clutching at shadows, illustrated the instinctive timing that sets class players apart and even missing training to sit a medical exam last week has not fazed him. “I sense he’s a guy who takes things in his stride,” Borthwick said. “He’s a really calm and composed character. Each challenge that has been thrown towards him, he’s risen to that level and I expect he’ll do the same again on Saturday. After I told him he was starting, he thanked me numerous times then asked: ‘What do you want from me?’ My message was: ‘I want you to get the ball in your hands as many times as possible.’” Having also discovered that Feyi-Waboso is a talented pianist – “We’re yet to find something he’s not good at but we’ll keep trying,” promised Borthwick – the next trick is to get England’s backline playing more of the right notes in vaguely the right order. Counter Ireland’s strong kicking game, compete fiercely at the breakdown, disrupt their set piece and stop the visitors’ attack at source and could England orchestrate something special? While Ireland are looking to become the first nation to win back-to-back grand slams this century, rare is the Six Nations crown without at least one thorny moment.
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Israel to compete at Eurovision song contest after changing lyrics to its entry
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Israel will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed. Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year’s competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However, the entry was barred on the grounds of breaking rules on political neutrality. After initially pledging not to alter the lyrics, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, responsible for choosing the country’s entry, later agreed to amend the song following the Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s call for “necessary adjustments” to ensure it could take part. The national broadcaster said: “The president emphasised that at this time in particular, when those who hate us seek to push aside and boycott the state of Israel from every stage, Israel must sound its voice with pride and its head high and raise its flag in every world forum, especially this year.” The updated version of the song, now titled Hurricane, will be shared this weekend. In a statement, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the contest, said: “The EBU can confirm that the official submission from its Israeli member Kan has been deemed eligible to compete in the Eurovision song contest in May. “The contest’s reference group, its governing board, made the decision to accept the song Hurricane for the upcoming competition after careful scrutiny of the lyrics. “It was agreed that Hurricane met the necessary criteria for participation in accordance with the rules of the competition.” The original lyrics of October Rain – written in English – were published on Kan’s website last month. They included the lines: “There’s no air left to breathe” and “They were all good children, each one of them”. Earlier this week, Belgium’s French-speaking culture minister, Bénédicte Linard, called for Israel to be banned from Eurovision as long as the war in Gaza continues. “Just like Russia has been excluded from competitions and Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine, Israel should be excluded until it puts an end to its flagrant violations of international law, which are causing thousands of victims, especially children,” she wrote on X. Linard also told the Belgian parliament on Wednesday that she would ask public broadcaster RTBF, which is organising Belgium’s entry to Eurovision, to voice the concerns to the EBU. Her Flemish counterpart, Benjamin Dalle, agreed that an Israeli suspension would be appropriate while so many Palestinian civilians were suffering, according to a report by Flemish broadcaster VRT. Artists in several countries have called for Israel to be suspended from the contest. In December, Iceland’s Association of Composers and Lyricists issued a statement saying Israel’s military action in Gaza made its participation incompatible with an event “characterised by joy and optimism”. In Finland, a petition signed by more than 1,400 music industry professionals accused their national broadcaster Yle of double standards, saying it was among the first to demand the ban on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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James sinks Manchester City to set up Chelsea v Arsenal Continental Cup final
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Chelsea reached the Women’s League Cup final for the fifth time in succession with a slender victory over Manchester City. Lauren James’ early goal was enough to see them set up a meeting with Arsenal on 31 March despite coming under significant pressure from their title rivals. It was a dogged performance from Emma Hayes’ side that ended City’s scintillating run of 12 wins in all competitions and hopes of lifting the treble. The Chelsea manager praised her side’s “gutsy” performance as they reached yet another domestic final. “I felt like that was a Chelsea standard,” she said. “If you’re going to suffer without the ball, we had to make it difficult … I think the team as a whole deserve credit for just digging in. We weren’t at our best, but we know how to do this.” Related: ‘The pressure is on’: Racheal Kundananji on being the world’s most expensive female footballer Gareth Taylor named an unchanged lineup from Saturday’s win over Everton, a predictable occurrence with a set of players who have remained eye-catchingly consistent. Hayes made three changes, with Sjoeke Nüsken dropping into defence to replace the cup-tied Nathalie Björn while James returned from suspension and Melanie Leupolz came into the midfield. James, the focal point of so many of Chelsea’s attacks, struck in the eighth minute. Breaking through the City defence, the 22-year-old ran on to Mayra Ramírez’s pass and slotted past the helpless Khiara Keating. It was a lead the visitors had desperately sought and having gained it they seemed content to let the hosts have possession. The frustration of the City players was clear to see as they struggled to break down Chelsea’s compact setup, managing just one shot on target in the first 45 minutes. Hayes’s gameplan had played out perfectly as they went in ahead. The one blow, however, was the early substitution of Ramírez, with the striker forced off with what looked like a muscle issue. It is a position they can ill afford to suffer another loss in after Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel’s recent anterior cruciate ligament injuries. It was inevitable that City would up the tempo and they dominated the second half as Khadija Shaw outmuscled various members of Chelsea’s backline on successive occasions. She was denied by a series of superb stops from Hannah Hampton, the last line of Chelsea’s creaking defence, who thwarted the WSL’s leading goalscorer twice before producing an impressive stop to keep out Lauren Hemp’s effort from point-blank range. As the clock ran down, Taylor looked to his bench. As much as they threw at the Chelsea goal, however, they could not find an end product despite a late penalty shout. It was far from Chelsea’s prettiest performance on Hayes’s watch but it mattered little. As the whistle blew, they celebrated a confidence-boosting victory and a place in the final, with hopes of a quadruple still very much alive.
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Emma Raducanu off to impressive start at Indian Wells with confident win
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Emma Raducanu moved into the second round of Indian Wells with a composed performance and no significant problems, confidently closing out a 6-2, 6-3 win over the qualifier Rebeka Masarova. A much tougher battle against Dayana Yastremska, the 30th seed, awaits Raducanu on Saturday. Related: ‘I can’t lie to myself’: Rafael Nadal forced to withdraw from Indian Wells “Super important for me to get through that. It’s one of the trickiest tournaments conditions-wise because it varies so much. I dealt with that really well and overcame a really tough opponent who is dangerous in these conditions,” Raducanu told Sky Sports Tennis, referencing the notoriously slow, high-bouncing and windy conditions in the desert. After failing to win a game in the opening set of her loss to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha last month, this time Raducanu was sharp from the first point against Masarova, a big serving but extremely inconsistent Spaniard ranked No 96 in the rankings. She returned well, finding good depth on her strokes while exposing Masarova’s poor movement with her early ball-striking and ability to move the ball around the court with precision and pace, particularly with her backhand. In contrast to her ultra-aggressive approach in the Middle East, Raducanu played with greater patience, choosing when to attack from inside the baseline more carefully. At 3-0, though, Raducanu dropped serve with three double faults and offered Masarova an opportunity to recover. Still, she worked through her struggles and eventually her greater consistency and mobility made a clear difference as she battled through a tough service game at 3-2 before easing through the set. The second took a similar turn, with Raducanu again establishing a 3-0 lead, only for her to lose focus and the set to become significantly more difficult. But with the first under her belt and Masarova’s confidence waning, Raducanu was strong in the decisive moments and she sealed the victory on her fourth match point. “I really enjoy playing in America, some of my best results have been here, so I am very happy to be back. I really appreciate all the love I was receiving,” Raducanu said. This is a notable week for Raducanu as she looks to rise back up the rankings following her eight-month layoff as she recovered from surgeries to her wrists and ankles in April. Last year, Raducanu defeated two top 20 seeds to reach the fourth round in Indian Wells, one of her best results since winning the US Open. She now has to defend those points or face a further drop in the rankings. Having started the week facing a potential drop from her current standing of No 250 to around 340, Raducanu’s victory moves her to around 315. Raducanu, though, says she is currently not focused on her ranking. Between her appearances in the Middle East and California, she spent weeks training back home at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. Rather than playing a fuller schedule, she believes she needs to prioritise her development as a player at this point in her career. From Friday, the seeded players will enter the fray in both the men’s and women’s draws after each had received a first-round bye. For Raducanu, this means an opportunity to demonstrate any progress she has made in training over the past few weeks against top opposition. Her next opponent, Yastremska, started the year by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Caroline Wozniacki arrived at Indian Wells still trying to find momentum in her surprise return to professional tennis, her 5-6 record reflective of her struggles. She took a positive step forward, however, by reaching the second round with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 win over Zhu Lin. She will also test herself against a highly-ranked player next as she faces Donna Vekic, the 25th seed, on Friday. Simona Halep has announced she will make her return to professional tennis at the Miami Open in 10 days following the news her four-year doping ban had been reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, allowing the former No 1 to return to competition immediately.
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State of the Union guest list shows reproductive rights in spotlight after Alabama IVF bill signed into law – as it happened
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Closing summary My colleague Chris Stein will be covering Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this evening on our dedicated live blog. In the meantime, here’s a recap of today’s developments: LaTorya Beasley, an Alabama mother who saw a second round of IVF canceled after the state supreme court ruled that embryos were children, and Kate Cox, the Texas mother forced to travel outside her state for an abortion, are among those set to attend Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight, as guests of the first lady, Jill Biden. Joe Biden will announce in the State of the Union speech that US forces will build a temporary port on the Gaza shoreline in the next few weeks to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale. Biden welcomed Sweden into Nato in a statement after the country officially became the 32nd member of the western military alliance. The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, will be attending the State of the Union address tonight. Katie Boyd Britt, a first-term 42-year-old Republican senator from Alabama, will deliver the GOP’s official response to Biden’s State of the Union address tonight – a move likely designed to highlight the big age gap between the two. Byron Donalds, a Republican Florida congressman being floated as a possible vice presidential pick for Donald Trump, suggested he would be willing to decline to certify the 2028 election results if he was vice president. No Labels, the third-party presidential movement, will reportedly to announce on Friday that it will move forward with a presidential bid in the November election. Joe Biden’s re-election campaign described a new ad from a pro-Trump Super Pac questioning whether Biden can “even survive til 2029” as “a sick and deranged stunt”. Larry Hogan, the Republican former governor of Maryland who is running for Senate, has said he would not vote for Donald Trump in the November election. Daniel Rodimer, a former pro wrestler who won a prominent endorsement from Donald Trump while unsuccessfully running for Congress in Nevada, surrendered to authorities on Wednesday on an arrest warrant for murder. Updated at Republican Florida congressman Byron Donalds became the latest vice-presidential contender to refuse to commit to certifying election results. Donalds, at an Axios event, suggested he would be willing to decline to certify the 2028 election results if he was vice president. He also did not clarify if he would have certified the 2020 election results. Donalds is one of the names being floated as a possible vice presidential pick for Donald Trump. When asked if he would certify the 2028 results as vice president, he replied: If you have state officials who are violating the election law in their states ... then no, I would not. Asked if he agreed with former vice-president Mike Pence’s move to certify the results, Donalds said: “You can only ask that question of Mike Pence.” Updated at Republicans have chosen Katie Boyd Britt, a first-term senator from Alabama, to deliver the party’s official response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight – a move likely designed to highlight the big age gap between the two. Britt, 42, is one of nine women in the Senate Republican conference and the youngest female Republican elected to the Senate. In a statement announcing her speech, she said it was time for the next generation of American politicians “to step up”. She added: The Republican Party is the party of hardworking parents and families, and I’m looking forward to putting this critical perspective front and center. The Republican Party is the party of hardworking parents and families, and I’m looking forward to bringing this critical perspective front and center on March 7.It’s time for the next generation to step up and preserve the American Dream for our children and our grandchildren. pic.twitter.com/QwImnQn21P— Katie Britt (@KatieBrittforAL) February 29, 2024 Senate Republicans say she will offer a split screen of sorts when she delivers the party’s rebuttal to the State of the Union address by Biden, 81. “She’s young, female and full of energy – opposite of everything Joe Biden is,” senator Markwayne Mullin told the Hill. “The contrast between the two, it’s so different.” No Labels to move ahead with US presidential bid – reports The third-party presidential movement No Labels is expected to announce it will move forward with a presidential bid in the November election, according to multiple reports. About 800 No Labels delegates are expected to meet virtually in a private meeting and vote on Friday in favor of launching a presidential campaign for this fall’s election, sources told AP and Reuters. The group will not name its presidential and vice presidential picks on Friday, but instead it is expected to roll out a formal selection process late next week for potential candidates who would be selected in the coming weeks, the people said. The House passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain any migrant charged with theft or burglary, named after a Georgia nursing student police have said was killed by a man who entered the US illegally. The measure, called the Laken Riley Act, requires immigrations and customs enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants accused by local authorities of theft, burglary, larceny or shoplifting. The bill would also allow states and individuals to sue the federal government for crimes committed by immigrants who enter the country illegally. The bill was named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, who was killed on the campus of the University of Georgia while on a morning run last month. Riley’s death has become a rallying point for Donald Trump, after authorities arrested a Venezuelan man who entered the US illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case. The House approved the legislation hours before Joe Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union address. Republicans have seized on Riley’s death to hammer the Biden administration’s border policies. “Republicans will not stand for the release of dangerous criminals into our communities, and that’s exactly what the Biden administration has done,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News. Laken is just one of the tragic examples of innocent American citizens who have lost their lives, been brutally and violently attacked by illegal criminals who are roaming our streets. Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has responded to a new ad from a pro-Trump Super Pac questioning Biden’s ability to serve a second term in a new TV ad and whether the president can “even survive til 2029.” The ad, by Make America Great Again Inc, shows a clip from Biden’s press conference after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. During the briefing, Biden spoke about comments by Donald Trump about letting Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to Nato allies. Pausing for dramatic effect, Biden then says he should clear his mind “and not say what I’m really thinking.” In the Maga Inc ad, a narrator says: “We can all see Joe Biden’s weakness. If Biden wins, can he even survive to 2029. The real question is, can we?” If Biden wins, can he even survive till 2029? The real question is, can we? pic.twitter.com/2nFZGuC3l1— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) March 7, 2024 Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa told NBC News that the ad is “a sick and deranged stunt from a broke and struggling campaign”, adding: Trump tried this strategy four years ago and got his ass kicked by Joe Biden – he should tune in tonight alongside tens of millions of Americans to see why President Biden will beat him again this November. Updated at A former congressional candidate backed by Donald Trump has been arrested for murder. The Guardian’s Ramon Antonio Vargas reports: A former pro wrestler who won a prominent endorsement from Donald Trump while unsuccessfully running for Congress in Nevada surrendered to authorities on Wednesday on an arrest warrant for murder. Daniel Rodimer, 45, was booked in connection with the slaying of 47-year-old Christopher Tapp, who was reportedly beaten to death in Resorts World Las Vegas on 29 October. Rodimer met Tapp – who was once charged with murder himself – “through the classic car and racing circuit”, according to the local television news station KLAS, which reviewed police documents. Investigators allege that Rodimer fatally attacked Tapp after he offered Rodimer’s stepdaughter cocaine during a hotel room party. Initially, authorities believed Tapp’s death stemmed from a drug overdose and a fall, after an autopsy found evidence of blunt trauma and cocaine use. But detectives later determined Tapp had been in a fight inside the hotel room where he was found injured. He died later at a hospital. For the full story, click here: Related: Trump-backed former congressional candidate arrested for murder Here is a video of Maryland’s former Republican governor Larry Hogan – who we reported about earlier – saying that he will not vote for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump: Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who’s running in his state’s U.S. Senate race, says he won’t vote for either leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election:“I’m like 70% of the rest of the people in America who do not want Joe Biden or Donald Trump to be president.” pic.twitter.com/BowMC1HnCJ— The Recount (@therecount) March 7, 2024 Hogan, who recently stepped down from his third-party movement No Labels, said: “I think we’ll hopefully have some ability to vote for someone that these people actually want to vote for rather than just voting against.” In a tweet on Thursday, Joe Biden urged Americans to tune into his State of the Union address in which he plans to address “how far we’ve come in building the economy from the middle out and the bottom up …” He went on to add that he plans to address “the work we have left to lower costs and protect our freedoms against MAGA attacks”. I’m headed to the Capitol tonight to deliver my State of the Union address.Join us at 9pm ET to hear how far we’ve come in building the economy from the middle out and the bottom up and the work we have left to lower costs and protect our freedoms against MAGA attacks. pic.twitter.com/cpflojaeCH— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 7, 2024 Updated at State of the Union guests include Alabama mother whose IVF was canceled An Alabama mother who saw a second round of IVF canceled after the state supreme court ruled that embryos were children will attend Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, as guests of the first lady, Jill Biden. LaTorya Beasley of Birmingham, Alabama, is among the first lady’s 20 invited guests who “personify issues or themes to be addressed by the president in his speech,” the White House said in a statement. Beasley and her husband had their first child, via IVF, in 2022. They were trying to have another child through IVF but Beasley’s embryo transfer was suddenly canceled because of the Alabama court decision. Also on the guest list is Kate Cox, the Texas mother forced to travel outside her state for an abortion. The White House said the cases of Beasley and Cox, showed “how the overturning of Roe v Wade has disrupted access to reproductive healthcare for women and families across the country”. In a statement, the White House said: Stories like Kate’s and LaTorya’s should never happen in America. But Republican elected officials want to impose this reality on women nationwide. Related: Biden’s State of the Union guests include mother whose IVF was canceled and Kate Cox Updated at Joe Biden has welcomed Sweden into Nato in a statement after the country officially became the 32nd member of the western military alliance. Stockholm’s ratification process was finally completed in Washington on Thursday, as Sweden and Hungary – the last country to ratify Sweden’s membership – submitted the necessary documents after a drawn-out process that has taken nearly two years. The ratification marked the end of a 20-month-long wait that started in May 2022 when it submitted its application to join alongside Finland, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year. In a statement, Biden said he was “honored” to welcome Sweden as Nato’s newest ally, and that the alliance was “stronger than ever” with its addition. He added: Today, we once more reaffirm that our shared democratic values – and our willingness to stand up for them – is what makes Nato the greatest military alliance in the history of the world. It is what draws nations to our cause. It is what underpins our unity. And together with our newest Ally Sweden – NATO will continue to stand for freedom and democracy for generations to come. The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, will be attending Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as a guest of the first lady, the White House has confirmed. Updated at Larry Hogan, the Republican former governor of Maryland who is running for Senate, has said he would not vote for Donald Trump in the November election. Hogan, at an Axios event, said he will vote for neither Trump nor Joe Biden and would instead seek out a third-party candidate. He said: I’m like 70% of the rest of people in America who do not want Joe Biden or Donald Trump to be president, and I’m hoping that there potentially is another alternative. He added that he didn’t know yet who that candidate will be. Hogan, one of the most outspoken and only Trump critics in the Republican party, last year said he would support the party’s nominee for president, but at the time said he did not think Trump would be that candidate. Updated at Biden to announce US will build port on Gaza shore for large-scale aid delivery Joe Biden will announce in the State of the Union speech that US forces will build a temporary port on the Gaza shoreline in the next few weeks to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale. “We are not waiting on the Israelis. This is a moment for American leadership,” a senior US official said on Thursday, reflecting growing frustration of what is seen in Washington as Israeli obstruction of road deliveries on a substantial scale. The port will be built by US military engineers operating from ships off the Gaza coast, who will not need to step ashore, US officials said. The aid deliveries will be shipped from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, which will become the main relief hub. The official said: Tonight, the president will announce in his State of the Union address that he has directed the US military to undertake an emergency mission to establish a port in Gaza, working in partnership with like minded countries and humanitarian partners. This port, the main feature of which is a temporary pier, will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day. Biden will also announce the opening of a new land crossing into the occupied and devastated coastal strip. Biden has been fiercely criticised within his own party for the failure to open up Gaza to humanitarian aid, with a famine looming and 30,000 Palestinians dead already since the start of war on 7 October. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight will highlight Democratic successes and show the chaos in the House Republican party in stark relief. During his floor remarks reported by CNN, Schumer said Biden will make it clear that “after so much adversity, America’s economy is growing, inflation is slowing, and Democrats’ agenda is delivering.” He said: The difference between the parties will be as clear as night and day. Democrats are focused on lowering costs, creating jobs, putting money in people’s pockets. But the hard right, which too often runs the Republican party in the House and now increasingly in the Senate, is consumed by chaos, bullying, and attacking things like women’s freedom of choice. Meanwhile, the Republican front-runner for president, Donald Trump, has “made it abundantly clear that he’s not running to make people’s lives better, but rather on airing his personal political grievances,” Schumer added. Biden to use State of the Union address to urge protection of rights Joe Biden will deliver the final State of the Union address of his presidential term this evening, giving him an opportunity to tout his accomplishments and pitch his re-election campaign as he prepares for a rematch against Donald Trump in November. Previewing Biden’s State of the Union speech, his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said his remarks would focus on the president’s vision for the nation’s future and his legislative accomplishments. “You’re going to hear the president address how democracy is under attack, how freedoms are certainly under attack,” including women’s reproductive rights and voting rights, Jean-Pierre told MSNBC. Biden’s speech will also highlight his agenda for a potential second term, the White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told NPR. Those include “lowering costs, continuing to make people’s lives better by investing in childcare, eldercare, paid family and medical leave, continued progress on student debt”, he said, adding: The president is also going to call for restoring Roe v. Wade and giving women freedom over their healthcare. And he’ll talk about protecting, not taking away, freedoms in other areas, as well as voting rights. Related: Joe Biden to deliver final State of the Union before election Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, reportedly pleaded with his party to show “decorum” on Thursday, when Joe Biden comes to the chamber to deliver his State of the Union address. “Decorum is the order of the day,” Johnson said, according to an unnamed Republican who attended a closed-door event on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and was quoted by the Hill. The same site said another unnamed member of Congress said Johnson asked his party to “carry ourselves with good decorum”. A third Republican was quoted as saying: He said, ‘Let’s have the appropriate decorum. We don’t need to be shrill, you know, we got to avoid that. We need to base things upon policy, upon facts, upon reality of situations. Last year’s State of the Union saw outbursts from Republicans and responses from Biden that made headlines, most awarding the president the win. Kevin McCarthy, then speaker, also asked his Republican members not to breach decorum. But in a sign of his limited authority, months before he became the first speaker ejected by his own party, such pleas fell on deaf ears. More than a quarter of Black female voters describe abortion has their top issue in this year’s presidential election, according to a new poll. The findings by health policy research firm KFF reveal a significant shift from previous election years, when white, conservative evangelicals were more likely to put abortion as their biggest priority when voting, AP reported. Those voters were highly motivated in recent presidential elections to cast ballots for Donald Trump. Overall, 12% of voters surveyed said abortion was the most important issue in this year’s election. Twenty eight percent of Black women identified the issue as top of mind, as well as 19% of women living in states where abortion is banned, and 17% of women who are under age 50. Of voters who said that abortion was their most important issue, two-thirds said they believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. “It’s a complete shift,” pollster Ashley Kirzinger told AP. Abortion voters are young, Black women – and not white evangelicals. Women – and Black women, in particular – were crucial to Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. More than half of Black Americans live in southern states, most of which have introduced strict abortion laws since the supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade. Updated at Joe Biden won the Hawaii’s Democratic presidential contest on Wednesday with 66% of the vote, according to the Hawaii Democratic Party. Of the 1,563 votes cast, 29% of voters chose “uncommitted”, the highest percentage total in any statewide contest this cycle. Some Democrats have pushed for voters to cast an uncommitted ballot in states that permit it, as a protest vote against Biden’s position on the war between Israel and Hamas. "Uncommitted" got 29% against Biden in Hawaii's caucuses pic.twitter.com/IVr7yhvQf3— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) March 7, 2024 Kate Cox, the Texas woman who had to flee her state for an abortion, has described the “terrifying” toll that politicizing health decisions takes on women and families. Cox, who is expected to attend this evening’s State of the Union address as a guest of first lady Jill Biden, sued Texas after the state supreme court ruled to block her from receiving an abortion after her foetus was diagnosed with a fatal chromosomal condition. Cox did not qualify for an abortion because her doctor did not establish her symptoms were life-threatening, the court ruled, prompting her to travel to New Mexico to undergo an abortion. Having to seek the procedure out of state “added a lot of pain and suffering to what was already the most devastating time of our lives,” she said in an interview with CNN aired last night. “I’m just one,” she said, adding: There’s a lot of women and families that are suffering because of the laws in Texas today. Powerful interview from @danabashcnn with Kate Cox. pic.twitter.com/8Nb5MPVczc— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 7, 2024 Related: Kate Cox case reveals toll of US abortion bans on women in medical emergencies The health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, said while his agency would continue to enforce federal laws in Alabama, including laws that provide medical patients a right to privacy and the right to stabilizing emergency care, including emergency abortions, it is ultimately the courts in and politicians of Alabama who need to fix the upheaval their policies caused. “The supreme court in Alabama is the one that has to undo its wrongful decision,” Becerra told the Guardian. The state legislature in Alabama should move to provide protections to families that rely on IVF – and serious comprehensive protections, not short-term, piecemeal protections that threaten anyone going through the process or any provider who wishes to provide quality IVF services. Although Alabama politicians have passed a bill to give IVF providers immunity from civil and criminal suits, national associations of fertility doctors have said the law does not go far enough to address the core problem – the supreme court “conflating fertilized eggs with children”. “Clearly, this goes way beyond abortion,” said Becerra. It would not surprise me if we also begin to see actions which undermine the ability of women to get basic family planning services. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which represents IVF providers nationwide, has said the new law is insufficient because it does not correct the fundamental problem – the court ruling that considers fertilized eggs to be children. The bill “falls far short of what Alabamans want and need to access fertility care in their state without fear,” NBC cited Karla Torres, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, as saying, adding that the legislation amounted to “backpedaling in the face of state and nationwide public outcry to allow politicians to save face.” Although some of the clinics that paused IVF services after the state court’s decision are planning to resume treatments, the fertility clinic at the center of that case, the Center for Reproductive Medicine at Mobile Infirmary, said it will not yet be resuming IVF treatments, CNN reported. A statement said: At this time, we believe the law falls short of addressing the fertilized eggs currently stored across the state and leaves challenges for physicians and fertility clinics trying to help deserving families have children of their own. Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, acknowledged the new law was a quick fix after the court ruling and noted “there will be more work to come” on IVF protections. State of the Union guest list puts reproductive rights in spotlight Becerra’s comments come ahead of Joe Biden addressing the nation in the State of the Union on Thursday night. Although the White House has not released the speech, a large number of Democratic guests suggest reproductive rights may feature heavily. Among the guests of high-ranking Democrats are Elizabeth Carr, the first person in the US to be born via IVF; Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who nearly died of septic shock when she was denied a medically necessary abortion; and Kate Cox, who had to flee Texas for an abortion after she learned her fetus had a fatal chromosomal condition. More guests include reproductive endocrinologists, an Indiana doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim, and leaders of reproductive rights groups. Becerra’s comments emphasizing the importance of reproductive rights, Democrats’ guest list for the State of the Union and a recent administration officials’ trips to states with abortion restrictions are the most recent evidence of Democrat’s election bet: that when Republicans married the motivated minority of voters who support the anti-abortion movement, they also divorced themselves from the broader American public, broad margins of whom support IVF, contraception and legal abortion. ‘Pandora’s box was opened’ after fall of Roe, says health secretary The health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, said the US must provide federal protections for reproductive rights if Americans hope to avoid further restrictions on in vitro fertilization, contraception and abortion in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. Becerra’s comments come in the wake of an Alabama supreme court decision that gave embryos the rights of “extrauterine children” and forced three of the state’s largest fertility clinics to stop services for fear of litigation and prosecution. He said the events in Alabama were linked directly to the “take-down” of Roe v Wade, a decision that provided a constitutional right to abortion grounded in privacy and was overturned by conservative US supreme court justices in 2022. Becerra said: It wasn’t until this new court came in” – that is, that three new supreme court justices were confirmed by former President Trump – “that we saw the attacks on Roe v Wade take hold, and today without Roe v Wade there are women who are trying to have babies in Alabama who are facing the consequences. He continued: None of this would be happening in Alabama on IVF if Roe v Wade was still the law of the land, and no one should try to deny that. Updated at Some Alabama fertility clinics that paused IVF services last month have said they will resume services after state lawmakers approved new legislation to protect IVF providers from potential civil and criminal liability. The bill “provides the protections that we need to start care – or resume care, really,” Dr Janet Bouknight, an IVF provider at Alabama Fertility, told NBC News. The clinic is planning to resume services this week. The state’s largest health care system, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also said it would restart IVF services. In a video statement, Dr Warner Huh, chair of the UAB department of obstetrics and gynaecology, said: While UAB is moving to promptly resume IVF treatments, we’ll continue to assess developments and advocate for protections for IVF patients and our providers. Republicans in the state legislature proposed the immunity bill as a way to get clinics reopened, but have refused to take up a bill that would address the legal status of embryos. For that reason, some legal experts and reproductive rights advocates have warned the bill does not go far enough. Barbara Collura, president of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, said in a statement on Wednesday evening: While we are grateful for the actions of Alabama legislators, this legislation does not address the underlying issue of the status of embryos as part of the IVF process – threatening the long-term standard of care for IVF patients. There is more work to be done. Alabama governor signs IVF protection bill into law Alabama lawmakers moved quickly to approve new legislation that to protect IVF providers from the fallout of a court ruling that found frozen embryos have the rights of children under the state’s wrongful death law. Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, signed the bill into law on Wednesday night. The law protects providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution in the event of “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services. In a statement after signing, Ivey, a Republican, said: IVF is a complex issue, no doubt, and I anticipate there will be more work to come, but right now, I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately. The bill gives legal protection for fertility clinics, at least three of which paused IVF treatments after the state’s supreme court ruled last month that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits. Republicans in the state legislature proposed the immunity bill as a way to get clinics reopened, but have refused to take up a bill that would address the legal status of embryos. Updated at Alabama fertility services set to resume after governor signs IVF protection bill Alabama fertility clinics that paused in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments following a controversial state supreme court ruling last month that equated frozen embryos to children are considering their next moves after Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, signed a bill into law aimed at protecting IVF providers from potential legal liability on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is preparing to deliver the final State of the Union address of his presidential term, where Democrats plan to put reproductive freedom literally front and center this evening. Among the guests invited to the SoTU are guests involved in the reproductive rights movement in some way, including Kate Cox, who made headlines in December when she fled Texas to receive abortion care after she was denied access to the procedure in her home state. Elizabeth Carr, the first person born via in vitro fertilization in the US, is also expected to attend. The stakes for Biden tonight are astronomical, as the president will aim to tout his accomplishments and pitch his re-election campaign as he faces intensifying worries about his age and ability at a time when the US faces numerous challenges at home and abroad. Here’s what is happening today: 9am ET: Biden will receive his intelligence briefing 9.40am: Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will testify to the Senate Banking committee 10am: The House will convene. The Senate will meet. 10am: Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will hold a bilateral meeting with Germany’s minister for economic affairs and climate action Robert Habeck. 8.25pm: Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will depart the White House en route to the Capitol. 9pm: Biden will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress. Updated at
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USPS to stop accepting orders for free Covid tests 8 March
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The US government will stop accepting orders for free at-home Covid-19 tests on Friday, 8 March. Each household can still place an order until Friday for rapid coronavirus tests via the US Postal Service (USPS), according to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. “ASPR has delivered over 1.8bn free Covid-19 tests to the American people through CovidTests.gov and direct distribution pathways and will continue distributing millions of tests per week to long-term care facilities, food banks, health centers and schools,” an ASPR spokesperson said in a statement to CBS. Each order includes four individual rapid antigen Covid tests. If an order has not been placed for your address since the program reopened on 25 September 2023, you can place two orders for a total of eight tests until 8 March, according to the USPS. The US government has been mailing free at-home tests on and off since January 2022 to curb the spread of Covid and make testing more accessible for the general public. The decision to suspend the program comes amid slowing case rates, but could still be distributed in the future, according to ASPR. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed longstanding guidance for people who test positive for Covid-19. They no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, and can resume regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving, and they have been fever-free for a day. According to the CDC, most of the US population has developed some degree of immunity against Covid from prior infections or vaccinations. Additionally, starting Friday, antiviral treatment Paxlovid will no longer be authorized for emergency use. Pharmacies can dispense unexpired Paxlovid labeled for emergency use through Friday, after which it must be returned to the manufacturer or disposed of. The emergency use will continue to be authorized for high-risk pediatric patients (12 years of age and older).
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Affordable apples and brilliant berries: Australia’s best value fruit and vegetables in March
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At Senserricks Fruit and Flowers in north-west Melbourne, owner Pat Senserrick says that apples, grapes and raspberries should be your go-to at the beginning of autumn – though it’s not the most exciting time of year for fresh produce. A Melbourne market vendor, Senserrick says markets tend to have more variety than supermarkets as well as better prices. Grapes are in “full swing”, with traditional crimson and Thompson seedless grapes great value at about $5 to $7 a kilo. But Senserrick’s favourite of the season is a lesser-known red, seedless variety called the crunchy pop. “Some of the supermarkets don’t stock them,” he says. For a savoury take on grapes, try Anna Jones’s roasted grapes and goat’s cheese on toast or an easily adaptable lentil and roast grape salad, which suits crimson grapes. For dessert, make use of autumn’s influx of apples. “New season apples are starting anywhere from between $3 and $6 a kilo,” says Senserrick. While jazz apples aren’t on shelves just yet, royal galas are in and can be found for about $3.90 a kilo in supermarkets, with pink ladies and granny smiths starting from about $4.50 a kilo. Try Nigel Slater’s dense apple and blackberry pie or, if you don’t feel like baking, æblekage (Danish apple cake), a no-bake, trifle-cross-cake dessert. Pears are also in for between $3 and $5 a kilo. Try a riff on Eve’s pudding (traditionally made with apples) with Benjamina Ebuehi’s pear and walnut version. Blackberries are cheap (about $3.50 a punnet) for the aforementioned pie, but raspberries are even better value, selling for as little as $3 a punnet in supermarkets. Use them in a raspberry oat crumble slice, which can be dressed up for dessert or dressed down for lunchboxes. But growing conditions have been a bit challenging for strawberries, which means they are smaller than usual. At about $3.50 a punnet in supermarkets, “they’re not overpriced,” says Senserrick. “You just might not get the big plump ones that we’re used to, but they still taste good.” Blueberries are more scarce and more expensive than usual too, at upwards of $4 a punnet. Year of the dragon fruit “Dragon fruit seems to have found some popularity and a rock-steady supply,” says Senserrick. “It is finding a whole new market ... It is not a dirt-cheap fruit – you still have to pay $4 to $8 apiece – but just for something different, I regularly put it on the shelf.” Dragon fruit can be eaten straight out of its skin with a spoon, like a kiwifruit, or sliced up and served with a squeeze of lime. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Watermelon, at about $2 a kilo, is the only melon worth your while at the moment, with rock melon and honeydew both costly and not at their best. But pineapple prices are falling, coming down to anywhere from $4 to $6 a head. March is your last chance to grill pineapple on the BBQ and pretend it’s still summer. Or for something more autumnal, make a zingy upside down cake. Salad days continue Due to the weather, cabbages, beans, cauliflower and broccoli have all gone up in price this month. With shorter supply, half a cabbage in a supermarket will run you about $4 or more, broccoli and cauliflower are trending upwards of $7 a kilo and beans are at least $10 a kilo. John Waugh, the purchasing manager at Big Michael’s in Rocklea, Brisbane, says “Mother Nature can change things literally overnight.” He hopes prices will ease mid-month. Asian greens are up slightly too, by about 50c, now averaging $3 a bunch. Senserrick says that overall, salad greens are very good value. Despite the rain, lettuce is still $2 to $2.50 a head (slightly more in supermarkets). Continental cucumbers and corn remain at about $1.50 apiece, and avocados are about $1.70 each. Celery – at about $3 to $5 a bunch – is good value when used from top to tail for salads and stew. Finish it off by using the leaves in Tom Hunt’s wintry tabbouleh. Roasting’s return Hardy veg like potatoes, pumpkin, and sweet potato (regularly on special) remain consistent, as do “carrots, they never change,” says Senserrick. Well suited to quick and easy meals, make Rukmini Iyer’s one-tray spiced roast carrots with feta, dates, bulgur and beans or Yotam Ottolenghi’s (two-tray) roast carrots and gingery tomato salad. Mediterranean vegetables are more variable. While eggplant hovers around $6 a kilo in supermarkets, Senserrick sees it much cheaper in the markets – anywhere from $1.50 to $3 a kilo. Try spiced eggplants baked in the oven and topped with tahini if you can get a good deal. You can also roast tomatoes in the oven, alongside tuna and borlotti beans, for a Nigel Slater store-cupboard bean-feast. Sauce tomatoes, not yet “at giveaway prices”, are hovering around $5 to $6 a kilo, but are in good supply. Avoid capsicums, which are more expensive than usual, with all varieties starting at about $10 a kilo in supermarkets. Buy:ApplesAsian greensAvocadoBananasBeansCarrotsCeleryCornCucumberDragon fruit EggplantGrapesLettucePearsPlumsPineapplePotatoesPumpkinRaspberriesSalad greensTomatoesWatermelon Watch:BlueberriesHerbsStrawberries Almost gone: Mangoes NectarinesPeaches Avoid:Broccoli CabbageCauliflower CapsicumsRock melonHoneydew
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Who is Katie Britt? Alabama senator to deliver rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union
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Republicans have chosen first-term Alabama senator Katie Britt, the youngest Republican woman ever to serve in the Senate, to deliver the rebuttal to the State of the Union address tonight. At 42, Britt is also the third-youngest senator serving today, presenting a counterpoint to the oldest sitting president. Her rebuttal will come on the heels of a high-stakes political showdown over women’s access to in vitro fertilization in her home state. After Alabama’s supreme court ruled that frozen embryos preserved for IVF “are children” under state law, Britt told reporters that “defending life and ensuring continued access to IVF services for loving parents are not mutually exclusive,” pushing for changes to state and federal law to protect the procedure. Alabama’s legislature subsequently wrote new legislation intended to do so, which Governor Kay Ivey signed into law on Wednesday. Britt was elected to the Senate in 2022. Her political fortunes can be attributed in part to her astute balancing act navigating relationships with Alabama’s business elite as a consummate political insider, while connecting herself to president Donald Trump and Trumpist populism as a candidate. She also got lucky. Her opponent in the race, Mo Brooks, had Trump’s endorsement to succeed the retiring senator Richard Shelby, but squandered an early polling lead. Trump withdrew his endorsement mid-race, and the business-backed Britt swept into place. Britt has two school-age children with her husband, former San Diego Chargers offensive tackle Wesley Britt. Her political resume began in high school, when she was elected in 1999 by the delegates of Alabama Girls State program to be their governor . The high school valedictorian graduated from the University of Alabama as student body president in 2004. After a stint serving as former Shelby’s communications chief, she earned a law degree there in 2013.
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Corrections and clarifications
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• Pedro Sánchez is Spain’s prime minister, not president as we described him in an editorial in some early editions (European elections 2024: Progressive parties must find a bold response to the threat of the radical right, 6 March, Journal, p2). • The tennis player Katie Boulter was not seeded for the Indian Wells tournament as an article stated (How brilliant Boulter found her winning formula, 5 March, p36). • Other recently amended articles include: ‘Big bullies’: Maldives turns away from India as calculating China woos it with aid Dozens of koalas allegedly killed or injured during plantation logging on Kangaroo Island Who is Jason Palmer? Biden beaten by unknown in American Samoa Democratic caucus ‘What a ridiculous question!’ How fawning, lechery and sheer inanity ruined the red carpet Paris Olympics 2024: what Australia’s athletes will be wearing as they compete ‘Elvis was as pilled up as me!’ Dan Penn on writing hits for Aretha, Otis, Dolly and more Editorial complaints and correction requests can be sent to: guardian.readers@theguardian.com. You can also write to: Readers’ editor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, or leave a voicemail on +44 (0) 20 3353 4736.
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Troubled Miami Seaquarium ordered to close after high-profile animal deaths
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One of Florida’s largest aquatic theme parks has been ordered to close by next month following several high-profile animal deaths and a series of scathing federal reports into the care of its marine mammals. The Miami-Dade commission on Thursday served eviction papers on the Dolphin Company, owners of the troubled Miami Seaquarium, demanding it to vacate its county-owned site in Key Biscayne by 21 April. A letter sent to the company on Thursday by Jimmy Morales, the commission’s chief operating officer, cited “numerous and significant violations” of the lease agreement, which he said represented “not just a default, but a complete disregard for the safety of the animals housed on the premises”. “Lessee’s long and troubling history of violations constitute repeated, continuing longstanding violations of lessee’s contractual obligations to keep the property in a good state of repair, maintain animals in accordance with applicable law, and comply with all laws,” he wrote. “The deficient and dangerous conditions that lessee has allowed to persist on the property … in many instances has resulted in injury to the animals and the animals’ ingestion of foreign materials.” The Miami-Dade mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, a longtime critic of the park’s operations, was expected to give further details of the eviction at a press conference later on Thursday. The termination of the Seaquarium’s lease, which the commission first threatened in December, comes less than a year after the death of killer whale Tokitae (also known by her performing name Lolita) after more than half a century of captivity in cramped conditions. At least 120 dolphins and whales have died in captivity at the park, according to the Dolphin Project, including Sundance, a 30-year-old dolphin that died weeks after a November inspection by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted “signs of gastric distress”. A succession of other federal inspections revealed deteriorations in both the maintenance of the park and the wellbeing of animals. In October, a dolphin was found with a two-inch nail in its throat; another with a broken metal bolt in its mouth. A sea lion with eye pain was denied surgery and refused to eat, the USDA said. Mold and peeling paint were found in penguin and parrot enclosures; and the underfunded veterinary lab lacked basic diagnostic tools such as ultrasound, radiography, endoscopy or functioning anesthesia. The park was behind at least $180,000 in rent, the county alleged, and in the most recent blow, Seaquarium’s head veterinarian Jessica Comolli resigned last month. “This news raises even more concerns about the conditions and safety of the animals currently under their care,” Levine Cava said in a statement. The Dolphin Company did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request from the Guardian for comment. Previous statements from the company have accused critics, including the mayor, of spreading misinformation about its activities. It is not yet known if the Mexico-based company, which took over the lease for the park in 2022, will challenge the eviction notice, or what will happen to the dozens of animals in its care if it is forced to close. Previously, other marine parks in Florida have accepted Seaquarium’s animals, including ageing manatees Romeo and Juliet, who were relocated in December after animal rights activists campaigned for their freedom. “At long last, authorities are taking action against the persistent animal welfare violations,” Dr Naomi Rose, senior scientist in marine mammal biology for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Life Program, said in a statement. “This run-down facility has been a blight on Miami for too long. We hope the zoo and aquarium community steps up to the plate to ensure all of the animals, the mammals, birds, fish, find acceptable homes in US facilities. “This came too late to help Tokitae, but at least the other dolphins, sea lions, birds and fish have a chance to find decent homes.” Phil Demers, a former marine mammal trainer and founder of the group UrgentSeas, whose advocacy was credited for the relocation of the two manatees, also welcomed the termination notice. “It’s official: the county is ending their lease. The Seaquarium’s nearly 70-year existence is coming to an end. As promised,” he wrote in a message posted to X, formerly Twitter.
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Michael Gove failed to declare hospitality at three football matches
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Michael Gove failed to declare hospitality worth more than £1,700 at three Queens Park Rangers matches over the course of two years, not just the one occasion when he attended with a Conservative donor, it has emerged. The housing secretary was placed under investigation by the House of Commons standards watchdog last week, after the Guardian reported that he failed to register hospitality he received in August 2021 alongside David Meller, a donor whose firm he had referred to the VIP lane for assessing PPE deals during the Covid pandemic. Meller’s firm, Meller Designs, won six PPE contracts worth £164m. The commissioner did not give details about the inquiry other than to say it related to Gove’s registration of interests. However, the cabinet minister said last month that he would notify the authorities about an “oversight” that meant he failed to make the required declaration about hospitality at a football match in 2021. The latest register of MPs’ interests shows that Gove was also given hospitality at QPR in January 2020 and January 2022, with the tickets provided by the football club itself. The MPs’ code of conduct requires them to register gifts, benefits and hospitality over a value of £300 within 28 days. Asked whether Gove attended alongside Meller on the two other occasions as well, a spokesperson for Gove said: “Given the inquiry we can’t comment or give any details under the rules.” Gove’s referral of Meller Designs for a PPE contract was not yet public knowledge when in August 2021 Meller and his son, Jonny, accompanied Gove and his son to Queens Park Rangers’ first match of the football season, a 1-1 draw with Millwall. During that week, Jonny Meller had contacted one of the QPR owners, Amit Bhatia, saying Gove had asked to be taken to the match. Jonny Meller inquired if they could pay to have seats in Bhatia’s box, saying it could be uncomfortable for Gove if they sat in a general area of the stadium due to public anger at the government’s handling of the pandemic. Bhatia made his box available, waiving any payment for it, and Gove and David Meller went to the match with their sons and some other guests. Gove’s spokesperson told the Guardian that his failure to declare the two complimentary tickets he received was an “oversight”. The spokesperson said: “Mr Gove is grateful to the Guardian for bringing this matter to his attention. He has written to the relevant parliamentary authorities to inform them of a potential omission from the register of members’ financial interests regarding two complimentary tickets he received from Queens Park Rangers Football Club to a match in August 2021. “Mr Gove routinely declares his attendance at such events in his role as an MP and government minister, as evidenced by other entries in his register of interests and ministerial transparency returns. He apologises for any oversight on his part.” The senior Tory is one of six MPs, all Conservatives, being investigated by the standards commissioner. The Mellers have been contacted for comment.
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Morning Mail: mulch company’s court move, Biden proposes aid port for Gaza, nuclear power challenges
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Morning everyone. The company at the centre of the investigation into contaminated mulch in Sydney will argue in court today that the pollution of its product could have occurred outside it facilities and therefore it cannot be blamed. We have the full exclusive story. Plus, we dig into the big question of whether the Coalition’s nuclear plans make sense; and Joe Biden is about to announce a bold plan to bypass Israeli control and deliver aid straight to Gazans. Australia Nowland settlement | The family of Clare Nowland, who died after being allegedly Tasered by police in an aged care home, has reached a confidential settlement in their civil case against the New South Wales government. ‘Unjustified impact’ | Greenlife Resource Recovery, the landscaping materials company at the centre of the New South Wales asbestos crisis, is expected in court today in an attempt to have an order preventing it from making mulch products thrown out. Re-detention hearing | The high court has agreed to hear two appeals that threaten the legality of the re-detention of more than 100 non-citizens who had been sentenced and served more than a year in prison. Gambling problem | An Indigenous leader and independent MP has accused the Northern Territory government of having “a clear conflict of interest” with the $50bn online gambling industry and of ignoring First Nations health and advocacy groups. Meta bid | Australian media companies could seek compensation from Meta for its use of online news sources in training generative AI technology, researchers have said. World Gaza port plan | US forces will build a temporary port on the Gaza shoreline in the next few weeks to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale to circumvent Israeli controls. State of the Union | Joe Biden will announce the port plan today in his State of the Union address which will also make much of Democrat attempts to protect the reproductive rights of women from Republican-driven rulings. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been boosted by the court decisions, and Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán is putting his chips on the table with a trip to visit Trump in Florida. Haiti chaos | Haiti has been rocked by seven days of bedlam as gangs launched a wave of attacks while the president was overseas, our Latin America correspondent reports. Banksy bust | Police in Spain say they have smashed a ring that allegedly forged works by Banksy that it sold for up to $2,500 apiece. Epoch struggle | The quest to declare the Anthropocene an official geological epoch has split the world of science after the validity of a leaked vote that apparently killed the proposal was questioned. Full Story Newsroom edition: the Liberal party’s policy problem Gabrielle Jackson talks with head of newsroom Mike Ticher and national news editor Patrick Keneally about how the Dunkley byelection exposed the Coalition’s lack policies on key issues. In-depth The Coalition appears set to commit itself to a policy of building nuclear reactors across Australia to replace ageing coal-fire generators. But the plan faces many hurdles, such as the considerable problems of timing (it could take up to 20 years before nuclear power is on stream), cost (nuclear is the most expensive way to generate electricity), dealing with waste, finding someone to build them, and overcoming opposition. Graham Readfearn powers up some answers. Not the news They were one of Australia’s biggest ever bands, but being a member of Midnight Oil was not always a rock’n’roll dream. In his new memoir The Silver River, co-founder and guitarist Jim Moginie (pictured on the far right) explores what our reviewer Nigel Featherstone describes as the overall “sadness” of the band’s story – how a boy from the suburbs fulfilled his dream to “belong” in a band but how it ultimately “became a beast of burden”. The world of sport AFL | Sydney’s new recruit Brodie Grundy played a starring role as the Swans kicked off the season with a tough 22-point win over his former team the Demons at the SCG. Formula One | Christian Horner’s accuser has been suspended after the Red Bull boss’s exoneration by an independent investigation into “inappropriate behaviour”. Cricket | England suffered another batting collapse in the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala as they were all out for 218 before the home side ended on 1-135. Media roundup Many papers are leading with the charging of a suspect in Samantha Murphy case and the local Ballarat Courier quotes his defence lawyer saying his identity has been suppressed because of a “legitimate risk” to his safety. Two brothers have been ordered to pay $20,000 after chopping down five trees on their Brisbane riverfront development site, the Courier Mail says. A Sydney man has revealed to the Daily Telegraph how he sneaked into one of Taylor Swift’s concerts last month. What’s happening today Media | FWC hearing on ABC application to have Antoinette Lattouf’s claim rejected. Sydney | Directions hearing for Greenlife Resource Recovery facility over asbestos contamination. Tasmania | Seven independent state election candidates give a press conference about the fight to end native forestry. Sign up If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day’s main news. Sign up for our Afternoon Update newsletter here. Prefer notifications? If you’re reading this in our app, just click here and tap “Get notifications” on the next screen for an instant alert when we publish every morning. Brain teaser And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword
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Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool: Europa League last 16, first leg – as it happened
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Here it is! The perfect night for Liverpool in Prague. Almost. Jürgen Klopp’s quadruple-chasing team effectively booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with an emphatic and clinical defeat of Sparta Prague. Darwin Núñez warmed up for the top of the table clash against Manchester City with two superb goals, including the 1000th of Klopp’s Liverpool reign, and Mohamed Salah made his comeback after over a fortnight out as a late substitute. Only the sight of Ibrahima Konaté hobbling off injured prevented Klopp basking in the ideal preparation for Sunday’s showdown at Anfield. Much more here: Related: Núñez at the double as Liverpool stroll to first leg win against Sparta Prague Well this match report hasn’t turned up, but the very moment it does I’ll plop it in here for your delectation. In the meantime, ta-ra! Updated at And this has arrived from Ed Aarons at the Stadio Olimpico: Spare a thought for Lewis Dunk. The Brighton captain made his debut for his hometown club in 2010 when they were still languishing in League One and has ridden the wave all the way to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. Yet it was two mistakes from the England defender that were the catalyst for a nightmare evening in the Italian capital that leaves Roberto De Zerbi’s side needing a minor miracle in next week’s second leg. Dunk had already been at fault by playing Paulo Dybala onside for Roma’s first goal when he inexplicably presented the ball to Romelu Lukaku and he rammed home the second just before half-time. Things only worsened for Brighton as Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante scored second-half goals to round off a ruthless display from Daniele De Rossi’s seasoned European campaigners. Much more here: Related: Lukaku on target as Roma destroy Brighton’s Europa League dreams While we wait for a report on this match, here’s Ben Fisher on Ajax 0-0 Aston Villa, a game of no goals but two red cards. Related: Villa and Ajax down to 10 men as Konsa and Gooijer see red in goalless draw Meanwhile, here’s where to head for updates on this evening’s later Europa League matches. Related: Freiburg v West Ham, Benfica v Rangers, and more: Europa League – live In further final-score-based news, Brighton have lost 4-0 at Roma. Related: Roma 4-0 Brighton: Europa League last 16, first leg – live reaction Final score: Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool 90+5 mins: And it’s all over! The scoreline is everything Liverpool could have hoped for, with only possible injuries to Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté clouding their silver lining. GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool (Szoboszlai, 90+4 mins) One for the road! Szoboszlai runs from just beyond halfway and out on the left towards the centre edge of the penalty area, benefits from Gakpo’s run taking Laci away, and sends in a low shot that goes in off Vindahl’s boot. Updated at 90+1 mins: There will be four minutes of stoppage time, or thereabouts. 90 mins: Into the last minute, and it’s been an almost completely sane final half-hour after a pretty wild opening 60 minutes or so. 88 mins: Back to the Liverpool team bus, then. “That’s not a UK license plate,” insists Martin Kerr. “Clearly Liverpool have paid to have a local bus decorated with their official club livery. Which seems a bit excessive, but still cheaper than driving their own bus a 2000 mile round trip.” Much as I love the idea that Liverpool paint local coaches wherever they travel, it is a UK license plate – I’ve checked, and can also tell you that it is taxed, has an MOT, was new last January, weighs 26,000kg, has a cylinder capacity of 12,902 cc and has a three-axle rigid body. Updated at 84 mins: The goal is disallowed for offside after a VAR check. NO GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-4 Liverpool Sparta lose the ball from their own throw-in and Liverpool work it quickly to Salah, who sidefoots it into the far corner off Vindahl’s fingertips. Updated at 80 mins: And another, but Gakpo’s pass to Salah is slightly overhit and allows Vindahl to get out and smother the shot. Updated at 78 mins: Chance for Liverpool! The ball drops to Szoboszlai, who cuts left, cuts right, works an excellent shooting chance, from a central position, a yard or two inside the area, but sends the ball straight down the middle and Vindahl saves. 74 mins: Salah duly replaces Luis Diaz. Sparta meanwhile take off Kairinen, Kuchta and Birmancevic, and bring on Indrit Tuci, Victor Olatunji and Adam Karabec. Updated at 73 mins: Jaroslav Zeleny is booked for tugging Luis Diaz. 72 mins: After a scrappy 10 minutes or so, it looks like the Mo-ment has arrived for Liverpool. 69 mins: Meanwhile at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma are 3-0 up against Brighton. Related: Roma v Brighton: Europa League last 16, first leg – live 65 mins: Bobby Clark comes on for Mac Allister, and for Sparta Qazim Laci replaces Haraslin. 63 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Gakpo turns and reaches a bouncing, spinning ball just before Vindahl, but can only prod the ball into the keeper. 62 mins: Krejci, the Sparta captain, talks his way to the game’s first booking. 60 mins: Three sane minutes, most of them spent with Liverpool keeping the ball around the halfway line. 57 mins: This game is a pleasingly silly. “My theory on the strategic planning of LFC’s coach drivers,” writes Justin Kavanagh, “is that they probably always have transport on hand, wherever they are in Europe, in case of volcanoes. Barcelona’s experience driving to Italy after the Icelandic eruption must have been noted by all good coaching staff (of the wheely not the footy variety).” That is not implausible. 55 mins: Preciado tries a Nayimesque effort from way out and way wide, and Kelleher tips it over the bar! GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-4 Liverpool (Luis Diaz, 53 mins) Bradley makes up for his own goal with a good pull back from near the right corner flag to Harvey Elliott, who prods on to Luis Diaz, whose shot from seven yards deflects past Vindahl! Updated at 52 mins: There’s been no word on the reason for Joe Gomez’s halftimely substitution, but if he too is injured this game is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Liverpool. 51 mins: Van Dijk comes on for Konate. There’s no sign of a limp from Konate as he leaves the field, but still, not a good sign for Liverpool ahead of a crucial couple of weeks in three competitions. Szoboszlai comes on for Nunez at the same time. 48 mins: Another chance for Sparta! Birmancevic has the beating of Robertson on their right flank, but all was well while Haraslin was being covered by Konate in the middle – but Konate pulls up with a muscle injury, Haraslin runs onto the low cross, and Kelleher comes out to save! GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-3 Liverpool (Bradley og, 46 mins) OK, there was a halftimely substitute (coming on for Gomez), and he’s just stuck the ball in his own net! Birmancevic gets down the right and sends in a low cross, Bradley beats Kuchta to it and thumps it into the top corner! Updated at 46 mins: Peeeeeeep! Back under way in Praha. Right then, the players are back out and ready to go again, with no halftimely substitutions. Half time: Sparta Prague 0-3 Liverpool 45+3 mins: And the referee decides to end the half there. It’s been a pretty closely contested half in every way except for finishing quality, in which it’s been extraordinarily one-sided. GOAL! Sparta Prague 0-3 Liverpool (Nunez, 45+3 mins) They’ve got another one! It’s an absolutely great pass from Mac Allister that lets Nunez run into the right side of the area, and he volleys across goal and in at the far post! Which Nunez is rather happy about. Photograph: David W Černý/Reuters Updated at 45+1 mins: It has been a breathless and entertaining first half, and we’re going to have three more minutes of it. They start with Haraslin shooting low but without enough venom from 20 yards or so and giving Kelleher another save to make. 45 mins: Nice play from Liverpool to work a clear shooting chance for Luis Diaz from the edge of the area, but he can’t hit the target. Updated at 44 mins: Good work and then a bad miss from Gakpo, who carriees the ball to the edge of the area, spins away from two defenders and in so doing leaves Vindahl horribly exposed and out of position, before shooting into the keeper anyway. 43 mins: Asgar Sorensen has been forced off, and Matej Rynes has replaced him. 42 mins: Save! Gakpo’s snap shot on the turn is kept out by Vindahl. 40 mins: Haraslin is played through, but Kelleher and Konate combine to stop him scoring, and the linesman’s flag means it wouldn’t have counted anyway. 39 mins: Anyway, to more important matters. “So, are we just completely discounting the idea that the squad travelled on that bus? Embracing their inner Pensioners-on-a-Saga-Coach-Trip?” posits Matt Dony. Well, these don’t look like the steps of a coach (though we never actually see a plane, so I suppose it’s possible). Updated at 37 mins: What sorcery is protecting the Liverpool goal tonight? Kuchta has a good chance from just to the left of goal, which Kelleher does well to divert into the path of Birmancevic, who gets his feet in the most hopeless muddle and somehow misses an open goal! 36 mins: Endo sidefoots over the bar from a corner. Liverpool have scored with every shot on target. 33 mins: A chance of sorts for Sparta, but the cross is fired in from the right with such venom that Jan Kuchta has no time to change his body position and is left with no choice but to try to turn the ball goalwards from 10 yards with the nearest available body part, which is his stomach. It goes over. Updated at 30 mins: It is Klopp’s 476th game as manager, so he’s running at 2.1 goals per game. This is an absurdly harsh scoreline for Prague, who should really have scored at least once themselves and are yet to concede a shot from a decent position in open play. Individual brilliance at its finest! 😮💨Darwin Nunez produces a moment of magic for the Reds ✨#UEL pic.twitter.com/RrN5om2lLm— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2024 28 mins: Landmark alert! That is the 1,000th competitive goal scored by Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp. 🎇 - Darwin Núñez🇺🇾 scores Liverpool's 1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣th competitive goal under manager Jürgen Klopp🇩🇪. The first was scored by Emre Can🇩🇪 in a 1-1 Europa League group stage draw at home against Rubin Kazan on 22 October 2015. #UEL #SPPLIV— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) March 7, 2024 GOAL! Sporting Prague 0-2 Liverpool (Nunez, 25 mins) And that’s another way to lift the pressure! Nunez cuts onto his right foot and then curls a shot over Vindahl and into the back of the net from 25 yards! The keeper thinks it’s heading to the top corner and is then wrong-handed when it ends up curling over his right shoulder. Updated at 22 mins: Kelleher catches a cross, lands on his back and stays down for a while, as much to deflate Sparta’s balloon as anything I’d imagine. 21 mins: Top save from Kelleher! This is a barrage from Sparta (although it was a defensive back-header that caused the issue that time)! 20 mins: Kounate with a double butt-cheek save! Preciado gets down the right and crosses but Kounate gets his arse in the way. It rebounds back to Preciado who has a shot this time, but Kounate’s bum saves the day again! 17 mins: And another good break from the home side, but it ends with a cross floating into Kelleher’s hands. 15 mins: Incredible save and clearance from Liverpool! Sparta send in a low cross from the right and Haraslin is entirely unmarked coming in at the far post. He shoots across goal but Kelleher gets a glove on it to take all the pace off it, and Gomez overhead-clears it back to his keeper! 14 mins: A decent run from Gakpo ends when he goes down 22 yards from goal, and is told to get back up again. 13 mins: Lukas Haraslin has a very long throw. 10 mins: Haraslin is rugby-tackled by Endo, who could have been booked for that kind of nonsense, but isn’t. “So somebody spends a couple days driving the bus from Liverpool to Prague, just so the players can ride in it from the hotel to the stadium?” boggles Joe Pearson. “That strikes me as absolutely bizarre. Maybe they have a few buses just salted away in garages across Europe. That would seem more reasonable.” I suppose they want to do everything they can to make the players comfortable and relaxed. Every little counts, amiright? 8 mins: Sparta win a free-kick on the left, which Gakpo heads out of danger. GOAL! Sparta Prague 0-1 Liverpool (Mac Allister, 6 mins) The keeper dives to his left, and Mac Allister rolls the ball just inside the opposite corner! Updated at Penalty to Liverpool! 6 mins: The VAR has spoken, and Mac Allister will have a chance to score from the spot! 5 mins: Liverpool are going to get a penalty here. Sorensen turns into trouble, Mac Allister nicks the ball and he’s then brought down. VAR is having a look. 2 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Endo intercepts a goal kick and then dispossesses a defender, and the ball runs into the box to Nunez, who doesn’t really do anything very much with it. He takes it round the advancing keeper, but then takes an unnecessary touch rather than shooting and when the effort eventually does come, it’s rubbish.. 2 mins: The capacity of Stadion Letna is just 18,887, but they appear to be making a right racket. 1 min: Peeeeeeep! Football! Liverpool get the ball rolling. The players are out, hands have been shaken, and team photos taken. Football very shortly! Updated at The players have gathered in a dark subterranean space I assume to be the tunnel. Football shortly! Jurgen Klopp has a chat: We have players available and we had to make decisions about who should play again, or already. It’s a good line-up, we have options on the bench, but it will be a tough game, very positive and optimistic opponent I would say, so we have to deal with that. Rotation, it’s a luxury. You have to figure out how we could use who and when. We didn’t have that problem for a long time, the boys who were available played all the time. Now a few have come back but it stays intense. You just have to make sure you’re ready for each single game. Presumably Liverpool drive their club coach to every European away game, but that’s a lot of miles – according to a popular online search and mapping company the best route from Anfield to Stadion Letná is 1,006 miles long. We’ve arrived 👋 #UEL pic.twitter.com/gjA0zgqGzd— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 7, 2024 The teams! The teams are in and they look like this: Sparta Prague: Vindahl, Sorensen, Vitik, Krejci, Preciado, Solbakken, Kairinen, Zeleny, Birmancevic, Kuchta, Haraslin. Subs: Olatunji, Karabec, Tuci, Sadilek, Mejdr, Laci, Vorel, Vydra, Wiesner, Sevcik, Rynes, Surovcik.Liverpool: Kelleher, Gomez, Quansah, Konate, Robertson, Elliott, Endo, Mac Allister, Nunez, Gakpo, Diaz. Subs: van Dijk, Szoboszlai, Salah, Adrian, Tsimikas, Clark, Gordon, McConnell, Koumas, Bradley, Mrozek, Musialowski.Referee: José María Sánchez (Spain) 1️⃣1️⃣ SESTAVA | V tomto složení zahájíme úvodní duel osmifinále Evropské ligy proti Liverpoolu 👥 #acsparta | #UEL pic.twitter.com/7s2EzlCIZI— AC Sparta Praha (@ACSparta_CZ) March 7, 2024 Our team to take on Sparta Prague 💪— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 7, 2024 Updated at Preamble The bad news for Liverpool, less than 72 hours before their crunch Premier League encounter with Manchester City, is that their weekend opponents have their feet up, having eased past Copenhagen in the Champions League last night despite resting seven members of the team that started the Manchester derby and taking another one off at half-time. Liverpool meanwhile have a first leg in Prague to deal with, and there must be a temptation, with a rematch at Anfield next week to fall back on, to see what they can get away with. Sparta came second in their group to Rangers while losing away to both them and Real Betis, and again at Galatasaray in the knockout round play-offs. Travelling doesn’t seem to be their strong point (they’re four points clear at the top of the Czech league, and unbeaten at home, but haven’t won as many away points as Slavia Prague). So keep it tight tonight and run rampant at Anfield, yes? Mo Salah is back in the squad having played just once for the club since January. But how much will we see of him? Presumably, just enough to send him into the weekend purring. “What can we give him? How much can we use him? We will see that,” promised Jurgen Klopp. “We expect a very tough game,” Alexis Mac Allister said yesterday. “We know that they are unbeaten at home, top of the league, and that tells you that they are a very good team. Of course we have seen some videos and we know what they do, but we need to focus on ourselves. If we focus on ourselves we have the chance to win this game and that’s what we want. But they are definitely a very good team and it’ll be a great battle.” It promises to be an interesting evening. Here’s Andy Hunter’s preview: Mohamed Salah is in line to make his Liverpool comeback against Sparta Prague on Thursday with Jürgen Klopp admitting he needs his leading goalscorer for a critical period in the quadruple-chasing season. Salah has given Liverpool another lift ahead of the Europa League last‑16 first leg tie and Sunday’s top of the table clash with Manchester City by resuming training after more than a fortnight out with a hamstring injury. Klopp claimed the forward, who has scored 19 goals this season, may not have been considered for the trip to Prague under normal circumstances, having only returned to training on Monday. But with both legs of the Europa tie, City’s visit to Anfield plus an FA Cup trip to Manchester United all to come in the next 11 days, the Liverpool manager needs Salah back up to speed urgently. Much more here: Related: Salah return for Prague delights Klopp as Liverpool brace for hectic schedule
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Núñez double fires Liverpool to 5-1 win at Sparta Prague but Konaté limps off
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The perfect night in Prague for Liverpool. Almost. Jürgen Klopp’s quadruple-chasing team effectively secured their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with a comprehensive and clinical defeat of Sparta Prague. Darwin Núñez warmed up for Manchester City on Sunday with two superb goals, including the 1,000th of Klopp’s Liverpool reign, and Mohamed Salah made his comeback after over a fortnight out as a late substitute. Only the sight of Ibrahima Konaté hobbling off injured prevented Klopp revelling in the ideal preparation for the top of the table showdown at Anfield. “The result was much better than the performance,” admitted the Liverpool manager. “Sparta played a good game. They took risks and we punished them for that in moments and scored some wonderful goals.” Related: Freiburg v West Ham, Benfica v Rangers, and more: Europa League – live Núñez was to the fore in inflicting a first home defeat of the season on the Czech champions, who were handed a European lesson by a Liverpool side that is firmly on course to win the one trophy they have competed in and have not won under Klopp. “We have shown we can compete against good teams in Europe,” said Sparta coach Brian Priske. “But Liverpool are maybe a couple of levels up on what we have faced before.” A convincing evening’s work began almost immediately. Sparta’s goalkeeper Peter Vindahl played Asger Sørensen into trouble with a risky pass through the Liverpool press on the edge of his area. Alexis Mac Allister pounced instantly, taking the ball off Sørensen’s toes before being sent sprawling by the defender’s careless challenge. Spanish referee José María Sánchez awarded a clear penalty and, with regular taker Salah on the bench, Brighton’s former spot-kick expert calmly sent Vindahl the wrong way from his first Liverpool penalty. Sparta’s determination to play out from the back had presented an earlier chance for Núñez but, despite the obvious dangers, their approach stretched Liverpool and made for a highly entertaining contest. But for inspired goalkeeping from Caoimhin Kelleher and some woeful finishing, the Czech league leaders would have remained in the tie before Núñez put it beyond them. The Liverpool keeper produced an incredible save to keep out Lukas Haraslin’s first-time shot. The ball could still have dropped over the line but for an equally impressive, overhead clearance by Joe Gomez. Konaté blocked two efforts by the lively Ángelo Preciado in quick succession, both with his backside. From a resulting corner Martin Vitik flicked on Preciado’s header only for Kelleher to produce another athletic stop. The difference in finishing determined the outcome and there was no better demonstration of the gulf than the 1,000th goal of Klopp’s 476-game Liverpool reign. There seemed little on when Núñez received Harvey Elliott’s pass out on the left. The Uruguay international had other ideas, however, and curled a stunning shot from outside the left-hand corner of the Sparta penalty area into the top left-hand corner of Vindahl’s goal. The striker celebrated in front of the home fans, as well he might, and several plastic cups were thrown in his direction. Sparta’s adventurous approach and misery in front of goal continued. When Kelleher blocked Jan Kuchta’s low drive the rebound fell perfectly for Veljko Birmancevic arriving unmarked at the back post. Birmancevic somehow managed to kick the ball with his right leg against his left and saw it trickle wide of an open goal. Replays of the miss on the stadium screens prompted gasps from the Sparta fans and heightened his embarrassment. Núñez showed Sparta how to find the back of the net for a second time with the final act of an absorbing first half. Mac Allister, who teed up the striker’s dramatic winner at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, found the roaming Núñez again with a cross-field ball. The centre-forward allowed the pass to bounce before leathering an unstoppable shot across Vindahl and into the far corner. More cups and a plastic bottle were thrown at the scorer as he pointedly celebrated at the corner flag. Klopp said: “He has quality coming out of his ears to be honest. Is he at his absolute peak in general? Not now for us. But can he develop? Yes. Is he a threat all the time? Yes.” A minute after the restart, Birmancevic played a dangerous cross along the face of the Liverpool six yard box. Conor Bradley, a half-time replacement for the rested Gomez, turned the delivery into the top corner of his own net. Luis Díaz restored the visitors’ three-goal cushion with a deflected shot from another Elliott assist. He was later replaced by Salah as Klopp gave his leading goalscorer a much-needed run-out. Salah found the target after just 10 minutes but his effort was disallowed following a VAR review for offside. Liverpool’s thoughts had long turned to Sunday by then, although a fifth goal did arrive when substitute Dominik Szoboszlai waltzed through the Sparta defence and beat Vindahl. The wait to discover the extent of Konaté’s injury was Klopp’s only concern. “Ibou said to me: ‘If I do another sprint then it could be bad,’ so he said it should be fine. We don’t know.”
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Roma 4-0 Brighton: Europa League last 16, first leg – as it happened
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Here’s Ed Aarons’ report from Rome. Related: Lukaku on target as Roma destroy Brighton’s Europa League dreams Good summation by Rupak here: “I get that certain managers live and die by their principles, but De Zerbi should’ve adapted and set his team up accordingly. Roma are still one of the European giants, you don’t just go to their ground on the first ever European campaign in your club’s history and expect you’ll be allowed to play as you do. There’s a reason why even Real Madrid & Liverpool focus on defending first, then hitting on transition against City. Brighton’s naivety have brought premature end to their European nights.” Updated at That third Roma goal, as scored by Mancini, running on to El Shaarawy’s flick back into the area, looks offside on the replays. The TNT coverage is searching for a magic bullet to see why it was given. Full-time: Roma 4-0 Brighton That was chastening for Roberto De Zerbi’s team. Roma were ruthless in their attacking, making use of the space allowed by an opponent who made plenty of chances for themselves. Quality and experience told, and De Rossi’s team look a highly useful collective. Brighton showed off far too much of their vulnerabilities. Updated at 90+4 min: Zalewski presses hard, making life difficult for Estupinan. Then, at the other end, Ferguson is the target for the cross. A Roma defender falls to the floor. Was there an elbow? Brighton have dished out some rough stuff. The French ref, one of the Europe’s more liberal, waves play on. 90+1 min: Or do Roma get another? De Rossi, who seems to have mastered this coaching business at quite a lick, applauds his players as they slow play down. 90 min: Evan Ferguson is found to be chasing shadows. Story of his season, sadly. Six minutes are added on, now can Brighton get a goal to punish that tomfoolery from the Roma players. 89 min: The game is scrappy, all but done. Roma keen to break up everything so they can take a 4-0 lead to Falmer and enjoy the scenery, maybe visit Quadrophenia Alley. 88 min: El Shaarawy and Lukaku depart, both did their job well, with Big Rom’s goal a beauty. Perhaps Roma could pay £100m and ease Chelsea’s worries. Perhaps not. 87 min: Two more Roma players down, as they seek to kill the clock. This is ending the game as a spectacle. Few subs to come, too. 85 min: Pellegrini is OK to continue but then Cristante gets similar treatment. Brighton need to make sure to keep their heads, as painful as this night has proved. 84 min: Oof, Pellegrini takes one to the chops, and looks to have hurt his cheekbone after what looked a flailing elbow from Lamptey. 83 min: Diego Llorente, of Leeds fame, is on for Roma. 82 min: Can Evan Ferguson end his duck? He’s on the field for Welbeck. Wee Billy Gilmour takes his leave, and Baleba comes on. 81 min: Roma clear a corner, and Lewis Dunk, who had been up the field for it, has chance to shoot but smashes over. 79 min: Brighton have not been without chances but Welbeck can’t enough on the first of them and then Fati swings and misses the next one. 76 min: Now this is an exercise in keeping the score down. Jeff Sax is in and dishing out hot takes: “Irrespective of the result, De zerbi is not a revolutionary in coaching and he will not succeed at Liverpool or United.” Kári Tulinius: “I’ve seen a fair bit of Roma since De Rossi took over, and they’re good, but not so good that I expected them to blow Brighton away like that. I can’t tell if I overestimated the Seagulls or if they’re having a collective shocker.” A bit of both is the answer, sadly for the Seagulls. So many open spaces for the likes of Big Rom to feed on. 74 min: Buonanotte’s shot is blocked, his last participation as Veltman comes in, and then Igor goes off for Estupinan, whose lack of fitness has robbed Brighton of a player who might have been of some use. 73 min: The pain continues for Brighton, Fati slipping in the area as looks to get on the ball. It was not along ago that he was causing all sorts of problems for Roma. That feels some time ago now. 71 min: Two Roma changes: Dybala, the first scorer, is off, and on comes Baldanzi. Paredes, who set up that first goal, is also off. and Bove, another youngster, comes on. 69 min: Such a big night, such a sour note for Brighton. Some footage of Tammy Abraham looking on; he’s been missed all season with injury. Goal! Roma 4-0 Brighton (Cristante, 68) It’s a nightmare now! El Shaarawy finds space and Igor dallies in the box, Cristante stealing in to score. This tie is over. There’s no away goal to conjure a miracle. Updated at 67 min: De Zerbi’s big night out not going so well after all. 65 min: From the TV pictures, Mancini looked like he had gone too early. Brighton undone. Perhaps going for it when two goals down isn’t such a bad idea. The drawing of blue lines for the third goal does little to clear things up. It still looks offside. Goal! Roma 3-0 Brighton (Mancini, 64) Celik, perhaps relieved to not have to mark Adringra, goes all the way to the other end to force a corner. The first one is cleared. The second ball is pumped back in and a stretching Mancini angles it past Steele. Quite some finish for a defender, and though the VAR is called, that’s called a goal. Updated at 63 min: Some atmosphere in Rome tonight. Let’s hope everyone’s keeping safe over. there. 61 min: Spinazzola is booked for hauling back Wee Billy Gilmour having lost the ball. 60 min: Gross has seen more of the ball. That’s a good sign for Brighton, as their creator supreme. Roma have started edging back, and Celik is relieved to clear the ball when he does. 58 min: Welbeck wins a header but a free-kick is called. Not sure why. De Zerbi is urging on his players to go forward. This has been a decent advert back in the homeland he seems to be not especially keen on. 57 min: Roma have released the pressure of the early second half and Brighton are taking up the cudgels. Adringra weaves on and on, and then Fati misses the chance. They have had chances and Fati is making a big difference. 54 min: More promising stuff from Brighton, Lamptey coming forward but then playing the ball to Welbeck who can only shank the ball out. 53 min: Adingra maintains his threat down the left but he can’t beat Svilar from that angle. Brighton are determined not to sit back and keep the scoreline down. 52 min: Lukaku shows – yes – a fine touch for a big man in holding the ball and flicking it to Pellegrini to shoot. Roma fancy more goals here. 50 min: This is Big Rom as we remember him at Inter, Everton, West Brom, but all too occasionally elsewhere. It helps to have Dybala and Pellegrini backing him up. 49 min: Roma seem to have such command of the central areas, but then Spinazzola, to the left, zips in a cross and Lukaku, commander of the skies, nods down and Steele can only hustle the ball away. 47 min: Fati has an early dig but a Roma defender’s limbs take the sting out of his shot. So much like De Zerbi to go for it. 46 min: We are back underway in Rome. A change is made: Ansu Fati replacing Julio Enciso. That’s an adventurous change. Updated at Half-time: Roma 2-0 Brighton The scoreline perhaps doesn’t reflect what has been such an open game. Svilar in Roma’s goal has been kept busy but two long-ball goals, first for Dybala, the second for Lukaku have cut Brighton down to size. Much to ponder for Roberto de Zerbi. 45+3 min: More Brighton pressure, a fine response from them. They have a corner but Big Rom, imperious in the air tonight, heads away. 45 min: Close for Brighton! Adingra down the left, and Welbeck at the back post and that’s a fine save from Svilar! Three minutes were added on, by the way. 44 min: Two long ball goals, Brighton are in big trouble in this tie. The long ball was hooked long and Lukaku had Dunk’s beating. Goal! Roma 2-0 Brighton (Lukaku, 43) Pellegrini looks better already, breaking up an attack, and setting off another for Roma. The ball is given up and Enciso is given a cameo on the ball. He loses it too easily and Roma go back to front again. Lukaku – in full Big Rom mode – blasts past Dunk and wallops the ball past Steele. That’s the Lukaku who cost £100m, sadly for Brighton. Updated at 41 min: Brighton have conceded possession and chances – and a goal – but they are very much alive in this tie. 39 min: First booking: Van Hecke, a little high on Pellegrini, who didn’t fancy that much and fell heavily. Pellegrini is up but limping. 37 min: Another Roma move. Dybala’s flick sends Pellegrini on to shoot and win a corner. There’s too much space down the centre. The corner, mind, is cleared. 36 min: Applause from Lukaku to his skipper, Pellegrini, for a pass sent into his orbit but beyond his wingspan. 35 min: Steele back with the ball. Fair to say Lukaku and Dybala aren’t chasing as hard as if they were De Zerbi players. That’s not their job, they might argue. But as the game develops, it has become so. 33 min: Lamptey, very involved, almost gets on to a lofted ball at the back post. 31 min: Lamptey times his tackle well on El Shaarawy, and Roma have a corner. It’s knocked out to Pellegrini who can only hit a wall of players. Dybala then gets space to cross and Steele stoops low to catch first time. 30 min: Jason Steele’s playing out from the back is.;..risky, but it’s also setting moves like Brighton’s latest attack, which Adringra takes on. So far, the Ivorian has done a fine impression of Mitoma. 27 min: Welbeck does well to intercept a pass meant for Paredes. Brighton really at it now. Buonanotte gets closed down and it’s Roma’s turn to go. The ball ends up with Lukaku, and when the ball comes back to him from Spinazzola he nods over. 25 min: Welbeck?! Adringra’s cross and Welbeck heads down and only Svilar stops that going in. Oh, that was close. 24 min: Gilmour and Enciso try and make things happen. Brighton pushing higher and higher, taking risks. That’s the De Zerbi way. 22 min: Brighton corner, and it’s a beauty from Gross. Van Hecke climbs but it’s knocked behind, and Gross will get another go. Dunk loops it back from the edge of the area and Pellegrini takes on a foul to clear lines. 21 min: Lukaku goes playmaker, spinning round and sending Pellegrini on one of his runs. This time, the ball is cleared and Brighton use Lamptey as the outball. 19 min: Maybe time for Brighton to go against their instincts and dig in but Gross and Gilmour try to set up an attack but take too many risks, and concede the ball. 17 min: Roma look really rather good here. Lots of attacking options, and some real experience within the team. Old-style European outfit. 15 min: That’s a sickener for Brighton, and Lamptey will take the blame for not being alert enough. It was a high line, and they were cut open by Paredes’ pass. You don’t see many goals from last man to striker, do you? Goal! Roma 1-0 Brighton (Dybala, 13) Roma have the ball in the net. Dybala goes beyond Steele, and slots. The offside flag is very very late. Was Lamptey playing him on? VAR is called upon. Oh, this is tight. And it’s a goal. Dybala scored, having run right through the gate. Updated at 11 min: An outbreak of cool, though Paredes has to play back to his keeper as Brighton press very high. They haven’t come to soak up pressure. 9 min: Relentless. Pellegrini – such a good player – goes on a charge and Brighton hurriedly clear their lines. This has been excellent. All hail the Europa League. Keep it up, lads. 7 min: Brighton take the opportunity to pass the ball around, only for Lamptey to be unable to reach a ball played out wide. They’ve done well, and suddenly Adingra makes his move inwards off the left, and his shot deflects off the post. This is some game so far. Champions League? Yer avin’ a laff. 5 min: Steele makes an error in playing out, and Roma’s high press is causing havoc. Lukaku shoots wide. It looks like the bright, alert Lukaku is with us tonight. That’s a bad sign for Brighton. 4 min: It was Roma attacking at pace there, a huge warning for Brighton. From the corner, Lukaku climbs above Dunk for a second time, and Dybala can’t keep the ball down. Updated at 3 min: Can Brighton set into a rhythm? Their game is based on speeding away at pace. Mitoma will be missed, mind you…..and Jason Steele has to make a save from Romelu Lukaku after Spinazzola’s cross. Tipped over. Wow. 1 min: And away we go in Rome. The home team begin with some possession as the home choir makes a hell of a noise. Boos from the Roma fans for the Europa League anthem: “woah woah, woah woah woah woah wo”. You know the one. Now comes their club anthem called, amazingly: Roma Roma Roma. Here comes the night, a huge one for fans of Brighton & Hove Albion: it’s a long way since the Withdean as they enter the Stadio Olimpico. Updated at Roma are in reasonable nick, much better than under Jose Mourinho. Since he was sacked, they’ve lost just once, and that was to runaway leaders Inter. The goals have been flying in, too. They were ninth when De Rossi came in. Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Inter Milan 27 56 72 2 Juventus 27 21 57 3 AC Milan 27 19 56 4 Bologna 27 17 51 5 Roma 27 19 47 Sign up now for Football Daily. Here’s a portion of today’s. Related: Football Daily | Spurs, Chelsea and Leicester re-enter the finance subset chat Six changes to the Brighton team from the side that lost 3-0 to Fulham on Saturday. Up front it’s Danny Welbeck, with Evan Ferguson benched. Simon Adingra and key midfielder Pascal Gross are in, as are Billy Gilmour, Facundo Buonanotte and centre-back Igor. Decent attacking lineup from Roma: Romelu Lukaku alongside Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy. Chris Smalling is on the bench. Ed Aarons is our man in the Eternal City, keeping safe, we hope. Here’s his preview. No matter that Brighton have gone three games without a win and come into the Europa League last‑16 tie with several absences through injury including their star winger Kaoru Mitoma. It is their manager who is the visitors’ main attraction, although De Zerbi rejected his opposite number Daniele De Rossi’s description of him as “a genius” when he held court at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday evening. Related: Roberto De Zerbi returns to Italy for Brighton’s fairytale tie with Roma Some good news on the stabbed fans. Stabbed Brighton fan with ten stitches has just made it to Stadio Olympico to see #BHAFC tonight pic.twitter.com/LF5iO9MY8B— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) March 7, 2024 The teams Roma: Svilar, Celik, Mancini, N’Dicka, Spinazzola, Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini, Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy. Subs: Rui Patricio, Karsdorp, Smalling, Llorente, Azmoun, Sanches, Aouar, Baldanzi, Bove, Zalewski, Boer, Angelino. Brighton: Steele, Lamptey, van Hecke, Dunk, Igor, Gilmour, Gross, Adingra, Enciso, Buonanotte, Welbeck. Subs: Verbruggen, Webster, Lallana, Moder, Baleba, Ferguson, Estupinan, Fati, Veltman, McGill, Peupion, Baker-Boaitey. Referee: Francois Letexier (France) Preamble These are the types of fixtures Brighton dreamed of, the likes of Roma. Though understandable fears, too, considering what befell those two fans on Wednesday night. Let’s hope the night can pass off without further violence. Roberto de Zerbi, currently one of his country’s prime coaching exports, has something to prove to the locals. Look at these words from his pre-match press conference: “One day I will go back to Italy. I don’t know when it will come. But when I made the choice to go to Shakhtar I did it because I wanted to find a way outside Italy. Without going into too many details, there were some things in Italy I didn’t like. I decided to do something else.” So expect Brighton, who were well beaten by Fulham at the weekend, be sent out with some fire behind them. Daniele de Rossi is the club legend who has revived Roma after their dalliance with Jose Mourinho. Kick-off is . Join me.
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Cameron: ‘Giving Ukraine weapons will help bring peace, not escalate war’
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Giving Ukraine the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia would not escalate the war, but help to forge peace, David Cameron has said. The UK foreign secretary was speaking on a trip to Berlin, less than a week after a leaked top-secret military call exposed internal tensions about Germany’s support for Kyiv. Germany is under growing international pressure to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine, despite reluctance from Olaf Scholz’s government. In apparent words of encouragement to Berlin, the UK foreign secretary said: “Of course there’s the question what we can do in terms of medium- and long-range missiles, and I just make this point that it’s a sovereign decision for every country. But in terms of what Britain has done, I know that what we have given to the Ukrainians has helped them to resist this appalling invasion and to fight back against Russian aggression.” The meeting came at a delicate time for Berlin, not long after Kremlin-controlled media in Russia published an intercepted call between senior German military officials about Ukraine. During the call, the generals discussed Britain’s involvement in Ukraine, as well as the logistics of deploying German-manufactured Taurus missiles. German chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly refused requests to allow the use of the missiles in Ukraine, because, he argues, it would involve putting German troops on Ukrainian soil. There are also concerns in Germany that the missiles’ 500km range means they could be used to strike mainland Russia, escalating the conflict and making Germany a party to war. Cameron appeared alongside Germany’s foreign affairs minister, Annalena Baerbock, on Thursday. Neither addressed the intercepted call directly. When asked about it, Cameron replied: “I don’t want to play into the hands of some Russian narrative about divisions between allies. What I see … is incredible unity between allies, incredible unity in Nato.” Cameron’s unwillingness to engage directly with the leak was at odds with the former defence secretary Ben Wallace, who was quoted by the Times as saying it was proof that Germany was “neither secure nor reliable”. Acknowledging the “enormous amount” Germany had done as the second biggest supplier of weapons to Ukraine after the United States, Cameron said, facing Baerbock: “We both know we have to ask ourselves and all our allies: ‘What more can we do? What more ammunition can we provide, what extra production can we invest in, what weapons do we have that can help the Ukrainians in this fight?’” Baerbock – who has said she would support in principle the sending of any weapons that helped Ukraine defend itself – said she and Cameron had talked about the matter and the leak privately, but “we won’t discuss this on an open stage”. Showing “solidarity and resolve” were the strengths of the partners of Ukraine, she said, and Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to divide them. Asked about the upcoming US elections, and how Germany and Britain would react to Donald Trump securing a second presidential term, Cameron said: “It’s not in our control. But Britain and Germany will work with whoever wins the elections in the United States and try to build on the importance of that Atlantic partnership.” However, he said the onus was on European partners to concentrate their minds on forging a close and consolidated alliance on major issues before the next US president took office.
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Roma’s Dybala and Lukaku destroy Brighton’s Europa League dreams
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Spare a thought for Lewis Dunk. The Brighton captain made his debut when his side were languishing in League One 14 years ago and has ridden the wave all the way to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. Yet it was two mistakes from the England defender that were the catalyst for a nightmare evening in the Italian capital that leaves Roberto De Zerbi’s side needing a minor miracle in next week’s second leg. Dunk had already been at fault by playing Paulo Dybala onside for Roma’s first goal when he inexplicably presented the ball to Romelu Lukaku and the Chelsea loanee rammed home the second just before half-time – his seventh in this competition. Things only got worse for Brighton as Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante scored second-half goals to round off a ruthless display from Daniele De Rossi’s seasoned European campaigners. Time will tell whether this performance after injury-ravaged Brighton crashed out of the FA Cup last week has any impact on De Zerbi’s chances of landing a premium job this summer. Related: Núñez double fires Liverpool to 5-1 win at Sparta Prague but Konaté limps off “Everyone in the changing room was very disappointed. They all know we didn’t deliver tonight,” he said. “Lewis has always been an example for this team but from a leadership standpoint I have zero doubts about him.” Asked what he could take from this chastening defeat, De Zerbi said: “There is a lesson to learn because in the future maybe we will be able to improve the team. For myself because I could have handled the period between January and March much better and also for the players because they will walk away with many regrets. And with those regrets next time you know what to expect and you can improve.” The away supporters had packed out their section of this cavernous arena an hour before kick off, with one fan who was stabbed on Wednesday night and needed 10 stitches in his thigh after being attacked by a group of masked men given a rapturous welcome when he arrived. While another fan was also stabbed, thankfully that appeared to have been an isolated incident in a city that has become a danger zone for English clubs, although Brighton’s X account stated that bottles, coins and lighters had been thrown by home supporters during the first half and they had reported it to Uefa and the police. Sporting their special edition Europa League shirts that features a printed illustration of the Royal Pavilion, the visitors seemed slightly overawed by the intimidating atmosphere in the opening exchanges and could easily have fallen behind after little more than 120 seconds. Leonardo Spinazzola was given far too much time to deliver a cross from the left flank but Lukaku could only direct his header at Jason Steele. A mazy dribble from Simon Adingra soon after ended with the Ivory Coast winger’s cross being deflected on to the post in an encouraging moment for De Zerbi. But his mood soon worsened when Dybala timed his run perfectly to latch on to a brilliant through ball from Leandro Paredes and slotted past Steele. The assistant initially ruled out the goal for offside but VAR clearly showed that it was Dunk who had played the Argentina forward onside. Brighton slowly found their feet as the first half wore on and Danny Welbeck was presented with a golden opportunity to equalise from a wonderful cross from Adingra but Mile Svilar produced an excellent one-handed save to deny him. But disaster struck just before half-time when Dunk attempted to control an innocuous long ball by the touchline and gifted possession straight to Lukaku, who made no mistake with a clinical finish at the far post. The Brighton captain looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him up. Related: Freiburg v West Ham, Benfica v Rangers, and more: Europa League – live To their credit, the visitors did not let their heads drop and it needed another excellent save from Svilar to again deny Welbeck’s header from an Adingra cross. De Zerbi sent his players out early for the second half with Ansu Fati having replaced the ineffective Julio Enciso. But it was Roma who looked more likely to extend their lead as Steele was called into action again to deny Lukaku. Welbeck was enduring an evening to forget as the England striker failed to hit the target from a tight angle, with De Zerbi urging his team to show more composure. It wasn’t long before Brighton found themselves four goals down after Mancini was adjudged to have been onside when he volleyed home, while Cristante sealed the victory after finishing off a brilliant move from Stephan El Shaarawy. Down on the touchline, De Zerbi seemed like he had seen a ghost. Dunk’s shot from the edge of the box that whistled over the bar as Brighton chased a consolation goal summed up what looks like a frightful finale to their fairytale.
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Ajax and Aston Villa players see red as Emery keeps powder dry for Spurs
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After all the hubbub among the Aston Villa supporters who spent the day hugging Amsterdam’s canals and the pre-match fanfare in the way of pyrotechnics and flares, in the end the game itself proved a frustrating and largely forgettable stalemate. It was almost as if Villa were keeping their powder dry for their pursuit of a Champions League place. Villa, fourth in the Premier League, host fifth-placed Tottenham on Sunday with a golden opportunity to tighten their grip. Ajax had the best chances to earn victory, Emiliano Martínez repelling an effort by Kenneth Taylor and Brian Bobbey earlier firing wide. Both teams finished with 10 men, with the otherwise excellent Ezri Konsa sent off on 83 minutes after picking up two yellow cards. Tristan Gooijer received his second caution three minutes later. Unai Emery grimaced as Konsa headed down the tunnel after tangling with the substitute Chuba Akpom and these sides will reunite at Villa Park next Thursday with this Europa Conference League last-16 tie delicately poised. Related: Núñez at the double as Liverpool stroll to first leg win against Sparta Prague The excitement was palpable in Emery’s voice as, on the eve of this contest, the Villa manager told how this was his first visit to this arena, named after a pioneer of the game in Johan Cruyff. Everywhere you look this stadium is dripping in history, decorated by tributes to the greats who played for the 36-time Dutch champions: Van Basten, Bergkamp, Ibrahimovic, Suárez, Rijkaard. John van ‘t Schip, who took charge until the end of the season in October, helped them to the Uefa Cup in 1992. Banners proudly displaying their rich past, including four Champions League wins, the last of which was in 1995, hang from the roof’s skeletal structure. At the same time Emery’s team selection – five changes from a late league win at Luton – was both indicative of the magnitude of Sunday’s game against Spurs and how, indeed, the mighty have fallen. This may be an iconic European venue but Villa have San Siro and the Bernabéu in mind next season. Ajax, captained by the England midfielder Jordan Henderson here, are fifth in Eredivisie, 27 points behind leaders and rivals PSV Eindhoven. Winger Morgan Rogers, a January signing from Middlesbrough, was quiet on his first Villa start and Tim Iroegbunam, the academy graduate midfielder, muted on his second. Matty Cash, one of the five Villa players to drop to the bench, entered at half-time in place of Pau Torres. Leon Bailey and John McGinn arrived soon after the hour tasked with sparking Villa into life. “Like Ajax, who have a lot of young players who they let play, play and play and get experiences, we have to do the same,” Emery said. The problem with setting the bar so high, as Villa have done this season, is the average performances feel anaemic. Moussa Diaby’s fifth-minute effort straight at the Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj represented Villa’s sole shot on target and their attacking players were well shackled by Ajax’s youthful three-man defence of Ahmetcan Kaplan, 21, Devyne Rensch, 21 and Jorrel Hato, 18. Still, the focus will quickly move to Tottenham’s visit and they will welcome the home advantage next week given their formidable record. “Now we need to finish it at Villa Park,” said the Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans. “We have it all to play for and for them it’s the same. We weren’t at our best tonight, that’s why I’m positive for the second leg.” Villa appeared unusually limited and Diaby passed up their best chance, failing to work Ramaj after Villa seized on Sivert Mannsverk surrendering possession. Up the other end Brobbey, a hulking forward, rattled the side netting after Hato, the teenager who made his Netherlands debut last November, spied Villa’s high line and fed him down the left channel. Henderson, hopeful of being part of the England squad announced next week, sent a free-kick over the bar from 25 yards. But this was an evening when the best entertainment appeared off the pitch.
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Former commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi to become Ukraine’s ambassador to UK
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Ukraine’s former commander in chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, is to become the country’s next ambassador to the UK, a month after he was fired by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, from his job leading the military. The decision makes good on Zelenskiy’s promise to keep the popular former general “as part of the team” but it also removes him from Ukraine, where he is seen as the only realistic challenger to the president if there were to be an election. Zaluzhnyi was dismissed after the failure of the summer counter-offensive against Russian invasion forces, and after a to-and-fro in which the general initially refused to resign at the president’s request before accepting that his position was no longer tenable. The former commander developed a close personal relationship with his British opposite number, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, during the first two years of the war, although he is not otherwise thought to have any prior connection to the UK. Radakin was in Kyiv on Thursday, visiting Zelenskiy alongside the UK’s defence secretary, Grant Shapps. But there was no sign of Zaluzhnyi in a video released by the Ukrainian president of their meeting. Shapps said the UK would supply Ukraine with 10,000 drones for the frontline and increase an investment package from £200m to £325m. Most of the drones are inexpensive first-person-view types used for bombing, but the package also includes £100m for maritime drones of the type used to attack Russian warships in the Black Sea. “Ukraine’s armed forces are using UK-donated weapons to unprecedented effect, to help lay waste to nearly 30% of Russia’s Black Sea fleet,” Shapps said, drawing an unusually close connection between a donated weapon and its battlefield purpose. Although Ukraine considers the UK one of its closest allies, the ambassadorship has been vacant for many months. Zelenskiy dismissed the former envoy, Vadym Prystaiko, in July 2023 after he publicly criticised the president. A row between the two had blown up after Prystaiko went on Sky News to question some of Zelenskiy’s behaviour around that month’s Nato summit, criticising the president for making an apparently sarcastic response to former British defence secretary Ben Wallace. “On 7 March 2024, the president of Ukraine approved the candidacy of Valerii Zaluzhnyi for the post of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.
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‘Impossible numbers’: where could Jeremy Hunt’s budget cuts fall?
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By now it has become a familiar feature of Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal statements. In order to entice voters with tax cuts, the chancellor has baked in significant public spending cuts backdated after the next general election. Hunt’s spring budget on Wednesday included billions in cuts, the impact of which would not fall equally across departmental budgets because some of them – including schools and the NHS – are protected. Under the Treasury’s assumptions, “unprotected” government departments will have a 13% real-terms cut in their budgets from 2025-26 to 2028-29. This collectively amounts to a £19bn cut, comparable to the round of austerity heralded by David Cameron and George Osborne in 2010. Crucially, virtually no one thinks these cuts will actually be implemented, not least because the Conservatives are unlikely to be in government from 2025 onwards. Torsten Bell, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, said: “The £19bn of cuts to unprotected public services after the next election are three-quarters the size of those delivered in the early 2010s. The idea that such cuts can be delivered in the face of already faltering public services is a fiscal fiction.” Nick Davies, the programme director for public services at the Institute for Government, said: “The government has not spelled out in any detail how the impossible numbers that it has pencilled in would be delivered on a department-by-department basis.” With no spending review taking place before the election, the responsibility for working that out is going to fall to the next government. This is where the cuts are expected to take place: Justice Experts believe the department bearing the brunt will be the Ministry of Justice, which is already grappling with overflowing prisons and a huge courts backlog. The department estimates the prison population in England and Wales could reach more than 100,000 within two years under its higher population projections. The budget came on the same day that a senior judge announced plans to clear 181 rape cases that have been delayed at the crown court for more than two years – a stark illustration of the pressures the system is already under. The announced cuts offer little hope of stemming a tide of lawyers quitting rape and sexual assault cases – 64% of prosecutors in such cases said they planned to stop such work, mainly because of low fees – and criminal cases more generally. Equally, the budget offers little hope of addressing the crumbling court estate, which also causes delays. The government has a fairly modest target of getting the backlog in crown courts down to 53,000 by next March (it was 37,000 before Covid) but even that looks difficult to achieve at the moment, with the figure now more than 65,000. “The justice department is one where, as the population grows, the demands on it could grow,” said Emily Fry, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation. Her analysis suggests the MoJ would need a budget increase of 5% per capita between 2024-25 and 2028-29, rather than the 13% cut pencilled in. Davies said: “The idea that you can make substantial cuts to those services, whilst also successfully managing a huge increase in demand, is extremely fanciful.” Home Office The area where the Home Office spends most is the police. Cuts in this area or other big spending streams such as border control would be politically unpalatable for any government. In recent years ministers have increased police numbers after cutting them significantly in the early 2010s, partly by offering experienced officers voluntary redundancy. Rishi Sunak announced last year that his party had met its 2019 manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 new officers. “You have to question whether it’s realistic that they would see substantial cuts in police officer numbers,” Davies said. “One of the big public service achievements of this Conservative government has been the police uplift programme. Is Jeremy Hunt really saying that, if by some miracle he is chancellor after the next election, he is going to unwind the signature criminal justice policy of his current government? That seems very unlikely.” Fry added: “The Home Office is one of the only protected departments that’s actually bigger in 2024-2025 than it was in 2010-2011 in real terms.” Local government It is harder to tell what the overall impact of cuts would be on local government spending power because councils can offset the costs to their central government funding with increases in council tax. There has already been a hollowing out of a lot of local government services. Councils are spending more than they used to on children’s social care, adult social care and other statutory duties such as homelessness. In order to pay for this, councils have stripped back other services such as library provision and youth centres. “There’s not much left that can be squeezed by local authorities,” Davies said. “We’ve already seen a wave of section 114 notices, which is the local authority equivalent of bankruptcy. “Although in most of those cases to date, it’s been the result of some financial mismanagement, there are many more local authorities that have managed as well as they could that are very close to the edge, and I think it’s very likely that we will see more section 114 notices issued in the coming years.” This would cause councils to cut statutory services more severely than they otherwise would and sell off critical assets. Transport High rates of inflation have been making capital programmes overseen by the Department for Transport more expensive in recent years. Further spending cuts look particularly stark and may well have a political impact in areas such as the north of England, where the scrapping of the HS2 line from the West Midlands to Manchester became a flashpoint last year. Plans for more smart motorways have also been cancelled, although the government last year promised it would continue to invest in existing smart motorways through £900m of improvements. Dr Maya Singer Hobbs, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research and a transport expert, said: “If previous cuts to transport budgets are a guide, then both as yet uncosted schemes and local authority transport spending will be at risk. “This includes much of the Network North plan which replaced the northern part of HS2 last year, and has been criticised for a lack of detail and poorly costed proposals.” A portion of transport funding now allocated to combined and local authorities to spend could also be at risk, she added, including spending on much-needed local public transport networks outside London. Prof John Kelsey, from the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction at University College London, said: “The government might consider cuts when it comes to transport infrastructure, but if it does so when it comes to repairs then we will have even more potholes in the road. If it defunds the major trunk roads then you are going to have problems with lane closures and works.” Unions have already raised concerns about cost-cutting measures at Network Rail, which manages most of Britain’s railway network. Culture In the arts, there was a welcome in some quarters for aspects of the chancellor’s budget – such as a decision to keep high rates of theatre tax relief. It was hailed by figures such as Andrew Lloyd Webber as a “lifeline”, while tax breaks for the film and television sector were also among the positive headlines from the budget. But the arts sector already faces existential threats from cuts to local authority budgets. They include the complete defunding of arts organisations in places like Birmingham and Suffolk. Among those who welcomed some of the headline announcements were Paul Fleming, the general secretary of the arts union Equity, but he cautioned that they “come in the context of two decades of austerity in our industries”.
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Gunman who killed 18 in Maine shooting had brain injury, study shows
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Robert Card, an army reservist who shot and killed 18 people in Maine last year, had evidence of traumatic brain injuries, according to researchers who analyzed his brain tissue. There was degeneration in the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, inflammation and small blood vessel injury, according to Dr Ann McKee of Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) center. There was no evidence of the CTE condition in Card’s tissue sample. The analysis was prepared on 26 February and released on Wednesday by the family of Card, the gunman who carried out the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history. Following the shooting, Card was found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a days-long manhunt. Card had been an instructor at an army hand grenade training range, where it is believed he was exposed to repeated low-level blasts that the army deemed safe. It is unknown if that caused Card’s brain injury and what role brain injury played in Card’s decline in mental health in the months before he opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston on 25 October. Card was never in combat. McKee made no direct connection between the brain injury and Card’s violent actions, but said in a statement: “While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr Card’s behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms.” McKee added that further “investigation” was needed to understand the “risks of blast exposure”, the New York Times reported. “I think these results should be a warning. We need to do more investigation,” she said. The brain tissue sample was sent to the lab last fall by Maine’s chief medical examiner. At that time, a Pentagon spokesperson said the army was working to better understand the relationship between “blast overpressure” and brain health effects and had instituted several measures to reduce soldiers’ exposure, including limiting the number of personnel near blasts. An army spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email from the Associated Press seeking comment on Wednesday. In their first public comments since the shooting, Card’s family members apologized for the attack, saying they are heartbroken for the victims, survivors and their loved ones. “We are hurting for you and with you, and it is hard to put into words how badly we wish we could undo what happened,” they said in the statement. “While we cannot go back, we are releasing the findings of Robert’s brain study with the goal of supporting ongoing efforts to learn from this tragedy to ensure it never happens again.” Police and the army were both warned that Card, 40, was suffering from deteriorating mental health in the months before the shootings. Card’s relatives had told police that they had concerns about his paranoid behavior and his access to guns. Body camera video of police interviews with reservists before Card’s two-week hospitalization in upstate New York last summer also showed fellow reservists expressing worry and alarm about his behavior and weight loss. Card was hospitalized in July after he shoved a fellow reservist and locked himself in a motel room during training. Later, in September, a fellow reservist told an army superior he was concerned Card was going to “snap and do a mass shooting”. “I love [him] to death but I do not know how to help him and he refuses to get help or to continue help,” the reservist said about Card at the time. Card’s supervisors also noted that he was hearing voices. Army reservists who knew Card will testify on Thursday before a special panel established by Democratic state governor Janet Mills to investigate the shooting. The hearing in the Maine state capital of Augusta is the seventh and final one currently slated for the commission. The commission chair, Daniel Wathen, said at a hearing with victims earlier this week that an interim report could be released by 1 April. In previous hearings, law enforcement officials have defended the approach they took with Card in the months before the shootings. Members of the Sagadahoc county sheriff’s office testified that the state’s yellow flag law makes it difficult to remove guns from a potentially dangerous person. Democrats in Maine are looking to make changes to the state’s gun laws in the wake of the shootings. Mills wants to change state law to allow law enforcement to go directly to a judge to seek a protective custody warrant to take a dangerous person into custody to remove weapons. The Associated Press contributed reporting
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UK science secretary received government advice before Hamas tweet
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The science secretary, Michelle Donelan, received government advice before she tweeted a letter in which she accused an academic of supporting Hamas, Downing Street has said. No 10 refused to say what advice officials had given her and whether she actually followed it, but insisted she had “acted in line with established precedent”. Kate Sang, a professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, sued Donelan for libel after the minister published a letter to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in October urging it to cut links with her and another academic, Dr Kamna Patel of University College London. Donelan expressed her “disgust and outrage” at their appointment to an expert advisory group to Research England on equality, diversity and inclusion. Related: UK science minister apologises and pays damages after academic’s libel action However, in a statement posted to X on Tuesday, Donelan admitted she was wrong and had misunderstood the social media posts. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) later said it had paid £15,000 to settle the case without admitting liability, out of public funds. My statement on recent correspondence relating to Research England’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expert Advisory Group. pic.twitter.com/Fn3xRdwjxX— Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) March 5, 2024 Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said on Thursday that the prime minister backed the cabinet minister, as Donelan faced calls to resign. Speaking on a visit to South Yorkshire, Sunak told broadcasters he had been “focused on the budget” when asked why Donelan was still in post. He said it was a “longstanding convention stretching back many years that the government will fund those legal disputes when it relates to government ministers doing their work”. Outlining the advice Donelan received, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “I can’t obviously comment on specific legal advice. But as I say, and as the DSIT statement said, she received advice and was, in line with established precedent, provided legal support and representation.” When asked whether it was acceptable for people to make false claims and wait for a long investigation to take place before retracting them, the spokesperson said: “There was an independent investigation. And at the conclusion of that, the secretary of state was clear that she fully accepted that the individual was not an extremist, a supporter of Hamas or any other proscribed organisation, and she therefore withdrew her concerns and deleted her original post.” On Thursday evening it was reported that Donelan’s letter was cleared by her department’s legal team. Politico said civil servants had flagged concerns during the drafting of the letter – to which numerous people, including top officials, contributed – but that the legal team had decided the position was solid. An investigation by UKRI clearedSang and Patel of the allegations. The leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, also defended Donelan, telling MPs the minister was of good character because she returned a redundancy payment from her brief time as education secretary in the final days of Boris Johnson’s premiership. Labour has criticised the decision to make UK taxpayers foot the £15,000 bill as a “new low for standards” and “totally insulting”. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said: “I think most people watching this will be aghast. The government is telling them every day that they can’t do any more to help them. “People are really struggling to pay their bills, and the government says: ‘We can’t afford to help you any more.’ People know that public services are crumbling. “And then you’ve got a minister who says something she shouldn’t have said, then has to pick up a legal action and pay damages and costs, and then says: ‘The taxpayer is going to pay for that.’” DSIT confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the sum was paid “without admitting any liability”. The shadow leader of the Commons, Lucy Powell, asked whether Donelan had followed “appropriate advice” that was given to her, or had gone against it. “Because if [she went against it], then surely she should personally pay the costs,” Powell told MPs. She also urged Donelan to make a statement in the Commons outlining what happened. “If the money was paid by taxpayers because it related to her ministerial responsibilities, then she must come to parliament as a minister and account for that.” The Liberal Democrats have called for an investigation by the government’s ethics adviser into DSIT covering Donelan’s legal costs.
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Ottawa: two-month-old among four children and two adults killed in attack
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Police in Canada say two adults and four young children, the youngest of whom was less than three months old, are dead in a mass killing in what Ottawa’s mayor described as “one of the most shocking incidents of violence” in the city’s history. A 19-year-old male is in custody and has been charged with with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Police were called to house in the community of Barrhaven shortly before 11pm on Wednesday, where officers found what Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs called “a horrific scene”. The victims were a “newcomer family” from Sri Lanka, said Stubbs, who named the victims as Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, 35, and her four children Inuka, seven, Ashwini, four, Rinyana, two, and two-month-old Kelly. A 40-year-old man, Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, who had recently come to Canada and was living in the house, was also found dead at the home. “This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people,” Stubbs told reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon. The father, who police say was shouting for help in the street when officers arrived, remains in the hospital with serious injuries. Stubbs says police are still trying to determine the relationship between the suspect, Febrio De-Zoysa, and the victims. De-Zoysa, who is also from Sri Lanka and was in Canada studying, is believed to have been living at the house as well. Police initially called the event a “mass shooting” but later said an “edged weapon” was used in the killings. Sri Lankan officials are in touch with their family members in Colombo. “I was devastated to learn of the multiple homicide in Barrhaven, one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city’s history,” Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe said in a post on X. Barrhaven East councillor Wilson Lo said he was “saddened to learn of the tragic loss of six Barrhaven neighbours last night”. Ontario premier Doug Ford called the news of the mass killings in Ottawa “heartbreaking”, adding on social media that his “thoughts are with the family and friends of the six victims and the entire Ottawa community who is reeling from this terrible tragedy”.
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‘Completely unfilmable’: the Dune universe is about to get weird
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Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is currently the toast of Tinseltown, a big-budget sci-fi adventure directed by a Hollywood A-lister and critical darling that has taken the box office by storm and left fans wanting more and more and more. It made more than $180m worldwide in its first weekend alone and inevitably, sequels beckon. Why shouldn’t they, given that Frank Herbert wrote five sequels to his original 1965 tome and Villeneuve has spent the best part of five and a half hours just covering that first book? Related: Dune: Part Two: new villain, more worms, another cliffhanger – discuss with spoilers Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as that. For this is not Lord of the Rings, an epic trilogy with clear character arcs, a linear central quest and little prospect of sequels once ole Sméagol topples into Mount Doom and destroys the One Ring. Nor is it the original Star Wars, which smartly ends with the defeat of the Empire and (until they ruined everything with the prequel trilogy) the sense that everyone will now live happily ever after. This is Dune, a six-book epic stretched over thousands of years and dozens of planets in which major protagonists transform into giant human-sandworm hybrids, sexy witches try to use their auto-pulsing vaginas to (literally) conquer mankind and major characters keep being brought back from the dead as zombie-clone-stooge versions of their past selves. It is beyond weird, and there is a very good reason Villeneuve himself has so far only committed (and it is a very loose committal) to adapting Herbert’s second novel, Dune: Messiah, after this one. Imagine for a moment that Dune were Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. The next film is going to be the equivalent of seeing Luke Skywalker decide at the end of Return of the Jedi to take up his dear old black death cyborg dad’s mantle and send the rebels screaming across the known galaxy in a religious war that kills billions of innocent people across the cosmos. It will be like seeing Frodo Baggins decide that he doesn’t want to head to the Undying Lands after all, but would rather sit up in Sauron’s dark tower as his myriad goblin armies cover the whole of Middle Earth in darkness. As Villeneuve himself told Empire: “Dune: Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero, which is not what [author Frank Herbert] wanted to do. My adaptation is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.” If you’ve seen Dune: Part Two (and read the books) you’ll be aware that the Canadian film-maker has rewritten the story somewhat to throw shade at Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) sudden rise to unstoppable power by the end of the tale. Zendaya’s Chani is not the doting Fremen lover that she continues to be throughout the books, and even ends the film riding away from her beau into the sunset onboard a giant sandworm. There’s a suggestion here that Villeneuve might shift the narrative even further in the next movie, perhaps even making Chani the leader of the resistance to Paul’s preposterous galaxy-spanning power. Though that would be a huge change indeed. Contrary to Herbert’s original narrative, Villeneuve has also chosen not to deliver a version of Paul’s sister Alia as a mega-witch of the Bene Gesserit cult who has full adult faculties, not to mention ridiculously prescient and omniscient capabilities, from the moment she is born. Instead she is shown in adult form (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) as a vision of the future (we also hear her voice as the unborn child communicates telepathically with her own mother, which certainly seems to have backfired in the weirdness stakes if it was some sort of attempt to dampen down the original book’s freakshow vibes). So where is this all leading? Villeneuve is keeping his cards close to his chest, other than to hint that Paul’s powers of prescience regarding the future survival of the human race across the stars will be at the centre of his thinking regarding Dune: Part 3. “I think you cannot avoid Paul’s terrible purpose, that’s the structure of this whole enterprise,” he told Den of Geek recently. “Saying this, I do not like to comment on Dune Messiah because I’m writing it, and when I’m writing, I love to shut up because it’s a very delicate time where things are fragile, ideas evolve. I like to talk about movies when they are alive, finished, and strong enough to walk by themselves. Dune Messiah is barely an embryo.” Rumour is that the film-maker will not even start work filming part three until he has finished another movie project, so it is likely to be at least 2027 before we see the film in cinemas. This could be an advantage because Dune: Messiah takes place 12 years after the events of the first book, which would allow time for the cherubic Chalamet and his fellow cast-members to age just a little bit. After that, Villeneuve himself has described future books in the series as “esoteric” and implied that he is not willing to adapt them. Part of the issue here is that everything that has made Dune parts one and two so fascinatingly different from other science fiction and fantasy fare over the past few decades is exactly the same nutty, psychedelic spice of cosmic life that eventually sends the series of books into utterly bonkers and completely unfilmable territory. Villeneuve has so far delivered a common-or-garden story of epic revenge, a tale as old as time in which the scion of a defeated family rises up and takes out the very bad guys who destroyed everyone he loved in the first place. One of the reasons Dune on the big screen is more interesting than that sounds is to do with the pepperings of highly enjoyable mystical nonsense that keep popping up to add kick to the recipe. Unfortunately the further the books go down that particular psychedelic rabbit hole, the more it is impossible to imagine them on the big screen. And yet, this is going to happen. Just listen to the Legendary Entertainment CEO, Josh Grode, salivating over the prospect of more deserty space goodness. “I think everybody is very excited and really enjoying this moment and if Denis gets the script right and he feels that he can deliver another experience on par with what we’ve just completed then I don’t see why not,” he told CNBC. While Grode is referring to an adaptation of Dune: Messiah, there’s already a creeping sense that the more people go to see this thing, the more chance Hollywood won’t allow the show to end there. But perhaps, like Herbert’s concept of the Golden Path (a single vision of the future where everything works out for mankind, despite a huge body count, among millions where we all end up dead) there is a solution. Related: Dune v Dune: do Denis Villeneuve’s films stay true to the book? After all, Dune is so intriguingly left-of-centre as sci-fi due to its emphasis on (what is basically) magic over technology, of an obsession with arcane cosmic enigmas – the bloodline-tinkering of the Bene Gesserit, the freaky resurrection techniques of the Bene Tleilax – instead of a focus on the inevitable rise of the machines that usually permeates such fare. There is an awful lot of good in-universe stuff going on here that could be used for future movies that don’t follow the path of the books, but do hold true to the kind of sensible narrative structures that have helped Dune: parts one and two prove so watchable. And Villeneuve is already tinkering with the text. Surely if enough of us get together and protest this, we can stop it happening, and get future books adapted via far-out animation or multiple-season TV shows instead. Legendary’s television arm is already putting together a prequel series, Dune: Prophecy, that will explore the origins of the Bene Gesserit – so there’s room for inter-media manoeuvre here. It cannot be that just turning up in our thousands to watch a really, really good sci-fi movie means we deserve the horrors to come if Dune books three to six actually do end up on the big screen (possibly with a far less skilled film-maker than Villeneuve in the director’s chair). Perhaps we don’t all need to drink the Electric Kool-Aid and start fusing our life essence with sandworm larvae, or hanging out with weird sexy witches who have the power to control men with their naughty bits. And yet, I have a nagging feeling that the more the box office greenbacks keep rolling in, the more chance we will be. • This article was amended on 7 March 2024 because while Frank Herbert’s son Brian Herbert has written sequels to Dune, an earlier version intended to refer to Frank as having written “five sequels to his original 1965 tome”.
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Sweden finally joins Nato after nearly two-year wait
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Sweden has officially became the 32nd member of Nato, in a landmark moment for the historically neutral country and the western military alliance. Stockholm’s ratification process was finally completed in Washington as Sweden and Hungary, the last country to ratify Sweden’s membership, submitted the necessary documents after a drawn-out process that has taken nearly two years. For Sweden, it marks the end of a 20-month-long wait that started in May 2022 when it submitted its application to join alongside Finland, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Finland became Nato’s 31st member last year. Ratification also marks a historic change in Sweden’s national and international identity as it continues to shift away from its previously neutral stance – a process that began at the end of the cold war. It also cements Nato’s control of the Nordic region, with all countries now members, and makes the Baltic an entirely “Nato sea”. The process was completed at about 5.30pm Swedish time, when the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, presided at a ceremony in which Sweden’s “instrument of accession” to the alliance was officially deposited at the state department. “Good things come to those who wait. No better example,” said Blinken. Kristersson said Sweden was “coming home” to Nato. “Today is a truly historic day. Sweden is now a member of Nato,” he said. “We are humble but we are also proud. Unity and solidarity will be a guiding light. Sweden is now leaving 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment behind. it is a major step but a very natural step.” Interactive The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, was among the first to congratulate Sweden and said the Swedish flag would be raised outside Nato HQ in Brussels on Monday. “It’s official – Sweden is now the 32nd member of Nato, taking its rightful place at our table,” he wrote on social media. “Sweden’s accession makes Nato stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole alliance more secure.” Sweden’s journey to Nato membership – which started under former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, of the Swedish Social Democrat party, and was taken over in 2022 by her successor, Kristersson, of the Moderate party – has been diplomatically fraught and long-winded. First, Turkey made multiple demands regarding Sweden’s stance towards members of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU. Then, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and members of the US Congress had tied Turkey’s backing of Sweden’s Nato membership with congressional approval of the $20bn (£15.7bn) sale of Lockheed Martin aircraft and modernisation kits to Turkey. Turkey finally gave Sweden the green light in January, but Hungary continued to drag its feet, often giving obscure reasons. Some observers attributed the delay to Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who has close ties to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. Others think it had more to do with Orbán’s desire to flaunt Hungary’s military and economic leverage, especially to a domestic audience. Hungary’s parliament finally voted “yes” at the end of last month. Andersson said: “We have a stronger defence of our beloved Sweden. A better opportunity to defend our freedom, our democracy, and our way of life.” Kerstin Bergeå, the president of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Association (SPAS), an anti-war campaign group, said Sweden’s Nato membership was a “risky misprioritisation that will lead to increased tension, polarisation and militarisation at a time where we need the exact opposite”. She added: “A Nato membership has uncritically been presented as a boon for Sweden’s security but increased armament, joining a nuclear alliance, and allying ourselves with undemocratic countries is not what leads to sustainable peace and security.” On Thursday night, Kristersson addressed his country in a televised speech from the Swedish embassy in Washington, describing his happiness at joining Nato, which he said made Sweden “a safer country than we were yesterday”. Attempting to strike a gentle and reassuring tone, he addressed those who were opposed to Nato membership by framing it as a natural conclusion to a long journey. He said “alone isn’t strong” and that Sweden’s security was connected to that of the wider world. He closed his speech by declaring “one for all, all for one” and declaring a “new epoch for Sweden”. Nato has wasted no time in integrating Sweden into military manoeuvres. This week, Nordic Response, a first-of-its-kind military training exercise that includes Sweden and Finland, began across the region, involving more than 20,000 soldiers. On Wednesday, two American bombers escorted by Swedish fighter planes flew over Stockholm and Uppsala in a joint exercise in the middle of the day – a highly symbolic moment for a country with a long tradition of neutrality. Sweden recently signed a deal giving the US full access to 17 of its military bases and announced plans to send its forces to Latvia.
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So much for the challenge from ‘challenger’ banks
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It was a nice idea while it lasted. So-called challenger banks, it was fondly imagined, would emerge after the 2008-09 financial crash and show the UK’s big four banks how the industry should be run. Their weapons would be new technology, superior service and brand names unsullied by bonuses and bailouts. More than a decade later, market shares in the industry haven’t shifted meaningfully, and here comes the latest example of a challenger bank finding the independent life to be challenging. Virgin Money – a combo with the former Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks via a 2018 deal – is provisionally minded to agree to a £2.9bn takeover by the Nationwide Building Society. The fact that the buyer is Nationwide means this isn’t a surrender to one of the big four (which probably wouldn’t be allowed to buy anyway); Nationwide sits in the industry’s second tier and so can be viewed as a different type of challenger. But it is a far cry from 2018, when the Virgin crew were talking about creating “the UK’s leading challenger bank” to offer “a genuine alternative to the large incumbent banks”. Now the rhetoric is about selling “to complete our journey” as a national competitor. Virgin’s shareholders will get a 40% takeover premium, which sounds handsome, but also reflects how the shares had drifted sideways or lower for five years. At the offer price of 220p, the terms are well short of Virgin’s last tangible book value of 360p. Shore Capital’s analyst thinks “management could have perhaps driven a harder bargain”. The uncomfortable truth, though, is that size remains an enormous advantage in retail banking, in terms of everything from funding costs to investment in new tech and whizzy apps. Assistance for challengers from regulators never really materialised. Given that the last trading news from Virgin was higher-than-expected arrears in credit cards, there is a certain commercial logic in selling to Nationwide now. There are few other candidates for a deal and opportunities don’t always knock twice. For Nationwide, the commercial rationale is reasonable. The society will become a clear No 2 in UK mortgages (behind Lloyds Banking Group) and gets a proper entry into business banking, thanks to the Yorkshire and Clydesdale heritage within Virgin. Post-deal assets of £366bn, total lending and advances of £283bn and 23 million customers are chunky figures. On the other hand, there will be few quick cost savings since the Virgin operations will be run as a separate entity for a few years. That’s one luxury of not being a plc: you can take your time on integration. Another luxury, it seems, is that you don’t have to ask your owners for approval. Nationwide’s members will not get to vote on how almost £3bn of capital will be spent, which hardly seems true to the democratic principles of the building society movement. The chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, a former long-serving Clydesdale banker, had better be correct that this deal makes long-term sense.
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Sunak warned unfunded axing of national insurance would harm services
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Rishi Sunak has been warned against fighting an election on an unfunded plan to abolish employee national insurance amid projections the move could blow a £40bn hole in the public finances. As the pre-election battle on the economy between the Conservatives and Labour intensified, the prime minister was on Thursday under mounting pressure to explain how the measure could be afforded while public services were crumbling. Related: The Guardian view on national insurance: these taxes embody a solidarity we still need | Editorial After placing a 2p national insurance cut at the centre of Wednesday’s budget – funded through higher government borrowing, stealth tax rises and a squeeze on public spending to come after polling day – his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said the Tories’ ambition was to scrap the tax on workers entirely. The modest scale of the giveaways in the budget has made a snap election less likely, although Sunak refused to rule out the possibility in interviews after the budget. Interactive The country’s leading economists questioned how abolishing employee national insurance contributions (NICs) could be afforded without further dismantling already stretched public services, and while the next parliament was on track to be the toughest for more than 80 years for a chancellor wanting to bring debt down. In scathing remarks for the government, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, described the pledge as “not worth the paper it’s written on unless accompanied by some sense of how it will be afforded.” The measure would cost more than £40bn a year in forgone revenue for the exchequer, he said, as the most expensive item in a list of unfunded Tory promises, including a promise reiterated in Wednesday’s budget to increase defence spending by £10bn. The government has also refused to spell out in detail its plans for public spending after the election, beyond saying it would push for an efficiency drive alongside a 1% real-terms funding increase for Whitehall departments – a level the IFS said implied cuts of about £20bn for non-ringfenced areas outside health, education and defence. Sunak declined on Thursday to say how the plan might be funded, telling broadcasters instead: “I think what people can see from me, I think they trust me on these things, is that I will always do this responsibly.” The prime minister’s spokesperson also declined to say whether the government was considering forgoing the entire revenue from national insurance, or whether it was considering getting rid of national insurance by merging it with income tax, which might result in income tax having to rise. The IFS included Labour in its broadside against the pre-election tax and spending plans being floated by both political parties. “The government and opposition are joining in a conspiracy of silence in not acknowledging the scale of the choices and trade-offs that will face us after the election,” Johnson said. “They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable.” Labour tried to deflect criticism of its own plans by turning up the pressure on the prime minister and the chancellor, saying their ambition on national insurance would come with a higher price tag than Liz Truss’ ill-fated £45bn mini budget package. It said the plan would cost £46bn a year, equivalent to £230bn over the course of a five-year parliament. Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said in a letter to the prime minister: “Just like Liz Truss, you have so far refused to set out how you are going to pay for this latest shake of the magic money tree.” Interactive Casting its verdict on the chancellor’s budget, the IFS said there were billions of pounds worth of unanswered questions in the Conservatives’ tax and spending plans, including how the party would find vast savings from Hunt’s new public sector productivity drive after more than a decade of austerity. Despite cutting employees’ national insurance by a third in the budget and in November’s autumn statement, from 12% to 8% of earnings, it warned Britain remained stuck in a situation where the overall tax take would reach the highest level since 1948 and still not make a meaningful dent in bringing down the national debt. Interactive Amid almost two decades of falling real wages, Torsten Bell, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said household disposable incomes, after adjusting for inflation, were poised to fall by 0.9% between 2019 and the end of 2024 – “the first parliament in modern history to see a fall in living standards”. Pensioners and high earners were the biggest losers, Bell said. The idea that tax cuts could be afforded at a time when public services were faltering was a “fiscal fiction”, he added. Interactive Related: Jeremy Hunt’s last budget before an election – but not his last roll of the dice Hunt defended his budget, saying he wanted to “make a start” in cutting taxes to boost households’ living standards, although he admitted: “I’ve never said for one moment that I can bring them right down all in one go.” The IFS said that by accepting the 2p budget cut in national insurance that Labour would “make life more difficult for itself” to balance the books, having lost £10bn that could have otherwise been spent on public services. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, suggested Labour could find savings from elsewhere to fund its spending plans. The party had planned to use money raised from abolishing the non-dom tax regime and an extension in the energy windfall tax for a number of schemes designed to elevate its spending above Tory proposals, including opening breakfast clubs in all primary schools and funding more out-of-hours doctors and dentist appointments. However Hunt himself raised those taxes on Wednesday and used them to pay for cuts to national insurance, which Labour is backing. Reeves told the BBC on Thursday: “We will identify the savings we can make to fund this.” Labour officials said Reeves’ team is finalising the details of what they will cut, and plan to make an announcement imminently. Johnson said it would not be difficult for Labour to find the money to replace the £4bn a year the Tories had raised through changes in the non-dom rules and energy taxes, which were now earmarked for tax cuts. However, Reeves’ promise to match the Tories’ tax cutting plans while pushing for savings from existing budgets sparked anger from some on the Labour left. Kate Dove, the co-chair of the leftwing Momentum campaign group, said: “It is absolutely shameful that the Labour leadership appears to be committing to further austerity in government.”
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The Lonely Londoners review – supreme staging of Sam Selvon’s Windrush story
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Lyrical and loosely structured, Sam Selvon’s 1956 British Caribbean novel does not readily lend itself to the stage. It is also a tricky proposition to bring his “big city” tale to life in a space as snug as this subterranean venue. So the power of this production, adapted by Roy Williams and directed by Ebenezer Bamgboye, is all the more startling. Selvon’s sprawling story about Windrush-era arrivals in London is given a small-scale expressionist treatment with a cast of seven sitting across the stage, postcodes flashing up in a glare of lights. The stripping down is counterintuitive but inspired. We follow a posse of outsider immigrants, who come to the “mother country” to realise they are not welcome. There is the unemployed, despairing Lewis (Tobi Bakare), newcomer Galahad (Romario Simpson), the desperate Big City (Gilbert Kyem Jr) and the sad, central voice of Moses (Gamba Cole). Their camaraderie and loneliness are piercingly evoked. There is also the fantastically haughty Tanty (Carol Moses), Lewis’s wife Agnes (Shannon Hayes) and Christina (Aimee Powell), a haunting from Moses’s past. The female characters are vivid but peripheral because this is really a study of Black masculinity, including its toxic effects on the women in the men’s lives, and it seems like a miniature companion piece to Ryan Calais Cameron’s For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy. Williams gives Selvon’s rambling structure a tighter shape and characters speak in monologues, sometimes facing up to hostile invisible forces. It is not always clear to whom characters are speaking if you have not read the book, but it does not matter because their words carry immense drama. Sometimes there is sultry song (by Powell, who has a rich, honeyed voice), and characters speak against the strum of a guitar, skitter of drums or more jagged sounds, thrillingly designed by Tony Gayle. The theatricality is slightly overplayed in the movement (from slo-mo to dance) but where this might have become too stiffly stylised, it adds to the sense of emotional storytelling. Lights and music are used to intensify the story’s psychological undercurrents. There is little of the comedy we see in the Windrush-era musical The Big Life, currently revived at Theatre Royal Stratford East, but the same sense of radical joy in the characters’ lives, from Agnes and Tanty’s dancing to the banter and horseplay between the men. The cast are tremendous, capturing the hope, innocence and betrayals of immigrant life. Each actor makes their character real and likable, but with no hint of sentimentality. There are many searing moments, from the painful way in which Agnes and Lewis’s relationship turns abusive to Galahad, beaten and bloodied, seeing himself as Black as if for the first time. Every element of the show hypnotises, capturing the pained romance of the city, and these lonely Londoners in it. At Jermyn Street theatre, London, until 6 April
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Ray Carlton obituary
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My mother, Ray Carlton, who has died aged 100, worked as a pharmaceutical researcher, retailer and accounting auditor, and was a talented pianist and artist. An Anglo-American free thinker, she went on to cultivate a broad, multigenerational network of friends while living on the East Yorkshire coast. Ray was born in Des Moines, Iowa, one of the three daughters of Burtis MacHatton, a Presbyterian pastor, and Norah (nee Ransom), a classical singer from an English family. When Ray was five, Norah moved with her daughters to Britain, and Ray went to Frensham Heights school, Surrey. In 1939 she returned to the US and finished her secondary education at Ferry Hall school, Illinois, before majoring in physiology at the University of Chicago. At Ferry Hall it was noted that she was “a very hard worker with a passion for tea, cycling, and serious reading’’. Her interest in music took her to lectures by Stravinsky and a piano recital given by Rachmaninov. She met the composer John Cage in 1942 while practising the piano in a Chicago University music room, and she joined his ensemble, on xylophone, for the premiere of Imaginary Landscape No 3 at the Arts Club of Chicago. Ray socialised with members of the metallurgy laboratory and the physicist Enrico Fermi was an acquaintance. As he had sequestered her favourite ice-rink to house a nuclear reactor, she turned to playing hockey, whereby she met Frances Oldham Kelsey who later, while working for the FDA, refused to license the drug thalidomide in the US. Ray joined Frankie’s pharmacology research group at the university, and the two became lifelong friends. Ray settled permanently in Britain in 1946 and worked in pharmaceutical research and development at Boots in Nottingham. There she met Phil Carlton, back from the war, and when Phil’s training took him to London, Ray took a job as a researcher with ICI in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. They married in 1948, and Ray quit scientific work while pregnant. In 1951 the couple moved with their baby daughter to Bridlington in East Yorkshire, where Phil joined the family shop, Carltons Ltd. Although this may have been a culture shock for both mum and her in-laws, these were happy days that saw the birth of four more children, and Ray worked at the shop as a fashion buyer. In the early 60s Phil was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, and he died in 1968. His illness and death hit Ray hard, but she continued to work in retail and then in accounting. In her spare time she became branch secretary of the Workers’ Educational Association, volunteered for the Samaritans and co-founded Bridlington’s film society. She began to garden seriously, while painting became her passion, and she assiduously maintained a large social circle. After retirement in the early 90s, she completed an arts degree at the University of Hull. She also travelled widely, and each May for many years she went to the Spanish coast with the painter Ursula McCannell, her best friend from Frensham. She is survived by her children, Allegra, Andy, Simon, Olivia and me, nine grandchildren, Rhiannon, Robbie-Felix, Rosemary, Sarah, Jamie, Lottie, Philippa, Rachel and Sophie, and three great-grandchildren, Jamie, Otis and Huey.
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The Guardian view on national insurance: these taxes embody a solidarity we still need
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Before he unveiled his main tax cut in the 2024 budget this week, Jeremy Hunt criticised the fact that Britain collects two different types of taxes on earnings: income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs). The system has become too complicated, the chancellor said. It penalises work, he added, thus deterring a high-wage, high-skill economy. He then announced a cut in employees’ NICs by a further 2p, and ended: “Our long-term ambition is to end this unfairness … we will continue to cut national insurance.” Britain’s tax system is indisputably complicated. The case for clarifying it as far as possible is overwhelming, in part so that it can do the job required in today’s conditions, but also so that it can command the robust public support it demands, especially in populist times. But Mr Hunt is very wrong to caricature NICs as a penalising or reactionary tax. In many ways, NICs are the very opposite. One problem with the reputation of NICs today is that they have been radically transformed over the years from what was originally intended when they were introduced by David Lloyd George in 1911. Back then, NICs were less a tax on work than the foundation of the first British welfare state. They paid for health insurance for all wage earners and for unemployment relief in vulnerable industries. Then, as now, the tax was shared between employees, employers and the state, allowing Lloyd George to sell the scheme to workers as “ninepence for fourpence”. In 1911, this very column welcomed the National Insurance Act as “the greatest measure in our time both of public health and of social justice”. NICs were the rock on which the later Beveridge report and the National Health Service were built. But they have been subjected to countless changes over the years. The link between what you pay in NICs and the things to which you are entitled – including healthcare, benefits and the state pension, which was integral to the original system – has been severed. As Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies says in his book Follow the Money, NICs have evolved from an explicit social contract into a tax on earnings. Nevertheless, even today, the shared responsibility for paying NICs still represents the foundational, and to many people almost sacred, principle of the welfare state. NICs embody the selfsame core ethos of the NHS – now being celebrated in the National Theatre’s new “Nye” production – that there should not be one system for the rich and a lesser system for the poor. That is why the “N” in NHS and NICs matters. It articulates a nation that likes the ties that bind and does not wish to loosen them so thoughtlessly. This is not something to throw aside lightly. While income tax is based on the need for redistribution, NICs are based on the need for solidarity across class, age and gender. The two taxes may overlap, but they derive from different principles. This is not an argument for maintaining NICs untouched, or for returning to the system set out by Lloyd George. But it is an argument for ministers to make the moral case for taxation far more strongly and to construct a national tax system which embodies that national solidarity. To dismiss NICs as inherently unfair is a travesty of the truth. NICs were Britain’s foundational fair tax. If they are to be retired, then at the very least they deserve retirement with honour, and successors that are worthy of them.
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The Guardian view on Haiti’s state of emergency: don’t look for easy fixes
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Almost as frightening as the threats from a Haitian crime lord of “a civil war that will lead to genocide” on Wednesday was the silence from the country’s leaders. Jimmy Chérizier, widely known as Barbecue, is behind the week-long uprising by gangs that has freed 4,000 prisoners and besieged airports and police stations. The gangs are demanding the resignation of the unelected and unpopular prime minister, Ariel Henry, who arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday having been unable to return home from a foreign trip. But while ordinary citizens reel from the violence, he has yet to comment. The finance minister declared a state of emergency via a press release. Even before the gangs banded together last week, a country used to suffering and turmoil was struggling with an unprecedented crisis that began with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. More than 4,780 people were murdered in 2023 – double the homicide rate in 2022 – while 2,490 were kidnapped. This year, 1,193 have already been killed. Vigilantism emerged last year, with angry civilians lynching suspected gang members. Tens of thousands of residents have been displaced, and the UN has called the effect on food supplies “cataclysmic”. “Our people are dying, our sisters are being raped, our children are going to sleep hungry … We are hostages of about maybe 3,000 men who are running the country, either gangs with ties and white shirts or … roaming the streets,” said the pro-democracy advocate Monique Clesca. The links between those two classes of “bandits” remain murky, but violence is a political as well as criminal tool. There was widespread anger in Haiti that the US backed Dr Henry so that he could rule as prime minister without a president, instead of supporting the roadmap for transition drawn up by civil society. Last week, he finally set an election date, but the timeline would still see him remain in power until 2026 – and he agreed it with leaders of Caricom, the regional political union, not Haitians. Haiti has not had a single elected official for over a year. Reportedly, the US and Caricom are now urging Dr Henry to stand down, having finally concluded that it is not tenable for him to continue. But there is grave concern about what form a political transition might take. Among those putting forward proposals are Guy Philippe, a former coup leader who was recently repatriated from the US – where he faced drugs charges and was jailed after pleading guilty to money laundering. There is also fear that even if an international security mission goes ahead, it could backfire. Haiti has a long and unhappy history of foreign intervention, and UN peacekeepers have brought cholera and were responsible for sexual abuse and exploitation. The current plan is Kenyan-led, but faces both political and legal opposition there. There is good reason to be cautious. Deploying security forces who do not speak Creole or French increases the risk of things going wrong and of civilians being misidentified as potential threats. Human rights must be put at the heart of any mission. And unless the security forces are fully trained, equipped, organised and informed, criminals may sense weakness. The gangs have become much better armed and more organised in recent years. Above all, any deployment should be accompanied by the resignation of Dr Henry and a political settlement that puts Haitian civil society at the heart of proceedings, returning power to Haiti’s ignored citizens.
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The joy and freedom of a solo holiday as an older woman
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Thank you for Joanna Moorhead’s wonderful article on solo travel (Long lunches, casual friendships, no one to worry about: solo holidays are brilliant for older women like me, 5 March). I’m on my first ever solo holiday, after 52 years of marriage. When I arrived in Vietnam, the guide who met me asked: “Why are you travelling alone?” I felt taken aback, but gather that this type of direct question is a cultural norm. Much travelled but always with family, I feared that I might feel melancholy. Far from it. Apart from my itinerary, which was planned with a travel agent, I’ve felt liberated by doing what I wanted, without worrying about everyone else. Vietnam is a fascinating country with a turbulent history to spice things up. Sightseeing has been refreshingly different. Visits to a series of mausoleums may seem grim, but far from it. These ornate, diverse complexes near Hue reflect each emperor’s unique personality. The only problem I’ve encountered is mansplaining – on long-haul flights and in restaurants. Why am I alone? My husband has severe frontotemporal dementia. Of course, my thoughts turn to our excellent holidays together, but those days are gone and I’m lucky that, for me, still working hard and earning, carer’s respite can be exotic. I look forward to getting back to see him. Meanwhile, don’t hesitate, sisters – go travel!Rosalind DuhsLondon • I recently spent a month travelling solo in Italy and it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Women over 50 are more than able when it comes to navigating transport issues, meeting new people and experiencing new challenges. Many doubt themselves and worry that they’ll be lonely, but there is a fantastic world out there waiting to be explored. With translation apps, some basic phrases and a dose of common sense, you can travel easily, and once you’ve travelled with partners, family and friends, it is such a joy to do things like this for yourself. I never felt alone and I found Deborah Ives’ Facebook group Solo in Style, mentioned in your article, so empowering – always supportive, with great practical advice and a good kick up the backside when needed (when I lost a bag and felt very sorry for myself). You meet amazing people when travelling alone and can change your plans at a moment’s notice. You also learn to dig deep and realise that you have resilience and abilities that you never thought you had.Janice Falconer Falkirk, Stirlingshire • In my late 20s, I travelled solo around Brazil by bus. I bought a one-way ticket, and returned three years later. When I tell people this, nobody bats an eyelid. But now, in my 50s with a grownup son and the same sense of wanderlust I had three decades ago, if I mention that I’m going to Mexico for a month, or have just returned from a trip to Cuba alone, I seem to get a response from women of my age of either horror or awe: “What, on your own?” Yes, always – my time, my itinerary. A last-minute ticket to the theatre, people-watching at pavement cafes, a book and picnic in the park, eating what I want when I want, an impromptu afternoon of live music and beer, galleries and museums, and a flea market – always a flea market. No people-pleasing, no negotiating. When I do want company, what could be better than striking up a conversation in a cafe or gallery, or booking myself on to a local cooking course or a small tour? I travel alone, but I am never lonely. I was once in a restaurant at lunchtime with my mother, where there was a woman sitting alone – a traveller, engrossed in a book, she had a couple of glasses of wine, a main course and a dessert, and some chitchat with the waiter. I must admit I was a little envious. I wondered what she had planned for an afternoon alone in London. Later that day, my mother, who hates being alone, said: “Did you notice that poor woman on her own at lunchtime? I felt so sorry for her.” I guess it’s all about perception.Sam MenezesNewington Green, London • Age does not need to be a barrier to travel if you can still get about. In February 2020, I went on a trip to Morocco when I was 92. I use a walker for fractures in my back, but I can walk quite fast and had no problem keeping up with the tour group. On the first morning in Marrakech, I overslept and found that the tour had already left, so I got a taxi and followed their itinerary in the hope of catching up with them. In fact, they had missed their planned visit to one of the most impressive palaces. I went round it (free, when they saw my walker) and then walked on my own to a shopping street, to be dazzled by the mounds of colourful spices and the gorgeous silks in the clothing shops. It was useful to speak a bit of French for asking directions, but I had no trouble finding a taxi back to the hotel, where our kind and competent tour guide invited me to lunch because he felt bad at having left me behind. Excursions to the Marjorelle Gardens, the Atlas mountains and Essaouira caused no problems. I had worried that no one would want to socialise with someone as old as me, but I was lucky enough to find an interesting group aged about 50 to 75 who would meet for drinks before and after dinner, and were quite prepared to chat. I was even saved from the ultimate holiday disaster of losing my wallet by the quick-thinking tour guide. I had not noticed it fall out of my bag while I was taking a photo by a stream in a Bedouin village. A small boy selling beads picked it up and handed it to our guide. It was only a six-day tour, but we said goodbye with regret. Morocco is a fascinating country with plenty of landscapes to look at, a tradition of superb workmanship and a cuisine that is both Arab and French: tagines and patisserie. A coach tour there was a great experience and perfectly feasible at 92. Jennifer WellsLewes, East Sussex • I am reading the feature about solo holidays on a rare day when my toddler is in nursery and I am not snowed under with work (or rather, I probably am, but am ignoring it). The article feels like the dreamy promise of a very distant future that might never happen. For those parents who, like me, can only dream of an actual holiday, may I suggest skiving off work occasionally for a solo lunch (me, just now – toast slathered with mayonnaise and tomato – good enough to pass for tapas), a solo walk, a solo trip to the cinema? If you half close your eyes and put your phone away, it almost feels like freedom. The ironic thing is that I did go on the odd solo adventure in a past life and had to fight hard to get over the loneliness of it. Oh, how I would love my loneliness back. It puts me in mind of a line from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet: “Love your solitude”.Name and address supplied • I’m married to someone who does not fly, so I took the plunge at solo travel nearly 20 years ago and have never looked back. Argentina, Antarctica and the Iguazu Falls were ticked off my bucket list. The terror of dining alone in Buenos Aires was dispelled by taking a book – no mobile phones in those days. Wherever I travel in the world, there are helpful and friendly people, so don’t be afraid to ask. The Galápagos Islands were so much better on a small boat than a cruise, and viewing Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate, having walked the last part of the trail, was incredible. At 77 years of age, I depart next week to tick off Chile’s Atacama desert and Easter Island. So I say, go for it – what have you got to lose? Andrea Stow Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire • Joanna Moorhead’s article resonated with me. Unable to afford solo travel when a young student, I began to travel within Europe in my 60s – single again and with adult children and grandchildren. I deliberately chose smaller cities with art galleries and museums that drew me, eg Porto for the Serralves museum, Málaga for the Picasso museum etc. Below is a poem that I wrote in situ that perhaps speaks to this issue.Gillie HarriesBristol Restaurante Avero, Porto14.03.2018 I eat aloneYou are alone?The charming maitre d’ asks.Yes, for now, aloneI respond.I sit, Giselle has slammedHer fury over the city,Beside the plate glass windowA bowl of sopa fava warmsMy chill constitutionI overlook the gardenOf VirtudesA virtuous quietexcitingLunch for one:Clean vinho verdheOlives bread oilPainted with the ombreOf balsamicA solitary womanAt peace,Perhapslike the AmericanOr French womanseatedbefore meHer back saysShe is enjoyingThis feasting alsoBom Dia.A nacreous lightFades up from theAtlantic coastAlong the rifled Douro.A yellow craneMoves its loadMinutely, safelyAs we women areNow permittedLone movement.The change, the shift;Carefully, slowlySafely.Aptly, on gazing upAnd this being a gallery,The black painted outlineOf a bold female, facesDown the roomHer eyes contestThe spaceAnd a tree branchesClear from her craniumKnowledge, and solidaritySaint of lone womenDiners,We have come of age.No longer pray for us. • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
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We must address the shocking gender gap at global financial institutions
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In advance of International Women’s Day, your timely piece on the World Bank’s new report finding no equality for working women in any country (5 March) was a stark reminder of the work left ahead. However, it’s important ask whether there is equality for working women at the World Bank itself, or any of the seven major international financial institutions (IFIs) that my colleagues and I studied in 2023. At the time we found that, though the share of women in leadership at these important institutions has doubled in the last two decades, not a single IFI had reached gender parity in its management ranks. Since the study was released, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has achieved gender parity in management – which is to say that only one IFI has achieved this at any point in time. It’s also worth noting that gender equality gains are easily reversed and prone to periods of stagnation. Most IFIs recognise the essential role women must play in development, and have put forth robust gender strategies. The World Bank places the engagement of female leaders as one of three strategic objectives. Yet only two out of nine IFIs have a female head; and no woman of colour has ever been the head of an IFI. Their boards of directors are even further from parity than the managerial positions filled by technocratic ranks. It’s important that these institutions, collectively responsible for more than a quarter of a trillion dollars of lending in 2022, lead by example. They should do it because it’s right, and central to their work. Closing the gender gap has been labelled “macrocritical”: essential to economic growth, financial stability, and lower income inequality. As we ask what more can be done for gender equality this International Women’s Day, we must also look at the role we all can and should play. Eeshani KandpalSenior fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington DC; former senior economist, World Bank • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
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Climate anxiety adds to teenagers’ fears
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Gaby Hinsliff makes a good point (What makes today’s teens so pessimistic about the future? Perhaps it’s the present, 5 March). However, she writes about the present as if we are not in the midst of a climate crisis threatening all life on Earth. She omits any mention of the impact of this on young people. A study of 10,000 of them found high levels of climate anxiety and distress that were correlated with “perceived inadequate government response and associated feelings of betrayal” (The Lancet Planetary Health, 2021). Alongside adequate government action, young people are likely to feel supported by columnists who acknowledge their plight.Breda KingstonBath • No one can argue that these foods are good for you (Ultra-processed food linked to 32 harmful effects to health, review finds, 28 February), but isn’t it possible that it is not UPF that leads to poor outcomes but that poor health leads to the use of UPF?Dena FisherGreat Barrington, Massachusetts, US • Your caption about Sheffield United’s 6-0 defeat in the print edition (5 March) said “Blunt Blades brutally hammered”. As we were playing Arsenal, not West Ham, surely it should have read “… brutally outgunned”.Penny NunnSUFC season ticket holder, Coventry • Quelle surprise: the Office for Budget Responsibility is under attack again. Presumably for the “Treasury orthodoxy” that the rest of us call maths (What are the UK’s ‘fiscal rules’ and why is the OBR under attack?, 5 March). Su HardmanWoodbridge, Suffolk • I could hug James Timpson (Opinion, 5 March). I have long admired his enlightened policy of giving ex-convicts a chance of work.Brenda EdwardsGrange-over-Sands, Cumbria • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
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Empowering female cotton farmers could boost climate resilience
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Women in rural areas experience systematic inequality, and climate change is widening the gender gap (Financial toll of climate crisis hitting women harder, UN says, 5 March). In global cotton production, for example, women are a significant contributor, but their work is labour-intensive and undervalued. They disproportionately shoulder the burden of the farm and domestic work while gender norms limit their inheritance rights and access to finance, training and the markets. Inequalities in cotton farming remain a pressing challenge, but also a missed opportunity. Supporting female farmers to be more gainfully involved in value chains can increase yields and economic gain. Training in climate-smart farm practices can also support them in mitigating the effect of catastrophic weather. While businesses and social enterprises cannot change policies and social norms overnight, we can help break the cycle by providing tailored support for women around sustainable farming. Apparel companies can start by equipping female farmers in their supply chains with more sustainable practices such as crop diversification to promote climate resilience and output. Furthermore, we need to unleash rural women’s potential beyond farming through financial and health awareness programmes. It helps create a ripple effect that benefits not only female farmers, but also their children and communities. As observed by our Women in Cotton research, women receiving such support report increased self-esteem and confidence, higher household living standards and investment in children’s education, health benefits and improved social standing. The UN data is a stark reminder of how social, economic and environmental issues are intrinsically linked. This week’s International Women’s Day is an opportunity to remind all of us in the apparel industry that supporting women in the cotton supply chain secures benefits that go beyond the farm, contributing to a more ethical and sustainable sector.Alison WardCEO, CottonConnect
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Pamela Salem obituary
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The actor Pamela Salem, who has died aged 80, brought a touch of class to a number of well-known franchises during a screen career of more than 50 years. She achieved cinematic immortality by playing the loyal secretary Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), an anomalous entry to the canon, made independently of the Eon-produced series, that marked the return of Sean Connery to the role of the famous secret agent after an absence of 12 years. Salem had worked with Connery on the 1978 film The First Great Train Robbery and when he found out she was in the running for Moneypenny he encouraged the producers to hire her. She was disappointed that many of her scenes ended up on the cutting-room floor, but her playful chemistry with Connery is still apparent in the finished product. Salem was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in British India, to Karsa Salem, a Manchester-educated civil engineer from Greece, who had founded a trading company, the Dodsal Group, and his Sri Lanka-born wife, Pearl (nee Russell-Payne). They encouraged Pamela and her younger sister, Gillie, to explore their creative sides from an early age. Pamela wanted to act, and her talents were encouraged at Wispers independent girls’ boarding school in Sussex, which she attended from the age of seven. She then studied at Heidelberg University in Germany before attending the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, graduating in 1966 and joining the Civic theatre in Chesterfield. She broke into television in 1969 and became a regular face on the small screen. Her precise diction made her perfect casting as upper-class English women, and her air of cosmopolitan refinement secured her roles as fashionable eastern Europeans or sophisticated continentals. Even when playing on the wrong side of the law, she exuded elegance. After a decade of notable guest roles, Salem starred as the cruel and powerful witch Belor in the children’s series Into the Labyrinth (1981-82), her venomous performance terrifying a generation of youngsters. More fantastical fare followed when she played a French countess in The Tripods (1984), and she was convincingly Gallic again in three series of the gentle culture-clash sitcom French Fields (1989-91), in which she was Chantal, neighbour to Hester and William Fields (Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers). She possessed enough warmth and sparkle to prevent her glamorous characters from ever seeming too aloof, but she could project steel when needed. When, in 1988, the BBC soap EastEnders required an actor with enough heft to pose a serious threat to the shady pub landlord Den Watts, Salem joined the series as Joanne Francis, the face of the underground crime outfit “The Firm”. This storyline was devised to capitalise on the popularity of Watts, played by Leslie Grantham, who was already known to Salem: she had conducted drama classes for prisoners when he was in Wormwood Scrubs serving a sentence for murder, and encouraged him to pursue a career in the business on his release. She appeared in two highly regarded stories in the long-running science-fiction series Doctor Who: as Toos, the cultivated deputy commander of a Sandminer, in The Robots of Death (1977), and as a cool scientist, Professor Rachel Jenson, in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). The characters have endured: she revisited them both in spin-off audio series: Toos in The Robots (2020-21) and Rachel in Counter Measures (2012-2020). Her film credits included The Bitch (1979, with Joan Collins) and Bill Condon’s Gods and Monsters (1998), and her later theatre work took in national tours of Francis Durbridge’s thriller The Small Hours for Bill Kenwright (1991) and Macbeth (in which she played Lady Macbeth opposite Paul Darrow, 1992). In 1982 she married the actor Michael O’Hagan and in 1991 the couple produced a TV documentary film, Fish in the Sky, about kite flying. Considering a change of career and new surroundings, they moved to the US – to Los Angeles and then Miami – where they co-wrote and produced radio and theatre productions. Salem continued to act there, popping up in TV shows such as ER (1996), Party of Five (2000) and The West Wing (as the British prime minister, 2005). She was a popular company member, known for her easy manner, interest in others, kindness and generosity. She loved Miami, having been attracted by its warmth, its ocean and its crumbling art deco heritage, which reminded her of old Bombay. Michael died in 2017. Salem is survived by her sister. • Pamela Fortunée Salem, actor, born 22 January 1944; died 21 February 2024
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Prison is no place for vulnerable young women
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The image of a girl in a children’s prison being pinned down and stripped by male officers, not once but on two separate occasions, beggars belief (Girl at YOI Wetherby was twice stripped by male officers, watchdog says, 5 March). This is a horrific story that cannot be ignored. The “highly vulnerable” girl with complex needs, we are told by the chief inspector of prisons, was routinely self-harming, yet no plan was in place for female staff to be available. Put bluntly, a bad situation was made worse by imprisonment, where those responsible for a teenage girl’s care put her in increased harm’s way. This is a child in need of support, not traumatisation and wholly inappropriate treatment in a prison. The idea that a vulnerable girl in distress faces force and degrading trauma as a means of “protection” should shock us to our core. It triggers flashbacks of the strip-search incident in a school with Child Q. Agenda Alliance’s recent work has found that young women are at the highest risk of self-harm of all women in prison. Once inside, trauma is embedded into an environment designed and staffed for men and boys, while ignoring that women and girls need an entirely different approach. Take Ruby, a victim of domestic abuse before prison: “My only coping mechanism was to turn to what I had known throughout my life, ‘pain’. So that’s what I did, inflicted pain on myself.” Let’s stop looking the other way. While men’s prisons are bursting at the seams, we must not turn a blind eye to the overlooked minority of girls and young women who are imprisoned. We have to call time on locking up vulnerable girls and young women in prisons that harm them. It’s time to invest in trauma-informed community solutions. The government knows these are vital.Indy CrossChief executive, Agenda AllianceSonya RuparelChief executive, Women in Prison • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
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Abortion rights in France are still too limited after senate vote on constitution
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Last week’s vote to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution is a very welcome step from French senators (France to make abortion a constitutional right after senate vote, 28 February). Efforts to legally protect abortion access are extremely valuable when abortion rights are under threat in many parts of Europe – and we’ve seen in Poland how quickly abortion access can be overturned by undemocratic “tribunal” rulings. While your article rightly points out that the French parliament voted to extend France’s legal limit for ending a pregnancy from 12 to 14 weeks in 2022, we would like add that in practice this 14-week limit means that many people are still unable to get an abortion in France. Abortion Support Network works to remove some of the barriers to getting an abortion by paying the costs of travelling for care in a clinic overseas, and while most of the people we help are in Poland and the Republic of Ireland, our third largest country demographic is people in France.Dani AndersonAbortion Support Network (England) • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
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John Kerry doesn’t get it: the US can’t be a force for good on the climate until it stops fossil fuel expansion
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John Kerry’s recent claim in an interview with the Guardian that the United States is a force for good in tackling the climate crisis, despite soaring growth in fossil fuels, demonstrates that he fundamentally misunderstands the problem (John Kerry: US committed to tackling climate crisis despite fossil fuel growth, 4 March). The International Energy Agency made it clear: to reach net zero by 2050 the world can afford no new fossil fuel expansion. And yet the United States is by far the largest producer of oil and gas in the world – responsible for one in five barrels of oil and gas extracted globally in 2022 – and has the largest plans for fossil fuel expansion in the world. President Joe Biden’s recent pause on new liquefied natural gas export authorisations is an important step toward reining in expansion. However, the pause does not go far enough to address the massive expansion of fossil fuels in the US causing the climate crisis and serious health and safety impacts on communities living nearby. If the US wants to be the climate leader that Kerry thinks it is, it’s time our leadership takes real action to stop fossil fuel expansion and lead a just transition off fossil fuels.Allie RosenbluthUS campaign manager, Oil Change International • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
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The 21 greatest Oscar snubs ever – Ranked!
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1. Alfred Hitchcock And the Oscar goes to … the wrong film or person, most of the time. This we know. But for proof of the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between quality and the Academy Awards, try this: Alfred Hitchcock never got his mitts on a best director prize. He came within sniffing distance on five occasions. And while it would be unfair to cry foul over the award going in 1961 to Billy Wilder for The Apartment rather than Hitchcock for Psycho (they were both masters of the darkly bitter comedy, after all), it is harder to argue for the superiority of Leo McCarey, who won in 1945 for Going My Way, when Hitchcock was in contention for Lifeboat. He did eventually get a statuette for lifetime achievement but it might as well have had “too little, too late” engraved next to his name. Still, Hitchcock gave it the acceptance speech it deserved. “Thank you, very much indeed,” was all he said before leaving the stage. 2. Stanley Kubrick Another gobsmacking oversight. Ron Howard, Kevin Costner, Robert Redford and even Tom Hooper all have directing Oscars. But Stanley Kubrick? Nope. He was in the running four times and should have won for Barry Lyndon in 1976, except that was the year of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Fear of flying would have precluded the UK-based Kubrick from attending, but that was no reason to give it instead to Carol Reed in 1969 (a great director, though Oliver! is no 2001: A Space Odyssey) and William Friedkin in 1972 (The French Connection over A Clockwork Orange? Did the voters all get a tolchock on the gulliver or what?) 3. Citizen Kane Orson Welles’s 1941 masterpiece is a contender not only for best picture of all time, but also greatest film never to win best picture. At least it was nominated, although it converted only one of its nine nods into an award (for best screenplay) and lost in the best picture category to John Ford’s family saga How Green Was My Valley. The film critic Pauline Kael reported that there were “hisses and loud boos” every time Welles or the film’s name was read out on the night, such was the stench of controversy surrounding it. 4. Myrna Loy The Thin Man comedies, which follow the sleuthing, smart-talking private eye Nick and his heiress wife Nora, remain one of the enduring delights of vintage Hollywood, but the Academy saw fit to nominate only one half of the double-act (William Powell) that made the series great. The splendid Myrna Loy had to wait until 1991, two years before her death, for – you guessed it – an honorary Oscar, the Academy’s equivalent of flowers grabbed from a petrol station forecourt on Valentine’s Day. 5. Charlie Chaplin Cold-shouldered by the Academy for most of his career, Chaplin got two honorary awards, one at the start of his career (in 1929) and another at the end (in 1972, for “the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century”), but nothing specifically for the great achievements – the towering comic masterpieces City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator. A special last-minute booby prize came in the form of the Oscar in 1973 for the score he composed for his film Limelight (made in 1952 but not seen in the US for 20 years) – which was a bit like giving Harrison Ford a prize for his carpentry. 6. Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese has had a rum old time of it at the Oscars, forever losing out in the best picture category to vastly inferior films: Raging Bull was beaten by the facile psychotherapy drama Ordinary People, Goodfellas by the narcissistic western Dances With Wolves. The most egregious loss has to be his expressionistic character study Taxi Driver being pipped at the post by Rocky: not a terrible film by any means, but hardly in the same class. Typical that when a Scorsese movie was finally named best picture, it was The Departed, his bloated remake of Infernal Affairs. 7. La Grande Illusion Non-American films rarely see much glory in the best picture category – The Artist was able to win, for example, only because it didn’t contain any foreign language. But it might have been hoped that the deeply compassionate and timely anti-war sentiment of Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion might have overcome any resistance to the reading of subtitles. Alas, non. At the 1939 Oscars, Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It With You took the doorstop instead. 8. Judy Garland It is incredible that the star of The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis and A Star Is Born garlanded no Best Actress prizes from the Academy, although she was nominated for her gutsy, all-or-nothing performance in A Star Is Born opposite James Mason, and got an honorary juvenile award for all that frolicking on the Yellow Brick Road. 9. There Will Be Blood Like his latest film, Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 oil-rush drama was a very odd duck indeed: an epic with only two characters of note, and an ending that swaps the rest of the movie’s sweeping canvas for a petty dust-up in a bowing alley. Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor but the rest was all far too weird to take best picture, despite displaying a virtuosity and daring sorely missing from the safe-bet winner, the Coen brothers’ superficial No Country For Old Men. 10. Robert Mitchum Taciturn hardmen have a hard time getting awards since what they do is so undemonstrative, and not always visible to the naked eye. Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin never got Oscars. Lee Marvin and Jack Palance had to start monkeying around (Marvin in Cat Ballou, Palance in City Slickers) before they were rewarded. No wonder Robert Mitchum had a mantelpiece bare of prizes. As a big man specialising in minimalism, his talents were too subtle for the Oscars. 11. River Phoenix He died at 23, but Phoenix (older brother of Joaquin) crammed an extraordinary amount of dazzling work into his short acting career. A shame, then, that for his one Oscar-nominated performance – for best supporting actor as the wary, heartfelt son of 1960s activists still on the run from the FBI in Running On Empty – he lost to Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda, the sort of dotty vaudeville turn (see also John Gielgud in Arthur) that can sometimes be the wild card in the supporting categories. 12. The Thin Red Line Some say Saving Private Ryan was the big loser on Oscar night in 1999. But no: it was The Thin Red Line, another second world war story, which marked the magisterial return of Terrence Malick after 20 years in the wilderness. Blame Harvey Weinstein’s notoriously aggressive, bullying Oscar campaign that secured the best picture prize for the insipid Shakespeare in Love. 13. Marilyn Monroe For sheer comic pizzazz, she should have been a shoo-in for Some Like It Hot, although she wasn’t nominated – for that or anything else. 14. Brokeback Mountain Its best picture hopes were crushed by Crash. (And not the Cronenberg one, more’s the pity.) 15. The Social Network David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin turned the story of Facebook into a gripping psychological thriller. The Academy preferred the fusty, stagy period piece The King’s Speech. 16. Bette Davis She won in 1936 for Dangerous and would have done so for her storming turn in Of Human Bondage a year earlier had she not broken her contract with Warner Bros to make it. “My failure to receive the award created a scandal that gave me more publicity than if I had won it,” she later said. 17. The English Patient Don’t feel sorry for this Oscar-laden melodrama. But the late Anthony Minghella himself reportedly felt that the achievement of his that should have been recognised – his marshalling of Michael Ondaatje’s mammoth novel into a coherent screenplay – was overlooked. 18. Amour Michael Haneke’s profound, upsetting masterpiece was beaten by the smug, second-rate Ben Affleck thriller Argo, which was sort-of-but-not-really based on real events. 19. Randa Haines Children of a Lesser God director Haines was excluded from the nominations while four of her colleagues were recognised. As tends to happen with female film-makers. 20. 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Greta Gerwig films – ranked!
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20 No Strings Attached (2011) Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher may be the stars of this friends-with-benefits romcom, written by New Girl creator Elizabeth Meriwether and originally titled Fuck Buddies. But it is Mindy Kaling and Gerwig (first seen sloshed in shorts with “Whore” written on them) who provide indie cred as Portman’s pals. 19 Isle of Dogs (2018) Wes Anderson’s one-joke stop-motion fantasy is set in the retro-futuristic Megasaki City, where an outbreak of canine flu leads the Mayor to dispatch all mutts to Trash Island. Controversy surrounded Gerwig’s character, the foreign-exchange student and white saviour who leads the pro-pooch uprising, expresses herself stridently (unlike most of her human Japanese counterparts, whose words aren’t subtitled) and disses a scientist voiced by Yoko Ono. Audiences were entitled to feel they’d been sold a pup. Related: Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs: loving homage to Japan or cultural appropriation? 18 The Humbling (2014) Al Pacino is all tempestuous bluster and stinging hurt as a stage legend confronting obsolescence in this adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2009 novel. Playing a teacher who is sleeping with the dean’s daughter and being romantically pursued by a transgender man, Gerwig arrives in Pacino’s life with a collection of sex toys and promptly disavows her former lesbianism. The actor is saddled with the sorry task of embodying the sexually fluid younger generation that is causing old, straight men so much grief. 17 To Rome With Love (2012) Among the quartet of stories in Woody Allen’s tourist-trap roundelay is one in which an architect (Alec Baldwin) doles out romantic advice to his younger self (Jesse Eisenberg), who is torn between a girlfriend (Gerwig) and another woman (Elliot Page). When sexual abuse allegations became headline news once more, several cast members expressed regrets about collaborating with Allen. “I will not work for him again,” said Gerwig. 16 The Dish & the Spoon (2011) A chaste odd-couple romance between a woman who flees her unfaithful husband and a waif-like boy hiding out in a lighthouse. Gerwig was already on her way to Hollywood fame but her co-star Olly Alexander was still in the early years of Years & Years, with only a handful of parts (including Jane Campion’s Bright Star) to his name. The stars have an offbeat rapport, not least when Gerwig dresses him as a girl, or the pair go dancing in 18th-century costumes. 15 Baghead (2008) Four struggling actors write a bare-bones horror movie in the woods, creating a bogeyman with a paper bag on his head. Despite a zippy first half-hour which takes amusing sideswipes at the film festival circuit, the Duplass brothers’ horror-comedy eventually sinks into the doldrums. Highlights include Gerwig expertly friend-zoning a hapless suitor. “That’s what’s so great about you,” she tells him. “You’re, like, my best friend but also like my brother!” Harsh. 14 The House of the Devil (2009) Gerwig may not last long in this indie horror, but she helps establish its retro, off-kilter flavour. In a Farrah Fawcett-style blond feathery disco-flick, she signals trouble ahead by overreacting to dinner (“This pizza’s nasty today!”), then warns her best friend not to accept a babysitting job from a creepy stranger (Tom Noonan of Manhunter fame) and casually delivers some atmospheric scene-setting: “I’m so sick of hearing about that stupid eclipse!” 13 Wiener-Dog (2016) The changing ownership of one dachshund links four tales of hard knocks and thwarted dreams from indie provocateur Todd Solondz. Gerwig plays Dawn Wiener, the beleaguered teenage protagonist of Solondz’s 1995 breakthrough Welcome to the Dollhouse. But wait – didn’t he kill her off in his 2004 film Palindromes? “I thought it would be nice to give her an alternative existence,” the director explained. This bold new Dawn is a veterinary nurse, who falls for her former schoolyard tormentor, played by Kieran Culkin. 12 Damsels in Distress (2011) Fittingly for a director who would later make the Jane Austen adaptation Love & Friendship, Whit Stillman’s daffy campus comedy resembles Clueless: The College Years. Gerwig is Violet, one of a trio of East coast bright sparks dedicated to improving the lives of their fellow students. In her spare time, she also plans to launch a global dance craze. This is a woman so relentlessly upbeat that she responds buoyantly even to criticism: “Thank you for this chastisement,” she trills after having her flaws itemised. 11 Jackie (2016) One of the most piercing films ever made about grief, Pablo Larraín’s claustrophobic portrait of Jackie Kennedy in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s assassination would grab a higher place on any ranking of Gerwig’s movies if she had more to do in it. She is soothingly attentive, though, as Jackie’s friend and confidante Nancy Tuckerman. Listing for her the dignitaries who have confirmed their attendance at the funeral, Gerwig’s delivery lends a matter-of-fact roll-call the consoling softness of a lullaby. 10 Nights and Weekends (2008) Gerwig and Joe Swanberg co-directed and co-wrote what appears at first to be a shapeless rag-bag of vignettes. They also play the central couple, whose relationship is disintegrating due to emotional and geographical distance. Opening with a candid sex scene and populated by characters who are sometimes light on charm, it is one of the key works of mumblecore – that small but influential pocket of no-budget, DIY indie film-making pioneered by Swanberg, Andrew Bujalski, Aaron Katz, the Duplass brothers and Lynn Shelton (the late Humpday director who has a small role here), and mostly devoted to meandering tales of troubled or unrequited love. 9 Mistress America (2015) For her second co-writing credit with Noah Baumbach, Gerwig helped create one of her spikiest roles: Brooke, a wannabe restaurateur and socialite, somehow both laser-focused and flailing, more If-girl than It-girl. At the grand old age of 30, she is dispensing life lessons to her protege and stepsister-to-be (Lola Kirke). This was a new direction for Gerwig, with intriguing flashes of flintiness beneath the sparkling exterior. These surface during a startling scene in which Brooke is accused of youthful bullying by a former classmate. The subject is never resolved conclusively but the cold glint in Gerwig’s eye hints at an icy core. 8 20th Century Women (2016) Mike Mills’s comedy about growing up in late-1970s California with a flamboyant, unorthodox mother (Annette Bening) has a blank space at its centre in the shape of 15-year-old newcomer Lucas Jade Zumann, who doesn’t make much impression as the teenager surrounded by complex women. These include Gerwig as Abbie, the photographer to whom his mother, Dorothea, partly entrusts his emotional education. Mills’s script articulates beautifully the parental pain of waving children off into adulthood. “You get to see him out in the world as a person,” Dorothea tells Abbie, before adding sadly: “I never will.” 7 Maggie’s Plan (2015) Stealing a teacher and would-be novelist (Ethan Hawke) away from his wife (Julianne Moore), Maggie (Gerwig) then has second thoughts when her life with him goes askew – which leads her to play matchmaker to the estranged couple. The scene in which she pitches this loopy romantic solution to a fierce, incredulous Moore is fantastic, and there are some choice run-ins with Bill Hader as Maggie’s closest confidante, who balks at her scheme and accuses her of “playing Titania and sprinkling stardust in their eyes”. There is real pain in Rebecca Miller’s film, not all of it neutralised by laughter. 6 LOL (2006) Less shambolic than most mumblecore endeavours, the first of Gerwig’s collaborations with Swanberg examines the corrosive effects of technology on the romantic lives of a group of twentysomethings. It boasts intricate dialogue and an inventive use of split-screen; Gerwig is at first amusing and eventually agonising as a woman trying to placate her boyfriend with nude selfies, after rebuffing his demands for phone sex. A genuine cri de mumble-coeur. 5 Little Women (2019) For her second solo directing gig, Gerwig adapts Louisa May Allcott’s evergreen 1868 novel, reshaping its chronology in a way that teases out telling ironies. The movie zigzags between different stages in the Massachusetts adolescence of fledgling novelist Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) and her three sisters. Oscar-nominated Florence Pugh expresses infinite varieties of frustration and heartbreak as Amy, Jo’s rival among her siblings. In her second performance for Gerwig, Ronan doesn’t shrink from the dislikable: she makes the sight of Amy losing composure in the face of criticism a cringing high-point. 4 Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) The Avengers Assemble of mumblecore movies. Swanberg directs Gerwig as Hannah, the comedy writer bouncing between three men, two of them played by other mumblecore auteurs (Andrew Bujalski and Mark Duplass) and the third by Kent Osbourne (real-life writer for animated series such as Adventure Time). Funny and fraught with pass-agg tensions, the film – on which Gerwig and her co-stars get co-writing credits – contains an unflinching break-up scene: “I don’t think you can touch me any more,” Hannah tells her boyfriend, squirming against the wall to escape his goofball antics. Whether furiously rage-dancing, tearfully admitting “I tend to leave destruction in my wake”, or playing the trumpet naked in the bath, Gerwig’s range here is impressive. 3 Lady Bird (2017) The loosey-goosey naturalism that Gerwig had displayed in front of the camera for more than a decade was richly felt behind it, too, in this self-penned, solo-directing debut for which she was double Oscar-nominated. Christine (Saoirse Ronan), AKA Lady Bird, is a low-level rebel on the brink of graduating from a Catholic high school in Sacramento. Orbiting around her are a sweetly dopey best chum (Beanie Feldstein), two potential boyfriends (Timothée Chalamet, Lucas Hedges) and a perpetually disapproving mother (Laurie Metcalf), who believes that if you can’t say anything nice, it’s better to be brutally frank instead. Gerwig keeps the vignettes popping; they’re the colourful dots that form a pointillist portrait of Lady Bird’s life. 2 Frances Ha (2013) An actor couldn’t hope for a better showcase than this ecstatic comic character study. Frances (Gerwig) is a budding dancer making her way in New York City as her money runs out, her dreams wilt and her best friend moves to a swankier neighbourhood. Gerwig co-wrote this, her second movie with Noah Baumbach. (They were a couple by this point, the film-maker having left Jennifer Jason Leigh, with whom he co-wrote Greenberg.) Together, Gerwig and Baumbach exploit her character’s ungainly gait, propensity for slapstick, and innate giddiness. Frances is prone to flights of euphoria, such as the celebratory sprint through Manhattan where her speeding steps give way to leaps and pirouettes while David Bowie’s Modern Love clatters magically on the soundtrack – a near-exact restaging of Denis Lavant’s running dance from Leos Carax’s 1986 Mauvais Sang. 1 Greenberg (2010) No movie has ever needed Gerwig so much, or used her presence as adroitly, as Noah Baumbach’s itchy, melancholy romcom. For the first 10 minutes, it appears to be her gig alone. As Florence, a chaotic twentysomething au pair, she dashes around Los Angeles on errands, walks the dog, goes to a party and has a joyless one-night stand, all while exuding an air of distracted, good-humoured disappointment. Then Ben Stiller shows up as Roger Greenberg, her boss’s neurotic brother, and snatches the narrative away. Cleverly, this makes the audience pine for her – who wants to be stuck with a whingeing fussbudget after chilling with the sad-but-sunny Florence? When (or if) we grow to like Roger, it’s largely as a byproduct of the attention he receives from her: if she notices something in him, then maybe he’s not as intolerable as he seems. Greenberg dragged mumblecore into the mainstream (Mark Duplass also has a small role) and ignited a professional relationship between Baumbach and Gerwig that soon morphed into the personal. They have now collaborated on six occasions, including adaptations of Don DeLillo’s White Noise, which opens this year’s Venice film festival, and an unreleased HBO pilot from 2012 based on Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, as well as next year’s Barbie, which Gerwig has directed from a script they wrote together. It is Greenberg, though, that remains among the strongest, strangest films of the century – and the one that made Gerwig a star.
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Greenpeace accuses Russia of ‘unprecedented escalation’ if it restarts Zaporizhzhia reactors
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Greenpeace has accused Russia of threatening Ukraine and the west with “an unprecedented escalation” if Moscow tries to restart reactors at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. The pressure group’s warning came a day after Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi to discuss nuclear safety and the plant on the frontline of the Ukraine war. Grossi told Russia Today on Tuesday that he discussed with Putin the possibility of restarting the plant, which Greenpeace said would create an unprecedented risk if any of the six reactors were restarted as has been suggested by Russian officials. Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Germany, said: “No nuclear regulations exist anywhere in the world that permit a nuclear plant to operate on the frontline in an active war zone.” Captured by the Russian invaders in the early stages of the war in March 2022, the vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been on the frontline of the war ever since. It is sited on the Dnipro River in central Ukraine and Ukrainian forces occupy the bank opposite, leaving the plant in the sights of both sides’ militaries. Related: Safety of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant hangs in the balance Initial aspirations by Russia to connect the reactors to its own energy grid were abandoned and all six of its reactors were put into various states of shutdown. But recent comments from officials have suggested a new attempt to restart nuclear energy generation may take place later this year. Yuriy Chernichuk, the Russian-appointed director of the site, told the plant’s staff newsletter at the end of December: “Next year is an anniversary year for the station and the station is determined to work at full capacity.” Last month, Grossi said he would seek to understand Russia’s intentions, while on Tuesday the nuclear watchdog cautioned Moscow when asked in Sochi if some or all of the reactors were going to be restarted. “I have been drawing the attention of my Russian counterparts to the fact that any such action would require a number of considerations,” Grossi said. “First of all, this is an active combat zone, and this cannot be forgotten. Secondly, this plant has been in shutdown for a prolonged period of time.” Nevertheless, the IAEA director general did not absolutely warn against restarting energy generation on the site, and said that to do so would “require a number of safety assessments to be performed” by the Russian occupiers. The Kremlin released opening remarks of the meeting with Grossi. In them, Putin did not mention any plans for Zaporizhzhia, but did say “it is very important, on a planetary scale” to ensure “nuclear energy safety and compliance with safety standards throughout the world”. A report from the RIA Novosti news agency reported that Grossi had described the talks as “tense” but a spokesperson for the IAEA denied the assertion. As well as meeting Putin, Grossi also met Alexey Likhachev, the director general of Rosatom, the Russian state-owned energy company now running the plant. Greenpeace accused Grossi of being complacent, and said restarting any of the reactors should be completely ruled out. “The IAEA must not play the role of pretend regulator in overseeing a Russian nuclear timebomb, but instead must make clear that safe operation is impossible,” Burnie said. The environmental pressure group said that an operating nuclear reactor would inevitably run at a reduced margin of safety on the frontline, and there was a particular concern whether Rosatom could ensure there was enough cooling water available to safely operate even a single reactor. An analysis by Greenpeace says that Russia would need to construct a fresh pumping station to ensure there was enough cooling water available, because the Dnipro no longer flows into the cooling reservoir on site. The river dramatically shrunk in the area after the Nova Kakhovka dam downstream was blown up last June. Five of the nuclear reactors at the plant, Europe’s largest, are in a cold shutdown, where the reactors are running at a temperature below boiling point. A sixth is in hot shutdown, to produce steam and heating needed for the site. IAEA inspectors are present on site, although there have been criticisms about restrictions placed by Russia on their access, but even in shutdown its situation remains fragile. Russian forces are believed to be present in the plant, although conflict in the area has not been intense. There are only two out of 10 prewar power lines remaining to power the reactor cooling system. On eight occasions over the last 18 months, the IAEA has said, both lines went down, requiring the nuclear plant to rely on emergency backup generators to prevent the reactors from gradually overheating.
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Israel will resist pressure to halt Rafah attack, says Netanyahu
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Israel will not give in to international pressure to stall an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah and will continue its bloody offensive against Hamas, said Benjamin Netanyahu. “There is international pressure and it’s growing, but … we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” the prime minister told a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel, saying that Israel’s forces would operate against Hamas all through the Gaza Strip “including Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold”. He added: “Whoever tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen.” The uncompromising statement came just hours after news that Hamas had withdrawn its delegation from indirect ceasefire negotiations in Cairo, suggesting that the chances of even a short pause to the war in Gaza before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan are now very slim. The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for weeks to broker an agreement on a six-week ceasefire and the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas confirmed on Thursday that its delegation had left Cairo but said talks would resume next week. “Hamas’s delegation left Cairo this morning for consultation with the leadership of the movement, with negotiations and efforts continuing to stop the aggression, return the displaced and bring in relief aid to our people,” a Hamas statement said. The start of Ramadan on Sunday or Monday had been seen as an informal deadline by mediators and observers amid optimism early last week that a ceasefire could be agreed. The holy month often brings unrest linked to access to holy sites in Jerusalem. The conflict in Gaza, now in its sixth month, has already destabilised the wider region. Underlining the risks of regional conflagration, Israeli artillery opened fire on targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday after a barrage of rockets was fired by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant Islamist organisation, according to local media reports. The war in Gaza was triggered in October after Hamas, the militant organisation that has ruled Gaza since 2007, killed 1,200 Israelis, mainly civilians, and abducted another 250 in surprise attacks in southern Israel. About half of the hostages were released during a short-lived ceasefire in November. Hamas has said it will not release all of the remaining hostages without a full Israeli withdrawal. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding about 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others. A second demand is the release of a large number of prisoners, including senior militant figures serving life sentences, in exchange for the hostages. Netanyahu has called Hamas’s demands “delusional”. Israel has been under pressure to hold off from any attack against Rafah, which is packed with about 1 million displaced civilians from elsewhere in Gaza and is a key logistics hub for aid agencies. The UN and humanitarian organisations have expressed deep concern that an Israeli offensive there would aggravate an already “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis. Even the US, Israel’s staunchest ally, has voiced reservations. Some observers see Netanyahu’s promise to attack Rafah as a threat aimed at forcing concessions from the Islamist militant movement. Israeli officials blamed the breakdown of the talks on the refusal of Hamas to provide a list of the hostages it is holding in Gaza, saying that this is a precondition for further progress. Hamas has said it cannot provide the list without a break in the fighting. Israeli officials say this is untrue and the group could get the information with “a few phone calls”. Egyptian officials said Hamas had agreed to the main terms of such an agreement as a first stage but wanted commitments it would lead to an more permanent ceasefire. They say Israel wants to confine the negotiations to the more limited agreement. Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages deep inside its vast tunnel network, where rescue operations would be virtually impossible, and using them as human shields for its top leaders, possibly under Rafah. The town is also a base for four battallions of Hamas militants, about 20% of the organisation’s prewar total and its only remaining undamaged force, Israeli officials have said. Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson, said on Wednesday that Israel still wanted to see a pause for humanitarian purposes that would allow the release of the hostages. “We will do everything we can to get them out … [But] this war will end ultimately with the total defeat of Hamas or its surrender,” Levy said. Israel has struggled throughout the conflict to reconcile twin aims of freeing the hostages and “crushing Hamas”. The huge air, land and sea campaign launched by Israel in Gaza has driven about 80% of the population from their homes and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine. It has reduced swathes of the territory to ruins. Health officials in Gaza said the number of people confirmed killed in Israel’s offensive had passed 30,800, with 83 deaths reported in the past 24 hours. Most of the victims are women and children, the officials said. Israel has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields in Gaza and says its forces are acting entirely lawfully. Hamas authorities on Thursday said Israeli bombardments had continued with more than 30 airstrikes across the territory. In the ruins of Jabalia, northern Gaza, Palestinians gathered on Thursday to receive meals at a donation point. Related: Biden to announce US will build port on Gaza shore for large-scale aid delivery “There is no gas to cook our food on. There is no flour, or rice,” said Bassam al-Hou, standing beside large, blackened cooking pots among the dusty rubble. He said children “are dying and fainting in the streets from hunger. What can we do?” The UN has described aid access as “unpredictable and insufficient”, blaming military operations, insecurity and extensive restrictions to delivery of essential supplies. Israeli officials have said there is no limit placed on the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, and that 275 trucks entered the territory on Wednesday. The timing of any offensive against Rafah will be delicate for Israeli decision-makers. The US wants Israel to provide a clear and convincing plan to show how civilians could be protected during such a complex military operation. In previous years, Israeli forces and Palestinians have clashed in Jerusalem during Ramadan over access to al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. The hilltop on which it is built is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the Jewish temples in antiquity. Hamas says it launched the attacks in October partly in response to what it sees as Israel’s encroachment on the site and has called for heightened confrontations with Israel during the holy month. Israeli officials said again on Thursday that access to the site would remain unchanged from previous years and that authorities would “strongly uphold the freedom of worship”. Analysts have said an attack on Rafah during Ramadan would be a “perfect storm” for more violence.
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Alabama law protecting IVF met with both relief and concern: ‘There is more work to be done’
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Alabama’s swift passage of a law on Wednesday night that protects in vitro fertilization providers from liability was greeted by relief – and some concern – as treatments were expected to resume on Thursday following the state supreme court’s shock decision last month that equated frozen embryos to children, halting many IVF services. After the new law was passed reproductive rights advocates called for more to be done to protect reproductive health. Under the new law signed on Wednesday night by Alabama’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, IVF providers are now protected from civil litigation and criminal prosecution in the event of “damage or death of an embryo” during treatment. Alabama’s Republican lawmakers proposed the bill so that IVF providers could resume services. However, they have refused to consider proposed legislation that would weigh the legal status of embryos. Barbara Collura, president of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, said that the organization was relieved that Alabama clinics could resume their IVF programs but said the law didn’t go far enough. “While we are grateful for the actions of Alabama legislators, this legislation does not address the underlying issue of the status of embryos as part of the IVF process – threatening the long-term standard of care for IVF patients,” Collura said in a statement. “There is more work to be done.” The American Society for Reproductive Medicine voiced similar sentiments, with a spokesperson noting that the law did not rectify the key problem – that the court’s decision is “conflating fertilised eggs with children”. Karla Torres, a senior attorney at Center for Reproductive Rights, had voiced concern about the bill, reportedly saying it “falls far short of what Alabamans want and need to access fertility care in their state without fear”. “Even on its face, this bill seeks to grant personhood to embryos, reinforcing the state supreme court’s extreme ruling recognizing embryos as children,” NBC News quoted Torres as saying. Alabama’s law came in response to a state supreme court decision that three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed at a storage facility accident could mount wrongful death lawsuits. The state’s three leading IVF providers put these treatments on hold following this ruling; patients said that their scheduled embryo transfers were canceled, jeopardizing their chance at parenthood. Some providers say they are resuming services, but concerns remain. Dr Warner Huh, who chairs the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, said: “UAB appreciates the Alabama legislature and Governor Ivey for swiftly passing and signing legislation that provides some protections and will therefore allow UAB to restart in vitro fertilization treatments, also known as IVF,” according to CNN. “While UAB is moving to promptly resume IVF treatments, we’ll continue to assess developments and advocate for protections for IVF patients and our providers.” Another IVF provider, Alabama Fertility Specialists, welcomed the development. “A solution – after 19 days of uncertainty and 14 days of missed opportunities for our patients. We are grateful to Senator [Tim] Melson and Representative [Terri] Collins for understanding the importance of immediate access to IVF and for finding a solution in a complex issue,” the clinic said on Facebook. The post continued: “To our patients – you are our heroes. We wouldn’t be where we are without you standing up, telling your stories and letting the world know how important IVF treatments are for families in our state. What’s next? Transfers and IVF starts this week and more pregnancies and more babies in Alabama. Let’s get to work!” The Center for Reproductive Medicine at Mobile infirmary, which is the defendant in the supreme court decision, will not resume IVF treatments right away. “As we understand the language of the proposed law, as it stands, we are not reopening our IVF facility until we have legal clarification on the extent of immunity provided by the new Alabama law,” CNN quoted the clinic as saying. “At this time, we believe the law falls short of addressing the fertilized eggs currently stored across the state and leaves challenges for physicians and fertility clinics trying to help deserving families have children of their own.” Though IVF services are poised to resume, the court decision could have striking political implications during an election cycle where reproductive rights are already a key issue. Amid the fallout, Trump reportedly called for the state legislature to act and said: “I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.” After the court ruling, US senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat of Massachusetts, said: “Abortion and IVF are going to be on the ballot in November.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre remarked “IVF is under attack,” per Reuters. While Alabama conservatives did advance the proposal to protect IVF, and ultimately green-light the legislation, it was a Republican-controlled court that had imperiled the widely supported treatment in the first place. One patient affected by the IVF ruling, Birmingham, Alabama, resident Latorya Beasley, will be among First Lady Jill Biden’s guests at Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech on Thursday evening. Beasley and her husband had their first child, via IVF, in 2022. They were trying to have another child through IVF but Beasley’s embryo transfer was suddenly canceled because of the Alabama court decision.
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Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Works Vol 2 album review – first-rate playing even if some of the music is less so
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Like Alpesh Chauhan’s first Tchaikovsky collection for Chandos, this sequel with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra contains a number of pieces that are rarely encountered in either concert hall or opera house. In fact the only items here that are likely to be at all familiar are the prelude to the first act of the opera The Queen of Spades, and the fantasy Capriccio Italien, though even that seems to be a much less frequent concert item these days than it used to be. (The Dance of the Tumblers that Chauhan includes is not to be confused with the much better-known one from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, The Snow Maiden, but one of three excerpts here from the incidental music that Tchaikovsky composed for the 1873 premiere of the play by Ostrovsky on which Rimsky’s libretto is based). The selection begins with early works. The symphonic poem Fatum, composed in 1868 and dedicated to fellow composer Mily Balakirev, is clearly indebted to Borodin, yet its moments of lyricism do seem authentically Tchaikovskyan, while the sequence of three dances from The Oprichnik, the earliest of his operas to survive complete, is a tantalising sample of a rarely performed work. Despite its rarity, though, the determinedly dark fantasy overture Hamlet is a mature work, composed in 1888, the year of the Fifth Symphony, though Chauhan’s best efforts cannot make it seem anything like as engaging as Tchaikovsky’s much better known Shakespeare-inspired overture, Romeo and Juliet. As in everything here, though, the playing from the Scottish orchestra is first rate; if the disc as a whole seems uneven and the interpretations sometimes rather dogged, that’s as much to do with the quality of the music as with the conducting. Stream it on Apple Music (above) or on Spotify
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‘Don’t wear beige – it might kill you’: Iris Apfel fans on why they love rainbow dressing
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Last Friday, the American interior designer turned fashion influencer Iris Apfel died aged 102. Her eclectic way of dressing, featuring a discordance of colours, patterns and textures, broke all the standard fashion rules and amassed her legions of fans. Here, some of them explain how they, too, dress for joy. Sade Adeyemi, head of people at a tech company/stylist My father used to work in a textile company. At Christmas he would come home with some fabrics and I would get to pick – I always gravitated towards the very bold and colourful prints. As I grew older I realised that part of the reason I loved them so much is that I could mix and match unexpected combinations to experiment. I’m loving orange and neon green at the moment. I love Iris so much. She was fearless, she was bold. She said something I totally agree with, which is “more is more and less is a bore”. I just love more is more – keep giving it to me and I’ll keep trying it on. I know naturally some people are minimalists and I do appreciate that. But fashion is having confidence in whatever you’re wearing. For me, colour is life! I do a lot of vintage shopping and upcycling. I had a pair of shoes I’d never worn and I upcycled them with red uninflated balloons, about 95 per shoe. The balloons cost me £4 and the glue cost me about £3. People thought it was from a high-end brand. I upcycled a blazer that I hadn’t worn in more than three years. I Googled butterflies and found some decorative ones for about £3, different colours, different sizes. I have worn it over and over. Another time I bought green pompoms from a local lady who sells sewing materials and attached them to an oversized pink blazer. I think rules in dressing can provide structure and foundation but true style for me emerges when I feel as if I’m breaking the rules. The way I dress now is different to how I dressed five years ago. Over time you will find yourself, you will evolve and discover what you’re most comfortable in. Rule-based dressing should be a foundation, not a limitation. Yu Masui, fashion writer I grew up with a generation that is used to colour and this kind of weird dressing – the Harajuku, kawaii movement in mid/late-90s Japan. When I got to London in 2000, it was a time when lots of underground designers were doing very challenging designs. I was always surrounded by colours and unique looks. The way I dress is just having fun! I always have a theme. If it’s Mother’s Day I’ll probably wear something related to mothers; if it’s Pancake Day I’ll dress in an apron or a chef’s outfit. If I had to attend a birthday party I would probably dress in a birthday cake T-shirt or something like that. I’m a chameleon. I dress in every single colour from black to white to silver to orange to green to pink. I don’t wear costumes. You can dress crazy, but I don’t want to end up looking like Halloween. I get fun reactions on social media. Luckily I have followers who are very supportive; I don’t get any negative comments. Of course the general public doesn’t understand some of my outfits, and some people point at me and laugh. In the fashion industry everybody dresses quite seriously or tries to be cool, and I’ve never found that fun. I don’t mind being a clown on the street; I’m not scared of people laughing at me. Iris brought so much happiness to other people through colours and dynamic dressing. I wish I had the same energy. Sue Kreitzman, artist I am the colour queen of the world. My motto is: “Don’t wear beige, it might kill you”, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I was born with a rainbow in my head. I curate myself every single morning. I love red with anything. With bright pink, with bright orange, with turquoise. I love different shades of red. I love all colour as long as it’s not in the beige and brown and tan family – that adds 15 years to my life. I make my own clothes. I buy wonderful African wax print fabrics from female dealers, and vintage fabrics from flea markets. I design the garments and have a lovely guy who does the stitching. I buy my rings and bracelets from the same flea market every Thursday – Old Spitalfields, in east London. I also make these “neckshrines”. They are cultural mashups, shrines to kitsch, sometimes something more profound. They’re very very important to me. I’ve been making them for years and probably have more than a thousand. I’m 83 years old and I have terrible feet, so I wear Crocs. I love Crocs. I have them in all different colours and I embellish them myself. So the Crocs become works of art. People stop me and say: “You look amazing.” People are very, very nice. Sometimes when I walk down Roman Road market, London, some of the younger guys say: “I wish my nan dressed like that.” I’ll take it. Once in a while some really insulting person, and it’s usually a man, will say: “This is the way to the clown department.” There’s too much chromophobia about. For heaven’s sake don’t be afraid of colour. It’s so good for the soul, it’s so good for the mental health, it’s so good for the people around you. If you dress conservatively in dull colours, start with a scarf, start with a bracelet, start adding colours to your outfit and you’ll find that you like it. Don’t worry about what’s in fashion and what’s not in fashion. Don’t buy fast fashion that is not good for the planet or for anybody. Start being a little bit picky about what you wear. If you can add some art, buy jewellery from an artist. Support small business, it makes so much more sense. Siobhan Murphy, interior designer In my 20s, I found myself immersed in a sea of black clothing. Being plus-size I struggled to find things I liked, especially on the high street. Now there is a lot more choice and the internet has allowed me to find other plus-size people who enjoy wearing colour and patterns. So rather than hiding away in dark colours and softer tones, I now feel proud to take up space and show that you can be beautiful no matter what size you are. I don’t feel I look like me when I see old photographs of my natural brown hair. I’ve experimented with blue and green, but since I tried pink I haven’t looked back. I also wear a lot of wigs. They have been a gamechanger as they can alter a look entirely. If I’ve got meetings or an event I’ll build my outfit the night before. Layering is key. Colour and pattern remain steadfast pillars in my ever-changing wardrobe. I don’t have basics, but I do have a whole collection of colourful tights. Like Iris Apfel, I relish the art of juxtaposition, blending designer pieces with thrift-store treasures, handmade delights from Etsy, vintage pieces and high-street finds. It’s time for the maximalists to step into the spotlight. This way of dressing is all about fun, flamboyance and expressing yourself. Zeena Shah, art director and author In 2020 I started a colour challenge on Instagram. Each day I asked my followers to wear a different colour – red on Mondays, pink on Wednesdays. That’s when I really realised the power colour has. Getting dressed in the morning now brings me so much joy. I’ll lean into what excites me that day in my wardrobe or what the weather is doing. I tend to stick to a formula because otherwise it can go a bit bonkers and look a bit mad. I’ve got lot of single-colour base layers, which are my wardrobe staples. I try to stick to two to three colours. So, say my bright-green cardigan that has blue piping – I’ll wear that with blue trousers and a dark green bag. There aren’t any rules. It’s all about caring less what other people think. One of my pet peeves is when someone says: “Oh my child would love that,” and I think: “But I really love it too.” Why does colour and texture clashing have to be just for kids? You have to think about what brings you joy. It doesn’t have to be too eccentric either. Switching basic blue jeans for, say, pink denim is really fun. Or you could even start by just swapping your socks for a brighter colour. It’s all about building your own colour confidence. I have a bit of a love/hate with colour analysis as they often rule out certain colours and that can feel quite limiting. But it can empower you to try something new. Trends can feel fleeting too, but they do give people the confidence to try something different. Everyone is looking for joy. The world is crazy so we have to find it where we can.
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Unlucky in love: statue of Shakespeare’s Juliet in Verona damaged by tourists
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Tourists in the northern Italian city of Verona have once again created a hole in the right breast of a statue of William Shakespeare’s heroine Juliet. The bronze statue sits beneath the balcony in a tiny courtyard where Romeo is said to have wooed Juliet, attracting hundreds of visitors each day who flock there for a selfie and to touch the breast as part of a ritual that is believed to bring luck in love. But the sweat from their hands is believed to have caused a small hole to develop, the local newspaper L’Arena reported. This is the second time the abundance of touches have disfigured Juliet. In 2014, the original statue, which had stood in the courtyard for more than 40 years, was replaced with a copy costing €15,000 (£12,800), which was funded by a Catholic association. Juliet was at the centre of controversy in December after the headteacher of a school in Tuscany slammed the breast-touching ritual as “sexist”. “The damaged statue must be repaired, and there is little doubt about that,” journalist Enrico Ferro wrote on the local news website, il Mattino di Padova. “However, we also need to consider the future. Is it right to continue allowing tourists to touch Juliet’s breast? Or would it be perhaps more appropriate to accept the argument by the headteacher who judged it to be sexist?” Davide Albertini, the vice-president of an association of businesses in the area, suggested placing the statue higher up. “I would also perhaps put a letterbox beneath it to store letters from lovers,” he told the newspaper. “Maybe this would be a more romantic ritual.” The courtyard is next to Casa di Giulietta, a renovated 13th-century building that once belonged to a noble family, the del Cappellos, who are believed by locals to have inspired the fictional family of Juliet Capulet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The balcony was added to the building in the 20th century. Today, Casa di Giulietta is a museum with a collection of paintings, Renaissance-era costumes and the bed that featured in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. But most tourists forgo the museum for the statue.
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Ryan Gosling movies – ranked!
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15. The Notebook (2004) Even The Notebook’s writer, Nicholas Sparks, knew that there wasn’t much to Noah, the romantically deranged, mansion-restoring, beard-growing war veteran in this insipid tearjerker. “It’s a guy who falls in love and then he just kinda does nothing,” he admitted. But director Nick Cassavetes had sound reasons for choosing Ryan Gosling. “You’re not handsome, you’re not cool, you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts,” he told him. 14. Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Annoyingly kooky comedy in which the lonely Lars (Gosling) introduces his close-knit Midwestern community to his girlfriend, Bianca, who happens to be a life-sized rubber doll. Avoiding sleaziness by the skin of its teeth – it is only right he and Bianca don’t sleep together, Lars explains, since they’re both religious – this settles eventually for the tone of the self-help manual (“What we call mental illness … can be a way to work something out”). 13. The Ides of March (2011) As the junior manager of a Democrat governor’s presidential campaign, Gosling gets to chart the slow curdling of idealism into disillusionment. He is part of a cast that’s so strong and starry (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, the film’s director, George Clooney) that it takes a good 30 minutes to notice that the film is all gloss and no grit. 12. Crazy Stupid Love (2011) Middle-of-the-road, multi-strand romcom with Gosling as the pick-up artist who gives Steve Carell, newly separated from Julianne Moore, lessons in love before himself falling for Emma Stone. Notable for the fizzy rapport between Gosling and Stone in the first of their three collaborations to date. Click here to watch the trailer for First Man. 11. First Man (2018) Neil Armstrong was notoriously reserved, but there is a thin line between enigmatic and empty, and Gosling, in his second film for La La Land director Damien Chazelle, isn’t always on the right side of it. There is grim humour, though, in the formal, buttoned-up way he addresses his children the night before he makes history: “We have every confidence in this mission.” 10. The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) Or: The Place Beyond Self-Parody. Gosling descends into feigned inarticulacy and mumbling method madness as a tattooed fairground stunt rider reconnecting with an old flame (played by his real-life wife, Eva Mendes). He is weirdly unable here to suggest the character’s dopiness without winking at the audience. There is just too much self-awareness: the lights are off but there’s still somebody home. 9. La La Land (2016) This retro-flavoured musical reunites Gosling and Stone, but delivers one anticlimax after another: the opening traffic-jam showstopper is like a poor man’s Fame, the songs throughout more Magic FM than magical. But Gosling, who plays a pig-headed pianist earning a crust playing easy-listening standards, gets one of the highlights to himself, casually singing the tentative City of Stars as he strolls along a pier at night. 8. Drive (2011) Gosling’s signature role as a nameless stuntman-cum-getaway-driver. (“What do you do?” someone asks him. “I drive,” comes the Zen reply.) He gets a long way on his mute charisma, those feminine features so unlikely for a male action hero, and the ability to look fetching in a snazzy silver jacket. The film, though, is a bust: all flashy bodywork and no gas in the tank. 7. Murder By Numbers (2002) Eye-catching early psycho-work from Gosling and Michael Pitt as the young Nietzsche-adoring students conspiring to commit the perfect murder. Sandra Bullock is on their tail in this partial retread of the Leopold and Loeb case that inspired Rope, Compulsion and Swoon. 6. Only God Forgives (2013) This modern-day Hamlet, set among US expats in Bangkok, re-teamed director Nicolas Winding Refn with Gosling following the success of Drive. The actor plays Julian, an impotent would-be avenger unable to kill his brother’s murderer; Kristin Scott-Thomas offers bleach-blond comic relief as his taunting, incestuously inclined mother. Gosling’s performance is an exercise in studied blankness: you cannot tell if he’s acting or under anaesthetic. 5. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Gosling’s haunted, sorrowful face is a good fit for this moody sequel. He also has some pleasing chemistry with his blade-running predecessor, Harrison Ford, with whom he trades pointless punches before Ford finally says: “We could keep at this or we could get a drink.” The men duly drop their fists and repair to the bar. Would that more movie dust-ups ended that way. 4. The Nice Guys (2016) Gosling and Russell Crowe had both played violent, shaven-headed fascists early in their careers (Gosling in The Believer, Crowe in Romper Stomper), but by the time they teamed up for a missing persons investigation in Shane Black’s rambunctious comic thriller, they couldn’t have been more different. Gosling was now delicate and goofy, as light on his toes as a ballerina, while Crowe was an ungainly, unshaven lump. That mismatch lends the film its spark. 3. The Believer (2001) With nearly a decade of family-entertainment wholesomeness behind him, it was useful for Gosling to have a calling-card role that drew a line definitively between his Mickey Mouse Club past and his adult future. Nothing could have done the job better than The Believer, an intense psychological thriller based on the real case of a Jewish neo-Nazi. The movie displayed early and incontrovertible evidence of the Gosling USP: an ability to hold a character’s contradictions and conflicts in view at all times. 2. Blue Valentine (2010) Gosling and his co-star Michelle Williams lived together while preparing to play lovers on the rocks in Derek Cianfrance’s gruelling marital drama. The fragmentary, non-chronological structure allows them to inhabit the happiness and optimism of the couple’s salad days as emphatically as the despair that later comes to overwhelm them. It’s as pleasurable watching them fall in love as it is excruciating seeing them fall apart. 1. Half Nelson (2006) Think of this as Drugged Poets Society or To Sir, With Crack. As the drug-addicted Dan Dunne, a teacher who puts the “high” in high school, Gosling gives a frazzled but nuanced performance whether he is grandstanding in class or slipping into inaccessible corners of his own mind. His friendship with a pupil (Shareeka Epps), and his attempts to save her from a local dealer, provide the core of the drama, but the film is alive with curious, devastating details. Best of all is the scene in which Dan is approached by the father of a former pupil. The man wants to share the good news of his daughter’s recent academic achievement, and to congratulate this teacher who set her on the right path, but from within his druggy funk Dan simply cannot be reached. 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Songs 20 greatest breakup songs ever - ranked!Aphex Twin's best songs - ranked!Barry Manilow – all his greatest songs - ranked!Björk – her 20 greatest songs ranked!Cher's 30 greatest songs - ranked!The 30 greatest Disney songs – ranked!Elton John's 50 greatest songs - ranked!From Drake to Wet Wet Wet: songs with 10 weeks at No 1 - ranked!From MC5 to Jeff Mills: the greatest Detroit tracks ever - ranked!PJ Harvey's 50 greatest songs – ranked!Giorgio Moroder's 20 greatest songs - ranked!Nirvana's 20 greatest songs - ranked!The best songs from teen movies - ranked!The best UK garage tracks - ranked!The greatest banned songs of all time - ranked!The greatest ever female rap tracks - ranked!The greatest pop music dance crazes - ranked!All 43 Spice Girls songs - ranked! Artists & bands The 30 best boyband members - ranked!The greatest Scottish indie bands - ranked!Quincy Jones's greatest ever moments - ranked! • This article was amended on 11 Oct 2017. A previous version stated that Gosling’s character in Half Nelson was addicted to heroin.
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UK politics: Sunak refuses to say how abolition of national insurance would be funded – as it happened
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We are closing this blog now but you can read all our UK politics coverage here. Afternoon summary Rishi Sunak has refused to say how the Conservatives might fund their long-term proposal to abolish national insurance contributions for employees. (See 3.02pm.) Keir Starmer says this amounts to a commitment to a £46bn unfunded tax cut and that in floating the idea Sunak is repeating the same error made by Liz Truss in her mini-budget. (See 11.34am.) Jeremy Hunt and Rachel Reeves are joined in a “conspiracy of silence” over tens of billions of pounds in tough tax and spending choices, with the next government likely to inherit the toughest outlook for the public finances in 80 years, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said. Household incomes are on course to fall for the first time over the course of a parliament despite Jeremy Hunt’s national insurance cuts, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has said. Jeremy Hunt has promised to voluntarily pay more capital gains tax on his properties so that he does not benefit from a tax cut he introduced. Political parties accepted £93m in donations last year, boosted by new Conservative and Labour mega-donors, with the 2024 election on course to be the highest-spending contest ever. Grassroots Conservative supporters have lashed out at Jeremy Hunt’s budget as offering “nothing for working people” and “making things better for the rich”. Royal College of GPs says funding for GP surgeries in England for year ahead 'derisory' Family doctors’ leaders have criticised ministers for giving GP surgeries in England a “derisory” increase in their funding, despite surgeries seeing record numbers of patients. The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has warned that the 1.9% rise in the budget for general practice for 2024/25 will leave hard-pressed GPs struggling to provide the care that patients expect. In a sharply-worded letter to Victoria Atkins, the health and social care secretary, Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the RCGP’s chair, claims that GP services are being “allowed to crumble”. In her letter she protested that the 1.9% rise “amounts to a real terms funding cut when compared to CPI inflation, which will make it even harder for GPs to deliver the care our patients need at a time when general practice is already in crisis”. She added: This derisory funding plan for general practice will have real-life consequences for the profession, the service we provide and, most importantly, for our patients. Hawthorne claimed that the settlement “is sadly part of an ongoing trend of neglecting primary care” and that “the service as a whole remains starved of funding” by ministers and NHS England. GPs are busier than ever, saw 7% more patients in December than in December 2019 and have delivered on the government’s 2019 pledge to increase the number of appointments by 50m a year – even though the number of fully-qualified family doctors has fallen, she added. While the amount of money going into GP care is rising, the proportion of the overall NHS budget it receives fell to 8.4% this year – the smallest share for eight years, Hawthorne said. GP services were given £9.182bn for this financial year but under their new contract will get £9.356bn in the new one starting next month, just £178m (1.9%) more, the RCGP said. However, Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s national director for primary care and community services, told all GP practices in England in a recent letter that GPs would receive much more next year – £11.864bn overall, an increase of £259m. The RCGP say the discrepancy between the figures is because NHS England includes in the headline total figure they cite certain payments that it regards as outwith the central GP contract. In January the Liberal Democrats published an analysis showing that GP funding has fallen by £350m a year in real terms since 2019. Responding to Hawthorne’s letter, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson did not respond directly to her complaint about underfunding. But they said: GPs and their teams are at the heart of our communities, and we hugely value their vital work. This contract will reduce unnecessary and burdensome bureaucracy so they can spend more valuable time with their patients, while also giving them greater autonomy to run local practices. IMF says tax rises likely to be needed in Britain in future Stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. As PA Media reports, speaking at the IMF’s regular press briefing on Thursday, director of communications Julie Kozak told reporters: IMF staff will be analysing the announced policies in greater detail but the aim to continue the fiscal consolidation pursued since 2022 to reduce inflation and stabilise debt is welcome. Kozak said that the national insurance cut and reform of the child benefit system had been funded by “well-conceived revenue-raising measures”. She added: Significant spending to protect service delivery, growth-enhancing investment and the appropriate commitment to stabilise debt are likely to require additional revenue-raising measures in the medium term. Cameron says in Berlin there's 'incredible unity between allies' when asked about German leak about British troops David Cameron said there was “incredible unity between allies” when asked about a leaked call between German military officials about Ukraine which included details of UK operations, PA Media reports. PA says: The foreign secretary’s visit to Berlin today came just days after Russia intercepted a telephone conversation in which officials were heard suggesting British service personnel were on the ground in Ukraine. He was asked at a press conference alongside his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock whether he agreed with Berlin’s assessment that trust among allies was unbroken. Cameron said: “I don’t want to play into the hands of some Russian narrative about divisions between allies. What I see … is incredible unity between allies, incredible unity in Nato. “Of course, we’re going to have areas where we want to discuss what more we can do, what more we can help. And those are the sorts of discussions that good friends and allies with this unity have in private.” His visit also came as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced continued pressure from Western allies and politicians in Berlin to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles. Scholz has been unwilling to send the Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv on the grounds that German soldiers would have to be sent to Ukraine to help operate them, dragging Germany into war with Russia. Asked whether the UK is pushing Berlin to send its Taurus missiles, Lord Cameron said “it was a matter for the German government to decide” and that he could “only speak for Britain’s experience of how effective these weapons have been at helping Ukraine to fight off this illegal aggression”. Peace will be achieved “through strength,” he said. “You get peace by demonstrating that Putin cannot win, you get peace by helping the Ukrainians deliver what they need on the battlefield.” He also downplayed concerns about a possible escalation of the conflict. “At every stage it’s been said ‘if you give anti-tank weapons to the Ukraine, that’s escalation’. No, it wasn’t. “‘If you give tanks to the Ukrainians, that’s escalation’. No, it wasn’t. ‘If you give long-range artillery or long-range fires to the Ukrainians, it’s escalation’. No, it isn’t. “I think the reason for that is clear. If what you’re doing is helping a country defend itself from illegal and completely unjustified aggression, then there should be nothing to stop you helping that country to fight back to recover its territory. “As long as we’re not in a situation where a Nato soldier is killing a Russian soldier, we are not causing escalation. We’re allowing Ukraine to defend itself.” Updated at The government has said that Michelle Donelan, the science secretary, received official legal advice about the message she posted on X that led to her department paying damages to an academic. This point has been made to explain why it has been decided she should not have to personally pay the £15,000 being paid out in damages. (See 1.22pm.) Emilio Casalicchio from Politico says he has been told that the advice was that it would be safe for Donelan to make the allegations she did. I'm told legal officials concluded she was on safe legal ground https://t.co/qGvvSIg2j1— Emilio Casalicchio (@e_casalicchio) March 7, 2024 If so, the advice was clearly flawed, because Donelan has now retracted what she said. Labour says Channel crossing figures undermine Sunak's claim about that plan to stop small boats is working In 2023 the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats was down by more than a third on the previous year. But the number who have arrived so far this year is higher than it was at the same point last year, Labour says. In a news release, Labour says: 225 individuals were confirmed to have crossed the Channel on Wednesday 6 March on five boats, taking the total for the year so far up to 3,208. That exceeds the 3,150 that had arrived by the same point last year, and is almost 45% more than the 2,212 that had arrived by 6 March 2022, which went on to become the record year for small boat arrivals … The number of individuals rescued in the Channel by the French authorities and returned to the French coast is also at a record high for this point of the year. Up to 6 March, at least 868 migrants had been rescued in French waters, compared to 490 over the same period in 2023 and 463 in 2022. That means the total number of people who have tried to cross the Channel so far this year is over 4,075, way in excess of the numbers in any previous year. Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, said these figures undermined Rishi Sunak’s claim that his plan to stop small boats is working. Kinnock said: In January, Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly told us that small boat arrivals were down by a third, they said their plan was working, and they insisted that the reduction in crossings last year was nothing to do with the weather. All those claims now look utterly ridiculous, and even worse, their complacency has left our country dangerously exposed and ill-prepared for what continues to be a record start to the year for small boat crossings. Updated at John Crace has devoted his sketch today to Jeremy Hunt’s post-budget morning media round. You can read it here. Related: Jeremy Hunt’s done his best – but his best isn’t nearly good enough | John Crace Donations to UK political parties nearly doubled to £93m in 2023 Political parties accepted £93m in donations last year, boosted by new Conservative and Labour mega-donors, with the 2024 election on course to be the highest-spending contest ever, Rowena Mason and Aletha Adu report. Related: Donations to UK political parties nearly doubled to £93m in 2023 Sunak refuses to say how government might fund long-term proposal to abolish national insurance Rishi Sunak has declined to say how his long-term plan to abolish employees’ national insurance might be funded. In an interview for broadcasters, asked about this, he said: I think what people can see from me, I think they trust me on these things, is that I will always do this responsibly. We funded our current tax cuts responsibly, borrowing hasn’t increased, we are still on track to meet our fiscal rules that have our debt falling. At the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson also declined to say how the government might fund this proposal. And he refused to say whether the government was considering forgoing the entire £46bn it gets from national insurance, or whether it was considering getting rid of national insurance by merging it with income tax, which might result in income tax having to rise. In an interview this morning Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, said one option would be to merge income tax and national insurance. Updated at Sunak would be 'absolutely nuts' to hold general election in May, says George Osborne Rishi Sunak would be “absolutely nuts” to call a general election in May, the former Tory chancellor George Osborne has said. Speaking on his Political Currency podcast, which he co-hosts with Ed Balls, Osborne said that No 10 has thought about having a May election. A lot of Tory MP were in favour of the idea “because they think things will only get worse”, he said. But Osborne said he personally thought going early would be a mistake. The centre has thought about a May election but I think it would be absolutely nuts. They are 26 points behind in the opinion polls. You do not call a general election when you’re 26 points behind and you still have nine months left of your mandate to run. If I was Sunak, I wouldn’t be ruling out an election in January 2025. You want to give yourself maximum room for manoeuvre. Energy minister Andrew Bowie won't have to resign despite criticising windfall tax extension, No 10 confirms Andrew Bowie, the energy minister, is not being sacked despite posting a message on X yesterday saying the extension of the windfall tax on energy companies was “deeply disturbing”. In normal circumstances a minister who criticised government policy in public in this way would be expected to resign. But, at the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that Rishi Sunak retained confidence in Bowie. The spokesperson said: [Bowie has] obviously has since clarified his position, he’s spoken to the chancellor about his views and he’s been clear that he supports the budget. The spokesperson was referring to this post on X put out by Bowie last night. I've spoken to the Chancellor. He understands the importance of the EPL issue in the North East.The fact is only the Conservatives support our Oil and Gas sector. Thats why, for example, we are alone in retaining the capital gains allowances. So now we need get on and deliver.— Andrew Bowie MP (@AndrewBowie_MP) March 6, 2024 I’ve spoken to the Chancellor. He understands the importance of the EPL [energy profits levy] issue in the North East.The fact is only the Conservatives support our Oil and Gas sector. Thats why, for example, we are alone in retaining the capital gains allowances. So now we need get on and deliver. Bowie seems to have been allowed some leeway to speak out because he is MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine in the north-east of Scotland, where there are strong concerns that an extension of the windfall tax might jeopardise jobs in the oil and gas industries. Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has said that he will not vote for this policy when the Commons has to approve the budget. Labour has said Bowie should have to resign over this. Updated at Labour's Anas Sarwar criticises SNP's health record during FMQs at Holyrood The Scottish National party government in Edinburgh is under further attack by its critics who accuse ministers of passing performative acts of parliament which they then fail to properly pay for, this time over NHS waiting lists. Last month the housing charity Shelter Scotland accused Humza Yousaf, the first minister, of “gaslighting” voters by introducing progressive-seeming legal rights to housing but then cutting the funding councils needed to deliver them. Scottish homelessness rates hit record levels last year, despite a legal guarantee to housing. At first minister’s questions earlier today Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said that under another Scottish law, this time the Patient Rights (Treatment Time Guarantee) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, Yousaf and his colleagues had technically broken that law 680,000 times because 680,000 patients had not had treatment within the 12-week target specified. Listing every recent health secretary, Sarwar said: Humza Yousaf might try and blame the pandemic, but this law was broken over 320,000 times before covid. Shona Robison broke the law 158,000 times. Michael Matheson broke the law 184,000 times. And Humza Yousaf broke the law 235,000 times. And since he published his so-called NHS recovery plan, the SNP have broken the law 306,735 times. Yousaf protested that the pandemic had hit every health service, and repeated his apology to any patient who was not seen or treated in time. But this theme will reoccur in the run-up to the general election: the SNP’s opponents plan to make the contest in Scotland in large part a referendum on the SNP’s record in government, even though it is not actually up for re-election. Sunak defends taxpayer funding Michelle Donelan's libel settlement, on grounds dispute related to her doing her job Rishi Sunak had defended the use of taxpayers’ money to make a payment of £15,000 for damages to an academic libelled by Michelle Donelan, the science secretary. The prime minister claimed that it was right for the government to cover the cost to the damages because the legal dispute arose as a result of Donelan doing her job. But Keir Starmer has described this as “totally insulting”, and insisted that as prime minister he would never authorise a payment of this kind. In October last year Donelan suggested that Prof Kate Sang, of Heriot-Watt university in Edinburgh was a support of Hamas. She made the suggestion in a letter to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), posted on X, saying it should cut links with Sang. On Tuesday Donelan retracted her suggestion, and it was subsequently revealed that her department has paid £15,000 in damages. Asked to explain why the taxpayer should pay for the minister’s mistake, Sunak told broadcasters today: Obviously you will understand I’ve been focused on the Budget, but my understanding of this is that Michelle raised some concerns about some articles that had been shared talking about what happened on October 7. I think subsequently to that, those thoughts I think have been clarified and Michelle has withdrawn those concerns. With regard to the settlement, it is a long-standing convention stretching back many years, over different governments of all different parties, including Labour, that the government will fund those legal disputes when it relates to government ministers doing their work. But Starmer said that getting the taxpayer to pay for a libel committed by a minister should not be allowed. In a separate clip for broadcasters, he said: I think most people watching this will be aghast. The government is telling them every day that they can’t do any more to help them. People are really struggling to pay their bills, and the government says ‘We can’t afford to help you anymore’. People know that public services are crumbling. And then you’ve got a minister who says something she shouldn’t have said, then has to pick up a legal action and pay damages and costs, and then says ‘The taxpayer is going to pay for that’. Totally insulting. We need a change. I’ll tell you something else – if we’re privileged enough to come into power and have a Labour government, we will never allow that sort of thing to happen. That will be history. During business questions in the Commons, Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the house, defended Donelan on the grounds that she did not take a severance payment after she resigned as eductation secretary in 2022, even though she was entitled to one. Mordaunt said: When [Donelan] was entitled to redundancy payments from being a secretary of state, which was £16,000, she did not take that and handed it back to the department, because it was the right thing to do. I would just remind people of that and I think that speaks volumes about her character and how much she values the fact that it is taxpayers’ money that we are talking about. Mordaunt did not remind MPs that Donelan only spent about 36 hours as education secretary. She was appointed by Boris Johnson, as his government was falling apart, but quickly decided she did not want to serve under him. Government sources have suggested that one reason why the department felt obliged to fund the settlement is that Donelan received official legal advice about her letter, and her tweet, before it was published. Updated at Sunak declines to restate claim that his working assumption is general election to be held in second half of 2024 In an interview with Sky News last night Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, played down the prospects of the election being held in May. Asked if the budget was “the last throw of the dice” before the election, he replied: “Absolutely not.” Asked if the government was still planning for an autumn election, he said that was still “the working assumption” (which is what Rishi Sunak himself said in January), but he stressed that the timing of the election was a matter for the PM. Sunak himself was interviewed by Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 within the last hour, and, when asked about the timing of the election, he chose not to repeat the line about autumn being the “working assumption”. When Vine put it to him that there are reports saying he is considering an election in May, Sunak laughed, and said he would not be saying anything about that. Asked if he still favoured holding it in the second half of the year, Sunak just said that what mattered was the choice facing voters. Hunt's proposal to abolish national insurance 'not worth paper its written on', IFS suggests The Institute for Fiscal Studies always finds at least some aspects of a budget to criticise, but its verdict on yesterday’s is a lot more withering than usual. Here are the main points from the summary of its position from Paul Johnson, the IFS’s director. Johnson delivered this at a news conference this morning. Johnson suggested the proposal to abolish national insurance from Jeremy Hunt was “not worth the paper its written on”. He explained: Talk of abolishing national insurance does not look realistic. Of course, the chancellor is only talking about the part paid by employees (and the self-employed) not the much bigger part paid by employers. But this pledge to cut taxes by more than £40bn goes in the same bucket as pledges to increase defence spending – not worth the paper its written on unless accompanied by some sense of how it will be afforded. He said taxes were likely to remain high as a proportion of national income for decades to come. He said: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Tax has risen to a higher fraction of national income than it has ever been in my lifetime, and I don’t expect it to return to its previous level for the rest of my lifetime. Johnson is 57. This chart from the OBR’s report yesterday shows how tax as a proportion of GDP has risen during Johnson’s lifetime. He said the debt problem facing the next government will be worse than for any other government since the end of the second world war. He said: The combination of high debt interest payments and low forecast nominal growth means that the next parliament could well prove to be the most difficult of any in 80 years for a chancellor wanting to bring debt down. Even stabilising debt as a fraction of national income is likely to mean some eye wateringly tough choices – and we are talking tens of billions of pounds worth of tough choices – on tax and spending. He said the budget showed the government is not genuinely committed to raising defence spending. He said: Remarkably [Jeremy] Hunt stuck with the claim that he wants defence spending to rise to 2.5% of national income “as soon as economic conditional allow”. Well, economic conditions allowed a £10 billion cut in NICs this year. So they could have allowed a £10 billion increase in defence spending instead. That would have just about met the target. Actions speak louder than words. He said Hunt had only been able to present a budget in line with his fiscal rules by making “unlikely” or “undesirable” assumptions about spending. He said: On his figures, debt is rising slowly to 2027-28 before falling by a minuscule amount as a share of national income in the following year. But that requires him to assume a whole series of unlikely, or undesirable things. Perhaps unlikeliest of all is that the supposedly temporary one-year 5p cut on fuel duty originally put in place in April 2022 will expire in a year’s time, and that rates of fuel duties will then rise in line with inflation, despite freezing them yesterday for the 15th year in a row. Perhaps least desirable is that investment spending will fall by £18bn a year in real terms. Somewhere between the two lies the effective promise that day-to-day spending on a range of public services outside of health, defence and education, will fall by something like £20bn. Maybe that is possible, but keeping to these plans would require some staggeringly hard choices which the government has not been willing to lay out. Indeed, we heard yesterday that the next spending review, in which these choices will have to be announced, will rather conveniently not happen until after the election. One only has to look at the scale of NHS waiting lists, the number of local authorities at or near bankruptcy, the backlogs in the justice system, the long-term cuts to university funding, the struggles of the social care system, to wonder where these cuts will really, credibly come from. He said the Conservatives and Labour were both refusing to accept how severe the spending cuts planned for after the election are. He said: If I am sceptical about Mr Hunt’s ability to stick to his current spending plans, I am at least that sceptical that Rachel Reeves will preside over deep cuts in public service spending … Government and opposition are joining in a conspiracy of silence in not acknowledging the scale of the choices and trade-offs that will face us after the election. They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable. He said higher rate tax payers could gain up to £1,500, and people on average earnings up to £1,000 a year, from the reductions in national insurance in the budget and last year’s autumn statement. He said pensioners would be “substantial net losers” from the budget. Confirming an assessment made by the Resolution Foundation (see 10.24am), Johnson said: While many workers will be better off as a result of tax changes over this parliament, pensioners will be substantial net losers. Well over 60 per cent of pensioners now pay income tax. Income tax changes will leave most of them £650 a year worse off by 2027, and over £3,000 a year worse off if they are higher rate tax payers. He said “average household incomes this autumn are likely to be lower than they were in autumn 2019”. Richard Partington has more on the IFS’s analysis here. Related: IFS warns of Labour and Tory ‘conspiracy of silence’ over future tax and spending plans Electoral Commission records show Hunt has now donated £123,000 to Tory association in his constituency Jeremy Hunt has donated more money to his constituency Conservative party in the last four months to boost his chances of re-election, according to fresh official records. The chancellor donated an extra £18,084 last November, Electoral Commission records show, pushing the total number of cash he has spent since the last general election, to £123,345. Earlier this week the Guardian revealed he had given £105,261 to the south west Surrey Conservative association over the last five years, from the last general election held in December 2019 until June 2023. The most recent accounts for Hunt’s local association have warned that its “balance sheet is at a less than satisfactory level”. A note stated that members’ annual subscriptions were due to increase this year. Hunt’s Godalming and Ash seat is a key target for the Liberal Democrats. Polling by Savanta shows the Lib dems are on course to take the “blue wall” constituency, which would make Hunt the first chancellor in modern times to lose his seat in the Commons. Over the last week, Hunt has repeatedly insisted he hopes he will “carry on serving” his voters, and noted: “I hope to be the chancellor after the election”. When asked whether he spent £105k from February 2021 to June 2023 over fears of losing his seat, Hunt told Sky News yesterday: I put that money in mainly because during the pandemic it was not possible to do fundraising in the normal way. I’ve got a brilliant team in my constituency and we do some fantastic local campaigning and I wanted that to continue despite the fact that we couldn’t fundraise. But have I (got) a tough fight against the Lib Dems? Absolutely. And I’ve never taken that for granted. Starmer says Hunt repeating Liz Truss's budget error with £46bn unfunded tax cut proposal Keir Starmer has accused Jeremy Hunt of repeating the budget mistakes made by Liz Truss during her disastrous premiership. In comments on the budget during a visit to a building site this morning, Starmer focused on Hunt’s proposal to abolish employees’ national insurance over time, saying that this was a bigger unfunded tax promise than those in Truss’s mini-budget. (See 9.28am.) He also said that it was “humiliating” for Hunt to have to announce the abolition of non-dom status, a longstanding Labour proposal that Starmer wanted to use to fund some of his policies, including more investment in the NHS. Starmer said: How humiliating was that for the government yesterday? We’ve argued for years that they should get rid of the non-dom tax status, they’ve resisted that. And now, completely out of ideas, the only decent policy they’ve got is the one that they’ve lifted from us. Obviously we will keep our commitment to the NHS, so important it is. We’ll go through all of the numbers and we’ll be absolutely clear nothing in our manifesto will be unfunded and uncosted. That is an iron rule for the Labour party. Contrast that with the government, where, yesterday, at the end of the budget, the chancellor made a staggering £46bn unfunded commitment to abolish national insurance. That’s bigger than Liz Truss’s commitment, so they’ve learned absolutely nothing. The Labour claim overlooks the fact that Truss’s unfunded tax cuts triggered financial panic because they were specific measures which would have been implemented if they had not been swiftly reversed. Hunt was also talking about a massive tax cut, without saying how it might be funded, but he made it clear that this was just a long-term aspiration, and not something that at present has any impact on government finances. IFS says Hunt's budget has not done anything to significantly address multiple economic problems facing UK Amol Rajan may have been understating the problems facing Britain in his question to Jeremy Hunt this morning (see 10.33am), if the Institute for Fiscal Studies’s assessment is anything to go by. This is how Paul Johnson, the IFS director, opened his speech at the IFS presentation where its experts have been explaining the significance of what was announced yesterday. Nothing that Jeremy Hunt did yesterday, nor anything the OBR said, changes anything very significantly. Which is a shame. Because that means we are still: -heading for a parliament in which people will on average be worse off at the end than at the start, -looking at a debt to GDP ratio that is at its highest level in 70 years and is showing no signs of falling; -facing debt interest payments at close to all time highs; -seeing worrying increases in the number of individuals moving onto health and disability related benefits, bringing huge challenges for those households and rising costs for the public purse; -(despite the genuinely significant cuts in NICs) stuck with a situation where tax revenues will have risen by a record amount as a share of national income over this parliament and still heading towards UK record levels; -implicitly planning on big cuts in public investment spending overall and cuts to many areas of day-to-day spending on public services despite very obvious signs of strain in many areas. All of that was true on Tuesday, and all of it remains true today. In all likelihood it will still be true come the general election. I will post more from the IFS assessment shortly. More in Common UK, a group campaigning to reduce political divisions, which carries out a great deal of public opinion research, conducted a focus group last night on the budget. It was in Whitby, with women who voted Conservative in 2019 and who are now undecided. Luke Tryl, the More in Common director, has written up the findings in a thread on X starting here. 🚨 We spent tonight talking to a group of conservative to undecided female voters in Whitby about what they had taken from the budget. On the headline NI cut “a drop of nothing” summed up their mood.— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 6, 2024 We spent tonight talking to a group of conservative to undecided female voters in Whitby about what they had taken from the budget. On the headline NI cut “a drop of nothing” summed up their mood. Tryl says pensioners were not happy with the budget. The pensioners in the group wondered why there was nothing for them. While there was a general feeling that those who worked and didn’t qualify for benefits but also weren’t middle class weren’t getting the support they deserved. Alex Wickham from Bloomberg says this could become a problem for Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak, especially if the Tory papers start to focus on the Resolution Foundation analysis. (See 8.24am.) This could become a key political problem with the budget today especially for Tory-leaning newspapers Pensioners lose out most — those aged 66 plus will be £770 poorer, say @resfoundationStory via @PhilAldrick >>https://t.co/VldmrU3V1C— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) March 7, 2024 Hunt accuses Today presenter of being 'not worthy of BBC' after he suggests budget not enough to revive 'stagnant' economy Jeremy Hunt has accused a Today presenter of being “not worthy of the BBC” after he suggested the budget did not do enough to revive Britain’s “stagnant” economy. Towards the end of what was otherwise a relatively good-tempered interview, Amol Rajan said: This might be, and you’ll say you don’t want it to be, one of your last big acts in politics. Do you really think you’ve read the moment? This is a country ravaged by economic shocks, at best drifting, at worse, stagnant. We all know about its potential, but we’ve had seven quarters of falling GDP per head, that’s been revised downwards. We’re hooked on foreign labour, the birth rate is collapsing. Many public services are creaking, councils are going bust. Those are facts, has your budget really come even close to meeting the scale of the challenges this country faces? In response, Hunt said: I think the overall characterisation that you’ve just given of the British economy is unworthy of the BBC. Rajan insisted that there was “no such thing as ‘the BBC’”, because so many different people worked there, and he said he was “just putting to you facts about this country”. But Hunt replied: “It’s unworthy of you Amol.” “Has your Budget come close to meeting the scale of the challenges this country faces?”@AmolRajan lists a stagnant economy, creaking public services and a reliance on foreign labour.Jeremy Hunt says he ‘believes it has’ and calls the characterisation ‘unworthy of the BBC’.— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) March 7, 2024 Updated at 8m pensioners who pay income tax will lose £1,000 each on average from threshold freeze, Resolution Foundation says The Resolution Foundation has described pensioners as the the biggest losers from the budget. In its analysis, it says: Looking beyond just employees, though, personal taxes are still going up significantly, with threshold freezes exceeding value of NI rate cuts by £20bn (£41bn versus £21bn). What’s going on? £8bn is being raised by the freezes to thresholds for employer NI, which in time should feed through into lower pay levels for employees. And there is a big group of losers: pensioners, who are already exempt from NI but affected by freezes to income tax thresholds. All 8 million taxpaying pensioners will see their taxes increase, by an average of £1,000 – an £8bn collective hit. This approach is justified with tax cuts focused on working-age employees and the self-employed, who currently pay higher rates of tax than pensioners or landlords, but it is a staggering turnaround from the approach of Conservative governments since 2010, who have generally focused support on pensioners. Commenting on the figures, Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said: This Conservative government has shown their true colours, pensioners are not their priority. They would rather cut taxes for the big banks than look after those who have given so much for so long to our society. But Jeremy Hunt rejected this claim. He told Sky News: We’ve done an enormous amount for pensioners. This government introduced the triple lock … we have really prioritised pensioners. Updated at A reader asks: Can Hunt, or anyone, actually pay more tax than is due? Yes. If you think you should pay more tax, there is nothing to stop you sending a cheque to the Treasury. Stanley Baldwin famously did this in 1919, donating a fifth of his wealth, the equivalent of £5m today, as a contribution to paying off. He wrote an anonymous letter to the Times urging other wealthy people to do the same. Later he was named as the author of the letter, and he subsequently served three terms as prime minister. I am not aware of any modern precedent, although when Gordon Brown was chancellor, and a pensioner angrily sent him a cheque for 75p after the state pension was increased by just 75p a week, Brown ensured that the cheque was cashed and that the 75p went into the Treasury’s coffers. UPDATE: A reader (Stan) points out that there is a page on the government’s website explaining how you can make voluntary donations to the Treasury. In 2017 the FT reported that the government had received 200 gifts throught this system since 2000. Updated at UK to have first parliament in modern history with fall in living standards, says Resolution Foundation Household incomes are on course to fall for the first time over the course of a parliament despite Jeremy Hunt’s national insurance cuts, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has said in its assessment of the budget. Phillip Inman has the story. Related: UK to have first parliament in modern history with fall in living standards, says thinktank Hunt admits Tories would not be able to abolish national insurance 'any time soon' Jeremy Hunt has conceded that the Conservative will not be able to abolish employees’ national insurance, as he has said he would like to do (see 9.28am), any time soon, Asked when this might happen, he told Times Radio: That’s a huge job. [National insurance] raises an enormous amount of money. And I don’t think it’s realistic to say that’s going to happen any time soon. But I do want to end the unfairness of a system where the income you get from work is taxed twice through income tax and national insurance. Hunt's national insurance giveway 'funded by fiscal fiction spending cuts', says Resolution Foundation The Resolution Foundation thinktank has published its assessment of the budget. At a news conference, James Smith, the RF’s research director, said Jeremy Hunt’s £20bn national insurance giveaway was funded by planned cuts to public spending that were so implausible they amounted to “fiscal fiction”. He said: The government are pencilling overall day-to-day spending numbers beyond the end of the spending review, from 2025-26 onwards. And if you take out what the government has said it will guarantee in terms of health, defence, education, then you end up with those unprotected departments … with really, really big cuts. So this is something like three-quarters of the intensity of the cuts that we got from 2010 and it’s getting on for £20bn. So you can think of tax cuts, the £20bn national insurance giveaway that we’ve had since autumn has been essentially funded by these fiscal fiction spending cuts that are pencilled in. Smith also said the UK has had almost two decades without real-terms wage growth. He said: We don’t get back to the pre-2008 level of real wages until 2026. So that’s nearly two lost decades of real wage growth. So that’s an incredibly bleak backdrop in terms of living standards. If you look at overall income, this is going to be the first parliament, which we have comparable income data for, where income is actually falling in real household disposable income terms. Updated at Labour says Hunt’s long-term plan to abolish national insurance amounts to a £46bn unfunded tax cut Good morning. If a budget is going to unravel, that often starts to happen on day two, after the initial headlines have gone and when the experts start to unpack what it really means. So far, there is not much sign of that happening, because Jeremy Hunt did not announce much yesterday that had not been well trailed in advance. But the reaction in Tory circles is a bit flat. And Labour has leapt on one of the more half-hearted proposals in the budget to make the case that Hunt is being even more irresponsible than Liz Truss. Hunt said yesterday the Tories had a “long-term ambition” to get rid of employees’ national insurance. And in an email to Tory supporters last night Hunt said (bold text from the original): This time, we’ve cut national insurance AGAIN – from 10% to 8%. In total, across both tax cuts, that means the average British worker keeps £900 more a year. But there’s further to go. I’d like to end the unfairness where people in work are paying tax twice on their earnings. We want a simpler, fairer tax system where you only pay tax once. If we stick with our plan that’s working, we’ll be able to make progress towards that goal in the next parliament. Labour says this would cost £46bn. It has sent out this briefing with the costings. It would cost many tens of billions to abolish NICs [national insurance contributions] entirely: £39.96bn to abolish employee NICs main rate, going from 8p to 0p £2.28bn to abolish self-employed NICs, going from a 6p rate to 0p £2.9bn to abolish employee NICs additional rate, going from 2p to 0p £0.54bn to abolish self-employed NICs additional rate, going from 2p to 0p That means that in total Jeremy Hunt wants to deliver £46bn of unfunded tax cuts That is £1bn more than the £45bn of unfunded tax cuts in the disastrous Truss mini-budget. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has been giving interviews this morning. She said that Labour is constantly being challenged to explain how it will fund its pledges (she admitted she now has to find money to pay for the proposals that would have been funded by the abolition of non-dom status), but Hunt now had to explain how he would fund a £46bn cut. She told the Today programme: You just asked me how I’m going to find £2.1bn, and I will do that. But the government yesterday suggested that are going to cut national insurance entirely at a cost of £46bn pounds a year. That is a bigger unfunded commitment to tax cuts than even Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng tried. So the question to the chancellor is, is this a real promise, is this a real commitment? And, if so, how is that going to be funded? I want taxes on working people to come down. But I’m never going to make a commitment without saying where the money is going to come from. Hunt has also been giving interviews this morning. I will post more from both interview rounds shortly. Here is the agenda for the day. 9am: The Resolution Foundation publishes its budget analysis at a press conference. 9.30am: Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, takes questions in the Commons. 10.30am: The Institute for Fiscal Studies publishes its budget analysis at a press conference. Morning: Rishi Sunak takes part in a Q&A in a pub in Yorkshire. Morning: Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves visit a building site in London. 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. After 11.30am: MPs resume their debate on the budget. After 12pm: Rishi Sunak is interviewed on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show. 1pm: Badenoch gives a speech at the Global Trade conference. Also, David Cameron, the foreign secretary, is visiting Berlin. If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest. Updated at
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US health secretary on Alabama’s IVF ruling: ‘Pandora’s box was opened’ after fall of Roe
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The health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, said the US must provide federal protections for reproductive rights if Americans hope to avoid further restrictions on in vitro fertilization, contraception and abortion in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. Becerra’s comments come in the wake of an Alabama supreme court decision that gave embryos the rights of “extrauterine children” and forced three of the state’s largest fertility clinics to stop services for fear of litigation and prosecution. The fallout from the decision prompted the Alabama legislature to hastily sign new legislation that will give IVF providers with immunity from civil and criminal suits, which the governor signed into law on Wednesday night. He said the events in Alabama were linked directly to the “take-down” of Roe v Wade, a decision that provided a constitutional right to abortion grounded in privacy and was overturned by conservative US supreme court justices in 2022. “It wasn’t until this new court came in” – that is, that three new supreme court justices were confirmed by former President Trump – “that we saw the attacks on Roe v Wade take hold, and today without Roe v Wade there are women who are trying to have babies in Alabama who are facing the consequences,” said Becerra. He continued: “None of this would be happening in Alabama on IVF if Roe v Wade was still the law of the land, and no one should try to deny that.” Becerra’s comments come ahead of Joe Biden addressing the nation in the State of the Union on Thursday night. Although the White House has not released the speech, a large number of Democratic guests suggest reproductive rights may feature heavily. Among the guests of high-ranking Democrats are Elizabeth Carr, the first person in the US to be born via IVF; Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who nearly died of septic shock when she was denied a medically necessary abortion; and Kate Cox, who had to flee Texas for an abortion after she learned her fetus had a fatal chromosomal condition. Also, sitting alongside First Lady Jill Biden as a guest of the president will be Latorya Beasley, from Birmingham, Alabama. She and her husband had their first child, via IVF, in 2022. They were trying to have another child through IVF but Beasley’s embryo transfer was suddenly canceled because of the Alabama court decision. Beasley’s “recent experience is yet another example of how the overturning of Roe v Wade has disrupted access to reproductive health care for women and families across the country,” the White House said on Thursday. More guests include reproductive endocrinologists, an Indiana doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim, and leaders of reproductive rights groups. Becerra’s comments emphasizing the importance of reproductive rights, Democrats’ guest list for the State of the Union and a recent administration officials’ trips to states with abortion restrictions are the most recent evidence of Democrat’s election bet: that when Republicans married the motivated minority of voters who support the anti-abortion movement, they also divorced themselves from the broader American public, broad margins of whom support IVF, contraception and legal abortion. “As a result of the fall of Roe v Wade – or actually the take-down of Roe v Wade – my daughters have fewer rights in America than their mom did,” said Becerra. “And that happens only when you have a supreme court that acts to overturn a constitutional protection.” While Becerra said his agency would continue to enforce federal laws in Alabama, including laws that provide medical patients a right to privacy and the right to stabilizing emergency care, including emergency abortions, it is ultimately the courts in and politicians of Alabama who need to fix the upheaval their policies caused. “The supreme court in Alabama is the one that has to undo its wrongful decision,” said Becerra. “The state legislature in Alabama should move to provide protections to families that rely on IVF – and serious comprehensive protections, not short-term, piecemeal protections that threaten anyone going through the process or any provider who wishes to provide quality IVF services.” Although Alabama politicians have passed a bill to give IVF providers immunity from civil and criminal suits, national associations of fertility doctors have said the law does not go far enough to address the core problem – the supreme court “conflating fertilized eggs with children”. “Clearly, this goes way beyond abortion,” said Becerra. “It would not surprise me if we also begin to see actions which undermine the ability of women to get basic family planning services,” including contraception. While doctors and patients have reacted with astonishment, anger and sorrow at the Alabama supreme court’s decision, the anti-abortion movement has cheered the decision. “Fetal personhood” has long been the ultimate aim of the movement. For years, Republicans have abetted this aim. As recently as 2023, 124 Republicans co-sponsored the federal Life at Conception Act, which would give embryos the rights of people “at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment when the individual comes into being”. This week, Kentucky Republicans advanced a bill to allow people to claim fetuses as dependents on their taxes. They have also blocked federal legislation to protect IVF – twice. In late February, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois introduced an IVF protection bill. Most recently, its expedited passage was blocked by Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi (a state which, like Alabama, has a near-total abortion ban). Nevertheless, the Alabama decision has been palpably uncomfortable for many members of the party. Former president Donald Trump has said he supports IVF, and views anti-abortion policies as a threat to his campaign. Republicans such as Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Joni Ernst of Iowa have issued awkward, noncommittal statements about the decision. Ernst supported federal fetal personhood statutes in the past. “When Roe v Wade was struck down by the Dobbs decision the Pandora’s box was opened,” said Becerra. “Now, we see the consequences and how far the loss the protections of Roe go beyond abortion.”
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Letter: Sir Tony Lloyd obituary
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Tony Lloyd’s wry humour and Lancastrian imperturbability helped immensely in our observer delegation to the 1999 referendum on East Timorese independence from Indonesia. The Labour politician agreed to lead this Catholic Institute for International Relations initiative, despite his characteristic self-deprecation that he was more of a Latin Americanist. While easy-going, he could also show his steely side. On being ordered out of our UN-flagged Land Rover by the army so that it could be searched for weapons, Tony stood his ground, asserting our neutral status and stating that we were not subject to Indonesian diktat. The army drove off. With his Latin American experience, Tony understood the strategies of informal state violence, but had a compassionate sympathy for those who suffered that violence.
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I showed my baby nothing but love, Constance Marten tells Old Bailey jury
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Constance Marten, whose daughter Victoria died after she and the baby’s father went off the grid in freezing winter weather to evade authorities, has denied ever harming her child, telling a jury she had shown her nothing but love during her short life. Marten was giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Thursday, as she and her partner, Mark Gordon, stand trial for the manslaughter of the child in 2023. Gordon declined to give evidence earlier in the week. “I did nothing but show her love,” Marten told jurors when asked if she had ever been cruel to baby Victoria. She also told the jury she had given her daughter “the best that any mother would” when defence barrister Francis FitzGibbon KC asked if she had offered “anything less than the proper care” the child deserved. She told jurors Victoria died on 9 January 2023, aged 16 days, saying: “I do not think it is anything I will ever move on from. I feel guilty because she was in my arms. I feel like it’s not an easy thing to live with.” She added that she had felt “disbelief, shock, intense grief”. The court has heard that Greater Manchester police launched a nationwide search after a placenta was found in Gordon and Marten’s burnt-out car by a motorway near Bolton last January. It is alleged the defendants went on the run because they wanted to keep Victoria with them, after four other children had been taken into care. Days after their arrest on 27 February, the child’s badly decomposed body was found in a Lidl bag inside an allotment shed in Brighton, East Sussex. While the cause of Victoria’s death is “unascertained”, jurors have heard she could have died from the cold or from co-sleeping. Marten told police Victoria had died when she fell asleep in the tent while holding the child under her jacket. The court has heard Marten had previously been warned by social workers of the risks of falling asleep with the baby on her, and that a tent would be “wholly inappropriate for a baby to live in”. She told jurors she had been given advice around 2017 about the risk of falling asleep while breastfeeding a baby. Marten said she had had a “bad experience” with the birth of her first child in the NHS, and felt she had made a “bet with the devil” in her dealings with social services. She told the jury she had become distrustful after she was advised against giving birth to her second child at home because the baby was “huge”. She said: “I panicked and got a private scan. They said there is nothing wrong, of course you can have a home birth.” Marten said she had also researched hypnobirthing, but added: “I do think that you should have scans to check the baby is in the right position and baby is OK, but I don’t think midwifery is necessary. Once you have had your first child, a woman is quite intuitive.” Marten also told jurors that, in December 2022, she had been moving around the country to avoid social services taking her unborn baby away. “I wanted to keep Victoria with us so I did not want to tell anyone about the birth. I was in good health physically but I was in a high state of anxiety. I thought someone was going to bash down the door and take her away. I was joyful but at the same time anxious,” Marten said. The defendants deny manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child. The trial continues.
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Treasury disbanded non-dom tax policy unit weeks before budget, sources say
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The Treasury disbanded a unit tasked with offshore and non-dom tax policy weeks before announcing significant changes in the budget to the way foreign residents are taxed, sources have said. The unit, which comprised technical experts on offshore tax issues, included specialists on non-dom policy. These officials would, according. to the sources, have been expected to help manage the implementation of a replacement for non-dom status as outlined by the chancellor this week. It is understood officials fear the Treasury is ill-prepared for an onslaught of lobbying from the wealth advisory industry, which is already seeking to overturn or shift the abolition of the tax break. One City law firm that specialises in advising clients with complex offshore tax affairs, told staff they expected a rush to “safeguard” benefits of the status – such as creating offshore trusts while claiming the status in order to avoid UK inheritance tax – before changes are put in place, according to an internal memo. A second law firm told staff advising on offshore matters not to book leave for the first three months of 2025. Jeremy Hunt said non-domicile status and the tax breaks linked to it would be abolished from April 2025. Under the regime, residents with links to another country who claim they plan to eventually leave the UK can avoid tax on any income and gains from assets held outside Britain. But hey must still pay tax on any income they receive in the UK. The tax break, a legacy of colonial times, has saved some of the country’s wealthiest individuals millions in tax. The rules on who can claim to be non-domiciled are relatively vague. A ready reckoner used by HMRC is often whether or not someone’s father was born overseas. Tax experts have long argued the break means high net-worth individuals are in effect incentivised not to onshore their wealth. Non-doms have to stop using the status for income tax purposes after they have been resident for more than 15 of the past 20 years. It is optional, and has to be proactively claimed by an individual on a so-called remittance basis. Those wanting the breaks must pay an annual fee of £30,000 if they have lived in the UK for seven of the past nine tax years, rising to £60,000 a year if they have lived in the country for 12 of the past 14 years. Some non-dom tax breaks will survive the overhaul. For example, those currently claiming the status will be able to avoid UK inheritance tax by putting their overseas assets in a trust. This can be an extremely valuable boon that outlasts short term income-based wins. The Treasury has been contacted for comment.
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UK ‘fiscally offside’ by up to £60bn, Citi fears; house prices rise again – as it happened
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Closing post Time to wrap up. Economist have warned that the UK’s pre-election budget, delivered yesterday, is based on ‘Fiscal fiction’, rather than plausible plans and assumptions. Citigroup warned that the chancellor’s spending plans as “fiscally offside” by £50-60bn, as they are based on unlikely productivity growth, and implausible spending cuts. The Institute for Fiscal Studies accused both the government and the opposition of a conspiracy of silence about what is actually ahead, with its director Paul Johnson saying: They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable. The IMF predicts that stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises. While the Resolution Foundation showed that this will be the first parliament in modern history to see a fall in living standards. Here are today’s stories on the aftermath of the budget: Related: UK to have first parliament in modern history with fall in living standards, says thinktank Related: IFS warns of Labour and Tory ‘conspiracy of silence’ over future tax and spending plans Related: How a Conservative budget failed to help women (again) Related: What is national insurance and should it be scrapped? Related: Extension to support fund only a temporary fix for poorest families, warn charities Plus in other news, we’ve seen a jump in UK house prices, and takeover drama in the banking sector: Related: Nationwide to buy Virgin Money in £2.9bn deal Related: UK house prices near 2022 peak after fifth monthly rise in a row Related: UK’s green power industry receives surprise £10bn pledge Related: New train services between London and Scotland get go-ahead Related: ITV profits plunge by 60% amid brutal advertising downturn Related: Tesco pay rise delay leaves many workers earning under minimum wage Related: Aviva’s profits rise as demand for UK private health insurance booms IMF: stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises At the end of January, the International Monetary Fund warned Jeremy Hunt not to make tax cuts in the budget. He wasn’t persuaded, though. And today, the IMF has waned that stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises. Speaking at the IMF’s regular press briefing on Thursday, director of communications Julie Kozak told reporters: “IMF staff will be analysing the announced policies in greater detail but the aim to continue the fiscal consolidation pursued since 2022 to reduce inflation and stabilise debt is welcome.” She added that the national insurance cut and reform of the child benefit system had been funded by “well-conceived revenue-raising measures”. Kozak said: “Significant spending to protect service delivery, growth-enhancing investment and the appropriate commitment to stabilise debt are likely to require additional revenue-raising measures in the medium term.” Retail giant Ikea has today briefed staff about a proposal to restructure some of its operations, union Usdaw reports. The proposals that could impact all 3,233 staff who currently work at certain Ikea warehouses (or fulfilment areas) in the UK and Ireland. Usdaw says it will enter consultation talks, with their national officer Bally Auluk explaining: “Staff have today been briefed by the company about a significant restructure within the business, mainly affecting customer fulfilment operations. Usdaw will now enter into meaningful consultation talks with management, where we will interrogate their business case for this proposed restructure. “Our priorities are to get the best deal possible for Usdaw members and keep as many staff as possible employed within the business. In the meantime, we are providing our members with the support, representation and advice that they need throughout this process. Any Usdaw member with concerns should contact the union direct.” Citi: UK 'fiscally offside' by up to £60bn Citigroup fears that the UK is actually up to £60bn away from meeting Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal mandate. Ben Nabarro, chief UK economist at Citigroup, warns in a research note today that the Office for Budget Responsibility is being too optimistic when it assumes UK productivity will grow at 0.9%. Citi predicts productivity growth will be just under 0.5%, as it has been since the financial crisis. Nabarro writes: This in part reflects supply shocks that we think are likely to intensify in the years ahead. But the implication is that the fiscal forecasts are probably around £30-35bn worse than today’s OBR estimates imply. He also predict that the real terms cuts penciled into the current spending profile are undeliverable, so a further £20-25bn in spending is also ultimately likely. We therefore continue to see the UK as fiscally offside by around £50-£60bn. Citi:• OBR productivity forecasts way too optimistic • So fiscal forecasts are really £30-35 billion worse than OBR view• Future real spending cuts undeliverable - means extra £20-25 billion of spending likely• All in all, UK “fiscally offside” by £50-60 billion— Andy Bruce (@BruceReuters) March 7, 2024 But, that margin could fall to £15-£20bn “if rates rally as we currently expect”, Nabarro adds. The OBR yesterday showed that Hunt has just £8.9bn of headroom to show debt falling, as a share of GDP, in 2028-29 – a very low amount in historic terms, as Resolution Foundation showed this morning (9.29am). That, though, was dependent on fuel duty no longer being frozen, and on painful cuts to public spending after the election – which the IFS says would require “staggeringly hard choices” (see 10.41am). Nabarro warns that the UK’s post-Covid fiscal headwinds are only just beginning, and cites three reasons to be worried: First, much of the pain associated with the withdrawal of both Covid and energy support we think has yet to come – with the former effect in particular elongated by contemporaneous restrictions and alike. Alongside lagging multipliers, the removal of Covid-era support exerts a materially larger headwind to growth over the years ahead. Second, the UK also faces the fiscal adjustment associated with higher rates, which means a tighter primary balance than in the years before the pandemic. And third, in the years ahead, we think fiscal policy is itself also likely to have to adjust to a more disrupted, volatile world. The implication is fiscal policy is also likely to need to be tighter in ‘normal times.’ With the OBR estimating the government currently has only a 54% change of meeting even the loosest definition of fiscal sustainability. That is not good enough. Updated at Christine Lagarde, head of the ECB, is explaining that the central bank’s staff have revised down their growth projection for 2024 to 0.6%. Economic activity is expected to remain subdued in the near term, before picking up to 1.5% growth in 2025 and 1.6% in 2026. European stocks have pushed higher after the ECB cut its inflation forecasts: European Shares Surge to Fresh Multi-Year Highs on ECB StatementThe STOXX 50 soared by 0.7% to reach an over 23-year peak of 4,950 points, while the broader STOXX 600 climbed by 0.5%, crossing the 500 mark for the...More here: https://t.co/GwAgWXegcF pic.twitter.com/K6h5Ux7pMr— TRADING ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) March 7, 2024 ECB cuts inflation forecasts and leaves interest rates on hold Newsflash: The European Central Bank has left its key interest rates on hold, but slashed its inflation forecasts – which could mean borrowing costs are cut soon. After its latest policy meeting, the ECB has left the three key ECB interest rates unchanged. This means its benchmark deposit rate (paid on commercial bank deposits) remains at an all-time high of 4%, while its main refinancing operations will operate at 4.5% and its marginal lending facility (overnight loans to banks) sticks at 4.75%. The ECB’s latest staff projections show that inflation has been revised down, in particular for 2024 due to cheaper energy prices Staff now project inflation to average 2.3% in 2024, 2.0% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026. Back in December, the ECB expected inflation would average 2.7% in 2024, 2.1% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026. The projections for core inflation (excluding energy and food) have also been revised down today; they now average 2.6% for 2024, 2.1% for 2025 and 2.0% for 2026. Updated at Another chart showing how the permanent tax and benefit policies this parliament have (surprisingly?) favoured younger people rather than pensioners: This is a really big change around in approach - Conservative governments have favoured pensioners since 2010, but no longer. Tax/benefit changes this parliament most benefit those under 45 and hit the incomes of those aged 65+ https://t.co/ncTC5sj25c pic.twitter.com/BX6l6nPNxv— Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) March 7, 2024 Over in parliament, Rachel Reeves has claimed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered an “omnishambles” Budget. With a nod to the rising tax burden, the shadow chancellor pointed out: “They’re giving with one hand and taking twice as much with the other.” Opening day two of the Budget debate, Reeves told the Commons: “The stark reality of yesterday’s Budget is clear: taxes rising, living standards falling, growth stalling and yet again making promises they can’t deliver. “The Tories have failed on the economy, they are out of ideas and they are out of time.” Our Politics Live blog has full details of the Westminster reaction: Related: Hunt ‘repeating Truss’s errors with £46bn unfunded tax proposal’ to scrap national insurance, says Starmer – UK politics live The original “omnishambles” budget was delivered by George Osborne in 2012, when he unveiled an increase VAT on some hot foods. It was dubbed the “pasty tax” and Osborne was forced into a climbdown. Updated at New figures from the Office for National Statistis this morning shows another drop in job vacancies. The total number of online job adverts on 1 March 2024 was 17% below the level seen in the equivalent period of 2023, data from Adzuna shows. That continues “the downward trend since February 2022”, the ONS says, as demand for labour has cooled slightly. Figures from @Adzuna show the total number of online job adverts on 1 March 2024 was 17% below the level seen in the equivalent period of 2023 💻This continues the downward trend since February 2022. pic.twitter.com/YaN9cS9EmM— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) March 7, 2024 Activity on the high street appears to have picked up a little last week: New economic activity and social change data shows increases in:💳 @bankofengland credit and debit card purchases (up 2%)🥪 @Pret transactions in 9 of the 10 location categoriesIn contrast UK retail footfall remained broadly unchanged 🛍️➡️ https://t.co/UFtGrdTfck pic.twitter.com/XhQyTmOU0o— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) March 7, 2024 Here’s our news story on the IFS’s budget analysis: Related: IFS warns of Labour and Tory ‘conspiracy of silence’ over future tax and spending plans IFS: Government and opposition are joining in a conspiracy of silence The IFS’s Paul Johnson then accuses the government and the opposition of joining in “a conspiracy of silence” in not acknowledging the scale of the choices and trade-offs that will face the country after the election. They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable, he fears. On the politics of the budget, Johnson points out that the non dom changes and the extension of the energy profits levy announced by Jeremy Hunt were Labour policies. In the “through-the-looking-glass” world of pre-election argy-bargy this will appear to make Labour’s job more difficult. They want to earmark the extra revenue from these taxes to fund some of their spending plans. A moment’s thought should show this for the nonsense that it is, at least in the real world of fiscal constraints and trade-offs, if not in the rhetorical world of electoral politics. First, the numbers involved are trivially small by comparison with the fiscal challenges. Three or four billion of revenues a year don’t even count as a drop in the fiscal ocean when it comes to the scale of the challenges facing us. And second, the fact that the changes have been announced doesn’t mean the revenue disappears. It’s still there, indeed more definitely so. By accepting the NI cut, the opposition does make life more difficult for itself. That is £10 billion a year they have lost. The opposition have been just as shy as the chancellor about telling us what they actually intend to do on taxes and spending after the election. If I am sceptical about Mr Hunt’s ability to stick to his current spending plans, I am at least that sceptical that Rachel Reeves will preside over deep cuts in public service spending. IFS: UK faces eye wateringly tough choices to bring debt down The IFS fear that the next parliament could well prove to be the most difficult of any in 80 years for a chancellor wanting to bring debt down. Paul Johnson says: Even stabilising debt as a fraction of national income is likely to mean some eye wateringly tough choices – and we are talking tens of billions of pounds worth of tough choices – on tax and spending. Johnson points out that the goal of getting debt falling, as a share of GDP, just in five years time is based on a whole series of unlikely, or undesirable things. Perhaps the unlikeliest is that the government will stop freezing fuel duty. And the least desirable perhaps is that investment spending will fall by £18bn a year in real terms. There’s also the prospect of £20bn of cuts to day-to-day spending on a range of public services outside of health, defence and education. That, Johnson says, will require some staggeringly hard choices which the government has not been willing to lay out. He says: Indeed, we heard yesterday that the next spending review, in which these choices will have to be announced, will rather conveniently not happen until after the election. One only has to look at the scale of NHS waiting lists, the number of local authorities at or near bankruptcy, the backlogs in the justice system, the long-term cuts to university funding, the struggles of the social care system, to wonder where these cuts will really, credibly come from. You can watch the IFS’s presentation here: STARTING NOW: We present our IFS analysis of the #Budget2024.Watch live here: https://t.co/qJDiN3q18WSubmit your questions to our expert panel here: https://t.co/a6AKzHVlMv— Institute for Fiscal Studies (@TheIFS) March 7, 2024 IFS: People will be poorer at end of the parliament than the start The Institute for Fiscal Studies’s analysis of the budget is just out. And IFS director Paul Johnson says that nothing has changed very significantly following what Jeremy Hunt did yesterday, and what the OBR said. That means we are: heading for a parliament in which people will on average be worse off at the end than at the start, looking at a debt to GDP ratio that is at its highest level in 70 years and is showing no signs of falling; facing debt interest payments at close to all time highs; seeing worrying increases in the number of individuals moving onto health and disability related benefits, bringing huge challenges for those households and rising costs for the public purse; (despite the genuinely significant cuts in NICs) stuck with a situation where tax revenues will have risen by a record amount as a share of national income over this parliament and still heading towards UK record levels; implicitly planning on big cuts in public investment spending overall and cuts to many areas of day-to-day spending on public services despite very obvious signs of strain in many areas. 📺 @PJTheEconomist opens our #Budget2024 event, warning that we:- are still heading for a parliament in which people will on average be worse off at the end than at the start- have the highest debt to GDP ratio in 70 years- have debt interest payments close to all time highs.— Institute for Fiscal Studies (@TheIFS) March 7, 2024 Eyebrows were raised two years ago when high street stalwart Marks & Spencer announced it was appointing two CEOs to replace departing chief executive Steve Rowe. And today, the arrangement is being put out to grass. M&S has announced that co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe will retire from the retailer in July. Bickerstaffe became co-CEO in 2022, alongside CEO Stuart Machin. This unconventional structure meant she was in charge of driving M&S’s strategy of selling across multiple platforms, plus clothing & home, international and financial services, while Machin handled day-to-day leadership and M&S’s food business. Today, M&S says that a “planned leadership evolution” will see Bickerstaff move on, and take up other board roles “in line with the original transition plan”. Bickerstaffe says: “I took on the Co-CEO role to support Stuart as he succeeded to Chief Executive Officer and because of my love for the brand and my determination to see the transformation of M&S through to the next stage. We have built a strong team, made great progress, and it is now right that the business and function heads report directly to Stuart. I will leave with great memories and a strong sense of achievement.” M&S’s shares are up 49% in the last year. Updated at UK firms' inflation expectations drop in February, In happier news, British businesses’ expectations for inflation over the coming years have dropped. A survey from the Bank of England has found that firms expect to curb their price rises over the next year,with output price inflation expected to decline by 1.1 percentage points over the next 12 months. Companies also expect inflation to fall, but remain over the UK’s target. One-year ahead CPI inflation expectations have declined further to 3.3% in February, down from 3.4% in January. Happily for workers (if not the Bank), firms expect to pay inflation-beating pay rises. Expected year-ahead wage growth remained unchanged at 5.2% on a three-month-moving-average basis, the BoE says, while annual wage growth was 6.7% in the three months to February. UK suffering slowest growth of any party’s period in office since the Second World War Resolution Foundation also show the stark impact of the UK’s economic stagnation on living standards. It will still take until 2026 for real wages to return to their 2008 level, their analysis shows – had real wages kept growing at their prefinancial crisis pace, the average worker in 2023 would have been around £14,000 better off And, if the election is held at the end of this year, the period since 2010 will have seen GDP per capita grow by 0.8 per cent per year, and average wages by just 0.2 per cent per year in real terms. On both measures, this would be the slowest growth of any party’s period in office since the Second World War: The big, long-term picture is that by 2027-28, middle-earning workers will have done best out of the “personal tax rollercoaster” in this parliament, says Resolution Foundation. It has calculated that workers earning between £26,000 and £60,000 will be “the net winners” by 2027-28, while lower and higher earning taxpayers will be worse off. Overall, 55% employees will gain, they say – but that includes “significant variation”. Full time employees will on average gain £120, their part time colleagues lose £240. In contrast, employers are paying more national insurance as the starting threshold for employer NI has been frozen. And pensioners have also lost out; around 8 million pensioners are taxpayers, who lose from freezes to Income Tax thresholds but don’t benefit from NI changes. Resolution’s analysis shows: Compared to where the personal allowance might have been in 2027-28 without freezes, basic rate pensioners will be around £700 worse off and – taking into account also the higher-rate threshold freeze – the average taxpaying pensioner will lose around £1,000. In total, policy will have increased taxes for pensioners by around £8 billion, a significant portion of the net personal tax rise. But, as Resolution Foundation also point out, pensioners have also benefitted from the triple lock, and from higher savings rate in the last couple of years. The economic forecasts that underpinned yesterday’s budget did not “play ball” for the chancellor, according to James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation. The key news was the change in the OBR’s forecast for inflation – the fiscal watchdog has now “called time on high inflation”. That weaker outlook for inflation (assuming the OBR are right) is clearly good news, but Smith also points out that it leads to lower tax receipts in future years. The OBR is also forecasting a slightly smaller economy in cash terms. Resolution has calculated that the Chancellor has spent £65bn on tax cuts over the next five years, around a third of which has been funded by tax-raising policies. So, with Hunt borrowing a further £10bn over the next five years, his fiscal buffers are alarmingly thin. The £8.9bn of headroom to ensure debt is falling in that final year of the forecast is the second lowest on record, Smith explains: Resolution Foundation are presenting their analysis of the budget now. Their CEO, Torsten Bell, begins by saying it was inevitable that we’d get tax cuts yesterday, as it was a pre-election budget (although he doesn’t believe we’ll go to the polls as early as May). Kicking off shortly at 9am!Game changer? Assessing the Budget’s economic, and electoral, impactWatch our event with @OBR_UK Chair Richard Hughes @JumanaSaleheen @robertshrimsley @JamesSmithRF & @TorstenBell and submit questions on Slido.https://t.co/Jn7dBenJ0Z— Resolution Foundation (@resfoundation) March 7, 2024 Resolution’s analysis shows that high earners will get most of the benefits from the national insurance cut: An extra 2p cut in the basic rate of NI takes it to its lowest level since the 1980s in April, handing workers gains of up to £750 next year (2024-25) with 78 per cent going to the top half of the household income distribution.This will be partially offset by the latest set of threshold freezes this April, leaving the majority (79 per cent) of employees paying less tax as a result. Gains will average £450, with the largest net tax cuts going to those earning £50,000 (who will gain £1,200) while taxpayers earning £19,000 or less will be worse off, losing more from threshold freezes than they gain from rate cuts. Updated at Hunt: Theoretically possible to have another pre-election budget The chancellor has also dangled the possibility of further budget changes before the next election. Asked on Times Radio whether he is planning another fiscal event before the election, Jeremy Hunt said: “No, but if there’s an autumn election, which is the working assumption, then theoretically it would be possible to have one.” He also conceded that eliminating the “double tax on work” in the form of national insurance and income tax is unlikely to happen in this Parliament, saying: “That’s a huge job. “I don’t think it’s realistic to say that’s going to happen any time soon.” As Labour points out (see earlier post), it’s also not clear how it would be funded…. Jeremy Hunt is now discussing the budget on the Today Programme. He’s arguing that his national insurance cut will help cut the UK economy’s dependence on high migration, by bringing an extra 200,000 people into the workforce. That would fill one in five of the vacancies across the economy [estimated at 932,000]. Q: Who are the losers from your budget? Hunt says he chose to focus on helping people in work. The losers, he says, are foreigners who were resident in the UK who will pay “significantly more tax” through the abolition of the non-dom status, and the Scottish oil and gas industry, as the windfall tax is being extended. Q: But fiscal drag means million of people are paying more tax (due to thresholds on income tax levels not being raised in line with inflation). They call you the fiscal drag queen of British politics, don’t they? He points to the rise in spending in the pandemic, and the energy support package, which led to higher taxes. He now wants to make a start at bringing taxes down. Hunt says he’s not been called a drag queen before (the “fiscal drag queen” is a term coined by Henry Mance in the Financial Times). And he argues that someone on the average wage will see a £230 tax increase through frozen tax thresholds this year, but a £900 decrease through his two, 2p cuts to national insurance. Hunt promises: I’m being completely honest, that we have had to put up taxes. What I’m saying is, I am the person and the Conservative Party are the party that wants to bring those taxes back down. The interview ended rather testily, though, with Hunt claiming it was “unworthy of the BBC” for Today presenter Amol Rajan to say the UK was “ravaged by economic shocks, at best drifting, at worst stagnant… hooked on foreign labour. The birth rate is collapsing. Many public services are creaking. Councils are going bust”. Updated at Labour: How would abolishing NI be paid for, chancellor? Yesterday, Jeremy Hunt floated the idea that national insurance could be abolished, by vowing to end the unfairness of “double taxation” by income tax and NI. And this morning, Labour are demanding to know how this could be paid for. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told BBC Breakfast: “Yesterday, at the end of the Budget, the Chancellor started floating this idea that he was going to get rid of National Insurance altogether. “Well, that would cost £46bn. And I would like to know where that money is going to come from, because I just wouldn’t make a promise like that without being able to say where the money is going to come from. “I think it is incumbent on politicians to be honest about the trade offs that have to be made.” £46bn is slightly large than the £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts announced in the infamous Liz Truss mini-budget of September 2022, Reeves points out on Radio 4’s Today Programme. Updated at Nationwide makes £2.9bn takeover offer for Virgin Money There’s a flurry of takeover action in the City this morning, as Nationwide Building Society strikes a deal to buy rival Virgin Money. The deal values Virgin Money at nearly £3bn and would create the second-largest provider of mortgages and savings in the UK. The two lenders have reached a preliminary agreement on the key terms of a deal, which would create a new competitor with £366bn in total assets, according to a joint statement released on Thursday morning. The proposed £2.9bn deal offers Virgin Money shareholders 220p a share and represents a 38% premium on the lender’s share price on Wednesday. Related: Nationwide to buy Virgin Money in £2.9bn deal The Budget: what the papers say Jeremy Hunt’s budget has had a mixed review in this morning’s newspapers, with The Guardian calling it a “last desperate act”. Thursday’s GUARDIAN: “ ‘A last desperate act’ “. #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Rt4nyvE0DF— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) March 6, 2024 The Daily Mail bemoans the lack of “a game-changing big rabbit” bouncing out of Hunt’s hat…. Thursday’s Daily MAIL: “Will It Be Enough To See Off Labour?” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/CyqgN6zDJJ— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) March 6, 2024 While the Financial Times points out that the chancellor has left the door open to more tax cuts before an autumn election – so the rabbit may yet make an appearance. Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Thursday 7 March https://t.co/repqvmYDZw pic.twitter.com/yNCVvvQCWS— Financial Times (@FT) March 6, 2024 Here’s a full round-up Related: ‘We deserve better’: what the papers say about Jeremy Hunt’s pre-election budget UK house prices rise for 5th month in a row The recovery in UK house prices has continued last month, new data from Halifax this morning shows. Halifax reports that average house prices rose by +0.4% in February, the fifth monthly rise in a row. That left property prices 1.7% higher on an annual basis, a slowdown on the 2.3% increase in the 12 months to January. The typical UK home now costs £291,699, around £1,000 more than last month, Halifax reports. In London, prices were higher on an annual basis for the first time since January 2023, while they’re rising fastest in Northern Ireland (up 5% in the last year). Spurred on by prev rate redu house prices rose for the 5th mth in a row inc’ing +0.4% (£1,000) on last mth making the avg property now worth £291,699. Annually prices rose +1.7% with London showing the first positive annual growth seen since Jan 2023. Northern Ireland however… pic.twitter.com/JGIEgrIla6— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) March 7, 2024 Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, says the market has made a relatively stable start to 2024, adding: “In fact, the average price tag of a home is now only around £1,800 off the peak seen in June 2022. While it is encouraging that we’ve seen growth in recent months, what happens next remains uncertain. Although lower mortgage rates, alongside expectations of Bank of England interest rate cuts this year, should help buyer confidence in the short term, the downward trend on rates is showing signs of fading. Even with growing wages and inflation falling back, raising a deposit and affording a sizeable mortgage remains challenging, especially for those looking to join the property ladder, so it remains a possibility that there could be a slowdown in the housing market this year.” Yesterday's ‘sweet and sour’ Budget combines £8 billion election year personal tax cuts, with post-election plans for £38 billion of tax rises and spending cuts......with middle earners the main immediate winners, while low or high earners will still see their taxes rise. pic.twitter.com/x7NYaYWtox— Resolution Foundation (@resfoundation) March 7, 2024 Pensioners the big losers from Jeremy Hunt’s Budget, says think tank Resolution Foundation also reports that pensioners are the big losers from Jeremy Hunt’s Budget. That’s because national insurance, which was cut by another 2p in the pound yesterday, is paid by workers on their wages, but not by the retired. Overall, Resolution says, the policy choices announced during this Parliament have shifted support from the rich and the old to the young and the poor. Resolution’s Torsten Bell says: “It has been a frenetic few years for tax policy making, with huge rises and cuts announced in quick succession. Middle earners have come out on top, while taxpayers earning below £26,000 or over £60,000 will lose out. The biggest group of losers are pensioners, who face an £8 billion collective hit. “Looking at all policy changes announced this parliament reinforces the sense that the Government has reversed course from the approach that dominated during the 2010s. Back then, support was focused on pensioners and takeaways on poorer, younger households. This time it is those aged over 65 and on the highest incomes who are set to lose most. Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis shows: Shifting state support from the rich to the poor… While 78 per cent of the personal tax cuts announced in the 2024 Spring Budget go to the richest half of households, the Foundation’s analysis of all tax and benefit policies announced in this parliament – including changes to National Insurance, Income Tax, pensions tax, non-doms tax and Capital Gains Tax, reductions to the taper rate in Universal Credit, and duty freezes – show a very different picture. Typical households are set to gain £420 a year on average, while the poorest fifth gain £840 and the richest fifth lose an average of £1,500. And from pensioners to millennials…. The Foundation’s analysis of these same policy changes across the age distribution shows that households headed by someone aged 18-45 will gain £590 on average, compared to an average loss of £770 for those aged 66 and over. Introduction: UK facing record low for living standards Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The UK is facing a record low for living standards, analysis of yesterday’s budget shows, despite the pre-election tax cuts announced by chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The Resolution Foundation has crunched the budget, and concluded that Hunt has “thrown fiscal caution to the wind” yesterday, leaving very little room (just £8.9bn) to hit his fiscal rule to have debt falling in five years. Now it turns out that contrary to what some people were thinking this morning, the @OBR_UK actually CUT the amount of headroom the Chancellor had before this Budget. From 13bn to 12.2bn. The Chancellor “spent” £3.2bn of that, leaving him with £8.9bn. pic.twitter.com/9Sf3JxjbGO— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) March 6, 2024 But while Hunt has made a net tax cut of £9bn, the UK’s cost of living crisis means real household disposable incomes (how much money households have after tax, adjusted for inflation) are set to fall between 2019 and 2025 – for the first parliament in modern history. And looking further ahead, the tax take will be a 70-year high by 2028-29: Related: Budget 2024: UK taxes head for highest level since 1948 despite Hunt’s NI cut Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, warns that the budget maths is based on fictional cuts to public services after the election: The £19 billion of cuts to unprotected public services after the next election are three-quarters the size of those delivered in the early 2010s. The idea that such cuts can be delivered in the face of already faltering public services is a fiscal fiction. “Budgets are always a big day for Westminster, but the big picture for Britain has not changed at all. This remains a country where taxes are heading up not down, and one where incomes are stagnating. “Big tax cuts may or may not affect the outcome of that election, but the task for whoever wins is huge. They will need to both wrestle with implausible spending cuts, and also restart sustained economic growth – the only route to end Britain’s stagnation.” Yesterday, the Office for Budget Responsibility said Hunt’s plans meant funding for non-ringfenced government departments – including local government and prison services – was on track to fall by 2.3% per year. Here are some of the key points from Resolution’s analysis (they’ll be discussing the budget at an event this morning). Filling out the tax sandwich… Fresh reductions in National Insurance and Fuel Duty, coupled with previously announced tax threshold freezes, mean a net tax cut of £9 billion is taking effect in the election year. But this is dwarfed by the estimated £27 billion of tax rises that came into effect last year (2023-24) and the £19 billion that are coming in after the election (2025-27). …by throwing fiscal caution to the wind. The Chancellor’s fiscal headroom against his fiscal rules is the second lowest on record, just a third of the average level seen since 2010. But this is not because his fiscal rules are strict – in fact, the plans in this Budget would violate three out of the four sets of such rules followed by Conservative Chancellors since 2010. Britain’s £14,000 wage depression... Despite the Office for Budget Responsibility reducing its forecast for inflation, real average wages are only set to regain their 2008 levels in 2026, a staggering near-two lost decades of pay growth. Had pay instead continued along its pre-financial crisis path over this period, the average worker in 2023 would have been around £14,000 better off. ….and a record low for living standards. Across this Parliament (between 2019 and 2025), real household disposable income (RHDI) is set to fall by 0.9 per cent – the first parliament in modern history to see a fall in living standards. The agenda 9am GMT: Resolution Foundation event: Assessing the Budget’s economic, and electoral, impact : Institute for Fiscal Studies presents its Budget analysis : Challenger report on US job cuts : European Central Bank interest rate decision : European Central Bank press conference
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‘No drilling! No drilling!’: climate choir sings truth to power in Palace of Westminster
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Making an elaborate, distracting fuss, the climate choir’s 100-strong decoy choir gets into position on the pavement outside parliament. Police gather and hover nearby. Politicians rush past on their way into the House of Commons, smiling benignly as the decoy choir launches into a hearty, opening song. Distracted by the music, they do not notice that most of the well-dressed people entering St Stephen’s Hall with them are looking nervous and walking stiffly. It is hard, after all, to walk properly when you’ve got a large protest banner stuffed down the leg of your trousers – and are worried that in less than five minutes, you’re going to be arrested in the home of the UK parliament. Johnny Devas is a retired architect, specialising in the gothic architecture that makes parliament one of the most recognised buildings in the world. But on Thursday, his expertise is a ruse – and “architecture” a code word. Once all 100 of the real climate choir protest singers have successfully passed through the airport-style security outside the medieval hall and gathered round, Devas says the magic words: “The architectural tour is about to begin.” And then they’re off: with rousing voices that soar up to the lobby’s 10-metre high, lofty stone octagon ceiling, echo round its rich mosaic-covered vault and bounce back off the lobby’s intricately tiled floor, the climate choir sing truth to power – directly to the people making decisions in their names. “Fossil fuel profits are outrageous – Stop Rosebank! Stop Rosebank!” they sing to the tune of Handel’s Hallelujah chorus. “Runaway climate change is very dangerous!” the altos, tenors and basses politely belt out. “We’re in an ecological emergency: no drilling! No drilling!” the rest of the choir harmonise. Jo Flanagan, the co-founder of the Climate Choir Movement, has been planning this protest for months. “We wanted something pretty dramatic: to make a powerful message to all politicians that, the day after the budget, we want more investment in cheaper, renewable energy, not in further extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea. “And in the middle of the present clampdowns on protesters, I hope our different approach flies the flag for peaceful protest too,” she adds. “But goodness, this is nerve-racking!” The Climate Choir Movement has grown rapidly since its inception in autumn 2022. From its Bristol beginnings, there are now more than 700 members in 12 climate choirs in England and Wales, with three more choirs pending. Their protests so far – creative, urgent and peaceful calls for environmental change – have been eye-catching: in December, the choirs donned black suits and bowler hats to serenade financial decision-makers in the City in London. Last October, they organised a 100-voice flash choir at the Science Museum. There were songs for Gaia at Bath Abbey in September, and in May dozens of singers from London, Bath, Stroud, Oxford and Southampton interrupted the Barclays Bank AGM. On Thursday they last two and a half minutes before being hustled out by a smiling security guard: “Thank you. Please keep going. There you go.” They file out of the hall extremely slowly, still singing loftily – the conductor waving her hands above to maintain time, to join the decoy choir outside. Their exit takes almost 10 minutes: tourists gape and schoolchildren giggle as they pass. Outside, the two choirs meet and together walk across to College Green and finish their performance. Kate Honey, the composer who rewrote Handel’s lyrics, is ecstatic: “We brought choirs from all over the country to send a simple message to politicians today to ‘Stop Rosebank now: renewables are cleaner, safer and cheaper’,” she says. “Rosebank is a pretty name for a dirty business. It will contribute to destroying the climate but will not lower our bills. The soaring cost of fossil fuels is the cause of much of the current cost of living crisis and people – from UK farmers to its firefighters – are now awake to what is being done to our planet by profiteering oil and gas companies. People want a reliable, affordable energy supply that doesn’t put the planet at risk.”
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Biden’s State of the Union guests include mother whose IVF was canceled and Kate Cox
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An Alabama mother who saw a second round of IVF canceled after the state supreme court ruled that embryos were children and a Texas mother forced to travel outside her state for a doctor-recommended abortion were due to attend Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, as guests of the first lady, Jill Biden. Related: Alabama law protecting IVF met with both relief and concern: ‘There is more work to be done’ The White House said the cases of LaTorya Beasley of Birmingham, Alabama, and Kate Cox, from Dallas, Texas, showed “how the overturning of Roe v Wade has disrupted access to reproductive healthcare for women and families across the country”. Roe v Wade, the US supreme court ruling that guaranteed federal abortion rights, was overturned by the rightwing-dominated court in June 2022. Last month, the Alabama IVF decision caused national uproar. As Democrats seized on a rightwing threat to reproductive rights of the kind that has fueled a string of successful election campaigns, Republicans scrambled to say they supported IVF. On Wednesday the Republican Alabama governor, Kay Ivey, signed a law protecting IVF providers. In a statement, the White House said: “Stories like Kate’s and LaTorya’s should never happen in America. But Republican elected officials want to impose this reality on women nationwide.” Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who nearly died of septic shock when she was denied a medically necessary abortion, is also due to attend. Republicans are on the defensive. At an event hosted by Axios in Washington on Thursday, Byron Donalds, a far-right Florida congressman touted as a vice-presidential pick for Donald Trump, parried repeated questions about whether federal protection was needed but said: “IVF is a procedure many couples use throughout our country.” Donalds also said he supported six-week abortion bans. The head of Donalds’ caucus, Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, also used his State of the Union guest list to highlight reproductive rights as an political issue, inviting Janet Durig, executive director of the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center in Washington DC, described as “one of the hundreds of pro-life centers or churches targeted and vandalised” after the fall of Roe v Wade. State of the Union guest lists are political by definition. Johnson’s list reflected the Republican agenda, highlighting crime (which is down nationwide), the fallout from the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and support for Israel in its war with Hamas. Among Johnson’s guests were two parents of US service members killed in the evacuation of Kabul in 2021; the mother and son of a US-Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas; and a French-Israeli hostage released by Hamas. Johnson also invited the parents of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia; two New York police officers “attacked in January by a mob of illegal immigrants in Times Square”; parents of people killed by a person who is undocumented and by fentanyl poisoning; the widow of Mike Gill, a former Trump administration official killed by a carjacker in Washington; campaigners against trans participation in women’s sports; the Turkish basketball star and campaigner Enes Freedom; and the pastor of Johnson’s Louisiana church. Announcing its own list, the White House said guests were picked “because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the president in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris administration’s policies at work for the American people”. Other guests set to sit with Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, husband of the vice-president, Kamala Harris, included an oncology nurse and a cancer patient; a gun control advocate from Uvalde, Texas, the scene of an elementary school massacre; the president of the United Auto Workers and a member of that union; and a veteran of Bloody Sunday, the historic civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Related: Trump a worse appeaser than Neville Chamberlain, leading Democrat says The governor of the Gilar River Indian Community in Arizona, a naval commander back from protecting Red Sea shipping against attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen, the women’s health advocate Maria Shriver, and a military spouse were also set to attend. Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, a new Nato ally, accepted an invitation. But two other high-profile international figures turned the Bidens down: Yulia Navalnya, widow of the deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Olena Zelenska, first lady of Ukraine. Thanks to opposition from Johnson (and Trump), Congress is gridlocked on new aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The Washington Post also reported that Zelenska did not want to be associated with Navalnya because her husband once said Crimea was part of Russia, which annexed it from Ukraine in 2014.
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Slovakia defends Russia ties after Czech Republic suspends talks
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Slovakia’s foreign minister has defended a controversial decision to meet his Russian counterpart, after the Czech Republic announced it was suspending intergovernmental consultations with Bratislava amid concerns it is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine. In a statement emailed to the Guardian on Thursday, Juraj Blanár, who recently met Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Turkey, hit out at “double standards”, noting that some other Nato foreign ministers had also engaged with the Russian minister. But he also stressed that relations with the Czech Republic “are precious to us”. The two countries have traditionally enjoyed a special relationship, given their history as part of the former Czechoslovakia, and close economic links. But the meeting between Blanár and Lavrov has proved to be a step too far for many in Prague, prompting tensions over foreign policy differences to come to the fore. “There is no disguising that there are differences of opinion on several very important issues. We consider the meeting between the Slovak foreign minister and the Russian foreign minister to be problematic,” the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, said on Wednesday. “The government therefore does not believe it is appropriate to hold intergovernmental consultations with the government of the Slovak Republic at this time.” The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, said: “I think friends should be honest with each other and tell each other even difficult stuff.” In his statement on Thursday, Slovakia’s foreign minister pushed back against the notion that foreign policy differences should affect the relationship between Bratislava and Prague. “We do not believe that different views on various events abroad should undermine these relations, and the same is true in the case of Ukraine, where we agree on many things … we just may disagree on how to help,” Blanár said. Slovakia “made it clear that we will no longer supply arms to Ukraine and that we will help Ukraine with humanitarian aid and with demining equipment, which is very important for the lives of Ukrainians, so we will not take any step that could undermine that,” he added. Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, returned to office in October after campaigning on a platform of ending military assistance to Ukraine and criticising sanctions against Russia. Related: ‘A technician of power’: Robert Fico, Slovakia’s veteran populist He has since restated his criticism of western policy and argued that Kyiv and Moscow must compromise. In a social media post last weekend, Fico said: “I am not convinced of the sincerity of the west to achieve peace in Ukraine. And I will repeat again that the western strategy of using the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia economically, militarily and politically is not working.” While Slovakia has not blocked aid to Kyiv at the EU level, and Fico has maintained a dialogue with Ukrainian officials, the prime minister’s rhetoric on Ukraine and Russia has sparked worries in some European capitals, including Prague, which is leading an initiative to provide Ukraine with ammunition and is seen as one of Kyiv’s most vocal backers. “We are worried that Slovakia is on the wrong path,” said one Czech official, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “We have to work with Slovaks on practical issues of two neighbouring countries but there is no room after Fico’s statements and their foreign minister’s meeting with Lavrov for gestures like holding a joint government session. Not because of but also keeping in mind the time of the EU parliament elections campaign.” A second Czech official said they were “rather concerned”. They said: “Fico closely follows opinion polls and knows that over 50% of Slovaks [and the vast majority of his voters] support Russia against Ukraine. What he says is meant for domestic consumption but may cause international disruptions.” A study last year by the Globsec thinktank found that only 40% of Slovaks said Russia was primarily responsible for the war in Ukraine. Thirty four per cent said it was the “west which provoked Russia”, while 17% said it was primarily the responsibility of “Ukraine which oppressed the Russian-speaking part of the population”. In explaining the decision to suspend intergovernmental consultations, officials said they valued bilateral ties with their neighbours. Lipavský said: “We are linked with Slovakia not only by a common history, but by a wealth of family, people-to-people and cultural contacts.” Related: West ‘should not dictate’ peace terms to Ukraine, says Czech foreign minister Slovakia’s opposition has also expressed concern about Fico’s positioning. “Slovakia is moving away from the EU in terms of values,” said Lubica Karvasova, a former senior government adviser on European affairs who is running in the European parliament elections on the opposition Progressive Slovakia’s list. She said: “The current ‘sovereign’ foreign policy of this government is irrelevant and only serves the interests of Russian propaganda. This pulls us into isolation from our closest European partners and allies. “The Czech Republic is and has always been the closest partner” of Slovakia, and when Prague decided “to take such substantial action, all the red lights must be flashing for every sane person”, she added. Fico’s allies, however, took a different view. “Well, it’s a bit unpleasant and [I] don’t really understand it,” said Katarína Roth Neveďalová, a member of the European parliament from Fico’s Smer party. “But our relations go long way back and even this can’t disturb the great relations between our people and countries,” she said in an email. But experts say the Czech decision has an impact. “It is a big embarrassment for Fico,” said Milan Nič, a senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “The intergovernmental consultations were a tradition but they were also very practical.” Fico responded to the Czech decision on Wednesday night with a mix of pragmatism and bravado, accusing Prague of jeopardising relations because it is interested in supporting the war in Ukraine, while Slovakia is talking about peace. He added: “Dear prime minister Fiala, the Czech government is welcome in Slovakia at any time.”
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Put yourself in the shoes of a Donald Trump voter – and understand what drives his success
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Donald Trump is certain to be the Republican candidate in this year’s election for US president. He is also currently favourite to win. To most readers of the Guardian, I am sure this prospect is appalling, as it is to most Britons. The nation to which they gave birth and language, that has been their friend and protector down the ages, seems to be going mad. Britons who know the US are amazed that, however reluctantly, enough of its voters might again choose Trump to rule over them after the experience of 2017 to 2021. Who are these Americans? How can they be so blind to his faults, with the law hounding him, gossip ridiculing him and commentators pouring scorn and derision on his every word? The answer is that the Americans who support Trump are not those whom most Britons know. They are elderly and rural: they are often, but by no means solely, working class and/or non-graduates. But, above all, they love Trump because they, too, are hostile to the Americans that he purports to hate. These hated Americans – the language of Trump’s rallies is visceral – mostly live in big cities down the east and west coasts. They favour federal government, identity politics, social liberalism and free trade. They are led by a college-educated, liberal establishment. Of course, these are generalisations – but that is what Trump trades in. His claim is that over the past two decades this establishment has corrupted the nation’s identity and bruised its essence. Using the rhetoric of a mafia boss, he declares he will smash these enemies of America. He will stop Mexicans crossing the border, with guns if need be. He will execute drug dealers, protect American families from gender politics, leave idiot Europeans to their petty wars and end Biden’s crazy foreign interventions. Trump is the braggart of every bar-room brawl. Most democratic leaders come to power with their rough edges softened through climbing the ladder of party politics. Not so Trump. The only experience he brought to the White House was that of New York’s property jungle, a world of rivalry, double-dealing and revenge; his favourite motto is the phrase he used in January towards his now fallen rival Nikki Haley: “I don’t get too angry, I get even.” A large amount of the abuse that Trump attracts from his critics disappointingly relies on raw snobbery. It comprises attacks on his dress, his manners, his vulgar houses and his coarse turn of phrase – and echoes the remarks of English toffs on the arrival of the first Labour government in Downing Street. They do him no harm in the eyes of his fans. Early comparisons with Mussolini played to his self-image as a warrior taking on an entrenched elite. See it through their eyes: the US did not collapse into dictatorship under Trump. Enemies were not arrested nor hostile media shut down. Since leaving office, though, his own enemies have not stopped trying to convict and imprison him, even as the trials merely aid his cause. Colorado’s attempt to stop him running for office was as legally wrongheaded as it was counterproductive. Related: Eyebrows raised as Viktor Orbán to visit Donald Trump in Florida The US economy did well under Trump, better than Britain’s. He made a genuine if futile attempt to find peace in Korea. Vladimir Putin, with whom his relations remain obscure, did not invade Ukraine while he was in the White House. His recent demand that Nato and Europe reassess both their strategy and their forces was hardly unreasonable, if poorly expressed. His fixation with immigration is hardly confined to the American continent. That is why Trump’s enemies would do well to look to the causes of their own unpopularity. Democracy gives no quarter. It is one person, one vote, and its believers cannot complain when the arithmetic goes against them. Trump complains that the US ruling class and its media – apart from the bits he controls – are governed by new ideologies based on gender and race. He claims they want to ban conservatism from campuses, “defund” the police and flood the country with Mexican labour and Chinese goods. There is just enough truth in these accusations to have his supporters cheering him on. A prominent US senator recently assured a private gathering in London that Americans would never return Trump to the White House. It was inconceivable. Those declaring for him were just “just trying to give us a fright”. I can only hope he is right. With the present state of things in the world, the erratic Trump should never be in a position to lead what is still, tenuously, the free world. But those who oppose him should study what makes him so popular in the eyes of most Americans – and makes them less so. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
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Jeremy Hunt vows to pay more capital gains tax on his properties
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Jeremy Hunt has promised to voluntarily pay more capital gains tax on his properties so that he does not benefit from a tax cut he introduced. The chancellor refused to disclose how many houses he owned but said he would pay a higher tax rate on any proceeds from selling his property. Asked on ITV’s Peston programme on Wednesday night how many houses he had, Hunt said: “These are personal questions.” When announcing a capital gains tax cut in the budget on Wednesday, Hunt aimed a jibe at Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, who has faced questions about the sale of her former council house. “I see the deputy leader of the Labour party paying close attention, given her multiple dwellings,” he said. Interactive Hunt cut the rate of capital gains tax paid by higher-rate taxpayers when selling second homes from 28% to 24%. Asked whether he himself would benefit from this, Hunt told Peston: “I won’t benefit from the CGT change. When it comes to the properties I own, it would be wrong to benefit from a direct decision like that, so I will pay tax at the previous rate.” He confirmed that he would voluntarily pay 28% capital gains tax if he sold one of his properties. Pressed on why he would not say how many houses he had when he had joked about the sale of Rayner’s home in the Commons, Hunt said: “I was teasing Angela Rayner. We declare all these things.” According to the ministerial register of interests, Hunt and his wife own Mare Pond Properties Limited, a property holding company. His parliamentary interests say this includes seven apartments in Southampton. The chancellor also owns a half share of a holiday house in Italy and a half share of an office building in London, according to his declarations. His ministerial register states that some proceeds from his “residential investment property” are donated to charity. In 2018, when he was health secretary, Hunt had to apologise for a delay in notifying Companies House and parliamentary authorities about his interest in the Mare Pond Properties company. Hunt and his family are thought to live between three houses in the UK. They have use of the official chancellor’s residence at No 11 Downing Street. According to the Evening Standard, Hunt owns a £1.7m townhouse in Pimlico, near Westminster, which he bought in 2010. His personal website says he divides his time between London and his constituency home in Hambledon, a village in Surrey. Hunt’s seven flats in Southampton are part of a luxury waterside development called Ocean Village. The value of his property is not known, but according to Rightmove, individual flats in the development sold last year for an average of £225,7111. Some second-home owners reacted angrily to the budget because Hunt abolished tax breaks for furnished holiday lets, such as those advertised on Airbnb. He said this was to make more property available for residents in tourist hotspots such as Cornwall and central London. “I am concerned that this tax regime is creating a distortion, meaning that there are not enough properties available for long-term rental by local people,” Hunt told MPs in his budget speech on Wednesday. “So, to make the tax system work better for local communities, I am going to abolish the furnished holiday lettings regime.” It comes after Downing Street revealed that the prime minister was recused from policy talks on the scrapping of the non-dom tax status to avoid any conflict of interest. Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, who owns shares in Infosys, the Indian IT company founded by her father, is a non-domiciled UK resident, which means she does not have to pay UK taxes on her overseas income. After her non-dom tax status was revealed while Sunak was chancellor, Murty announced she would voluntarily pay UK tax on all her worldwide income.
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Canada reaches settlement with Michael Spavor over detention in China
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Canada’s federal government has reached a million-dollar compensation settlement with Michael Spavor, a businessman who was held by China for nearly three years amid a broader diplomatic feud between the two countries. Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who became known as “the two Michaels”, were detained by Beijing in December 2018 in apparent retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver of the senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant. All three were later released. In November Spavor was reported to have threatened to sue both Canada and Kovrig, alleging that he had “unwittingly” provided intelligence on North Korea to Kovrig, who then shared that information with Canada and Five Eyes allies through Canada’s global security reporting program (GSRP). Spavor’s settlement is reported to be worth C$7m ($5.2m), including legal fees and expenses. In a statement, Spavor’s lawyer said “the matter between Mr Spavor and the Government of Canada has been resolved” but did not specify the compensation amount. Charlotte MacLeod, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said in a statement: “While the 1019 days in which they were arbitrarily detained by China will never be erased, the Government of Canada is committed to supporting them in their efforts to turn to a new chapter in their lives based on their individual circumstances and impacts, and in acknowledgement of their ordeal and the suffering caused by their arbitrary detention by China.” The two Michaels were arrested in 2018 shortly after the Huawei executive Meng was detained in Canada in connection with possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran. Chinese officials said Spavor, who often visited North Korea and had spent time with the country’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, was supplying intelligence to Kovrig , who took leave from working as a diplomat at Canada’s embassy in Beijing from 2012 to 2014 to work at the International Crisis Group. At the time, the arrests of “the two Michaels” drew accusations of “hostage diplomacy” by Canada and its allies. In August 2021, Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of spying. Kovrig’s verdict, after a secret trial in March, was never announced. The two men were freed by China in September of that year, after Meng Wanzhou reached a deal with US prosecutors and was released, capping a standoff that lasted more than 1,000 days. Related: Canada intelligence operation put diplomats in legal ‘grey zone’ – report The settlement follows a damning watchdog report about the controversial intelligence-sharing program run by Canada’s foreign affairs ministry, which found it puts its officers at risk and breaches global diplomatic conventions. Canada’s national security and intelligence review agency uncovered troubling aspects of the GSRP , finding that officers lacked “adequate training” and the program did not have sufficient risk assessment and security protocols within to ensure officers – and their sources – were protected.
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Tipping the Velvet to Top of the Pops: your favourite LGBTQ+ TV shows ever
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Top of the Pops Week after week, we saw, with our parents, Boy George, Freddie Mercury, Jimmy Somerville, Marc Almond, Erasure, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Divine, Dead Or Alive … They were not only putting gay culture in primetime family viewing, but also creating terrific, innovative music. Andy, 55, London Will & Grace Although the name was Will & Grace, I watched it for Jack & Karen. It was the first sitcom I saw where a gay man was depicted living life unapologetically – seeking love, getting married, having sex, working, having a family, building relationships and living without the constant drama associated with our community. I know the show had problems, like straight men playing gay men, stereotypical representation, almost no characters of the LGBTQ+ and so on – but it was a phenomenon. I live in Brazil, where the LGBTQ+ representation on TV 25 years ago was restricted to characters on comedy shows who were ridiculed. Will & Grace showed me a reality that was as far from mine as the moon is from Earth, but I saw some hope there that my life could be more than living in shadows and ghettoes, or being comic relief for the straights. I’ve always wanted to have a rich friend, too – but I never found my Karen. Zed Martins, 46, Brazil Tipping the Velvet Tipping the Velvet was huge – not only were lesbian characters the main characters rather than a token addition, but the historical setting was an important reminder that LGBTQ+ people were nothing new, that there was a long history of gay experience, and it was refreshing to see that reflected – with a happy ending! Clare, 40s, Cambridge The Times of Harvey Milk The very early Channel 4 show In the Pink was a series of films about and by LGBTQ+ people. The Times of Harvey Milk gave me the courage to come out. It is hard to remember how little information about LGBTQ+ issues was in circulation in the 80s – we had nothing and the media were full of Aids and hate. Against this, In the Pink was more than a breath of fresh air, it was freedom. I was a 21-year-old divinity student from Orkney attending Aberdeen University and on sabbatical in the students’ representative council. I was locked up in my own internal struggles about being Christian and gay. The Times of Harvey Milk was a documentary about the first out gay man to hold elected office. He was assassinated by a colleague who was only convicted of manslaughter because of his fast food addiction. Milk became my hero, a martyr whom I could unconditionally admire. His example gave me the courage to take the last step out of the closet door and, for the first time in my life, be honest. Tim Morrison, 58, Orkney The Fosters The Fosters is a show about a married lesbian couple raising five kids: one biological child and four adopted/foster children. Our family watched it together every week – my wife and our three children. Our kids are all now young adults and they still watch reruns. It showed them a mirror of their own family (albeit a dramatic soap opera version) and that made them and us feel like we were not the only two-mum family on the planet. Our eldest son wrote about the impact it had on him and his siblings in his film school applications (now a graduate – yay!). We all know every word to the theme song. Amy Franklin-Willis, 52, California, US It’s a Sin It’s a Sin – another Russell T Davies masterpiece: keeping the conversation around Aids/HIV current, celebrating queerness in all its ways with empathy and integrity. Watching the series was a harrowing but life-affirming five hours that was a testament to the bravery, solidarity, joy and pain that queer communities have faced for generations. It’s a Sin was a timely reminder that queer erasure and stigma is an ongoing struggle, and the parallels between the government rhetoric surrounding gay men in the 80s is disturbingly close to current rhetoric being employed in relation to trans/non-binary people today. A wake-up call for older and younger generations alike. Martha Benedict, 25, Wales Queer As Folk Queer As Folk was the first drama that represented an unashamed and accurate picture of real gay people’s lives, good and bad. To a large extent it was what my life had been, except the characters were a lot braver than I had been. The show was fun and stuck a real finger up at the bigots in society. Finally, I felt that we had arrived: with a bang! Ian, 69, Leeds Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme had a profound effect on me when I was a teenager. Tom and Linda were hopeless and were not cool. But neither was I. Here were two people living in London, working, going out and meeting people, trying to find love. I wanted to have as much fun as they were, be independent and live my life as I chose. Queer As Folk was revolutionary, but did not seem attainable to me, whereas Gimme felt like a place my life could get to. The show stays with me and I still regularly quote it. The charm of Tom and Linda has not faded and I am grateful to them both for showing me a life that was possible. Jack, 40s, London Neighbours This may be controversial, but my first thought was the beloved Australian soap Neighbours! Georgie Stone plays Mackenzie: she contacted the show a few years ago to ask why they didn’t have a trans character, and got the job. The show has included trans storylines, but has also shown Mackenzie as a normal young woman, an accepted and loved member of the community. When Australia legalised same-sex marriage, a storyline was introduced where two characters, Aaron and David, got married immediately. They went on to have a child, and show how natural it is for gay couples to bring up children. The show continues to have gay, lesbian and bisexual characters. What I love about it is that their sexuality isn’t their all-defining characteristic. They are complicated, interesting, flawed and wonderful people, just like everyone else. And obviously, they are also good neighbours! Teresa Sadler, 54, Worcester Heartstopper Heartstopper, based on the graphic novels and novellas by Alice Oseman, was a revelation for me. Events similar to those from my youth helped heal some longtime sadness; it moved me beyond words and it shows that being gay, bisexual or asexual doesn’t mean you are a freak – you’re just a real person with everyday problems. There was no representation like that when I was the age the characters are. Rare was the portrayal of a character whose sexuality was not their defining trait. I hope the books and TV series have helped others as much as they have helped me. Ian Jasper, 59, Ipswich Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Growing up, there was very little gay representation. For gay women, it felt like there was even less, as any gay representation was often geared towards gay men as the more acceptable face of being gay. I came out very late but now realise why this TV series felt so important to me. Looking back, if social media had existed, reading other people’s reactions would have been a positive experience for me. Unfortunately, I felt so confused I suppressed those feelings and dismissed them. Although sometimes tragic, I still look at that TV series and think how brave it was to produce it all those years ago. Perhaps not seismic in terms of influencing change at that very moment, but it was important to me. For a confused woman, it felt as if I could relate to some of it. In an unconnected world with few friends, it is something I will never forget. Sarah, 52, London The L Word The L Word took us from nil representation to the majority of characters. Not perfect, but groundbreaking. It focused on women, diversity, family; chosen family and parenthood; love and loss. It provided escapism but also reflected truthful struggles, situations and characters that you have seen or have known. It wasn’t mainstream, but it was culturally significant, despite including some lazy plots and problematic trans representation. Suzanne, 41, Kent Tales of the City It portrayed gay, lesbian – and, importantly, a leading trans character – living in society alongside their straight friends, not in a ghetto. It’s warm, funny, not glamorised, and the LGBTQ+ characters don’t all die in the denouement. Mark E Allinson, 56, London Our Flag Means Death It was refreshing to see a show where homophobia wasn’t the main focus. Queer characters just living in their own bubble, finding each other as their new family, and accepting each other no matter what. It’s funny and exciting, and in the focus there is a love story, but it’s handled like any love story. Just two people on love, which is beautiful. We need more stories where being gay is not there for shock value or a laugh. It is a major shame it got cancelled before their story was fully told, but the fanbase’s response truly shows how important this show is for so many people. Bettina, 32, Crewe RuPaul’s Drag Race I grew up in a very conservative home and town. I didn’t know you could even be queer or trans at all until I saw RuPaul’s Drag Race. Positive queer representation helped me accept and love my own identity, something I am still coming to terms with. We need shows that depict queer people as people, because when I was growing up my biggest fear was being called gay in school. Now I’m afraid of ever being called straight. Willard, 29, Indiana, US This Life This Life was a huge revelation to me as a young gay kid in the process of coming out and being outed to school and family. The freewheeling, successful and open representations of a gay man and his unlikely and ridiculously fit lover were radical to me. I can remember secretly watching it and feeling, in part, the guilt and shame take a back seat for a moment. Andrew F Giles, 44, Spain
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AFC Wimbledon’s Pell charged by FA for allegedly kicking balls at MK Dons fans
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The aftershocks of last weekend’s League Two grudge match continued on Thursday when an AFC Wimbledon player was charged by the Football Association over accusations he spent the warm-up deliberately kicking balls at MK Dons fans. Enmity between Wimbledon and the team who had that name before leaving south London for Buckinghamshire in 2002 has endured for more than two decades. It fuels a rivalry that led to a fiercely contested match at Plough Lane last Saturday. With six yellow cards on each side, the match was decided by a dramatic winner for AFC Wimbledon in added time. Celebrations, however, were followed by a brawl and both sides were charged by the FA on Wednesday with failing to control their players. After the match, an MK Dons supporter group said they intended to register a further complaint about Harry Pell’s behaviour. “We plan on making a formal complaint by whatever means necessary and to whoever it may concern regarding the AFC Wimbledon player that booted 10-plus balls into the MK Dons away fans prior to kick-off, whilst his teammates peacefully warmed up,” the group Franchise Dons said. Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'. If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version. In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications. Turn on sport notifications. On Thursday an FA spokesperson said: “AFC Wimbledon’s Harry Pell has been charged with misconduct following their EFL League Two game against MK Dons on March 2. It’s alleged that the midfielder acted in an improper manner in the warmup before the game and he has until March 11 to provide a response.” Pell, who is 32 and in his second spell with AFC Wimbledon, was filmed during the warm-up performing shooting practice while facing the Cherry Red Records stand where away fans sit. Turned slightly away from the goal, he is shown driving through the ball and semi-slicing it into the crowd. If found guilty of misconduct, Pell could be fined or suspended.
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Are you always late? Here’s how to be on time
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I am arguably the worst kind of late. I am never very late – the kind so egregious it almost demands a begrudging respect, as if the tardy party is an otherworldly spirit who cannot be expected to adhere to earthly conceptions of time. My lateness is less bold, more tedious. I am perpetually running 10 to 15 minutes behind, so even when I am on time, I arrive frazzled and on edge. A few weeks ago, sprinting towards a train that was about to pull away from the station, it occurred to me that I didn’t have to live this way. It’s hard to say how many people are regularly late. There are not many large-scale surveys of lateness, and tardiness can depend on context: some may manage their professional time well but struggle to be punctual in their personal life, or vice versa. And while showing up 15 minutes late to a meeting is generally frowned upon, the Emily Post Institute suggests that there is a 20-minute grace period when it comes to parties. Still, it seems like I’m in good company. There haven’t been any major surveys recently, but in 2006, 15-20% of Americans said they were “consistently late”, according to ABC News. And a 2017 survey found that nearly 30% of Americans arrive late to work each day. Consistent lateness can lead to missed meetings, appointments and travel, but it can also put a strain on relationships. Dr Fuschia Sirois, a professor of health and social psychology at Durham University, explains that delays can be interpreted by others as disrespectful. “That’s really the downside of lateness, even if there was no harm intended,” she says. “If other people are waiting to meet you, they can feel like they don’t matter.” I asked experts why people (OK, me) are late in the first place, and what they can do to change it. Why are some people chronically late? Experts say there are a huge number of reasons why people might be late. Upbringing: Sade Kelly, a time management coach, says many of her clients either grew up around people who were often late, and therefore developed a lax approach to time, or grew up around people who were overwhelmingly time-conscious. “If the people in your environment were so on time that you felt restricted and anxious, you want to rebel,” she says. Interactive How we approach time: another factor is our individual relationship to time. Sirois explains that people have different “time orientations”. Some are future oriented, or inclined to make decisions based on future plans. This group tends not to be late, Sirois says. Others are more present oriented, and generally make decisions based on what they need in the moment. This group has a greater tendency toward lateness, because they focus less on what’s next. Still others are past oriented, and make their decisions based on past experiences. Although time orientations are seen as fairly stable, Sirois says they’re also fluid; ideally, one will shift through all three. “Flexible time perspective is considered the healthiest,” she says. For example, if you are catching up with a friend before an appointment, ideally you would be fully present during your conversation, then orient to the future when it’s time to leave, at which point you could draw on your past experiences to determine the quickest way to travel across town. Overscheduling: sometimes, people simply have too much on their plate. As Dr Emily Waldum, an adjunct professor of psychology at Campbell University, explains, when we try to juggle too many things at once, certain tasks get delayed or dropped. “We only have a limited amount of attention. If we are multi-tasking day and night, the best-laid plans can fail simply because we don’t have enough attentional resources left to carry them out successfully,” Waldum says. Aversion: In some cases, people just don’t want to do the task. A client of Kelly’s was consistently late to the same meeting. When Kelly asked him about it, he admitted that he didn’t need to be there, and didn’t want to go. In such cases, Kelly says to review the commitment “and save yourself time, mental space and energy”. Are lateness and procrastination different? Aversion can also lead to procrastination. It’s tempting to lump together disorganization and procrastination, as they can both result in lateness. But experts say the root causes of the two issues are actually quite different. “Time management has very little to do with procrastination,” Sirois says. “[Procrastination] has more to do with mood management.” If you are procrastinating on a project or on leaving for a meeting, Sirois says it’s important to identify what feelings are coming up. “It can be an avoidant strategy,” she explains. “There’s something about doing that task or finishing that task that is threatening to us. It might be that we’re worried that it’s not going to be good enough, or it’s not going to please somebody.” If one isn’t able to regulate their mood, Sirois says no amount of time management can make up for that. How can people learn to be on time? Eager to fix my own lateness issue, I asked Kelly why it was so hard for some people to be on time. “I don’t actually believe it’s hard,” she said. “I believe it’s a developed habit that people can work to overcome.” (I feel disquietingly humbled.) Kelly likes to think of time management as a puzzle, with one’s tasks and activities being the pieces. One way to put together this puzzle is to do what she calls a brain dump. “What are all the things on your mind?” she prompts. “What are all the things you’re overwhelmed by?” Once this is done, prioritize. Consider whether tasks are important, meaning they advance your personal goals; urgent, meaning they have a hard deadline and need to happen in the next week or so; or both. “A lot of times, once we’ve gone through what’s important and what’s urgent, the list starts to shrink,” she says. From there, it’s easier to identify what needs to happen in the next day, week or month, and figure out how much time each task will take. It’s important to be realistic about this last step, Kelly says. She mentions a friend who thought it only took 15 to 20 minutes to get ready, but when she timed it, she realized it took an hour and a half. “You’d be amazed at the things that you think take a short amount of time, but actually take a really long time,” she says. Also, identify why you’re late. When I tell Kelly about my tendency to frantically tidy my apartment right when I am supposed to be walking out the door, she suggests that this is an avoidant tendency, and that I am practicing something she calls “productive procrastination”. And she was right – it occurred to me that I was folding and refolding blankets in an anxious attempt to delay socializing. Regardless of your tendencies, Sirois says it’s important to be gentle with yourself. “It’s a very human thing to struggle with negative feelings about something that pushes you to be late,” says Sirois. “Rather than feeling like you’re the worst person in the world for doing that, face up to your emotions and try not to let them consume you.”
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MPs and campaigners accuse Polish government of betrayal over abortion laws
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Women’s groups and opposition politicians have taken aim at Poland’s parliamentary speaker, accusing him of betrayal and seeking to “freeze” the issue of abortion, after he said parliament would not consider legislation to tackle the country’s near-total ban on abortion until mid-April. “We feel disappointed and betrayed,” said Dominika Ćwiek from Legal Abortion, one of the groups that has been at the forefront of the battle against the country’s draconian abortion policies. “The rights of Polish women are being treated as a side issue.” The group is among those who have called on women to take to the streets on Friday to again call for access to abortion. “Legalisation of abortion was on the manifesto of every party in the coalition, but five months after the election, abortion is still being pushed into the background,” said Ćwiek. Related: ‘I will do the same again’: activists continue fight against Poland’s strict abortion laws The protests follow a tumultuous week in which the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, was meant to hear three bills aimed at loosening the country’s near-total ban on abortion. Instead, the parliamentary speaker, Szymon Hołownia, announced that the first readings would be delayed until 11 April, four days after local elections take place across Poland. The delay, Hołownia argued, was necessary to ensure that the issue of abortion remained separate from the election campaign. His reasoning was swiftly criticised by the Left party, which accused Hołownia of forcing the legislation into the “Sejm freezer” in a bid to obscure his party’s stance on the issue before local elections. A member of the Third Way, Hołownia is a declared Catholic and former talent show host who entered politics on a promise of offering a relatively moderate religious alternative to the far-right Law and Justice party. The Left, which is part of a ruling coalition that includes the Third Way, accused Hołownia of stalling. “We have been waiting 30 years,” Left MP Anna Maria Żukowska told parliament. “You might think that waiting another week, or two, or three, is not a problem. But I do believe it is a problem.” Her view was echoed by the country’s deputy justice minister, Krzysztof Śmiszek. “Continually postponing this issue is cowardice,” the New Left politician wrote on social media. “Women’s rights now!” The delay has cast a spotlight on the deep divide in Donald Tusk’s unwieldy ruling coalition when it comes to the issue of abortion access. The Left party put forward two bills in November: one seeking to legalise abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy and another that would decriminalise the act of assisting abortions. But the Third Way has long voiced more conservative views on the issue, and has submitted legislation calling for a return to Poland’s strict 1993 laws. Those laws, forged by political leaders and the Catholic church, ranked among the most restrictive in Europe, allowing abortions only in the case of foetal defects, rape, incest, or if the mother’s life and health were in danger. The laws were further tightened in 2020 to ban terminations in the case of foetal defects, setting off nationwide protests. The struggle to secure abortion rights has been further complicated by the suggestion, floated by some members of the Third Way, that a referendum should be held on the issue. The idea has been roundly rejected by campaigners, including Amnesty International, which insists that healthcare is a vital human right that should not be decided by a plebiscite. Since the parliamentary speaker announced the delay, there has been no response from Tusk, whose party promised to do away with the near-total ban on abortion within 100 days of being elected. The postponed legislation includes a draft bill by Tusk’s Civic Coalition party, allowing abortion up to the 12th week. “We have this very, very visible silence of Donald Tusk,” said Marta Lempart of the Polish Women’s Strike, a key player in organising the mass protests against the country’s abortion laws. “It’s not a coincidence: he could put Hołownia in his place in 30 minutes, telling him that he won’t be speaker of parliament if he acts like this. So his silence is a decision.” Lempart’s organisation had originally called on people to protest on Friday against the country’s rightwing president, Andrzej Duda, after he said he would probably not sign off on parliamentary legislation allowing the purchase of the morning-after pill without a prescription for those over the age of 15. Ćwiek said the focus would now be on Tusk and whether the delay would spur his Civic Coalition into action. “Civic Coalition is the biggest coalition party thanks to the votes of young people and women,” said Ćwiek. “The next few days will be a huge test to show if we were right to trust them. If they will really defend our rights like they said they will.”
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Aviva’s profits rise as demand for UK private health insurance booms
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Booming demand in the UK for private health insurance, as NHS waiting lists remain at near-record levels, has boosted annual profits at Aviva, with more frequent claims and higher medical costs driving up premiums. Britain’s biggest general insurer said sales of health insurance had risen 41% in 2023 compared with the previous year, with strong demand from businesses and individual customers, who were taking out policies as the crisis in the state health service continues. The step up in Aviva’s health insurance business contributed to a 9% rise in annual operating profits to £1.5bn last year, better than analysts had forecast. Aviva’s chief executive, Amanda Blanc, said: “We’ve seen individuals looking at the NHS and saying: ‘I can afford to buy health cover, so I will do that.’ So we’ve definitely seen a take-up in individual policies. We’ve also seen small businesses take advantage of the opportunity to protect their employees.” More small employers are offering health cover to their staff and some big companies are expanding their cover, with add-on provisions such as a digital GP service, she said, which offers customers access to an NHS-qualified primary care doctor through video consultation and text. About 1.2 million people are covered by Aviva health policies, making it the third biggest player in the UK market after Bupa and Axa. Charlotte Jones, Aviva’s chief financial officer, added that more people were signing up for health cover through their company than before. “Where it’s always been there, but they haven’t prioritised it – through salary sacrifice or something like that – there’s more of a push, and more people are prioritising it.” Blanc said premiums had gone up partly due to higher medical costs, which are rising by 8% to 10%, although Aviva had been able to limit price rises through long-term contracts with hospitals. Customers were also making more frequent claims, she said – both for low-cost items such as physiotherapy, which they traditionally would have got through the NHS, and more expensive procedures such as surgery. Hospital admissions paid for through private medical insurance remained at near record levels between January and September of 2023, up 7% on a year earlier, according to data released by the Private Healthcare Information Network this week. “That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Blanc said. “There are some schemes where you have a waiting time but if you can’t get an NHS appointment within six weeks, your private health cover kicks in.” NHS waiting lists for routine operations in England hit record highs last year but fell back in January. The waiting list is expected to “start to fall consistently but slowly from the middle of 2024”, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has predicted – though it will remain larger than it was before the Covid pandemic until 2030. Aviva also sells pensions, life insurance, and car, home and travel cover, and has 16 million customers in the UK, out of 19 million globally. Blanc was paid £6.6m last year, up 22% from 2022, boosted by a higher long-term share bonus award, the company’s annual report showed. The Aviva share price rose more than 4% in early trading on Thursday and subsequently traded almost 2% higher at 463.8p. The company has been the subject of takeover speculation, with the Italian insurer Generali reportedly looking at it. Blanc shrugged this off as “random market chatter”. A number of UK companies have attracted takeover interest recently, including Aviva’s rival Direct Line, which rejected a £3.1bn offer from a Belgian insurer as “highly opportunistic” last week. “If you look at most UK stocks today, you would say that they’re probably not at the valuation that they should be at”, Blanc said, pointing to Brexit, the pandemic, the turmoil around the mini-budget and other issues. “Certainly, we would say that there’s plenty of room to go in our share price. But we are really focused on the things that are in our control, which is the brilliant performance of the business.”
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Tesco pay rise delay leaves many workers earning under minimum wage
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A month-long delay to a promised pay rise at Tesco has been condemned by some staff because it leaves them on less than the minimum wage, while saving the supermarket more than £17m. Tesco, one of the UK’s biggest employers with more than 330,000 staff, has pledged to increase the minimum pay for its shop workers from £11.02 an hour to £12.02 next month, but the rise will not be implemented until 28 April, almost a month after the legal minimum wage for those aged 21 and over increases to £11.44 on 1 April. One member of staff told the Guardian: “We are all extremely angry at this especially as this was approved by our union.” The delay is allowed under HMRC rules, which say minimum pay rates can be applied from the start of the “pay reference period” starting on or after 1 April – which for Tesco begins on 28 April. Based on the 220,000 workers affected by the pay rise missing out on £1 an hour compared with the promised new rate, Tesco saves more than £17m by introducing the pay rise at the end of April. It saves 42p an hour compared with if it paid the new legal minimum wage for those 21 and over, equivalent to more than £7m over the period in question. Daniel Adams, the national officer for the Usdaw union, which agreed the new pay deal, said: “Whilst we would have preferred that the company implemented this increase earlier, as Usdaw had originally requested, the regulations do allow them to make that decision. “Usdaw has negotiated a significant pay rise that makes Tesco workers amongst the highest paid in the sector. While the union will always seek implementation on the pay anniversary date, which was 2 April last year, the outcome of these negotiations meant that the date was delayed until later in April to allow for the highest investment in pay possible.” The union said the 9% rise in pay next month would benefit 220,000 people and represented one of the largest investments in pay by Tesco in a single year amid heavy competition for workers. Asda recently announced it was increasing minimum hourly pay to £12.04 an hour while Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl have upped pay to £12 an hour. A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are investing over £300m in colleague pay, bringing our hourly rate to £12.02, which is significantly ahead of the national living wage, in a deal that has the full support of Usdaw. “Our new rate is effective from our April pay period as set out in the HMRC guidelines, and we are fully compliant with all NLW requirements. We have a strong track record of making substantial investments in colleague pay and, since 2022, we have increased hourly pay by 26%, investing more than £750m in our colleagues. The company said it had also enhanced other benefits including an increase in paternity leave to six weeks, and an extension of our colleague discount allowance to £2,000 per year. The row comes after the supermarket in January upgraded its profits expectations for the year by £50m to £2.75bn as it reported “a stronger trading performance than anticipated” over the festive period. He partly credited the success to “more colleagues on the shop floor, helping to deliver market-leading availability”.
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UK taxes have reached 1948 levels – but the contrast between the budgets is stark
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In 1948, the country was in the midst of reconstruction following the second world war – and had the tax levels to show for it. Ration cards were still in use and the NHS still on the maternity ward, having been born that July. The previous month, the Empire Windrush had made its historic arrival in Tilbury. Earlier that year, Myanmar and Sri Lanka – then named Burma and Ceylon – had gained independence from the British empire. And, in the summer, Portsmouth ascended the summit of domestic football for the first time – winning the English title. Pompey have only hit that height once more in the subsequent 76 years. As has the amount of tax we pay – this week. According to official forecasts, the offsetting of a second successive 2p cut to national insurance with a series of small tax increases elsewhere in Wednesday’s budget have left tax as a share of national income at 37.1%. Among those stealth increases were taxes on vaping, tobacco, holiday home lets, business class flights and non-doms. Reporting on 1948’s budget by the chancellor of the day, Labour’s Stafford Cripps, the Guardian said: “The real interest in the budget proposals is to discover whether the heavy worker who likes a smoke and a drink will feel benefit from the income-tax concessions, or will find himself financially to be just about where he is now. This is an elaborate sum to work out. Against income-tax reliefs must be set extra duties on beer, spirits, and tobacco.” In 2024, it is a Conservative chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, hoping voters will begin to feel the benefits of his economic tinkering – and perhaps not notice too keenly increases in what could be termed lifestyle taxes. Hunt will also be hoping not too many voters will be put off by the clear implication that any pre-election giveaway will be balanced out by post-election cuts to public spending. With polls suggesting voters see the state of the UK’s public services – as well as the economy – among the top issues facing the country, Hunt has perhaps seen the political imperative in postponing any cuts he believed necessary until after the general election. According to the Resolution Foundation, they will be huge. “This rising tax burden, alongside post-election spending plans, will leave a sour taste for whoever is in office at that point,” it said on Wednesday. The thinktank suggested the chancellor was planning cuts to government bodies such as the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and local government of £19bn a year. To put that into context, between 2024-25 and 2028-29, such cuts – expressed per person – would be about three-quarters the levels seen during the Tory-led austerity drive from 2010-11 to 2014-15. Rewind to the budget of April 1948, and Cripps had a very different take. “We have, I think, done everything practical to make as large a contribution as possible by economy of government expenditure. We do not propose to cut the social services, as that is not in our view a fair or a desirable thing to do. We are proud of our record on the social services, and are anxious to improve on it,” he told the Commons. The Guardian reported that year that “the April budget [would] be a severe test” for the government in which Cripps served. But Cripps and his Labour party had another three years before they had to go to the country. Hunt and the current crop of Tories have only a few months.
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Independent inquiry into 2005 murder of Emma Caldwell announced
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An independent judge-led public inquiry will be held into how police handled the investigation into Emma Caldwell’s murder, the Scottish government has announced. The announcement came as Scotland’s most senior law officer said she believed there was sufficient evidence in 2008 to prosecute Caldwell’s killer, who was convicted only last week. Caldwell’s mother, Margaret, has campaigned tirelessly for nearly two decades to bring her daughter’s murderer to justice. She listened from the public gallery as Scotland’s justice secretary, Angela Constance, told MSPs on Thursday afternoon: “There can be no doubt of the serious failings that brought a grieving family to fight for justice.” The inquiry is expected to examine the sustained police failings that emerged during the trial of killer and serial rapist Iain Packer. Packer was jailed last week for 36 years for the 2005 murder of Caldwell, as well as multiple other cases of sexual violence against 22 other women. Caldwell was living in a hostel in Glasgow when she disappeared in April 2005, aged 27. Her mother told the trial that her daughter had started taking heroin to numb her grief after the death of her sister and was funding her drug habit through sex work. Caldwell’s naked body was found five weeks after she went missing, in Limefield Woods near Biggar, South Lanarkshire. An emotional Constance told the Holyrood chamber: “Given … the gravity of this case, the length of time that it took for justice to be served for so many women and the horrific extent of the sexual violence suffered by the victims and survivors, the case for holding a public inquiry is overwhelming”. An hour before the statement, Caldwell’s family concluded a meeting with the lord advocate, Dorothy Bain, who worked on the case as crown counsel in 2008. Bain told the family that after taking the view that there was no murder case against the four Turkish men who the original police investigation had focused on, she and the solicitor general directed investigators to look at Packer, whose name appeared in police papers. Speaking after the meeting, the Caldwell family’s solicitor, Aamer Anwar, said: “The lord advocate confirmed that multiple women came forward who would have added to the evidence of rapes and attacks. There is no doubt on the basis of evidence available in 2008, had the police listened to the Crown Office, Packer may well have been serving a life sentence”. Packer, who lodged an appeal against his conviction yesterday, is known to have carried out at least 19 other rapes and sexual assaults after he killed Caldwell. Police Scotland has apologised for how the original inquiry was handled by Strathclyde police, which was amalgamated into the national force in 2013. Police Scotland’s chief constable, Jo Farrell, reiterated the apology when she met Caldwell’s family on Wednesday, adding that she supported their calls for a public inquiry and pledged the force would “fully participate”. “It is important that Emma’s family and the public get answers to the many questions they have,” Farrell said.
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School accused of ‘snooping’ on family homes to crack down on pupil absences
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A secondary school in South Yorkshire has been accused of snooping by monitoring families’ bins, cars and post in an attempt to crack down on pupil absences. Staff at Astrea Academy Woodfields in Balby, Doncaster, have been visiting the homes of absent pupils to check bins are being put out, cars are on driveways, or if steam is being released from the boiler flue. The National Education Union (NEU) criticised the tactics as invasive, although the school says they are attempting to crack down on unauthorised absences. David Scales, the principal of Astrea Academy Woodfields, said: “Like schools across the country, our attendance team routinely does home visits to check on a child if they’ve not been in school for a few days. “We do this because we care and because we want our students to be in school. Not just because they are there to learn, but it is a sad fact of life that being seen in school is too often one of the most significant protections a child has. When that falls away without good reason staff are right to be concerned.” Related: Fines for unauthorised absence from school in England to rise by 33% Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said that “tackling absences should not extend to snooping on families”. He added: “This is a clear over-reach of how a school should behave. It will do nothing to build positive relationships with parents and students.” Woodfields is one of the 17 academies overseen by the Astrea Academy Trust in South Yorkshire. It has more than 720 pupils enrolled. In a video posted on X last week, Scales explained what the school was doing to tackle unauthorised absences. Scales said some parents would call into the school and lie about their child being ill. He said there was one instance where a family “impersonated” a doctor’s surgery. Poor attendance has been an ongoing issue for the school, and was highlighted by Ofsted during a January 2023 inspection. In their report from 2023, Ofsted said: “Pupils’ attendance remains too low. The number of pupils who do not attend school often enough is increasing. These pupils miss important learning and fall behind their peers.” In a video posted on Thursday morning, Scales said the school was running an “attendance challenge” offering voucher rewards for students and families with good attendance. Kebede said: “Fines and other aggressive measures do not tackle the causes of absenteeism. Schools put a great many hours into tackling absence and reaching out to parents, and this must be constructive and aim to build back to regular attendance.”
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A dark pattern runs through British politics: when the powerful lose control, protesters suffer
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Britain’s latest descent into authoritarianism fits a depressingly familiar pattern. This is how it tends to work: a subversive group is identified by political elites and presented as a danger to the nation, often being additionally labelled as allies or dupes of hostile foreign enemies. An air of national emergency is contrived, with exaggerated, distorted, or simply invented evidence used to justify claims of an imminent threat. The ensuing repressive measures are supposedly to defend the security of both individual citizens and the nation alike. This is what was really going on when Rishi Sunak spoke of “mob rule” and warned of the “forces here at home trying to tear us apart” during his sinister prime ministerial address last Friday. It should be seen, too, as the rationale behind proposals by rightwing former Labour MP John Woodcock – appointed by the Tories as a peer, Lord Walney, and advisor on political violence after he endorsed Boris Johnson in the last election – to ban politicians from engaging with movements protesting against mass slaughter in Gaza or the climate emergency. The government knows there tend to be fewer arrests at demonstrations against Israel’s onslaught than at last year’s Glastonbury music festival. This is despite an array of anti-protest laws so draconian they have been condemned by the United Nations’ human rights chief. But these manoeuvres aren’t about a genuine fear of actual threats. Rather, they are simply an expression of a basic human truth: the powerful do not like being pressured by movements with political goals they disapprove of, and will use both scaremongering and the machinery of the state to try to defeat them. It is interesting that the term “McCarthyism” is now used as a pejorative label today by both left and right to describe the suppression of their own political beliefs. This confirms my feeling that very few rightwing commentators would, if pressed, openly praise the actual McCarthyism of the mid-20th century – a moral panic over the infiltration of American public life by communists. Yet they do the very same thing with the Gaza protesters of today, who face being deplatformed, demonised, targeted by law, and fired for their ceasefire demands. What is forgotten in all this is the purpose McCarthyism served. Few really believed communist infiltration was a menace to the US, but they saw an opportunity to stigmatise progressive politics and hobble trade unions, which had begun to assert themselves with unprecedented strike campaigns either side of the second world war. Much to the relief of wealthier Americans, the “red scare” worked and the political left and organised labour never recovered. Workers’ movements in the UK have long suffered assaults driven by the same motives. When Woodcock today proposes protest organisers should pay the cost of policing their demonstration, he summons the ghost of Taff Vale, a legal judgment in 1901, which for a time made unions liable for the costs of taking industrial action. In Britain’s only general strike, a quarter of a century later, both Labour and the Tories warned of a revolutionary conspiracy, and its defeat led to punitive anti-union laws. In the aftermath, the former prime minister Arthur Balfour bragged: “The General Strike has taught the working class more in four days than years of talking could have done.” In the 1980s, the Tories were only so keen to smash the miners because their strength was feared – they had, after all, toppled their previous government a decade earlier. While Margaret Thatcher had privately declared the miners were the “enemy within” – compared to Argentina’s junta who were the “enemy without” – she had even planned to publicly describe the Labour party as such, only taking a different tack in the wake of the 1984 Brighton bomb. Four decades after the miners’ strike began, it is notable how the defeated workers now enjoy popular sympathy, as recent documentaries underline, when they were so successfully cast as a dangerous extreme enemy. The authoritarian underbelly of self-proclaimed democracies is often hidden, but it’s there nonetheless. That undercover police officers infiltrated environmental groups with fake identities for years, even having protracted relationships with female activists under false pretences, seems more reminiscent of a Stasi state than a liberal democracy. But it did happen here, and it was able to happen because such groups were cast as extreme menaces for whom democratic norms could be easily discarded. There also exists a terrifying double standard in how protest is treated. Note how there was no moral panic about “mob rule” when far-right activists opportunistically hijacked the leave cause and harassed opponents outside the Houses of Parliament, with targets ranging from yours truly to former Tory MP Anna Soubry. Other extremists marched with a huge noose and gallows – claiming it was what then-prime minister Theresa May “deserved” - while self-avowed supporters of Boris Johnson alternated between chants pledging their loyalty to him and threats to hang their opponents. As Labour MP Jess Phillips aptly puts it, the difference today is that “some of the people who are upset with us at the moment have brown faces”. She is quite right. Tory MPs Suella Braverman and Lee Anderson have depicted the protests – and the large Muslim presence on these marches – as evidence of the rise of Islamic extremism. This just shows how Islamophobic much of the Tory party has become, but that also fuses with a basic political fact: to the chagrin of their opponents, the protests against Israel’s onslaught represent the vast majority of public opinion, and politicians resent being pressured by a powerful movement with goals they object to. They fear, too, being scrutinised for their own complicity. Yet we’ve seen how history judges McCarthyism. What on earth will its verdict be on societies that scrutinised those who opposed the mass slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people, rather than those complicit in such a crime? Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
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Oscar predictions 2024: who will win, who should win – and who was snubbed
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With a terrible inevitability, this is set to be the Enheimer Oscars. The Barb half has faded almost entirely from the conversation, and now even the scandal of its snubs seems to be a non-talking point. Seriousness and maleness and nuclear bombs make for plausible Oscar prizes, it seems, not female-centred comedy. Greta Gerwig’s monumental box office achievement with her sprightly, spectacular Barbie was the talk of the town last summer as part of the #Barbenheimer double-header. It launched a zillion op-ed pieces about whether Margot Robbie’s witty blond heroine was feminism’s hero or villain (a puzzle that the film didn’t entirely solve) and sold a zillion tickets, thus solving – or anyway deferring – the cinema industry’s pressing financial problems. But, right or wrong, the Academy has pretty much turned its nose up at the zany DayGlo surreality of Barbie. Perhaps the horror of the daily news has soured everyone’s appetite for comedy. Oppenheimer, with its massive, complex, tragic story of J Robert Oppenheimer, is all set to capture the zeitgeist. Or is it? According to Hollywood Reporter columnist Scott Feinberg and his mischievous anonymous survey the Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot, Jonathan Glazer’s lethally powerful Holocaust movie The Zone of Interest is all set to pull off a huge upset and win best picture. If that happens, it would be a magnificent victory for a great auteur, and how remarkable to see these two outstanding British film-makers, Glazer and Christopher Nolan, at the Hollywood apex. Quite apart from its obvious qualities, The Zone of Interest could be gaining traction because of the light it (arguably) sheds on the Middle East and western liberal reactions. Now, these comparisons have the potential to be crass and offensive, to say the very least, but Zone of Interest producer James Wilson has offered complex, nuanced thoughts on the subject and he may yet have the opportunity to do so again on Sunday night. Elsewhere, Alexander Payne’s comedy The Holdovers has been quietly winning hearts and minds with its likable, sympathetic and humane study of loneliness, boasting wonderful performances from Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Paul Giamatti and newcomer Dominic Sessa. This film has been getting talked about by Oscar voters and is very approachable. And yet the bigger winner could be Yorgos Lanthimos’s fiercely scabrous Poor Things, with its startling and brilliant performance from Emma Stone as the Victorian woman brought back from the dead in a bizarre Frankensteinian experiment. But even here there are chances for outsiders to come up on the rails. Maybe Bradley Cooper will jink through with his studied (and fascinating) portrayal of Leonard Bernstein, and Annette Bening could pull off a feelgood underdog triumph with her performance as the endurance swimmer Diana Nyad. It could all happen – but I think this will be Christopher Nolan’s night. Related: Oscars nominations 2024: the full list Best picture Will win: OppenheimerShould win: Poor ThingsShoulda been a contender: The Eight Mountains Best director Will win: Christopher Nolan, OppenheimerShould win: Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of InterestShoulda been a contender: Robin Campillo, Red Island Best actor Will win: Cillian Murphy for OppenheimerShould win: Paul Giamatti for The HoldoversShoulda been a contender: Joaquin Phoenix for Napoleon Best actress Will win: Emma Stone for Poor ThingsShould win: Emma Stone for Poor ThingsShoulda been a contender: Sydney Sweeney for Reality Best supporting actor Will win: Robert Downey Jr for OppenheimerShould win: Ryan Gosling for BarbieShoulda been a contender: John Magaro for Past Lives Best supporting actress Will win: Da’vine Joy Randolph for The HoldoversShould win: Da’vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers Shoulda been a contender: Sandra Hüller for The Zone of Interest Best animated feature Will win: The Boy and the Heron Should win: The Boy and the Heron Shoulda been a contender: Orion and the Dark Best adapted screenplay Will win: Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of InterestShould win: Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of InterestShoulda been a contender: Tina Satter for Reality Best original screenplay Will win: Justine Triet for Anatomy of a FallShould win: Celine Song for Past LivesShoulda been a contender: Robin Campillo, Gilles Marchand and Jean-Luc Raharimanana for Red Island Best documentary Will win: Mstyslav Chernov for 20 Days in MariupolShould win: Mstyslav Chernov for 20 Days in MariupolShoulda been a contender: Steve McQueen for Occupied City Best international feature film Will win: The Zone of InterestShould win: The Zone of InterestShoulda been a contender: Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Best production design Will win: Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer for BarbieShould win: Shona Heath and James Price for Poor ThingsShoulda been a contender: Chris Oddy for The Zone of Interest Best cinematography Will win: Hoyte van Hoytema for OppenheimerShould win: Robbie Ryan for Poor ThingsShoulda been a contender: Łukasz Żal for The Zone of Interest Best makeup and hairstyling Will win: Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell for MaestroShould win: Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston for Poor ThingsShoulda been a contender: Ivana Primorac for Barbie Best costume design Will win: Jacqueline Durran for BarbieShould win: Holly Waddington for Poor ThingsShoulda been a contender: Lindy Hemming for Wonka Best editing Will win: Jennifer Lame for OppenheimerShould win: Thelma Schoonmaker for Killers of the Flower MoonShoulda been a contender: Paul Watts for The Zone of Interest The Oscars will take place on Sunday, 10 March
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Seth Meyers to Nikki Haley: ‘Your lies are boring’
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Late-night hosts discuss an unsurprising result for the Super Tuesday primaries (except in American Samoa), Nikki Haley’s refusal to explicitly endorse Donald Trump as she ends her presidential campaign and Mitch McConnell’s parting act as Senate minority leader. Seth Meyers Seth Meyers mourned the end of the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley’s campaign on Wednesday, after she underperformed on Super Tuesday. Speaking to Meet the Press, Haley refused to say whether she was still bound by a previous Republican National Committee pledge to support Trump in November. “I think I’ll make what decision I want to make,” she said, “but that’s not something I’m thinking about.” “The election you were just in is not something you’re thinking about right now?” the Late Night host scoffed. “See, this is why you lost. Your lies are boring. At least Trump’s lies have some art to them. “Why would anyone in the Republican party give a damn about a GOP pledge when the guy who runs the GOP has never been bound by any pledge ever in his life?” he continued. “He hasn’t been bound by a pledge to remain faithful in his marriage, a pledge to honor the constitution, a pledge to pay his contractors, a pledge to pay his taxes, or a pledge not to tell people to cure Covid by drinking Pledge.” Related: Stephen Colbert on wishing for alternatives to Biden-Trump: ‘Stop making up election fanfic’ In her final campaign speech, Haley assured that “it is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that.” “Yeah, that definitely sounds like my dude Donald Trump,” Meyers deadpanned. “A compassionate uniter who will reach out to different points of view. And in fact, as Haley was delivering that speech, Trump was reciprocating her well wishes with a characteristically kind, humble and complimentary post about Haley on his social media site.” What Trump actually said, on Truth Social, was: “Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion.” “When are these people going to learn that no matter what you say about Trump, he will never repay your kindness or loyalty?” Meyers wondered. “If you held the elevator door open for Trump, he’d press every button, loudly fart and then say, ‘enjoy the ride, loser!’” Stephen Colbert Despite waning enthusiasm, Biden and Trump dominated Super Tuesday. “Now for a rematch that everyone claims they don’t want, it’s awfully popular at the polls,” explained Stephen Colbert on the Late Show. “It’s like the whole nation is ordering takeout and deciding, ‘OK, we’re going to do the Thai place again. Even though the noodles stick together in a weird cube that’s shaped like the box it comes in, as long we all agree we’re not getting the sweet-and-sour Nikki Haley.’” Biden did lose the Democratic caucuses in American Samoa to Jason Palmer, a “previously little-known long-shot challenger”, according to Axios. “Yes previously little known, also currently little known,” said Colbert. “I myself just recently learned that a Jason Palmer is half Jason half lemonade.” Palmer got 56% of the vote to Biden’s 44% – “where my Pal-maniacs at?” Colbert joked. “I mean, come on, it’s electric! This guy makes Dean Phillips look like Ryan Binkley. And if you know who those people are, you’re too invested in politics, go see Dune or something.” Despite the small victory, Phillips suspended his campaign on Wednesday afternoon. “Evidently, he wants to spend more time with his family reminding them who he is,” said Colbert. Colbert also touched on Mitch McConnell’s official endorsement of Donald Trump for president. “This is a final cynical act of evil and cowardice from a man who has made a cynical career of it,” he said. “McConnell has already stepped down from the leadership and his parting gesture is to hand his shriveled blue ballsack to the man who launched racist attacks on his wife, called him a ‘dumb son of a bitch’ and a ‘broken-down crow’.” The Daily Show .@RonnyChieng can't stop with the Nikki Haley jokes pic.twitter.com/RI9PJlPldv— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 7, 2024 And on the Daily Show, guest host Ronny Chieng lamented the “baby boomer death grip” on American politics, though Haley did win the Republican primary in Vermont on Tuesday. “Nikki won the ‘Subaru owner who makes their own honey’ voting bloc! You can build on that, Nikki Haley. 2024, baby!” Nevertheless, she dropped out on Wednesday, leaving Trump the presumptive nominee. “Nooo, don’t quit now, Nikki! You were only 80,000 delegates behind!” Chieng joked. “If you drop out, who will little girls without any principles, convictions or charisma look up to?” Chieng then took a moment to address Haley directly: “Nikki, I’m sorry. I don’t know why everyone, including myself, is being so mean to you. I was actually rooting for you, because I know that you were just trying to save your party and the world from Donald Trump, and all we ever did was shit on you because you’re such a giant loser who sucks so bad. Ugh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m doing it again! “Please consider this a formal and sincere apology, we should’ve done a lot better, he continued. “Like you should’ve done in your home state where you lost by 20 points like a loser! I’m sorry I can’t stop! But I swear to God, if you turn around and endorse Trump I will … totally be expecting that.”
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Alfano: Complete Songs album review – reveals a much more surprising composer than one might expect
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In his lifetime, Franco Alfano (born in 1875), was a significant figure in Italian music, highly regarded for his operas, orchestral and chamber music and songs. Nowadays, however, he is remembered mainly for his completion of Turandot; a shortened version of the ending he provided for Puccini’s final, unfinished opera is the one regularly used for performances today. But while his reputation has undoubtedly suffered from his connections to Mussolini’s fascists in the 1930s and 40s, this impressively comprehensive survey of his songs, which ranges across his composing career from 1896 to his death in 1954, demonstrates that Alfano was a much more interesting, and in many ways more surprising composer than one might expect from his pedigree. Starting out as a fully paid-up member of the verismo school, his songs show influences from farther afield, too, especially from Debussy and Richard Strauss. Perhaps most surprising of all is the catholic choice of poets that Alfano set, including Rilke, and particularly his extensive use of the poetry of Rabindrinath Tagore in Italian translation. The Bastille Musique set documents all of this immaculately, and the performances, by soprano Alexandra Flood and mezzos Nina Tarandek and Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, with pianist Klaus Simon, are exemplary, exactly what’s needed for music that – outside Italy at least – is so little known.
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Russia-Ukraine war live: Medvedev denies Russia targeted Zelenskiy’s motorcade in Odesa strike
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Closing summary It has just gone 6.20pm in Kyiv and 7.20pm in Moscow. We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Russia and Ukraine coverage here. Here is a recap of today’s latest developments: A deadly Russian missile strike on the port city of Odesa appeared to land near Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”. The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy. Ihor Zhovkva, a top Ukrainian diplomatic adviser, told CNN that it could not be ruled out that a Russian missile strike had targeted the delegations of Zelenskiy or Mitsotakis. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, said today that Russia did not target Zelenskiy’s delegation in a missile attack in Odesa on Wednesday. Medvedev said Russia would have hit its target if that had been its aim. Mitsotakis emphasised the urgent need to continue assisting Ukraine after experiencing first-hand the perils of war during a top-secret visit to the country. Addressing a meeting of European conservative party leaders in Bucharest after coming “very close” to a Russian ballistic missile attack in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, the Greek prime minister said: “I think that we all have a message for the Kremlin: we will not be intimidated.” His visit had been planned for months with the Greek media reporting on Thursday that he had taken off from a military airport in “top secret” circumstances because of security concerns. The Kremlin said on Thursday that French president Emmanuel Macron was increasing France’s involvement in Ukraine, after he declined to rule out deploying troops there. “Macron is convinced of his line to strategically defeat our country, and he continues to raise the level of France’s direct involvement,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the US ambassador in Moscow and warned her against “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation”. Ahead of a March presidential election, it said in a statement that such behaviour would be “firmly and resolutely suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of US embassy staff involved in such actions”. French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday pledged his country’s “unwavering support” for Moldova as tensions mount between the eastern European country and pro-Russian separatists. Macron and Moldova’s president Maia Sandu signed a Chisinau-Paris defence deal as well as an “economic roadmap” at a meeting at Élysée Palace on Thursday. Sandu said on Thursday that Russia was renewing its efforts to destabilise her country and warned that, if president Vladimir Putin was not stopped in Ukraine, he continue to be a threat for the rest of Europe. “If the aggressor is not stopped, he will keep going, and the frontline will keep moving closer. Closer to us. Closer to you,” the Moldovan president said as she signed a defence and cooperation agreement with Macron in Paris. The EU’s largest political party on Thursday endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term at the helm of the bloc’s powerful Commission. As the two-day European People’s party (EPP) meeting came to a close on Thursday, von der Leyen warned of the expected rise of populists in the bloc’s upcoming elections and Russia’s attempt “to wipe Ukraine off the face of (the) earth”. Macron also met leaders of France’s main political parties on Thursday as he sought to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine ahead of European elections this summer. The president and party leaders were expected to discuss the war, including the results of an international conference to step up military support for Ukraine held in Paris last week. Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar has said his government supports a Europe wide defence policy, despite Ireland’s policy of neutrality, adding that he did not believe that “Putin’s ambitions will stop at Ukraine”. He said: “This is our war too and it’s not just happening on Ukraine’s territory. It’s happening all around us, in our seas, and in the form of physical and cyber-attacks.” China’s top foreign affairs official has accused the US of trying to suppress China and has vowed to deepen relations with Russia, as Beijing continues to assert the importance of what it calls a “multipolar” world order. Foreign minister Wang Yi praised the “strategic guidance” of China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin for strengthening the relationship to the point that bilateral trade hit a record $240bn last year. The recently elected Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, issued a stark warning on Thursday that Europe now stands in a new prewar era just as it did before the second world war. “We are living in new times, in a prewar epoch. In fact, for some of our brothers, it is no longer even a prewar time. It is a full-scale war in its most cruel form,” he told fellow prime ministers and hundreds of MEPs attending the annual congress of the EPP alliance in Bucharest. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that a Belarusian man who had been planning “an act of terrorism” inside Russia on behalf of Ukraine had been killed in the Russian region of Karelia. RIA cited the FSB as saying that the man had intended to blow up an administrative building in the city of Olonets, about 155 miles (250 km) from the Finnish border. The Czech Republic has announced it is suspending intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia amid growing concerns that Bratislava is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine. The two countries have traditionally enjoyed a special relationship, given their history as part of the former Czechoslovakia, and close economic links. Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of Putin, said on Thursday that Nato’s latest military exercise looked like a rehearsal for an armed confrontation with Russia. Patrushev said the exercise, which is due to run until 14 March, was destabilising and was raising tensions Sweden on Thursday is to become the 32nd member of Nato – a development entirely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On a visit to Washington, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, are due to hand over final Nato accession documents to US representatives in the coming days. It is Sweden’s last step in a two-year process to join the military alliance. On Thursday, EU lawmakers approved giving Ukrainian food producers access to EU markets for a further year, rejecting a series of amendments that could have added restrictions. The European Commission has proposed import duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm produce be lifted for another year to June 2025. Norway will provide new funding to buy artillery shells for Ukraine, under the Czech-led ammunition initiative, the Ukrainian defence ministry said on Thursday. “Norway will provide €140m to procure artillery shells for Ukraine within the Czech initiative,” it said. A senior Russian military officer warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe and said the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly”. Colonel-general Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defence ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday. India’s embassy in Moscow confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he had been sent to fight in Ukraine. The embassy did not state the circumstances behind Mohammed Afsan’s death but said it was in touch with his family and Russian authorities. Japan’s top government spokesperson said on Thursday that Tokyo was gravely concerned about closer military cooperation between China and Russia in light of security for Japan as well as for the region. “Our country intends to keep a close eye on development in Sino-Russian relations,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular press conference. The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has emphasised the urgent need to continue assisting Ukraine after experiencing first-hand the perils of war during a top-secret visit to the country. Addressing a meeting of European conservative party leaders in Bucharest after coming “very close” to a Russian ballistic missile attack in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said: “I think that we all have a message for the Kremlin: we will not be intimidated, we will continue to support Ukraine and its brave citizens for as long as necessary. And we remain united on this issue.” The Greek leader came within meters of the blast as he toured the Black Sea port with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday morning. The strike left five dead and an unspecified number of wounded with Ukrainian officials saying today that the visiting delegation was deliberately targeted. Mitsotakis, who was visiting Ukraine for the first time since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, said the sttack occurred as he and aides were about to get into their motorcade. The Greek minister of state Stavros Papastavrou, who was also with the leader, was quoted as saying he believed the missile struck “within 200 meters” of the convoy. The prime minister’s seven-hour visit had been planned for months with the Greek media reporting Thursday that he had taken off from a military airport in “top secret” circumstances because of security concerns. It had been decided that the two leaders would meet in Odesa because of the Black Sea city’s historic links to Greece. Home to a vibrant Greek community, Odesa played a key role in the nation’s war of independence against Ottoman rule in the early 19th century with Mitsotakis vowing to help rebuild it once the war ended. The Kremlin said on Thursday that French president Emmanuel Macron was increasing France’s involvement in Ukraine, after he declined to rule out deploying troops there, reports AFP. Macron has since doubled down on his remarks, which stunned many in Europe and represented a significant shift in rhetoric as Ukraine struggles on the battlefield. “Macron is convinced of his line to strategically defeat our country, and he continues to raise the level of France’s direct involvement,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. According to AFP, Peskov said Paris had given “very contradictory” statements about whether it was open to sending troops to Ukraine, and that its foreign ministry had since talked down the suggestion. On Tuesday, Macron said he “fully stood behind” his controversial remarks and urged Kyiv’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting the country fight off Russia. Moldova's president says Putin will keep going if he's not stopped Moldova’s president Maia Sandu said on Thursday that Russia was renewing its efforts to destabilise her country and warned that, if president Vladimir Putin was not stopped in Ukraine, he continue to be a threat for the rest of Europe, reports Reuters. “If the aggressor is not stopped, he will keep going, and the frontline will keep moving closer. Closer to us. Closer to you,” Sandu said as she signed a defence and cooperation agreement with president Emmanuel Macron in Paris. “Europe must therefore present a united front. Aggression must be repelled by a strong force,” she said. Macron said France would back Moldova. “Moldova’s democratic reality and its inspiration about a European future, like Ukraine, are, in fact, a challenge for the Russia of Vladimir Putin,” Macron said, adding his country would strengthen cooperation to help it fight off what he called “hybrid attacks”. Located on Ukraine’s south-western border, former Soviet state Moldova has long expressed aspirations to move closer to the EU, and says it is the target of Russian interference, mainly in the breakaway Transdnistria region. With weak military forces, Moldova is seen as particularly vulnerable should the Ukraine war spill over to other eastern European countries. Earlier this week, Moldova’s spy chief said Russia was planning fresh attempts to meddle in the country’s internal affairs by provoking protests and interfering in upcoming presidential elections. Updated at My colleague, Helena Smith, has written a news article on the Russian missiles strike near Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Wednesday. You can read more below: A deadly Russian missile strike on the port city of Odesa appeared to land near Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”. The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy. “We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us,” said Mitsotakis, who was holding talks with Zelenskiy. “We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience,” Mitsotakis added in Odesa. Ukraine stepped up its own attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent killing of a Russian election official on Wednesday with a car bomb and a drone assault on a metal plant. Russia and Ukraine have increased aerial attacks as Moscow’s troops advance on the frontlines and Kyiv faces a shortage of manpower and weapons. Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed that the Odesa strike came as the Greek delegation was visiting the port with Zelenskiy. Related: Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister Updated at French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday pledged his country’s “unwavering support” for Moldova as tensions mount between the eastern European country and pro-Russian separatists, reports AFP. “France restates its unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognised borders,” he said in a joint statement with Moldovan president Maia Sandu as she visited Paris. Two years into Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, Moldova faces “multiple challenges caused by the conflict on its borders”, the statement said. Top of the list is the pro-Russian breakway region of Transnistria, where officials last week appealed to Moscow for “protection”. There is mounting concern that the territory could become a new flashpoint in the conflict, with Moldova “facing intensifying hybrid attacks”, the two presidents said. The two presidents signed a Chisinau-Paris defence deal as well as an “economic roadmap”, reports AFP. “The Moldovan state must be in a position to protect its neutrality, defend its territory and its population, and contribute to regional and international security,” they said in the statement. Macron and Sandu said Paris was “fully backing” Moldova’s reforms aimed at one day joining the EU. It is to hold a referendum later this year. “Justice reform and the battle against corruption” would be particularly important to a successful membership bid, they added. Updated at Senior Russian politician denies Zelenskiy's motorcade was targeted Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said today that Russia did not target Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s delegation in a missile attack yesterday, Reuters reported. Medvedev said Russia would have hit its target if that had been its aim. Sweden is about to complete the process to formally join Nato. NATO SG Stoltenberg has just informed me that all NATO member states have accepted our accession protocol, and has invited Sweden to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty. Sweden will soon be NATO’s 32nd member.— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) March 7, 2024 Norway will provide new funding to buy artillery shells for Ukraine, under the Czech-led ammunition initiative, the Ukrainian defence ministry said. Good news from our Norwegian friends 🇺🇦🤝🇳🇴Norway will provide €140 million to procure artillery shells for Ukraine within the Czech initiative.Also, Norway joined the Air Defense Coalition. That's an important step towards strengthening Ukraine's capabilities, as Norwegian… pic.twitter.com/fYnMBOqtMM— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 7, 2024 Ukrainian aide says 'cannot exclude' Russia targeted delegations Ihor Zhovkva, a top Ukrainian diplomatic adviser, has told CNN that it could not be ruled out that a Russian missile strike had targeted the delegations of Volodymyr Zelenskiy or the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Reuters reported. “It really was less than 500 meters from us. What was that? ... You cannot exclude it was directed at the delegation of my president or the delegation of foreign guest,” he said. French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday met leaders of the country’s main political parties as he sought to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine ahead of European elections this summer, reports AFP. Last week Macron stunned many in Europe by refusing to rule out the dispatch of western ground troops to Ukraine, pointing to Russia’s hardening stance. According to AFP, although members of the opposition denounced his remarks, Macron has since doubled down on his calls to ramp up military aid for Ukraine. The president and party leaders were expected to discuss the war, including the results of an international conference to step up military support for Ukraine held in Paris last week. France’s parliament will have a chance to vote on the country’s Ukraine strategy, including a bilateral security treaty signed with Kyiv last month, after debates in the National Assembly lower house next Tuesday and the Senate upper house on Wednesday. Ahead of meeting the opposition, Macron had spoken to his predecessors François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy at the Élysée Palace late on Wednesday. Speaking to journalists after the talks, Hollande called for more aid for Ukraine as well as European unity. “The only possible response is to show that we are with the Ukrainians in total solidarity, that we are giving them all the support they need, without taking part in any combat ourselves,” Hollande said. Asked about the possibility of sending troops, the former president said: “My position on military issues is: the less we say, the better.” EU's largest party endorses Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second term as European Commission chief The EU’s largest political party on Thursday endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term at the helm of the bloc’s powerful Commission, reports the Associated Press (AP).Von der Leyen ’s nomination at a gathering of her center-right European People’s party (EPP) in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, comes ahead of the 6-9 June elections for the European parliament, the EU’s only democratically elected institution. The endorsement places her firmly as a frontrunner for the top job in the 27-nation bloc.The EPP is expected to remain the biggest in the bloc’s legislature after the June voting, but von der Leyen’s posting would still require approval from leaders of the EU’s member states. Almost half of the EU’s 27 national leaders are members of the EPP. As the two-day EPP meeting came to a close on Thursday, von der Leyen warned of the expected rise of populists in the bloc’s upcoming elections and Russia’s attempt “to wipe Ukraine off the face of (the) earth”.“Our peaceful and united Europe is being challenged like never before by populists, by nationalists, by demagogues, whether it’s the far right or it’s the far left,” she said. “The names may be different, but the goal is the same. They want to trample on our values and they want to destroy our Europe … the EPP will never let that happen.”According to AP, von der Leyen noted Europe’s push to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after president Vladimir Putin ordered the war in Ukraine two years ago. “We have resisted Putin’s blackmail with its dirty coal, oil and gas. We got rid of this dependency,” she said. “We are massively investing in clean energy. For the first time we produced more electricity from wind and sun in Europe than from gas. This creates good jobs here at home, drives prices down and cleans up pollution. And it gives us energy security.”In 2022, wind and solar generated a record 22% of EU’s electricity, for the first time overtaking fossil gas at 20% and remaining above coal power at 16%, according to a recent review by Ember, an energy think tank. Updated at Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar has said his government supports a Europe wide defence policy, despite Ireland’s policy of neutrality. “I do not believe that Putin’s ambitions will stop at Ukraine. This is our war too and it’s not just happening on Ukraine’s territory. It’s happening all around us, in our seas, and in the form of physical and cyber-attacks. As one of my forebears said, a Europe worth building is a Europe worth defending. We should do so by developing PESCO in particular,“ he said in reference to the European security cooperation framework involving all member states bar Malta. “The people in Ukraine are fighting, sacrificing their lives for European values. Fighting for democracy, liberty and the rule of law. The least we can do is provide them with the tools they need to defend their country and their homes – and progress EU accession negotiations as quickly as possible,” he said. Updated at According to Reuters, Norway will donate up to 1.6bn Norwegian crowns ($153m/£120m) for the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement on Thursday. Polish prime minister warns that Europe stands in a new 'prewar' era The recently elected Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has issued a stark warning that Europe now stands in a new prewar era just as it did before the second world war. “The times of blissful calm are over. The postwar epoch is gone. We are living in new times, in a prewar epoch. In fact, for some of our brothers, it is no longer even a prewar time. It is a full-scale war in its most cruel form,” he told fellow prime ministers and hundreds of MEPs attending the annual congress of the European People’s party alliance in Bucharest. “It is not our fault that our daily vocabulary includes, once again, such words as fighting, bombings, rocket attacks, genocide,” he said. Tusk added: Europe wanted to live and develop itself in a postwar world. But today we must say clearly that we are faced with a simple choice – either we undertake the fight to defend our borders, our territory, our principles, and as a consequence our citizens and future generations, or we will fall.There is no objective reason to capitulate before evil. The potential of Europe, economic, financial, demographic, moral, is greater than the potential of those who attack us. It is crucial today that Europe believes in its strength.Also when it comes to the context of our defence capacity, we cannot live on the illusions. No one will take our place in this fight for our safety and for our future. We ourselves are the best guarantors of our safety and of our unity.As you well know, the only person you can count on is yourself. Europeans will be united when they see with all clarity that the Union is really our Europe, a safe and good home for the people.” Updated at Czech Republic to suspend talks with Slovakia over Russia ties The Czech Republic has announced it is suspending intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia amid growing concerns that Bratislava is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine. The two countries have traditionally enjoyed a special relationship, given their history as part of the former Czechoslovakia, and close economic links. But a recent meeting between Slovakia’s foreign minister, Juraj Blanár, and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Turkey has proved to be a step too far for many in Prague, prompting tensions over foreign policy differences to come to the fore. “There is no disguising that there are differences of opinion on several very important issues. We consider the meeting between the Slovak foreign minister and the Russian foreign minister to be problematic,” the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, said on Wednesday. Related: Czech Republic to suspend talks with Slovakia over Russia ties Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of president Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that Nato’s latest military exercise looked like a rehearsal for an armed confrontation with Russia, Reuters reports citing the Interfax news agency. Nato’s Nordic Response Exercise is taking place across northern Norway, Sweden and Finland and involves 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries. Patrushev said the exercise, which is due to run until 14 March, was destabilising and was raising tensions, reports Reuters. Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine and Russia on the newswires: Russia summons US ambassador in Moscow and says it will expel diplomats who meddle in its internal affairs The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the US ambassador in Moscow and warned her against “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation”, reports Reuters. Ahead of a March presidential election, it said in a statement that such behaviour would be “firmly and resolutely suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of US embassy staff involved in such actions”. Russia summons US ambassador, says state news agency Tass According to a breaking news line by Reuters on the newswires, Russia has summoned the US ambassador. Reuters are citing the Russian state news agency Tass, who say the message has come from the Russian foreign ministry. More details to follow … Updated at Reuters have reported more details on the news that Russia’s FSB shot dead a Belarusian man, who it said had been planning “an act of terrorism” on behalf of Ukraine, in the northern Russian region of Karelia, according to the RIA state news agency. The FSB said it had “seized weapons and an improvised explosive device” after the shootout. RIA cited the FSB as saying that the man had intended to blow up an administrative building in the city of Olonets, about 155 miles (250 km) from the Finnish border. “During the arrest, the criminal opened fire from a firearm at special services officers and was neutralised during the clash,” RIA cited the FSB as saying. Reuters report that RIA published video footage showing several FSB agents entering a dilapidated, unlit building in a remote area, shouting “come out” and then firing shots. The video then showed a man who appeared to be dead lying on the ground with a handgun next to his body, it said. The FSB said the improvised explosive device had been made using a plastic explosive manufactured in Britain and had a US-made detonator. Citing unnamed sources, Russian media reported the man’s name as Nikolai Alekseev, a 49-year-old activist from Belarus who had participated in opposition protests there in 2020. Updated at Russia's FSB says a Belarusian man planning 'act of terrorism' on behalf of Ukraine has been shot dead – reports Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that a Belarusian man who had been planning “an act of terrorism” inside Russia on behalf of Ukraine had been killed in the Russian region of Karelia, Reuters reports citing the RIA news agency. There is no further information in the report but we will update when more details are released. Updated at Military education facility is ablaze in Russia's Kazan, say state media A military education facility is ablaze in the Russian city of Kazan, Russian state news agencies reported, citing emergency services. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, the fire broke out at the Higher Tank training college, where future tank commanders and crew learn their skills, report Reuters. EU lawmakers back extension of trade liberalisation for Ukraine On Thursday, EU lawmakers approved giving Ukrainian food producers access to EU markets for a further year, rejecting a series of amendments that could have added restrictions, reports Reuters. The European Commission has proposed import duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm produce be lifted for another year to June 2025. They were originally suspended in 2022 after Russia’s invasion, which hit shipments via the Black Sea. Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan in Delhi and Gaurav Pokharel in Kathmandu have also reported on the Indian and Nepalese men on frontlines in Ukraine. The young men have been “made to join the Russian military” after signing up for jobs in Russia, Germany or Dubai, say their families. You can read more here: Related: ‘He had no idea he was being sent to a war zone’: the Indian and Nepalese men on frontlines in Ukraine Updated at India’s embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he had been sent to fight in Ukraine. Two years after Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow is on a global quest for more combatants. The foreign ministry in New Delhi said last month that it was working to secure discharges for about 20 Indian nationals “stuck” in the Russian army. The embassy did not state the circumstances behind Mohammed Afsan’s death but said it was in touch with his family and Russian authorities. “Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India,” the embassy wrote on X. Afsan’s brother, Mohammed Imran, told AFP in February that his brother had been missing for nearly two months. Afsan had last called from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to say that he had been deployed to the frontlines, Imran had said. He said that another Indian soldier who managed to escape told his family that 30-year-old Afsan had been wounded by a bullet. Afsan is the first death confirmed by Indian authorities among its citizens serving with the Russian army and the second confirmed overall. A 23-year-old man from Gujarat state was killed in a Ukrainian airstrike while working as a “security helper”, local media reported last month, citing relatives and another Indian soldier at the frontlines. Several Indian recruits told AFP last month that they were lured into joining up by promises of high salaries and a Russian passport before being shipped to the frontlines. The soldiers who spoke with AFP said they had been promised non-combatant roles but were trained to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons before being sent to Ukraine. Japan’s top government spokesperson said on Thursday that Tokyo was gravely concerned about closer military cooperation between China and Russia in light of security for Japan as well as for the region, reports Reuters. “Our country intends to keep a close eye on development in Sino-Russian relations,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular press conference. China pledges to deepen Russia ties China’s top foreign affairs official has accused the US of trying to suppress China and has vowed to deepen relations with Russia, as Beijing continues to assert the importance of what it calls a “multipolar” world order. Foreign minister Wang Yi accused the US of imposing sanctions on Chinese companies to a “bewildering” and “unfathomable” level, referencing Beijing’s opposition to “unilateralism and protectionism”, complaints that have become buzzwords in China’s official statements of late. Speaking on Thursday, Wang said the relationship between China and the US was “critical” but that it was the relationship with Russia that would be deepened and strengthened in the coming months. Wang praised the “strategic guidance” of China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin for strengthening the relationship to the point that bilateral trade hit a record $240bn last year. Wang noted that Russian natural gas was fuelling Chinese households, while Chinese cars were driving on Russian roads. You can read Amy Hawkins’s full report from Beijing here: Related: China pledges to deepen Russia ties and criticises US ‘obsession’ with suppressing Beijing Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister A deadly Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa appeared to land near president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”. The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy. “We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us,” said Mitsotakis, who was holding talks with Zelenskiy. “We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience,” Mitsotakis added, through an interpreter in Odesa. Ukraine stepped up its own attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent killing of a Russian election official on Wednesday with a car bomb and a drone assault on a metal plant. Russia and Ukraine have increased aerial attacks as Moscow’s troops advance on the frontlines and Kyiv faces a shortage of manpower and weapons. Spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed that the Odesa strike came as the Greek delegation was visiting the port with Zelenskiy. Related: Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister Senior Russian officer warns Ukraine conflict could escalate into full-scale war in Europe A senior Russian military officer has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe and said the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly”, reports news agency Reuters. Colonel-general Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defence ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday. “The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine – from the expansion of participants in ‘proxy forces’ used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe – cannot be ruled out,” RIA cited him a saying. “The main source of military threats to our state is the anti-Russian policy of the US and its allies, who are conducting a new type of hybrid warfare in order to weaken Russia in every possible way, limit its sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity,” he was quoted as saying. “The likelihood of our state being purposefully drawn into new military conflicts is significantly increasing.” Zarudnitsky’s comments come at a time when the west is scrambling to help Ukraine with more arms and financing after Kyiv’s failed counteroffensive last summer and after Russian forces regained the initiative on the battlefield. Zarudnitsky advocated a number of changes in the way Russia organises its military and security, RIA added, including placing greater emphasis on relying on what he called friendly countries to ensure Russia’s own security and consolidating the whole of Russian society around its defence needs. Updated at Opening summary It has gone 10am in Kyiv and 11am in Moscow. This is our latest Guardian blog covering all the latest developments over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A deadly Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa appeared to land near president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”. The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy. “We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us,” said Mitsotakis, who was holding talks with Zelenskiy. “We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience,” Mitsotakis added, through an interpreter in Odesa. More on this story in a moment, but first, here are the other latest developments: A senior Russian military officer has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe and said the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly”, reported the state RIA news agency on Thursday. The Ukrainian military will stabilise the battlefield situation shortly and aims to form units for counter-offensive actions later this year, according to Lt Gen Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of ground forces. He said work was under way to withdraw military units and restore their combat potential. Zelenskiy, has previously said Russia will try to mount a new offensive this spring or summer, but Kyiv has a battlefield plan of its own. Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy told national television on Wednesday that Russian forces were unable to gain new ground near Avdiivka. The Russians were instead focusing on an area to the south, near the village of Novomykhailivka. Maksym Zhorin, a Ukrainian commander in the area, also said Russian forces were having difficulty making headway. Their latest target was the village of Orlivka. “They are constantly attempting to advance and make progress wherever possible. Despite significant losses, they persist in launching assaults, both day and night.” Sweden on Thursday is to become the 32nd member of Nato – a development entirely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On a visit to Washington, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, are due to hand over final Nato accession documents to US representatives in the coming days. It is Sweden’s last step in a two-year process to join the military alliance. Britain’s foreign minister, David Cameron, will discuss boosting support for Ukraine in talks with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in Berlin on Thursday. There may be awkward moments after Russian media published an intercepted online call between senior German military officials that included details about Britain’s operations in Ukraine. High oil prices, sanctions evasion and state investment are providing Russia with enough resources to fight on in Ukraine at the current intensity for at least two more years, Lithuanian intelligence agencies have said. In a report, they add that Russian intelligence is driving efforts to evade sanctions on its defence industry. Russia is openly supplied with weapons and ammunition by only Iran and North Korea, but China has become its largest supplier of microchips, and the yuan now the main currency for Russia’s international transactions, the intelligence agencies say. Britain is prepared to loan Ukraine all frozen Russian central bank assets in the UK on the basis that Russia will be forced to pay reparations to Ukraine at the end of the war, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said. He said the assets would be used as surety for the payment of the reparations. Ukraine stepped up its attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent car bomb killing of a Russian election official in the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk; and two drones struck the Mikhailovsky GOK iron ore refinery in Russia’s Kursk region, where an industrial fuel tank exploded. Ukrainian military intelligence was responsible for the iron plant attack, a source told Reuters. Germany is participating in a Czech Republic initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine with a three-digit million euro contribution, a spokesperson for the German government said on Wednesday. A reporter for the independent Russian news outlet RusNews has been sentenced to seven years in prison for articles he wrote about alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, his publication said. Roman Ivanov was convicted of publishing “fake news” about the Russian army under wartime censorship laws.
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